200 



CHAPTER XIV 



My husband's plans for escape — I do not believe in them — T offer to go to 

 Mexico to fetch Baron Magnus, lawyers, and money — Delays — How 

 I managed Escobedo — A telegram makes my journey superfluous — 

 Consul Bahnsen again in a fright — ^Judge Hall — Arrival of the For- 

 eign Ministers in Queretaro — Impression made by it — Baron Magnus 

 — Money no object — The Austrian and Belgian Ministers — Mr. 

 Curtopassi — My plan to save the Emperor — Money wanted — Baron 

 Magnus gone to St. Tuis — Colonel Villaneuva — Colonel Palacios — 

 How I tempt him — Two bills for one hundred thousand dollars each, 

 but no cash — Baron Lago in deadly fear for his neck — His cow- 

 ardice. 



The respite had been obtained, but now came the question 

 how to make use of it. The first time when I saw the Emperor 

 I had urged on him the necessity of sending for Earon 

 Magnus and some lawyers from Mexico, but he said he would 

 not have them, as it was of no use. He would not telegraph 

 for them even now, but had in his head a plan for escape 

 which had been arranged by my husband, who was very san- 

 guine about it, and the escape was to take place as soon as 

 the bribed officers should mount the guard. 



Now I had not any confidence in the success of this plan 

 from the commencement, though I assisted in it as much as I 

 could. The plan was very excellent, but 1 put no trust in the 

 men whom my husband employed. Two of them had de- 

 serted from the French army. They were inferior officers, who 

 seemed not to have either the power or the pluck to carry out 

 what they promised, but gave me the impression that they 

 wanted only to extort money. I therefore had opposed the 

 plan from the beginning, and insisted that the Emperor should 

 address himself to a far higher authority. 



Not trusting, as I have already said, in the success of the 



