Events in Mexico after the Departure of the Empress
Two persons have already been mentioned who played an important part in
the events of this history, Herzfeld, the Minister of State, and Father
Fischer. Herzfeld was a German and devoted to the Emperor. Unfortunately
Maximilian sent him back to Europe soon after this, thereby depriving
himself of a valuable friend and adviser in his days of misfortune.
Father Fischer was born in Würtemberg, of Protestant parents, and seems
to have had rather an adventurous career. He came to America with a band
of emigrants who settled in Texas, and went from there to California as
a gold miner. Becoming a convert to Catholicism, he entered the Jesuit
order, from which he was subsequently dismissed, for good and sufficient
reasons, no doubt. The description of this man given by the Emperor’s
physician is far from flattering, but it is manifestly unjust to lay his
faults at the door of the much-abused order of Jesuits. A whole society
cannot be held responsible for the deeds or misdeeds of a single member,
still less when that member has ceased to be one. At all events Father
Fischer belonged to the Emperor’s closest circle of friends, another
member of which was Professor Bilimek, whose acquaintance we shall make
in the next chapter. This man was a scholar, absorbed in the study of
the flowers and butterflies of Mexico and troubling himself little with
political affairs.
After the departure of the Empress matters went rapidly from bad to
worse. In the north the followers of Juarez had inflicted a series of
defeats on the imperial troops and were steadily gaining ground, while
in the capital the outlook was far from encouraging. Maximilian had
replaced two of his Mexican ministers with Frenchmen, Generals Osmont
and Friant, but their attempts to remedy the situation were frustrated
by the pride and jealousy of the Mexicans who bitterly resented the
appointment of foreigners to these high positions. The United States,
moreover, took exceptions to these appointments as a violation of French
neutrality and made a formal complaint to Napoleon, whereupon the
following announcement appeared in the _Monitor_:
“On the twenty-sixth of July His Majesty, the Emperor of Mexico, issued
a decree entrusting the portfolio of war to General Osmont, Chief of
Staff of the Expedition Corps, and that of finance to Friant,
intendant-general of the army. As, however, the military duties of these
gentlemen, both holding important posts in an army still in the field,
are irreconcilable with the responsibilities of their new positions,
they have received no authorization to accept these appointments.”
This plainly shows France’s fear of the United States and her
indifference to her engagements with Maximilian. A new ministry,
therefore, had to be formed, in the selection of which Father Fischer’s
influence is said to have been largely responsible.
As the prospects for a restoration of the Republic grew brighter, Juarez
did not remain the only candidate for the presidential chair, a certain
Ortega and the former ex-President Santa Anna also appearing as
aspirants to the honor. The position of the imperial forces on the
border soon became so unsafe that Maximilian was forced to abandon those
districts to the revolutionists and withdraw his troops more into the
interior. Even his attempt to keep the way to the coast open was not
successful, for the city of Xalapa, on the road to Vera Cruz, was
besieged and captured by the rebels, thus cutting off communication
between the capital and the coast, while many of the native soldiers
deserted and went over to the enemy with their leaders. Even among the
revolutionists, however, there were dissensions, the greater part of
them supporting Juarez, others Ortega or Santa Anna. On one point only
were they united, the downfall of the Empire and restoration of the
Republic.
Another incident occurred at this time which was well calculated to make
Maximilian, already suffering from an intermittent fever, caused by the
climate, still more averse to remaining in Mexico. This was a conspiracy
against his life, discovered by one of the town prefects. The plot,
hatched by some of Santa Anna’s guerilla followers, was to include the
murder of the prefect himself by his secretary, a man from the lower
classes whom he had befriended, to be followed by that of several other
prominent personages. A closer investigation revealed that the Emperor’s
life also had been aimed at.
Such were the people by whom Maximilian was surrounded, and such the
treachery which he had constantly to deal with in his adopted country.
On the afternoon of the day on which the two fatal despatches arrived in
Mexico Maximilian was taking his usual stroll on the flat roof of the
palace with his physician, when he suddenly announced his intention of
abandoning the country where he had met with such ingratitude, and asked
his friend’s advice as to the matter.
“I do not see how it will be possible for Your Majesty to remain here,”
replied the doctor frankly.
“Will it be attributed to the Empress’ illness if I should leave?” he
then inquired.
“That certainly is reason enough,” returned the other. “Besides, Europe
must recognize that Your Majesty is no longer bound to remain in Mexico
after France’s violation of her contracts.”
“What do you suppose Herzfeld and Fischer will think of it?” continued
Maximilian, after a pause.
“I am sure that Herzfeld will share my views,” declared the physician.
“As to Father Fischer, to tell the truth, I have not much confidence in
his opinions.”
They then discussed the advisability of leaving at once or whether it
would be better to wait for a time, but as there seemed no good reason
at present for a sudden departure, Dr. Basch advised deferring it for a
week in order that suitable preparations might be made.
That evening Maximilian summoned his Minister of State and Professor
Bilimek, director of the museum, and laid the matter before them. To
both, the Emperor’s safety was of far more concern than the fate of a
half-civilized country whose indifference had caused the downfall of all
his hopes and schemes. The recent plot against the Emperor’s life also
may well have been an argument in favor of the plan. At all events they
heartily coincided with it and Herzfeld urged preparations for departure
with such energy that in three days’ time it was possible to leave
Chapultepec, a summer palace near the city of Mexico, which Maximilian
had had newly restored and fitted up at great cost and where he was
staying at this time.
