of substituting an Imperial for a Republican form of Government in the Aztec land. Maximilian sat on the throne of the Montezumas, and was striving to restore the country to peace and prosperity under the shadow of the wings of the eagles of France.
It was not, however, part of the policy of the United States government to allow the establishment of such a power on its southern frontier. While the civil war lasted no other contest could be undertaken; but the aspect of affairs was entirely changed after the fall of the Confederacy; and the United States Government peremptorily demanded from Napoleon III. that his troops should be withdrawn from Mexico. The Emperor of the French was far too shrewd a man to persist in a course which, owing to the unexpected success of the North, had ceased to be profitable. He caused his army to evacuate the country, leaving the Emperor of Mexico to his fate.
Maximilian became fully aware of the deadly peril of his position. He persuaded his faithful wife to visit France and Austria, on the ostensible plea of negotiating a loan from either or both governments but really to remove her out of danger. He was surrounded by foes and false friends, and without a soul he could trust or a friend on whom he could rely, among the Mexicans. He was finally taken prisoner—through the treachery of one of his generals—at Queretaro, in May, 1867, and shot on the 19th of June following. After long delay, his remains were delivered to the Austrian Admiral sent by his brother to receive them, and were finally interred at Vienna with those of his ancestors. Maximilian had given up his position in the Austrian Navy, and abandoned the pleasures of his home in the charming palace of Miramar from the purest motives. He laboured hard, and devoted all the resources of his cultivated mind to further the welfare of his adopted country. The remains of no nobler
