Page:The Fall of Maximilan's Empire.djvu/26

18 captain in the Austrian Navy, appeared at the top of the gangway. Standing there a moment, towering above every thing, he glanced up and down the deck of the craft so novel to him, then bowed to Captain Roe, and said: "I am the Austrian." The bow was returned with precisely the same degree of politeness, and the answer made: "I am the American." In a short time he was chatting away most pleasantly in the cabin, having perfect command of the English language.

The "Elizabeth" had been sent to Vera Cruz for the express purpose of conveying Maximilian back to Europe, it having been accepted as a matter of course that General Castelnau's mission would be successful, and that the young monarch would be induced to give up the miserable struggle when deprived of the support of French arms. Such seems indeed to have been his intention; with a few intimate friends he had reached Orizaba on his way to the port, but he was destined to go no farther, and the immediate cause was the conduct toward him of the French commander-in-chief. When Marshal Bazaine received the order from the French emperor to withdraw his army from Mexico, it is easy for one familiar with his character and reputed ambitions to conceive the anger and bitterness that filled his heart. Entering the army as a private soldier, he had worked his way up to the highest rank, and his bâton bore the