Jiangshi - The Hopping Vampires of China.

The Jiangshi, or hopping vampire, is a creature of Chinese folklore. It dates from the Qing Dynasty which ruled from 1636 to 1912. 

The hopping motion apparently derives from the custom of returning dead bodies to their home for burial in the family plot. The corpse would be tied upright between two bamboo poles and transported at night by two "corpse drivers", one at each end, this gave the corpse the appearance of hopping. Ji Xiaolan, writing at the end of the eighteenth century, wrote of two classifications of the reanimated corpse, one that does not decompose in the grave and the recently deceased person that has returned to life.

Corpse Drivers

How the creature manages to do these things is complicated and varied, being risen by some form of enchantment or possession can work. The Chinese thought that a body was made up of the hun and the po, there are three huns and seven pos. The hun is good and the po is of a baser nature, when someone dies and the po takes over, then they can become a Jiangshi.

Another way is that if someone has had their funeral first but not yet buried, then they are susceptible, especially if a black cat jumps over their coffin or they are struck by lightning. Also if the person was evil in life or died angry and wanted to be nasty, then they can become one of the undead.

But, what do they look like? Well, pretty much as you would expect, an animated corpse. If recently dead then quite fresh, but a bit worse for wear and ragged if it has taken them a while to get going. Unlike the western vampire the Jiangshi has succumbed to rigor mortis and is stiff in their movements, their skin is of a greenish hue due to fungus, moss ect, their hair has continued to grow so can be quite long, and they are extremely violent. They have been known to run fast, although with rigor mortis that might be difficult, and they have also been known to fly.

In some tales the vampire is blind and in others they are afraid of their own reflections, so mirrors are not popular. There is a list of things the Jiangshi dislike or are harmful to them, for instance a black donkey's hooves, vinegar, the cock crow, fire, peach wood, handbells. Various tools such as axes, awls, brooms, are also unpleasant to it, and scattering coins will delay an attack as they will have to count them. The Jiangshi are said to dress in traditional mandarin uniform.

Traditionally the western vampire has a fear of the cross, so the Jiangshi can be immobilized by a Taoist talismanic script stuck to their foreheads.

Taoist talismanic script, or, Fulu

The Transformed Corpse by Pu Songling

(17th Century)

Dramatis Personae;

An old innkeeper and his sons

His long unburied deceased wife

Four tired travellers

A temple full of frightened Buddhist priests

A Taoist priest living nearby

A pragmatic magistrate

***************************************************

1. A certain old man of Yangxin (northern Shandong province)

lived in Caidian, a place in that district. His village lay five or 

six miles from the walls of the district city. He and his sons 

kept a roadside inn to lodge travelling traders, and several 

carters and itinerant peddlers used to put up under their roof.

2. One day as it was getting dark, four men appeared.

Perceiving the house, they went thither with the intention 

of staying, but the sleeping rooms destined for visitors

were all occupied.

3. Considering that there was no other place to put up, 

the four men urgently entreated the landlord to take them 

in somehow, on which he took pity, and said he thought

 a place might be found for them, though it would not suit 

their taste. The strangers replied that all they desired was a

single mat to sleep on, and a shelter, and that they could not 

be at all particular.

4. The fact was, that a daughter in law of the old man had

just died, her body still lay uncoffined in her house, and

the son had gone to fetch a coffin and had not yet returned.

5. The old man took the strangers down the street into the

lonely house where the corpse lay. They entered the apartment,

where a lamp shed a dim light over the table; behind this a curtain 

hung, and the deceased woman lay there under paper shrouds.

6. They also saw a sleeping place in a screened off section,

with four beds placed against each other in a row.

Fatigued by their journey, the strangers had no sooner

thrown themselves on their pillows than they were 

snoring loudly.

7. One of them was not quite asleep, when suddenly he heard a

creaking sound on the couch where the corpse lay. Immediately

he opened his eyes, and saw distinctly by the light of the lamp

standing before the corpse, that it had raised the shroud and risen.

8. In a moment it was on the floor, and slowly entered the 

sleeping room. Her face had a wet gold hue, and she 

wiped her forehead with a coarse gauze cloth.

9. In a stooping attitude she approached the beds and blew 

thrice on the three sleeping travellers; the fourth, terror struck, 

fearing that he too might be hit, gently drew the blanket over 

his face and held his breath to listen.

10. Forthwith she breathed on him as she had done on the 

others; then he perceived that she left the room, and hearing 

the rustling sound of the paper shrouds, he put out his head to 

take a peep, and saw her lying rigid as before.

