Page:The rise and fall of the Emperor Maximilian.djvu/305

 the towns which the imperialists had given up without resistance? Such a proceeding as this would only have been an act of folly. For, not only would it have been incurring danger without any useful end, but it would have delayed the evacuation, and provoked reprisals against the inhabitants of these places, and, subsequently, would have made it worse for our own countrymen, whose position was already bad enough. Besides, the orders of the French government were expressly opposed to it; and wisely so. The president of the council, dissatisfied with the passive attitude of our troops, drew up a letter which was insulting to our good faith, and called for a complaint addressed to Maximilian himself; it also caused a rupture with the minister.

Mexico, January 28, 1867. Sire,—I have the honour of sending to your majesty a copy of an extract of a letter, dated the 25th of this month, and forwarded to me by the president of the council of ministers.

He states in this letter:—'The marshal and General Castelnau, in their communication of the 7th of last November, declared that so long as the French troops were in Mexico they would protect as before the authorities and the inhabitants, and, in short, would maintain order in the districts which they occupy, but that they would not undertake any distant expedition.

'An attack has recently taken place at Texcoco.

'Your excellency has not deemed it expedient to give any assistance according to the request of the general of our second division. The government would be glad to know what attitude the French troops in the capital would assume if, before their withdrawal, they were besieged by the rebels, or if the enemy attacked them on any point, or made any other kind of aggression.'

The impropriety of the above language will not fail to strike your majesty, who has never done me the injustice of supposing for a single instant that the loyalty of the French army could ever be called in question.