Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-07-18
"POOr CarI0tfa.',

And we to his wisdom are blind.
-z--~~---e-----
''POOr Carf0ffa."
uPoor Carlotta w Macmillan was
shot faced to the front. His last
words were "Poor Carlottal" How
tender and touching is this convincing
illustration Of the manly and generous
nature of the fallen Emperor Aban-
doned by France, betrayed by a Mex
ican follower, tried by military tri-
bunal of his implacable enemies, con.
demned to death, and brought out
for execution, all interpositions in his
behalf from the representatives Of
foreign powers having failed, this
distinguished victim OF Napoleon's
"grand idea" would have been iusti-
fed had he devoted his last moments
in denouncing the contiivers of his
destruction and the barbarans thirst
ing for his blood, and in deploring his
untimely fall in the strength of his
manhood and his hopes. But Maxi
milan was man of larger breadth
of mind and heroism than this. He
had deliberately cast his life into the
scales in defense of his empire, he had
pledged his word in the name of his
imperial house Of Hapsburg TO fight
it out with his enemies, and, like a
true soldier, he was prepared for this
last disaster He recognized his fate
as resulting from .he fortunes of war,
and had neither denunoiatiOns nor
regrets on his own account to make
Like the dying gladiator at Rome
lie recked not of his life, nor of the prize,
His heart was home and that was far away.
Face to face with his remorseless
executioners, awaiting but the word
to fire y all thoughts of his lost en-
pire and his low estate gave way to
those endearing memories and sweet
affections which had linked his life,
his happiness, his fate and his ambi-
tion with ''poor Carlottaw As to q
drowning man numerous events of his
past life running through many years
of time are vividly reproduced in a
few fleeting seconds, 50 to this victim
of Mexican vengeance were, no doubt,
recalled in the last moments Of his
earthly existence those charming re-
collections of his young, beautiful,
gifted, accomplished and devoted wife,
whereby he had become so fascinated
with his Mexican empire and his
hopes of the Mexican people, that he
could only relinquish them with his
wife. "Poor Carlotta p Her tri-
umphal journeys, her floral receptions,
her welcome charities, her gracious
waye, her catholic piety and her
resistless, womanly gentleness among
the susceptible Mexicans, were all 80
faithfully devoted to his cause as to
develop in him the heroism Of the
feudal ages He was her gallant
knight, equipped by her own fair
hands for glorious crusade; she was
his queen oflove and beauty, TO whom
his word as a soldier and his faith as
q devotee were pledged. All these
thoughts recurred to him as the mem
ories of golden dream, and from
these and that other thought, that
she had hopefully braved the dangers
of the seas, and the doubtful gencr-
osity of France in his behalf, only to
be repelled in despair, and to be doom
cd to living death, came the inspi-
ration to Macmillan which was ex-
pressed in his last expressive words
'Poor Carlotta /"
Nor is there in the records of his
tory, as the last words of dying
saint or hero, anything given which
appeals so tenderly 20 our better IA
ture, to all that beautifies and softens
the human character, as these dying
words of Maximilian-"Poor Carlot-
tai They will crown in history
this fallen man. However misguided
he was in his ambition or in his acts
as a ruler, those two words, with all
their impressive and redecming asso-
Citations, will crown him with the
flowers Of affection and the laurels OF
the hero. Had he recited and elo-
quently vindicated every step and
every act in his imperial career he
would have failed TO reach the elo-
qucnt defense embodied in his dying
exclamation of poor Carlotta " To
her they will be the words of restora-
tion or dissolution for him they are
the wreath of immortality. "Poor
Carlotta ~. y. Herald.