TemiAation, 213 



ot honour as an officer and a gentleman, and swear by the 

 head of his wife and child not to divulge to anyone what I was 

 about to confide to him, even if he rejected my proposition. 

 He gave me his word of honour, and most solemnly swore, as 

 I desired, by the life of his wife and child, whom he loved be- 

 yond anything in this world. 



After that I told, him [ knew for certain that the Emperor 

 would be condemned to be shot, and that he would be shot if 

 he did not escape. I had arranged this escape through others, 

 and it would take place this very night if he would only con- 

 sent to turn his back and close his 'eyes for ten minutes. 

 Without this nothing could be done ; we were entirely in his 

 hands, and upon him now depended the life of the Emperor. 

 Urged by the necessity of the situation, I must speak plainly 

 to him. I knew he was a poor man. He had a wife and 

 child, and their future was uncertain. Now an opportunity was 

 offered to secure them a good competency. I ottered him here 

 a cheque of the Emperor's for one hundred thousand dollars in 

 gold, which would be paid by the Imperial family of Austria, 

 and five thousand dollars I should receive directly for 

 the soldiers. What I proposed to him was nothing against 

 his honour, as in accepting it he best served his country. The 

 death of the Emperor would bring all the world in arms against 

 it ; but if the Emperor escaped he would leave the country, 

 and no European Power would ever meddle with the arrange- 

 ment of their affairs. I spoke a good deal more, to which he 

 listened attentively, and I saw by the changes in his counten- 

 ance that he battled hard within himself. 



At last he spoke. He laid his hand on his heart, and pro- 

 tested that he felt indeed the greatest sympathy with Maximil- 

 ian ; that he really believed it to be best for Mexico to let him 

 escape ; but he could not decide about such an important step 

 in five minutes. If he did, he could not accept the cheque. 

 He took it, however, into his hand, and looked at it with 

 curiosity. The Indian, probably could not conceive the idea 

 that in such a little rag of paper, with some scrawls on it, should 

 be contained a life of plenty for his wife and child. A bag full 

 of gold would have been more persuasive. 



He handed me back the cheque, observing that he coiildnot 

 accept it now. He would reflect upon it in the night, and tell 

 me his decision next morning. I showed him the signet ring 



