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 496 to bear upon him by the United States, the Emperor of France relinquished his pet scheme of establishing an empire in the New World, and abandoned Maximilian to his fate, withdrawing his troops in disgrace. This was carried into effect in February, 1866.

News of this deplorable decision first reached Maximillian at his country retreat in Cuernavaca. Carlota, his noble wife, immediately volunteered to proceed to France to throw herself at the feet of Napoleon III and implore him to continue his assistance. Leaving Mexico in July she arrived at Paris in August, and immediately sought an interview with the emperor. Her efforts were without avail, for he decidedly refused to permit another French soldier to set foot in Mexico, nor would he advance another franc for the support of the tottering empire. Overwhelmed with despair at the appalling prospect before her and her husband, Carlota left Paris and went to Rome, where she soon gave evidence that her reason had been shaken by the long series of trials, she had undergone. She was conducted to her native country, Belgium, where she was confined in a castle near Brussels, and where she has since remained, subject to occasional fits of insanity.

The remaining scenes of this tragedy were quickly shifted, and the drama of the empire soon taken from the stage.

Each succeeding day saw Maximilian deeper in debt, the number of his friends decrease, and the growth of the movement against him. Seeing himself abandoned on all sides he resolved to abdicate the throne; he even went so far as to set out for the coast, reaching Orizaba, in October, where he received news that induced him to return.

The leaders of the conservative party became alarmed; the departure of Maximilian would prove their certain ruin; the recent return from Europe of Miramon and Marquez,