St. Landry democrat., 1881-09-10
THE MYSTERIOUS COACHMAN.

THE MYSTERIOUS COACHMAN.
NY children, I will relate to you a
story, which was related to me as L am
about to tell it to you, and it happened
just as it was told ME. 1t is not an in
vention designed to show you how
fault is often sufficient to lose mans
life; it is an actual fact, in the recital
of which we will not give the real
names. because they would expose the
secrets of family holding an illustrious
rank in one of the principal States OF
Germany.
Mar-hal c. Che was then only a
GeneraD found himself in need of a
coachman. He made his wants known
to woman of Saint Dominique who
kept a furnished hotel, and rented at
the same time livery carriages. At
first, this woman declared that she was
unable to procure one for whom she
could answer; almost all of those who
took care OF her coaches were hired by
the day, and did not live with her.
There was only one, who was sort of
overseer of the others, who would suit
the General, and it was on account of
his good qualities that the woman de-
sired to retain him herself. The Cen
eral insisted SO much the more On hay
ing him. At last. the mistress of the
furnished hotel yielded him up to the
employ of the General.
When this man entered the service of
the General, nothing extraordinary was
noticed in him. except in extreme po-
lltene>s, an attentive care never to en-
fI,n Of hn ofh
servants, and rare promptness in the
accomplishment of his duties which rem
dered M precious to his master BY
an exception very rare. this preference
of the master for his coachman did not
excite the envy of the other servants.
There was such a continued sadness
about this man that no one could think
that it was through pride that he kept
aloof from his comrades. At the gen
eral dinner hour he seated himself 81
lently at the table, ate soberly, and re-
tired to his stable Immediately after the
meal. In the chateau of the General,
at the time when the service of the
horses gave Muller great deal of leis-
ure, he was not accustomed to go to the
cabaret, nor to play as did the others;
he seated himself under some tree in
the park and spent all his time in read
ing. At the time these singularities,
which were remembered later, caused
but little surprise; they contented them
selves by saying that Muller was bear
and permitted him to follow his taste
without concerning themselves further
about him.
Almost two years passed in this way;
Muller followed the General wherever
the duties of war called him. This was
in the neighborhood OF 1907.
Muller had accompanied the General
to Ragusa in Dalmatia, of which the
Emperor had made him Governor, and
it was in this village that the little ad-
venture happened which / am about to
relate.
One day, when the Governor General
had invited to his table large party of
the officers of his staff and the principal
officers of corps of the Austrian army
which was stationed in the vicinity, it
happened that he was obliged to press
into the service of the table all the
servants OF his household, and Muller
found that he was included in this
acquisitions; at the hour of dinner he
was in the dining hall, napkin over
his arm. The great number of guests
present no doubt prevented Muller
from noticing any one in particular, be-
cause the dinner was over before any
trouble occurred, but at the commence
ment of the second service, as he was
in the act of placing dish on the table.
one of the foreign general officers
turned himself little, to give more
room to Muller, and uttered cry of
surprise as he recognized him. Muller
in his turn. looked at the general Off
Ger, turned pale as he did. was right
ened as be was. In his surprise, he
dropped the dish which he held in his
hand, and left the dining hall in a con-
fusion which struck all the guests with
;astonishment.
All this happened so quickly that no
one could explain whether it was the
surprise which caused the accident or
the accident which had caused the sur
prise, and the dinner continued with
out Muller's reappearng. But the
General had too well remarked that the
Austrian officer and the coachman rec
ognized each other; he also noticed
that their establishment could not be
that OF master who simply recognized
again an old servant, or that of serv-
ant who found again an old master. A
sin. .ular emotion, pro ound terror was
shown in the faces OF these two men,
when they found themselves face to
face, and the preoccupation of the
Austrian General during the remainder
of the dinner did not escape the atten-
+;,n ~ tho Ganeral If war had axistad
at that time between France and Aus