Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/199

Rh whole of his still vast fortune to the cause, and hinted at the active coöperation of the now idle United States armies. The plot was not allowed to develop, however, owing to vigilance of the secret police employed by Bazaine to watch in particular the conservatives. Another source for pretentions against Maximilian had already been removed by his assuming the guardianship of the two grandsons of Iturbide and pensioning the sons. The act created a wide-spread belief that he intended the boy Agustin, then in his third year, for his successor, either because he had no children, or in view of a possible departure from Mexico. The latter rumor, though officially denied, was strengthened by a protest made by Maximilian at the close of the preceding year against the renunciation of his rights as an Austrian archduke. Many, indeed, began to assume that his liberal policy and assiduous law-making in Mexico were intended greatly for achieving popularity and reputation in his native country. The protest certainly encouraged the liberals, as it created distrust among imperialists.