The French Emperor, with characteristic duplicity, had only half revealed his hand in those confidential talks at Plombieres. Italy was the cradle of his race, and he too wished to create, if not a King of Rome, a federation of small States ruled by princes of his own blood. The public rejoicings at Florence, Parma, Modena, and Bologna, and the ardent expression of the populace at such centres for union with Sardinia, made the Emperor wince, and showed him that it was impossible, even with French bayonets, to crush the aspirations of a nation. Napoleon met Francis Joseph at Villafranca, and the preliminaries of peace were arranged on July 11 in a high-handed fashion, and without even the presence of Victor Emmanuel. Lombardy was ceded to Sardinia, though Austria was allowed to keep Venetia and the fortress of Mantua. France afterwards took Nice and Savoy; and the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Modena were restored to power. The Treaty of Zurich ratified these terms in the month of November. Meanwhile it was officially announced that the Emperor of Austria and the Emperor of the French would 'favour the creation of an Italian Confederation under the honorary presidency of the Holy Father.' The Countess Martinengo Cesaresco, in a brilliant book published within the last few months on 'The Liberation of Italy,' in describing Lord John Russell's opposition to the terms of peace at Villafranca, and the vigorous protest which, as Foreign Minister, he made on behalf of England, says: 'It was a happy circumstance for Italy that her unity had no better friends than in the English Government during those difficult years. Cavour's words, soon after Villafranca, "It is England's turn now," were not belied.'[39] With Lord John at the Foreign Office, England rose to the occasion. Napoleon III. wished to make a cat's-paw of this country, and was sanguine enough to believe that Her Majesty's Government would take the proposed Italian Confederation under its wing. Lord Palmerston, Mr. Gladstone, and Lord John Russell, were not, however, the men to bow to his behests, and the latter in particular could scarcely conceal his contempt for the scheme of the two emperors. 'We are asked to propose a partition of the peoples of Italy,' he exclaimed, 'as if we had the right to dispose of them.' [Sidenote: FRANCE AND AUSTRIA]