political ladder in Piedmont and Prussia, whose keen intellects and
masterful wills were to weld their Fatherlands into indissoluble union
within the space of one momentous decade. These men were Cavour
and Bismarck.

It would far exceed the limits of space of this brief Introduction to
tell, except in the briefest outline, the story of the plodding
preparation and far-seeing diplomacy by which these statesmen raised
their respective countries from depths of humiliation to undreamt of
heights of triumph. The first thing was to restore the prestige of their
States. No people can be strong in action that has lost belief in its
own powers and has allowed its neighbours openly to flout it. The
history of the world has shown again and again that politicians who
allow their country to be regarded as _une quantité négligeable_
bequeath to some abler successor a heritage of struggle and
war--struggle for the nation to recover its self-respect, and war to
regain consideration and fair treatment from others. However much frothy
talkers in their clubs may decry the claims of national prestige, no
great statesman has ever underrated their importance. Certainly the
first aim both of Cavour and Bismarck was to restore self-respect and
confidence to their States after the humiliations and the dreary
isolation of those dark years, 1848-51. We will glance, first, at the
resurrection (_Risorgimento_) of the little Kingdom of Sardinia, which
was destined to unify Italy.

Charles Albert's abdication immediately after his defeat by the
Austrians left no alternative to his son and successor, Victor Emmanuel
II., but that of signing a disastrous peace with Austria. In a short
time the stout-hearted young King called to his councils Count Cavour,
the second son of a noble Piedmontese family, but of firmly Liberal