Cardinal Antonelli had precisely defined the situation in his talk with Anastase Gouache by saying that the temporal power was driven to bay.

To all appearances Europe was at peace, but as a matter of fact the peace was but an armed neutrality.

An amount of interest was concentrated upon the situation of the Papal States which has rarely been excited by events of much greater apparent importance than the occupation of a small principality by foreign troops.

All Europe was arming.

In a few months Austria was to sustain one of the most sudden and overwhelming defeats recorded in military history.