The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-11-28

| tge as well among the monarchs of Eu.
rope for political skill and sagacity. 1t
was then that the proposition was made
that Macmillan, Archduke of Austria,
should be made Emperor of Mexico,
with a foreign protectorate. 1t was
hoped that by this step, which would be
In the interest of the Church party, that
the favor of Rome would be gained,
while by the elevation of one of the
royal house of Austria to an imperial
throne the favor of the great house of
Hagsburg would be gained. At the
same time it was hoped that a check
would be put to the growing democracy
Of the new world. The United States
was involved in the civil war and could
not interfere. Macmillan accepted the
offer. He was hopelessly in debt, and
it was offered that his debts should be
paid. The ambition of his wife, the
Archduchess Carlotta, also had its in
fuence, and on the 18th of April, 1864,
he convoked the Convention which
made him Emperor of Mexico, and Sc
cured to him Il, 000, 900 francs. At that
time he was 80 years old, and his wife
"a. They started for their new en-
pire, passing through Rome, where
they received the blessing of the
venerable Pope. On the 29th
of May, 1864, they arrived at Vera
Cruz, and went at once to the City of
Mexico. Their reception was a disap-
pointment. Instead of the enthusiasm
they had been led to expect, they were
coldly received, and found people not
at all willing to submit to their authori-
ty. They were supported by an army
of 10000 men, commanded by Mar
shall of France, but there were Is Mexi-
can States that were in open rebellion,
and their number might be increased
any day. The Archduke soon found
that he could not afford to neglect any
thing which would in any way increase
his popularity. At about this time,
when L was holding the position of rep
resentative of the United States Govern.
ment at the Court of the French En-
peror, received a note from Mr.. Sew
ard, asking me to do what 1 could, in
an unofficial way, to further the cause of
the Princess Donna Alicia de Iturbide,
who would call upon me. The lady in
question followed the note very shortly,
and | found her a woman about 40 years
old, and a native of the United States
She was the wife of one. of the sons of
the Emperor Don Augustine Iturbide,
who had been shot by his countrymen
years before. The lady told me her
story, which was substantially as fol-
lows; The Iturbide family had been
residents of the City of Mexi-
co, and her young son, as
heir of the family, enjoyed
a considerable popularity among the
people. Macmillan had conceived the
idea of diverting thatpopularity to HIM
self by adopting the infant son and en-
tering into an agreement that when he
Gied the scepter of Mexico should pass
to the grandson Of the Iturbide, the son
of Donna Alicia. His own wife, Car
lotta, had borne no children, and by
this arrangement the crown would pass
to a Mexican. On the other hand. the
arrears ofEensions due,the Iturbide fam
lily were to be paid, and they were to
quit Mexico not to return, except with
the consent of the Emperor. Donna
Alicia said that, dazzled by the brilliant
thus opened before their view,
she had consented to surrender the boy
to Macmillan and Carlotta. In this
connection the lecturer read the con-
tract that was drawn between the Itur-
bide family and the ministers of Maxi
milan. The money, amounting to
$50, 600 in cash and the remainder, over
s 100000, in drafts, was paid to the
Iturbide family, and they started for
Vera Cruz, with the intention of leaving
Mexico.
But here the love and affection of the
mother asserted itself, and she returned
to Mexico almost as soon as Vera Cruz
was reached-t travelling under her maid
en- name of Alice Greene. Upon reach
ing the capital, she addressed herself to
Marshal Bazine, in command of the for
eign contingent, and secured his good
offices with Macmillan and Carlotta, to
allow her to remain in the country near
her child. She also addressed an earn
est and appealing note to their Males
ties, urging the same request, but, I'M
der the pretense that she was going to
the palace to talk over the matter with
them, Donna Alicia was decoyed into a
carriage, and, without a moments
taken to Vera Cruz, whence
the family were obliged to leave by the
next steamer. Donna Alicia then went
to Washington and saw Mr. Seward,
and then to Paris, where she sought,
through Mr.. Bigelow, the Intervention
of the French Government, but without
avail. Mr. Bigelow did al that coald
be done in an unofficial way, but with
out success. The French Government
declined to interfere. Meanwhile
troubles thickened, and
his position became every day more pre-
carious. Juarez, the Mexican, had an
army of 10000 men scattered through
the insurgent States, and the
of the country steadily in
creased. Macmillan determined to
send his wife, Carlotta, to Europe in
search of aid. In Paris, Donna Alicia
had an interview with Carlotta, in which
she begged that her child might be re-
stored to her; but she was coldly re-
ceived, and met with but little encour-
agement. Nor was Carlotta's success
in searching for help any better. The
French Emperor had enough on his
hands at home, and she went to Rome.
Here the Pope received her very coldly
and would do nothing. Worn out and
exhausted with nervous excitement and
disappointment, her reason gave way,
and the poor Empress of Mexico became
a raving maniac. The lecturer then
rapidly sketched the fall of Macmillan
until his capture by the Mexicans
through the treachery of one of his Gen.
erals. The European Powers sought to
save his life, and invoked the aid of the
United States, but the effort was useless.
He was brought to trial and shot on the
10Th of June. He and his wife did not
fear breaking mothers heart, and
their own hearts were broken.