by England and
Spain. After a bloody and fruitless struggle, backed by all the subtle
influence of the Roman Catholic Church, the French withdrew from the
country in utter disgrace, while the royal interloper, deceived,
deserted, and cheated by the weak, scheming mountebank on the French
throne, was condemned to death by a Mexican court martial, and with two
of his most notable and trusted generals was shot at Queretaro.
Ill-advised as was the attempt to establish an empire on American soil,
and although it resulted in such a bitter failure, involving the death
of its principal actors, and terrible waste of human life, it must be
admitted by every candid observer that Mexico made great material
advance during the brief period of Maximilian's bastard government. The
national capital was especially beautified, and it exhibits to-day the
advantages of many grand improvements instituted and completed by
Maximilian and "poor" Carlotta, his devoted wife, and daughter of
Leopold I., king of the Belgians. The Mexicans will long remember that
they owe their magnificent boulevard, the Paseo de la Reforma, to
Maximilian, and their charmingly arranged Plaza Mayor to the refined and
womanly taste of Carlotta.

At last it would seem as though the energies of this much distracted
country, so long the victim of the priesthood, professional brigandage,
and civil and foreign wars, have become diverted into channels of
productive industry, developing resources of wealth and stability which
have heretofore been unrecognized. A country facing upon two oceans, and
having seven or eight railroad lines intersecting it in various
directions, cannot remain _in statu quo_; it must take its place more or
less promptly in the grand line of nations, all of whom are moving
forward under the influence of the progressive ideas of the nineteenth
century. It is only since 1876 that Mexico has enjoyed anything like a
stable government; and as her constitution is modeled upon our own, let
us sincerely hope for the best results. General Porfirio Diaz, President
of the republic, is a man whose official and private life commands the
respect of the entire people. That his administration has given the
country a grand impetus, has largely restored its credit, and insured a
continuance of peace, seems to be an undisputed fact. His principal
purpose is plainly to modernize Mexico. The twelve years from 1876, when
he became president, until 1889, when his third te