Turkey, and England in the war against Russia in 1854, he gave Sardinia a place among the nations, and made sure that she would be represented at any conference to settle upon a treaty of peace. In conjunction with the Marquis Villamarina, Count Cavour represented Sardinia at the Treaty of Paris, in 1856, and during the conference he succeeded in winning Louis Napoleon almost completely to his purposes. In consequence of Orsini's attempt upon the life of the Emperor of the French, Cavour caused Sardinia to enact a special law against "suspects." The passage of this law was considered indicative of the intimate relations existing between Sardinia and France; Austria endeavored to create a better feeling for herself by a series of liberal measures and promises. Events indicated that a triple alliance against Austria was being formed by Russia, France, and Sardinia, and consequently there was much uneasiness.
On New Year's Day, 1859, the foreign ambassadors in Paris made their customary calls upon the emperor. The latter received the Austrian representative with his usual courtesy, and in the course of the interview said: "I regret that our relations with your government are not as good as formerly, but I beg of you to tell the emperor that my personal sentiments for him have not changed."
These few words caused excitement in diplomatic circles all over Europe. Austria and France pushed their preparations for war, and the Emperor of Austria replied to Louis Napoleon in much the same terms that the latter had used on New Year's Day when speaking to the Austrian ambassador. On the 30th of January Prince Napoleon was married to Princess Clothilde of Sardinia, and immediately thereafter the Austrian armies in Italy were increased, and the banks of the Ticino, the boundary between Sardinia and the Italian provinces of Austria, were fortified. In March and April Sardinia and France prepared for war; Russia sought to intervene and
