Lord Palmerston, however, had shown on more than one occasion his loathing of the policy of Metternich; and he was doubtless glad enough of this diplomatic excuse for forwarding the cause of Constitutional Liberty. Lord Minto was despatched to Italy to encourage the various princes to stand firm in the cause of reform; and in December, 1847, the Austrian troops consented to withdraw from Ferrara, after having succeeded, by their occupation of it, in consolidating against them an amount of Italian feeling such as they had hardly aroused till then. The first and most startling expression of this feeling, and of the consequent determination of the Italians to break loose from Austrian influence, came from a prince whom Metternich had probably hardly recognized as an opponent. Leopold of Tuscany, however much disposed to avoid collision with his kinsman, the Emperor of Austria, could not altogether free himself from the rush of reforming zeal which was spreading through Italy. That triumph of Austrian and Papal policy in Tuscany, which had been signalized by the surrender of Renzi and the expulsion of Massimo d'Azeglio, had lasted a comparatively short period, and even during that period the reaction had not been complete. The influence of the Jesuits had increased in Tuscany after the fall of Corsini, and that influence has always excited an hostility which no other form of tyranny has produced; and the University of Pisa, under the influence of Cosimo Ridolfi, was specially zealous in protesting against their influence. As Ridolfi gained ground in Leopold's Council, Metternich had become alarmed, and tried to counteract his influence and to drive him from office. Leopold, however, refused to yield to this pressure, and, as the reforming movement spread, he advanced further and further in his sympathies with Italian freedom. Freedom of the press was granted; many new journals were started; and when the civic guard was conceded, great demonstrations were held in Florence, and an attempt was made to revive the memories of Francesco Ferruccio and other heroes of the past. Professor Montanelli, already known as a writer, now took a prominent part in the political movement, organized a deputation to Pius IX. to entreat him to grant liberty of the press, to expel the Jesuits, and to declare war upon Austria. Domenico Guerrazzi, who had assisted at the foundation of Young Italy, seconded the efforts of Montanelli, and Leopold became, almost against his will, marked out as a reforming sovereign.