On one occasion, the Empress having gracefully spoken to one of the daughters of America, that person, failing to catch what was said to her, with an anxious face and a peculiar jerk of the head forward, cried, "What say?" On another occasion, the Emperor, having identified one as the son of a man whom he had known when in the United States, asked, "Monsieur votre père, vit-il encore ?” "No, sire," was the astounding reply of the embarrassed individual, "pas encore !" Incidents like these were the cause of real misery to the General, but also of no little merriment afterward, both at the Legation and at Court, for the Empress was quite able to appreciate and enjoy them, her knowledge of English being thorough. On the other hand, the duty of presentation was sometimes a most agreeable one, as in the case of Mr. George Peabody. That honest and good gentleman went to the palace with no little anxiety, though re-assured by the General, and returned with him in his carriage lost in admiration of the graceful and beautiful woman who had greeted him so warmly, and who, while thanking him for his thoughtful care of the poor people in London, had smilingly reminded him that she also had poor in her own country who needed such a friend as he.

Paris was overflowing at that time with all types of the American, among whom were some who made their own way, rushing in successfully where timid men would never have ventured to tread. There was one of our countrymen, for instance, from some far-off State, who had been postmaster of a village or justice of the peace; his ambition was to visit the Corps Legislatif during its session, and to occupy a place reserved for very distinguished guests. The General declined to give him a letter for that purpose, and assured him that it was impossible to obtain such a favor. Undaunted, he went off and, without aid besides his own wits, attained the object of his ambition. It seems that he went boldly to the house and sent in his card to M. Jules Simon (whose name he pronounced "Jew-Simon"), bearing the title of, let us say, "Postmaster of Bowieville, State of Arkansas, United States,"

upon which he was instantly admitted, it being supposed that this was some very eminent personage whose distinction entitled him to sit with the magnates of every land. The Frenchman is no match for Yankee wit, as any one may see who will read M. Oscar Comettant's Trois Ans aux Etats Unis.

Among the events of importance which occurred during those two years were the visit of the sovereigns on occasion of the Exposition Universelle, and the judicial murder of the unhappy Maximilian, King of Mexico. It was, truly, a memorable year-annus mirabilis. The Emperor of Russia and the Czarewitch; the Emperor of Germany and Prince Bismarck; the King and Queen of the Belgians; the Prince of Wales; the Crown Prince of Prussia; the King of Greece; the Sultan; and the Viceroy of Egypt-all were guests at the Tuileries during that summer. They were received by the Emperor and Empress of the French with appropriate honors. Among the entertainments provided were military reviews. On one of those occasions forty thousand troops appeared on parade. The display of the products of art and industry at the buildings near the Champs Elysées was magnificent. Paris was delightfully excited over these auspicious transactions, which impressed the superficial observer as being the harbingers of a long term of peace and good-will on earth. But dark trouble lay underneath the surface; the bright exterior was like those smiling fields which the red-hot lava of eruptions is soon to bury beneath its molten stream.

On the morning of the last day of the Exposition a courier came clattering at full speed into the court-yard of the house in the Rue de Presbourg. He bore an autograph letter from the Empress to the American Minister; it was written in extreme agitation and distress; she wished to know if he had received any news from Mexico, for there were at the Tuileries rumors of "des bien tristes nouvelles" about Maximilian. My father was, fortunately, able to reply that he had heard nothing of it as yet. Some hours later the tidings

of the execution were received at the Legation. But the unhappy Eugénie, somewhat relieved, was able to nerve herself for the closing ceremonies of the day, in which she had to bear her part. Not until all was finished did she receive the intelligence of that fatal event which she dreaded, and of which she felt, no doubt, that the responsibility lay on her own head. The measure, as is well known, was disapproved by Napoleon III.; he yielded to the importunities of his wife; it was her favorite project; and she had to bear the misery of the failure, and its ghastly ending.

General Dix might have retained his position at the French Court had he desired to do so; it was the wish of the Emperor that he should remain. But he had already decided to return home, and requested the new administration to relieve him and appoint a successor. The Empress strongly urged him to stay, and wrote a letter asking if anything that she could say or do would induce him to reconsider his determination to return to America. On taking leave of the Emperor he received from him, as a parting gift, a superb pair of vases, from the Sèvres manufactory, which had been selected expressly for him. These beautiful works of art still form a part of the ornaments of the town house, and are represented in the accompanying engraving, showing the room in which they are kept, in the midst of many other valuable and curious things.

A complimentary banquet was given to the retiring Minister at the Grand Hotel on the 3d of June. Four hundred Americans at least were present; and it was remarked by one of the guests that the official retirement of General Dix was felt as a personal loss by every member of the American colony. On that occasion, in his farewell speech, he paid a tribute to the Empress which deserves to be held in immortal remembrance, as a parallel to that pronounced on Marie Antoinette by Edmund Burke, to which, indeed, he referred in the course of his remarks. Having alluded to the ancient bond of affinity between France and the United States, to the