Page:The rise and fall of the Emperor Maximilian.djvu/21

Rh moving the troops, still the pride of the Mexicans was deeply wounded by the president's concession; they also felt humiliated because the evacuation of their invaded territory had not preceded the preliminaries of reconciliation. But Juarez, more inclined to subtlety than courage, was animated by a real desire to grant the reparations claimed by the allies, and clearly comprehended that he would never obtain the withdrawal of the hostile forces before serious pledges of conciliation had been exchanged. Confiding, however, in our word, the Mexican government had added a condition to the liberty of movement which had been dictated by humane feelings only, and had stipulated that, 'if the negotiations were broken off' (article 4), the allied forces should retire from the positions they had taken up, and should fall back along the road to Vera Cruz, as far as Paso Ancho, before any acts of hostility were committed, and, in this case, that the allied hospitals should remain under the safeguard of the Mexican nation.

The courier, whose return from Europe had been anxiously expected, was at last signaled in the roadstead. It was ascertained that England, rejecting all idea of an expedition into the interior of Mexico, had ratified the signature of Sir C. Wyke, its plenipotentiary. Spain, though expressing a certain reluctance, did not disavow that of General Prim. But France, through the medium of the Moniteur, declared boldly that she could not accept the convention of La Soledad, as being 'counter to the national dignity.' This public disavowal, inflicted as it was on an officer who was justly reputed to be jealous of the honour of his flag, excited a painful feeling of astonishment, and had but an untoward effect.

The admiral commenced his retrograde movement