11. The traveller, extremely frightened, lacked courage to 

raise the alarm. Stealthily stretching forth his foot, he kicked

his comrades, but they did not stir in the least, and thus he

conceived there was no other alternative for him but to put

on his clothes and slink away.

12. No sooner, however, did he rise and move his coat than again

there was that creaking noise, which caused him to hide

himself anew, terror stricken, with his head under the blanket.

He perceived that the woman came again and breathed over

him repeatedly, doing this over and over again before she retired.

13. After a short pause, he knew by the noise on the death bed

that she had lain down as before. Now he put his hand very 

slowly out of the blanket, seized his trousers, quickly got into

them, and ran out of the house, bare footed.

14. The corpse too jumped up as if to give him chase;

but by the time it came forth from behind the curtain the

traveller had drawn the bolt and was off.

15. With the corpse at his heels he rushed forth with

loud shrieks, which alarmed everybody in the hamlet.

16. He would have thumped the door of the inn but for his fear

that it would make him lose time and bring him within reach

of the demon; so, seeing the road to the district city before him, 

he ran up it with all his might, till he reached the eastern suburb.

17. Here he saw a Buddhist convent, and hearing the wooden

fish*, he nervously beat on the outer gate. But the monks,

astonished at such an unusual tumult, hesitated to let him in; 

and as he turned round, he saw the corpse quite near him, 

hardly one foot off.

*A hollow, fish shaped block beaten with a clapper 

while reciting sacred books and liturgies.

18. In these straits he sought shelter behind a white willow four or

five feet thick, standing outside the convent gate. As the 

corpse dodged to the right, he dodged to the left and so on,

which enraged the corpse more, and more, and exhausted 

them both.

19. All of a sudden the corpse stood still. The traveller,

soaked with perspiration and with panting chest,

sheltered himself behind the tree; the corpse raised

itself fiercely and threw both arms around it to grab him.

At that moment he sank to the ground in fright, and the 

corpse missing its victim, remained rigid embracing the tree.

20. For a good while longer the monks stood listening,

and hearing nothing more, they came forth circumspectly,

to find the traveller flat on the ground.

21. By the light of their torches they perceived, that though

he was apparently dead, there was still a slight

palpitation under his heart. They bore him into the convent,

but the night passed away before he came round.

22. Having refreshed him with some broth, they interrogated him,

and he related to them the whole story. By that time the morning

bell sounded, and in the early dawn, still dimmed by mist and fog, 

the monks examined the tree discovered the woman upon it in a 

rigid condition.

23. In great consternation they reported the incident to the 

magistrate of the district. This grandee appeared in person on the 

spot to hold an inquest, and ordered his men to pull off the arms 

of the woman; but so firmly were they fixed in the tree that it was 

impossible to unclasp them.

24. They found, in fact, on a closer inspection, that the four

fingers of either hand were bent like hooks, and sunk into the 

wood so deeply that the nails were buried in it. A fresh batch of 

men was set to work to pull with all their might; and as they 

tore her off, the holes made by the fingers were found to 

look as if made with a chisel or auger.

25. Now the mandarin dispatched a messenger to the old man, 

who gave him a confused mixture of truth and untruth about

 the disappearance of the corpse and the death of the travellers.

The matter being explained to him, he followed the 

messenger and took the corpse home.

26. The traveller, bursting into tears, said to the magistrate:

"I left my home with three men, and now I must return alone;

what shall I do to make my fellow villagers believe my words?"

So the mandarin gave him a certificate, and sent him home

with some presents.

I have taken sources from;

Wikipedia

University of California San Diego.

Sprites Of Northumberland - Newcastle Courant 1880.

An account of mischievous sprites and ghosts, this appeared in the Newcastle Courant on Friday 2nd April 1880 under the heading of "Sprites Of Northumberland And Durham."

The belief in ghosts or sprites, some tricksy and mischievous as Puck; others of a fatally malevolent character, according to Henderson and other writers, was once general in the north of England. The Dunnie, one of these popular bogles, is of the brownie type, and is located at Hazelrigg, in the parish of Chatton, Northumberland.

When an interesting event at a farmer's house renders a midwife necessary, the master on going to the stable to saddle his horse to fetch her finds that the Dunnie has assumed its form. The supposititious steed carries the farmer to his destination and brings him back with the midwife riding behind, but suddenly disappears and leaves the luckless couple floundering in the mud.

Countryside towards Hazelrigg.

