When Napoleon promised an "Italy free from the Alps to the Apennines," and when the splendid victory of Magenta was quickly followed by that of Solferino, and when the young Francis Joseph, with tears in his eyes, ordered the retreat of his defeated army over the Mincio, the dream of centuries seemed about to be realized. Then came the startling news that the two emperors were in consultation at Villafranca over the terms of peace! Venice was not to be liberated. There was to be a consolidation of the Italian kingdoms "under the honorary Presidency of the Pope"--whatever that meant--and a "general amnesty" was declared. It was with sullen rage that the disappointed patriots saw Nice and Savoy handed over to France, and Rome garrisoned with French troops, while a French emperor was posing as the liberator of an Italy which was not liberated! But although the mills of the gods were moving slowly, they were going to grind exceeding fine. Victor Emmanuel and a regenerated Italy were not far off, and for Germany there was at hand a new era. Frederick William IV. died, and in 1861 William I. was crowned King of Prussia. CHAPTER XIX. King William's youth was far behind him. He had already spent a long life (sixty-four years) and had never expected to occupy a throne. He had not the brilliant qualities of his brother, he did not concern himself much about science or letters; but he was profoundly impressed with the responsibilities of his position; and it at once became apparent that Prussia had a wise and sagacious King, who would make her well-being his sole care and ambition. His first act was a thorough reorganization of the army. Then he looked about him for a man wise enough and strong enough for him to lean upon. Baron Otto von Bismarck-Schönhausen had just returned from St. Petersburg, where he had been Prussian ambassador. He was a conservative of the extreme type, hated and feared by the liberal and national party no less than Metternich. But no man better than he comprehended the policy of Austria, and all the complicated threads composing the web of German politics. The choice of this man for minister to the King augured ill for the liberals. The outlook had never been darker than at this hour before the dawn. But great political storms, like storms of another sort, are full of surprises. The ominous storm clouds we have feared roll away and vanish in calm, and the little ones, not larger than a man's hand, suddenly expand and darken our sky. A fateful storm was gathering for Germany in the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein. Of the nature of the Schleswig-Holstein entanglement someone (Was it Beaconsfield?) wittily said that there were only two men in Europe who understood it, himself and another; and the other was dead. But that was a mistake. There was a man in Prussia who understood it, and who lived to use it for his own far-reaching designs. The principal threads in the tangled web were as follows: