The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-02-20

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MEXICO AND MANML1AN-A NOVEL LITE
RARY TREAr-A LECTURE BY AN IMPERIAL Or
FIcER2On Friday evening DR.. Gerard do 10
Ravcle will deliver lecture in South Carolina
Hall, nearly opposite the Club House on Meet
ing-street, on the subject of "NIexico-What I
Saw There, and the Three Last Days of Car
lotta."
DIR. Rayelle was surgeon in the Mexican SER
vice attached to the household troops of the En-
rress Carlotta, or what is moro familiarly
known to our people as the foreign legion.
This foreign legion consisted of twenty-eight
hundred Austrians and twenty-three hundred
Belgians. [The Doctor is Belgian and still
holds rank as q surgeon in the Belgian
Armyl After the withdrawal of the French
troops, Maximilian's cause becoming hopeless,
through the political pressure of parties in
Washington, and the desertion of the Mexican
troops known as the Imperial Mexican army,
Maximlian, in consultation with Santa Anna,
Flores and Marquee resolved to throw him
self into the mountains and sustain guerrilla
warfare until assistance, daily expected from
both France and Austria, should arrive. De-
ceived until the last by the representations of
Lopez, who promised from his former COM
mand of the State of Mntamoras, four thou
sand troops 50, 600, 900, million of cartridges,
an abundant supply of provisions, and showed
false documents proving that Chihuaha, Sina-
loa and Yatacan were arming in favor OF the
Imperialists, Macmillan then holding possess
sion of Queretaro refused to avail himself Of
the road open to the Atlantic, where French
and Austrian men-of-war were ready to
transport his forces to Europe. When the
military Gordon, consisting of 10000 Mexicans,
under Ortega and Diaz, had surrounded Quore-
taro in such q manner that escape became i'm
possible, Lopez became the Judas Iscariot Of
Mexican history. Without money, ammunition,
medicines, clothing, or rations, with eleven
hundred men sick in the hospitals, and private
residences suffering from malaria, the whole
force demoralized, drinking water sold in bot
ties at the rate of one dollar per bottlo, horse
flesh worth one dollar per pound when it was
felony to eat your own horse except when
killed by the enemy's bullets, and when 10
hope was left, ,-eapecting to be treated accord
ing to the law Of nations Maximihan surren-
dered.
Taken prisoners, soldiers and non commits
stoned officers were paroled and sent out of
the country; but every gentleman, for the
greater part descendants Of the proudest fami-
lies OF Austria and Belgium, were sentenced
according to rank to two, three, five, seven,
twelve and fifteen years. imprisonment, for
having cen found, arms in hand, invading the
"Republic Is o-called) of Mexico
DR.. Ravelle was in intimate professional rc-
lations with the family of the Emperor. Eight
hours before his execution Dr. Krauze, OF the
austrian Legion, DR.. Lavalliere, of the Chas-
seurs D'Afrique, and himself were called into
the presence of Maximian, requested to pre-
scribe in order to prevent relaxation OF his
nervous system, caused by diarrhea, and ad-
ministered an opiate dangerous under other
circumstances, but justified by the emergency
of the moment. He was led forth to the exc
cution sustained by this artificial excitement
and the result followed with which all are ia
miliar.
Dr. Ravelle made his escape from Acapulco,
after eight months Imprisonment, arrived in
New York five days ago. and is now making
his way to New Orleans, where his wife, who
also escaped when Carlotta left Mexico, resides.
Until Yesterday she was unaware OF his ox-
istence.
The career OF DR.. Ravele has evidently been
full OF romance and adventure, and from the
relations which he occupied to the Mexican
Empire during the brief reign of the Emperor
Maximilian-which until recently has been like
sealed book-he is better calculated than any
other gentleman who has arrived in this sec
ton of the country TO give to the public an i'll
teresting narrative in detail of the exciting
scenes through which he has passed.
Flo is a gentleman Of ability, fine address,
and with half the animation i'll lecture which
he exhibits in private conversation will lend a
charm to the occasion. We invoke for him
large attendance