Sometimes the Dunnie assumes the form of a horse in the field, and when the ploughman has caught him and harnessed him, he suddenly gallops off out of sight, leaving the harness on the ground. The Dunnie formerly wandered among the crags of the Cheviots, sadly chanting the following verse:-

"Cocken heugh there's gear enough

  Collier heugh there's mair

  For I've lost the Bounders

  An' I'm ruined for evermair."

Tradition says that Dunnie is the ghost of a border reiver, whose stolen wealth -- hidden among the crags -- binds his soul to earth.

A century ago Silky haunted the village of Black Heddon, near Stamfordham, in Northumberland. This ghost is known in other places as a "white lady." Her delight was to startle a lonely horseman, seating herself behind him "rustling in her silk" after appearing in great splendour, with a shining garb of a silky appearance. After riding a certain distance she would vanish as suddenly as she had appeared.

Black Heddon.

Silky's Chair was the name of her favourite resort, two or three miles from Black Heddon, on a crag crowned with trees, under whose shade she would wander all night. Near the outlet of a small lake a tree grew which threw its branches across the stream, forming a sort of seat, called Silky's Chair, in which the lady would sit.

Her power was not always so harmlessly exercised. Sometimes she would prevent horses working at her will; and on one occasion she thus stopped a team upon a bridge since called "Silky's Brig." The driver could not get his horses to move till another farm servant arrived with some witchwood (mountain ash) about him. At night Silky would tidy a disorderly house, but after the inmates of another house had set all to rights on a Saturday afternoon, for Sunday she would enter and throw all into confusion.

The story of Silky's disappearance is characteristic of many ghost narratives. One day a great crack astonished the inmate of a house at Black Heddon, and a girl ran out of the room screaming "The devil's in the house; he has come through the ceiling." On the floor was found a large, rough skin filled with gold; and it is said that this was a treasure hid by Silky during her lifetime, which drew her anxious spirit back to earth (shades of Meg 'o-Meldon there!). No particulars, however, have been handed down of this singular "treasure trove."

Some time afterwards, an old woman named Pearson of Welton Mill told the Rev. J. F. Bigge, on her deathbed, that she had seen Silky, the night before, sitting at the bottom of her bed all dressed in silk. A lady very like Silky, clad in rustling silk, for a long time haunted Denton Hall, near Newcastle; and another formerly "walked in silk attire," for some reason or other, along a shady avenue near North Shields, who was supposed to be the ghost of a lady once a mistress of the Duke of Argyle, in the reign of William III, and who died under suspicious circumstances at Chirton, one of his residences.

The Hedley Kow, a tricksy sprite, haunted Hedley near Ebchester, performing pranks very similar to those of the Dunnie, but ending with a horselaugh at the expense of his victims. At one time he was a truss of straw, which would vanish with a loud laugh. Inside the farmhouse it would overturn kailpots, give cream to the cats, unravel the knitting, derange the spinning wheel, and lastly, repeat Dunnie's trick when the midwife was wanted.

Of course authentic narratives are extant of persons tricked by the Hedley Kow, who like the "Cauld Lad of Hilton," in the valley of the Wear, is one of capricious disposition, delighted in putting an untidy house in order, and recklessly scattering the objects in a room that has been carefully arranged.

He is supposed to be the ghost of a boy murdered, and thrown into a pond by an old Baron of Hilton; and it is said that a skeleton was found in some pond near Hylton Castle. The latest and strangest sprite in Northumberland is the "Ghost  of Willington Mill;" but this sprite hardly belongs to legendary lore.

The Telegram Which Began The Boer War - A Secret History by Allen Upward 1903

The initials under which I write these confessions are not those of my real name, which I could not disclose without exposing myself to the revenge of formidable enemies. As it is, I run a very great risk in making revelations which affect some of the most powerful personages now living; and it is only by the exercise of the utmost discretion that I can hope to avoid giving offence in quarters in which the slightest disrespect is apt to have serious consequences.

If I should be found to err on the side of frankness, I can only plead in excuse that I have never yet betrayed the confidence placed in me by the various Governments and illustrious families which have employed me from time to time. The late Prince Bismarck once honoured me by saying: "To tell secrets Monsieur V--------- is like putting them into a strong box, with the certainty that they will not come out again until one wants them to."

In these reminiscences it is my object to recount some of the services I have rendered to civilisation in the course of my career, while abstaining as far as possible from compromising exalted individuals or embittering international relations.

That I am not a man who opens his mouth rashly may be gathered from the fact that, although at any time during the long struggle between Briton and Boer for the mastery of South Africa, I might have completely changed the situation with a word, that word was not uttered while a single Boer remained under arms.

