The age-herald., 1898-06-23
VIVA. H. SEWARD'S
 COSTLY DISPATCH
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
 It was during our own serious troubles in the early eos that France and Austria undertook to plant an empire on this con tinent in the neighboring state of Mexico. Although warned off by our state depart ment, American diplomatic methods seem never to inspire any particular amount of awe in European foreign offices. In this case they were simply ignored, and the two allied powers continued their work of set ting up an emperor in the land of Monte zuma. However, with the ending of our war and the readjustment of our own in ternal affairs attention was again directed to what was going on in Mexico against the avowed wishes and policy of the Ameri- can government
 At that point Napoleon and Eugenie were dazzling the world with the splen- dors of the court of the second empire. A great number of our own people rom all sections of the country were residing in Paris, to which city was jokingly said, 'all good Americans wanted to go after death." Americans were in evidence at all the brilliant fetes of the empire. The ele- gance of their residence, the lavish eXpendl- ture of money and the brilliancy and fas- cination of the women from this side or the Atlantic made our country people 1mpor- tant social factors. The American colony in Paris as an organization dates from this period.
 At the height of this happy state of af- fairs Secretary Stewards dispatch notify ing the imperial government that Mexico must be evacuated came like the proverblai thunderclap out of a cloudless sky. That dispatch yet holds a place in Frances of Raia pa XU1 infancy, and communication through it was very costly. Secretary Seward did not economize his words, but talked as fuently and went into as many details as though he were seated at a table opposite the French minister of foreign affairs.
 The dispatch cost $l5,000. If Napoleon III had been sceptcal before as to the in- tention of the United States, Stewards cool ness in holding a conversation at such a price convinced the emperor and his min isters that the American government would stand by what the secretary said, and France came to the conclusion to let Maxi milan Ego it alone as emperor of Mexico.
 The withdrawal of the French troops was ordered, and this led directly to Maxi mllian's tragic death at Queretaro in June, 1867. The emperor did not pretend to dis guise his chagr.n at the failure to establish a monarchical government in America. On
 
 ian a number of American gentlemen in Paris made all arrangements to celebrate the national festival by a grand dinner But the banquet was never given. the em- peror formally and arbitrarily forbidding It.
 Up to this time the Americans who spent immense sums of money in Paris were warmly received at the Tulleries, and in fact encouraged to come for nothing more contributed to the stability of the empire than keeping the shopkeepers of Paris in good humor and plenty of American gold circulating throughout France. Under such conditions the emperor was at liberty to run the country as he pleased
 As Secretary Stewards costly dispatch had its results-not only in the withdrawal of French troops from Mexico, but in the diminution of Louis Napoleon's prestige the glor,es of the American colony at the imperial court began to wane. Since then only on extraordinary occasions does 1t ex hibit any of its old-time, empire period briliancy: Under the new dispensation of republican government it is a matter of such difficulty for an American to get invitation to the Elysee as to be hardly worth the trouble incurred.