The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-12-11
A COURIER'S. STORY.

Shall whip the tune from the violin,
And the merry pulse of the ss fefs fssR r. Hayror.
A COURIER'S. STORY.
My name is Carl Johann Roeckel.
By birth and nationality am Swiss
but cosmopolitan in every taste and
habit. In my early days I regularly
followed the profession of q courier, as
do now occasionally when any ofmy old
patrons or their friends require such
services, which is rather infrequeRt, the
taste of the travelling public having de-
generated into hasty journey by express
trains, with the consequent loss of all
enjoyment of the different phases of
scenery through which the travellers
are passing. In the course of nv many
years experience have been witness
to many strange occurrences, have as
sisted in many a secret and adventur-
GUS undertaking, and have been sub
ject to many perils. From among such
varied experiences give the following
strange story, suppressing for obvious
reasons the real names of those inter-
ested.
Many years ago l was engaged as
courier to His Excellency the Honorable
Frederick Eslington, Ambassador-ex-
traordinary of his Britannia Majesty
King George, on a special secret mis-
sion to one of the great Continental
powers. Having finished his duties
and successfully attained the object of
his mission, we started on our home
ward journey in the summer of 49,.
The period was one to be long remem-
bered, from the political excitement
which existed throughout all Europe,
almost every government having un-
sheathed the sword. We had travelled a
considerable part of the first-stage of
our return journey when His Excellency
who was feeling the fatigues of the in
cessant travelling in the heavy, rum
bling carriage, said he would stop at
the next town we arrived at, and take
rest and refreshment, both of which he
was much in need of, besides having i'm
portant state documents to transcribe.
In due course we arrived at the small
town of s., on the confines of Ger
many, where we put up. We staid
day and a half there; and 1 was then
instructed to have the carriage and
horses in readiness to continue our
journey. His Excellency meanwhile
had completed his writings, to which
he had assiduously applied himself;
and told me, as it was q fine afternoon
he would take short walk, and on his
return resume his journey at once, and
l must therefore make all necessary
preparations. He accordingly left the
hotel. But he was never seen afterward,
nor was anything known of his fate.
waited for upward of an hour anx-
iously, and then made a close search
for him, which continued for several
days, but not q trace could discover
Of my master. A villager, however,
living outside the town, brought to me
at the hotel pair of overhalls, which
he stated he had found in q neighbor-
ing copse. recognized the garment
as belonging to His Excellency, and at
once repaired with the villager to the
copse, and closely examined the spot.
but found no trace or sign of any strug-
gle.
Finding it useless to prosecute the
search, at once returned to London
with His Excellency's travelling gear,
which / handed to his family. The
British Government at once instituted
inquiries, as also did His Excellency's
family, and large rewards were offered
by both, and advertisements widely
disseminated for any Information re-
specting the missing Ambassador; but
they failed one and all to gain any in
formation of or the slightest clew to his
fate. A certain amount of suspicion
attached to me, but it it was only mo-
mentary, and at once cleared myself
of it, and assisted the distracted wife
and her missing husbands family as
much as lay in my power. Well re-
member the agonies of anxiety and sus- |
pense caused to the Ambassador wife |
and family by the distressing calamity. |
Magisterial investigation was made, |
experts were employed, and every en- |
deavor made to penetrate the dark veil |
OF mystery surrounding the event; but
all efforts were unsuccessful. One of
His Majesty's Ambassadors had COM
pletely and mysteriously disappeared,
without leaving a clew to light up the |
awful obscurity which enveloped the
tragic occurrence.
Several years had elapsed since the |
distressing event, and the memory, the |
painful memory of it was beginning to |
fade from my mind when happened |
to be in Antwerp on q short tour |
through Belgium with patrons. And |
while lisllessly strolling by myself on
the quay one summers 8 evening, watch. |
ing the passengers disembarking from |
the newly-arrived steamer, was ac-
costed by a mean, haggard-lookingl little
man of beggarly appearance. who spoke
to me in Flemish.
care you not Herr Roeckel the cou-
rier?" said he. /
YES" replied /. "What do you
want with meP Who are you?"
suppose you have quite forgotten
mer" said he.
stared at him keenly. The mans
features were somewhat familiar to |
me, yet was confused in my remem-
brance of how and where / had seen
him. 81 do not know yeu," said 1.
"Yes. you do, and very well," re-
piled he. "My name is Ludwig Kuhl.
and have frequently driven you the
first stage out of Vienna L did SO
when you were courier to His Excel
lency the Honorable Eslington, in the !
summer of the year 1S-."
(The courier is remembered even
when the patron is forgotten, for it is
to us that landlords and their servants
look for their gratuities.)
stared at him, and then recognized
the haggard looks. "True," said i;
II remember you now well. How goes
1t with your What do you here in
Antwerps The old trade, ehp"