17G Ten Years of my Life. 



tepee. The whole road was filled with Liberal officers and 

 soldiers, who knew me, however, as they had seen me at Mr. 

 Hube's, who belonged to the Liberal party. They therefore 

 greeted me, and let me pass unmolested. 



When I arrived at Chapultepec, I asked for the command- 

 ing officer, a Colonel Leon, who had been two years in the United 

 States service, and spoke English tolerably well. When he was 

 brought from a restaurant, where he took his breakfast, he re- 

 ceived me with extreme politeness. I told him that I was in 

 great anxiety about my husband and the Emperor, and that I 

 longed very much to do something to save them. For this 

 purpose I wanted to go to Mexico, to speak to the com- 

 manders of the foreign troops, to ascertain whether they would 

 surrender if General Porfirio Diaz would engage himself to 

 secure life and liberty to the Emperor and his officers if they 

 should fall into the hands of the Liberals. 



The Colonel told me that Queretaro could not hold out 

 much longer. The city was very closely besieged, and the 

 garrison already starving. 



He would permit me to pass through his outposts, and I 

 promised to return as soon as I had the opinion of the foreign 

 colonels. He gave me his arm, and went with me about 

 ' three-quarters of a league to the outposts, Margarita and 

 Jimmy following. In order that our men might not think that 

 I was stealing into the city, I went right across the open fields to- 

 wards the garita which was defended by a battery. The offi- 

 cers commanding these recognized me, and I had no difficul- 

 ties. The soldiers very politely laid boards across the ditch, 

 and helped me over the rampart of the battery. 

 ' I went directly to the house of the Prussian minister, Baron 

 von Magnus, whom I found at home. He received me with a 

 little formality and coldness, for he had, I do not know for 

 what reasons, a prejudice against Hube, and was not at all 

 • pleased that I had taken up my residence with that family. 

 Taking, however, not much notice of his diplomatic stiffiiess, I 

 told him why I had come to Mexico, and that I wanted to see 

 Colonel Kodolitsch and Count Khevenhiiller, of whom Colonel 

 Leon had spoken in the highest terms, because they fought so 

 bravely at San Lorenzo, and promised, on his word of honour, 

 that if they would come out for a conversation, he would let 

 them return to the city, whatever might be the result. 