The rumor of the Emperor’s proposed departure caused general
consternation. The new ministry was stunned and tried every means to
dissuade him from this step. But Maximilian remained deaf to all
arguments and, lest his resolution should be weakened, Dr. Basch had
orders to permit no one to enter the royal apartments. All who came were
dismissed with the information that His Majesty was ill and could
receive no visitors. Even the Princess Iturbide, aunt of little Prince
Iturbide, a descendant of August the First, the first Emperor of Mexico,
whom Maximilian, having no children of his own, had named as Crown
Prince, was unable to gain access to him. The physician admits he had
rather a violent scene with the high-spirited Princess. She would take
no denial and ended by roundly abusing those friends of the Emperor’s
who had persuaded him to leave Mexico.
As a last resort the ministry threatened to resign in a body if the plan
were persisted in, but even this was of no avail. Maximilian quietly
declared that if these gentlemen resigned their offices he would leave
the country at once, and he would certainly have kept his word. It is
greatly to be regretted, therefore, that they did not do so and thus
spare Mexico the everlasting stain of treachery and murder. Finding it
the only means of at least deferring the Emperor’s abdication, however,
they remained at their posts and sent a message to him agreeing to carry
on the business of government during his absence in accordance with his
wishes.
Maximilian had already received a letter from Bazaine approving the plan
of changing his residence to Orizaba, which was only a day’s journey
from the seaport of Vera Cruz, and promising to maintain law and order
in the capital. The Emperor’s abdication would suit his own plans very
well, by bringing him a step nearer to the realization of his secret
ambitions.
Thanks to Herzfeld’s energy and activity, all was ready at the appointed
time, and at four o’clock on the morning of the twenty-first of October,
the Emperor, escorted by a troop of three hundred hussars under the
command of Colonel Kodolitsch, set out from Chapultepec, little thinking
ever to see that place again. Councillor Herzfeld remained in the
capital to arrange some business matters, expecting to join the Emperor
later on.
The journey to Orizaba must not be passed over in silence, as it was
marked by the occurrence of an important event. On the afternoon of the
first day, the imperial party reached the Hacienda Socyapan, where they
were to spend the night. The Emperor seemed abstracted, and walked up
and down before the _hacienda_ in silence with his physician and
Professor Bilimek. At length he broke out suddenly:
“I cannot have any more bloodshed in this unhappy country on my account.
What am I to do?”
The professor advised him to abdicate and sail for Europe at once, but
Dr. Basch opposed this, representing that an unnecessarily sudden
departure would only precipitate matters and bring about exactly what
the Emperor wished to avoid, namely, more bloodshed in Mexico. At the
same time he urged a revocation of the decree of the third of October,
1865, a suggestion which Maximilian cordially approved, and in regard to
which he expressed himself in strong terms on this occasion.
Father Fischer and Colonel Kodolitsch, who were also in the Emperor’s
confidence, added their influence to the doctor’s, urging that a
_hacienda_ was not a suitable place from which to abdicate a throne, as
Maximilian himself was forced to acknowledge. He contented himself,
therefore, with issuing two orders. Father Fischer was to write personal
letters at once to Bazaine and to Minister Lares, ordering the repeal of
the law of the third of October and the cessation of all hostilities
until further notice. These two important despatches were entrusted to
Count Lamotte, an officer in the Austrian Hussars, to carry back to the
city of Mexico, and on the following morning the Emperor left the
_hacienda_ apparently much relieved. At noon of the second day, while
resting at Rio-Frio, he sent the following telegram to Captain Pierron:
“You, with Messieurs Pino, Trouchot, and Mangino, are hereby appointed a
commission which, under your direction and with the assistance of some
trustworthy official from the ministry of finance, will examine the
Civil List accounts, mine as well as that of the Empress, to prove
whether we owe the State or the State us. I desire from the commission a
detailed and authenticated statement in regard to this, in which shall
be included the sum taken by the Empress for her voyage to Europe, and
that received by my secretary on the Civil List account, together with
those employed by Minister Arroyo after the reduction of the Civil List,
in works on the palace and at Chapultepec.”
Herzfeld was also commissioned to issue, in the name of the Emperor, the
necessary written orders to the prefect and treasurer at Miramar.
“The Emperor wishes the utmost publicity to be given these matters,” so
Herzfeld was notified, “and holds you responsible therefor on your honor
and your friendship. Amid the political shipwreck he desires to keep his
name and honor untarnished and would rather suffer personal loss than
touch any part of the property of the Mexican nation.”
At the stations of Actzingo and Canada, Maximilian spent the night in
the house of the priests, a fact which furnished his enemies an
opportunity for accusing him of too close affiliation with the clergy.
His arrival was everywhere hailed with rejoicings, and he was
overwhelmed with expressions of sympathy for the illness of the Empress.
On the twenty-seventh of October the imperial party reached the city of
Orizaba, which they entered at five o’clock in the afternoon, greeted
with booming of cannon and the enthusiastic acclamations of the
populace.