Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-19
GOSSIP FROM BOOKLAND.

ssMaximilian stepped forward and gave | gold piece to each soldier, saying: Boys, | aim we'll; aim at my heart,' and to the officer who prayed his forgiveness: 'Cour- age, my son, no forgiveness is necessary; you must obey your orders.' "Returning he exchanged places with Miramon, and said: General, sovereigns always admire the brave, and on the point of death wish to give you the place Of honor;' and to Mejia, General, he who has not been rewarded on earth will certainly be in heaven.'
 .tThe final moment had come and each man stood quietly with uncovered eyes to meet his fate. An instant's silence, the ringing orders, the sharp report of the rifles, and his faithful companions sealed their devotion to Maximilian with their lives; and he with the sorrowful cry, sOh, manl' yielded up his own to Napo,, leon's greed of conquest aud power and the dazzling visions of imperial dignity and renoWn.'
 Possibly no more dramatic story was ever invented by man than the actual historical facts relating the attempt made by Napo- leon III to establish an empire in Mexico under Maximilian.
 .I have carved you an empire out of block of silver,'' said Napoleon to Maxi milan in 1862. .'You have placed me be- tween dishonor and death, and my choice is made,'' said Maximilian to Bazaine in 1868.
 The three years of the empire with it's great dramatic incidents is told by MT. John M. Taylor, under the title 'Maxi- milan and Carlotta. " Scarcely could fiction conceive incidents more fascinating or lively than these pages. Not little of the dignity aud trur nobleness of the character of Maximilian( is gleaned from his ad- dresses to the Nexicans; in fact much of the book is composed Of letters and docu- ments, thougv they are connected in a Although the history of this period is more or less familiar to us all, from these pages we gain a true conception of the character of Maximilian, great in many things, weak in principle, vacillating in mind, and while surely led by ambition yet with the moral courage to face the consequences of his ambition even though he had shown the magnanimous spirit which impeled him to submit to the wishes of his countrymen, and although bis sense of honor and what was just, de. cided him to remain at the head of his friends, although he wished so strongly to be with his wife, he did no more than many of his staunch and true followers did-paid the penalty of the empire with their lives. Quite pathetic and beautiful part of the work is devoted to the delinea- tion of the character of Garlotta. the girl tiful and graceful, with gentleness that won all who met her, and of courtly and gracious manr CTS. She spoke and wrote with equal fuency French, German, English, all the duties and reinements of court etiquette.
 She was noted for her acts of charity, and devoted, both in her private and public life, to the happiness and welfare of the people. No woman of royal lineage and history in our time save one-Eugeuie-- has met so sad fate' and yet, filled with ambition as she was, longing to wear crown, her thoughts turned first to her husband, and she would make any sacrifice for him. Pathetic indeed is her appeal to Napoleon, her brother in Jaw, the emperor of Austria, and finally with the pope, and as the dark suspicion of failure crossed the ambitious and devoted soul, the beautiful texture of her mind gave way and she was taken and tenderly cared for in their home, the castle isMijamar,' around which gathered so many loving, tender remem- brances, and the sad news was waited to the Emperor Maximilian at the time of his sorest need. It is interesting and instruct i've to note the diplomatic influence brought to bear upon the French emperor by the United States, at time, too, when all her thoughts were concentrated on the trouble and disruption at home. There were no threats, no buster; in fact, hardly any thing that could be called tangible that decided our position, and yet the Monroe doctrine was quietly asserted. And after the war at home was ended, Mir. Stewards letter to our minister to France in 1865 contained the following sentence: "On the contrary, where nation has established institutions republican and domestic, similar to our own the United States assert in their be- half that no foreign nation can rightfully intervene by force to snbvert republican Institutions and establish those of an an tagonisticaI character, and the hour came when Louis Napoleon was forced to with draw his troops from Mexico and write s'Failure'' across what he himself had named "The brightest page in the history of my reign.D
 ''* With Sherman at Vera Cruz and Sheridan and his army on the Rio Grande brought to bear the pressure our authorities resolved to evince without the necessity oi actual interference by force of arms. American diplomacy, read in the light of the history of our army and navy at the close of the civil war, commanded profound respect, even in the mind of as