ut up with a small force in Queretaro,
surrounded by an army of forty thousand Mexican avengers.

In those final days of his life and reign the hapless Austrian prince
exhibited a courage and nobility of character which showed that the blood
of Maria Theresa was not degenerate in his veins. He faced death with
more than reckless daring; he shared in all the privations of his
faithful adherents, and he was preparing to cut his way out through the
host of besiegers, at the head of his men, when treachery betrayed him to
the enemy.

Miguel Lopez was the Benedict Arnold of Queretaro; personal immunity and
two thousand gold ounces the price. Lopez held the key of Queretaro--the
convent of La Cruz. Maximilian had been his generous patron and friend,
and had appointed him chief of the imperial guard. Lopez discerned the
approaching downfall of his sovereign, and resolved to save himself by
delivering up that sovereign to the enemy. On the night of May 14, the
Liberal troops were admitted to La Cruz, and Queretaro was at the mercy
of the besiegers.

Maximilian made a last stand on the "Hill of the Bells." Successful
resistance was impossible. The bullet he prayed for did not come, and the
emperor and his officers were prisoners. In vain the Princess Salm-Salm,
representing one of the proudest families of Europe, bent her knees
before the Indian President of Mexico, and pleaded for the life of
Maximilian. "I am grieved, madam," said Juarez, "to see you thus on your
knees before me; but if all the kings and queens of Europe were in your
place, I could not spare that life. It is not I who take it. It is the
people and the law, and if I should not do their will, the people would
take it, and mine also."

"Boys, aim well--aim at my heart"--was Maximilian's request to his
executioners. "Oh man!" was his last cry as he fell, the victim of his
own ambition, and of Louis Napoleon's perfidy. The volley which pierced
his breast was the knell of the Bonaparte dynasty. Gravelotte was but
little more than three years from Queretaro.

* * *

The acquisition of Russian America for the sum of $7,200,000 was a
splendid stroke of statesmanship, and secured to the United States the
control of the North Pacific coast of the continent, besides adding about
581,107 square miles to the territory of the Republic. Alaska has immense
resources, and is already looking forward to a proud and prosperous
futur