WITH MAXIMILIAN IN MEXICO 191 



made Virginia what she is desert her at this critical 

 moment, it would be like children leaving their mother 

 in distress. There is no virtue without sacrifice, and, 

 if the Virginians possess the virtue of patriotism, they 

 ought to bring her now the sacrifice of pride. Don't 

 emigrate! Stand by your country with stern courage; 

 learn the patience to bear without shame and with all 

 the dignity of self-command. ... I don't think you 

 can now return to Virginia; but in three or four years 

 great changes will take place in opinions, and you nor 

 your family won't find a country which would be able 

 to give you anything like her sympathy, or to take 

 Virginia out of your hearts and souls. You ought to go 

 back to your dear state as soon as you can do so safely ; 

 and if you had followed my advice you would never have 

 left England, but would have asked Madame Maury 

 to join you there. After a long journey and great 

 inconveniences, perhaps suffering in your health and 

 mind, you'll come back without gaining anything but a 

 sad experience". A month later the same friend wrote, 

 "As long as Max. tries to make what is called a civilized 

 government, his position is unstable and I should not like 

 you to stay there, how sweet and pleasant it may be in 

 the shade of an Emperor's crown. But if he starts on 

 an Eastern policy and succeeds, you may run the chance 

 as his prime minister to become a prince of the empire, 

 or to be hung or shot or something worse". 



General Lee also advised Maury against his Mexican 

 scheme. "We have certainly not", he declared, "found 

 our form of government all that was anticipated by its 

 original founders; but this may be partly our fault in 

 expecting too much, and partly due to the absence of 

 virtue in the people. As long as virtue was dominant in 



