The sun., 1916-01-09

there ascertained that the sleigh had
stopped for "a few seconds. the owner
explaining that he had met with a
slight accident and had transferred his
companion TO an overtaking vehic.e.
The dispatches were never re-
covered. But the British Government
before long was able TO deduce from
the attitude OF the authorities at Ber-
lin that the missing dispatches had
reached the palace there in Wilhelm
strasse.
Ctiriously enough. there have thus
far been in modern times only two In
stances OF actual fatalities to Kings
messengers Thus when the Berlin
was wrecked on the Hook of Holland
in a blizzard some winters ago, "a ST.
Yer Greyhound OF the name OF Arthur
Herbert was on board and he lost his
life in the waves. In the only other
instance the victim was Benjamin
Bathurst, a cousin of Lord Bathurst,
and who was engaged In carrying des-
patches from the British Embassy at
Vienna TO England a little over 100
years ago.
The dispatches were supposed 10 re-
late to negotiations carried on by the
| British Ambassador at Vienna with
the object of inducing the Austrian
Government to throw in Its lot with
the coalition then being formed against
Napoleon, and naturally II was mat
| ter Of considerable importance to the
latter to secure the confidential in
ormation contained in the documents.
| II was for this reason that Benjamin
Bathurst travelled under the name OF
Koch and was provided by the Prus-
sian Government with an armed es-
cort. which was to accompany him to
Hamburg, where warsh!p was wait
ing to convey him TO England.
Bathurst reached the little town OF
Perleberg half way between Berlin
and Hamburg on November c5. 1903.
and dined there at the Swan Inn while
waiting for a change of horses. After
dinner. while his courier and his SER
want We're chatting in front OF the
| inn with the Boniface. he appeared
at the entrance OF the hosiery and
without saying anything to them
| strol.ea up To the horses heads, where
hostler was holding a lantern. and
into the darkness beyond, vanishing
in the gloom the narrow street being
| unlighted. He was never seen again.
What is more. the dispatches also
disappeared,
| After waiting for about an hour
for him to return, his at
tendants and the commander OF the
escort became alarmed. and search
| was instituted. without any result,
The English Government offered at
the time the enormous reward of SEQ
900 for an elucidation of the mystery,
and the Earl of Bathurst Of the daS'
as much more. the only result of
these offers being the recovery OF the
fine fur coat and the gray knee
breeches of the missing Silver Grey
hound, the coat being found in the
cellar Of an empty house and the
gray knee breeches In wood near by.
The breeches had two shot holes In
the waistband and in the pocket a
half finished note written In pencil 10
Mrs. Bathurst, In which her husband
expressed fears for his life.
The London Times In Its issue oi
January 20, 1910, openly declared that
Benjamin Bathurst had been made
away with by agents of Napoleon, to
which charge the Imperial MOnitcu,
responded "A week later at Paris by
a statement to the effect that "Sir
Bathurst" who like all Englishmen
was mad had shot himself at Perle.
berg in fit Of insanity. The Moni
: tenr failed however to explain how
Bathurst had done away with hi,
own remains after his death
Forty years passed, In April, 1852
house just outside Perleberg was II
course of demolition. Under the ston,
threshold OF the stable was discovered
i a skeleton, lying face down and COW