In the general outbreak of revolutionary ideas which convulsed all Europe in 1848, when even Metternich was driven from power, Charles Albert was forced to promise a constitution to his North Italian subjects,—­and kept his word, which other Italian potentates did not, when they were restored by Austrian bayonets.  He had always been vacillating, but at last he saw the necessities of Italy and recognized the spirit of the times.  He was thus naturally drawn into a war with Austria, whose army in Italy was commanded by the celebrated Marshal Radetzky.  Though an old man of eighty, the Austrian general defeated the King of Piedmont in several engagements.  At Novara, on the 23d of March, 1849, he gained a decisive victory, which led to the abdication of the king; and amidst gloom, disaster, and difficulty, the deposed monarch was succeeded by his son, the Duke of Savoy, under the name of Victor Emmanuel II.

The young king rallied around him the ablest and most patriotic men he could find, including D’Azeglio, who soon became his prime minister; and it was from this nobleman’s high character, varied abilities, unshaken loyalty to his sovereign, and ardent devotion to the Italian cause, that Victor Emmanuel was enabled to preserve order and law on the one hand and Italian liberties on the other.  All Italy, as well as Piedmont, had confidence in the integrity and patriotism of the king, and in the wisdom of his prime minister, who upheld the liberties they had sworn to defend.  D’Azeglio succeeded in making peace with Austria, while, at the same time, he clung to constitutional liberty.  Under his administration the finances were improved and national resources were developed.  Sardinia became the most flourishing of all the States of Italy, in which both freedom and religious toleration were enjoyed,—­for Naples and Rome had relapsed into despotisms, and the iron hand of Austria was still felt throughout the peninsula.  Among other reforms, ecclesiastics were placed on the same footing with other citizens in respect to the laws,—­a great movement in a Catholic State.  This measure was of course bitterly opposed by the clerical and conservative party, but was ably supported in the legislature by the member from Turin,—­Count Camillo Cavour; and this great man now became one of the most prominent figures in the drama played by Italian patriots, since it was to his sagacious statesmanship and devoted labors that their efforts were crowned with final success.

Cavour was a man of business, of practical intellect, and of inexhaustible energies.  His labors, when he had once entered upon public life, were prodigious.  His wisdom and tact were equal to his industry and administrative abilities.  Above all, his patriotism blazed with a steady light, like a beacon in a storm, as intense as that of Mazzini, but more wisely directed.