In order to explain how I came to be concerned in this affair, I had better begin by giving a few particulars about myself, and the almost unique position which I hold among the secret service bureaus of Europe and America.

By birth I am a citizen of the United States of America, being the son of a Polish father, exiled on account of his political opinions, and a French mother. From childhood I showed an extraordinary aptitude for languages, so that there is now scarcely a civilised country outside Portugal and Scandinavia in which I am not able to converse with the natives in their own tongue.

At the same time, I was possessed, ever since I can remember, with a passion for intrigue and mystery. The romances of Gaboriau were the favourite reading of my boyhood, and it was my ambition to become a famous detective, the Vidocq of America.

Fired by these visions, I ran away from the insurance office in which my parents had placed me, when I was little more than sixteen, and applied for admission to the ranks of the famous Pinkerton Police. Although my youth was against me, my phenomenal command of languages turned the scale in my favour, and I was given a trial.

Very soon I had opportunities of distinguishing myself in more than one mission to Europe, on the track of absconding criminals; and in this way I earned the favourable notice of the heads of the detective police in London, Paris, Berlin and other capitals.

At length, finding that I possessed unique qualifications for the work of an international secret agent, I decided to quit the Pinkerton service, and set up for myself, making my headquarters in Paris. From that day to this I have had no cause to repent of my audacity. I have been employed at one time or another by nearly every Government in the world, and my clients have included nearly every crowned head, from the late Queen Victoria to the Dowager Empress of China. I have been sent for on the same day by the Ambassadors of two hostile powers, each of which desired to employ me against the other.

On one occasion I acted on behalf of a famous German Chancellor against his then master, and another on behalf of the Emperor against his Chancellor; and neither had cause to complain of my fidelity. I have been instrumental in freeing a Queen renowned for her beauty from the persecution of a blackmailer set on by a foreign court; and I have more than once detected and defeated the plots of anarchists for the assassination of their rulers.

In this way it has come about that I enjoy the friendship and confidence of many illustrious personages, whose names would excite envy were I at liberty to mention them in these pages; and that few events of any magnitude happen in any part of the globe without my being in some measure concerned in them.

Often, when some great affair has been proceeding, I have felt myself as occupying the position of the stage manager, who looks on from the wings, directing the entrances and exits of the gorgeously dressed performers who engross the attention and applause of the ignorant spectators on the other side of the footlights.

The true story of the famous telegram which may be said to have rendered the South African War inevitable is one which strikingly illustrates the extent to which the public may be deceived about the most important transactions of contemporary history.

Everyone is familiar with the situation created by that celebrated dispatch. For some time previously all England, and, in fact, all Europe, had been agitated by the intelligence that Johannesburg was on the eve of insurrection, that the Boers were drawing their forces together about the doomed city, that Dr Jameson had dashed across the frontier with five hundred followers in a mad attempt to come to the aid of the threatened outlanders, and that his action had been formally disavowed by the British Government.

Close on the heels of these tidings came the memorable day on which London was cast into gloom by the long streams of placards issuing from the newspaper offices bearing the dismal legend, "Jameson Beaten and a Prisoner!"

While the populace were yet reeling under the blow, divided between distress and humiliation for the British flag, and indignation at the criminal recklessness which had staked the country's honour on a gambler's throw, there came the portentous news that the head of the great German Empire, the grandson of Queen Victoria, had sent a public message of congratulation to the Boer President, rejoicing with him in the face of the world over an event which every Englishman felt as a national disaster.

That hour registered the doom of the Pretorian Government. Jameson was scornfully forgotten. The British people, as proud as it is generous, made up its mind that the forbearance so long extended to a vassal of its own, could no longer be shown with honour to the protege of a mighty European Power.

On the very day on which this celebrated despatch appeared as the chief item of news in all the newspapers of the world, I received an urgent cipher message from the Director of the Imperial Secret Service, Herr Finkelstein, demanding my presence in Berlin.

My headquarters, as I have said, are in Paris, and fortunately I was disengaged when the summons arrived. I had merely to dictate a few dozen wires to my staff, while my valet was strapping up the portmanteau which always stands ready packed in my dressing room, and to look out my German passport - for I have a separate one for every important nationality - and in an hour or two I was seated in the Berlin express, speeding towards the frontier.

From the bunch of papers which my attentive secretary had thrust into the carriage, I learned something of the effect which the German Emperor's interference in the affairs of South Africa had produced on the public mind in England. It was evident that the islanders were strongly roused, and were preparing to pick up the gage of battle which had been thrown down. No sooner had I reached German territory than I found evidences of an even greater excitement.

The whole nation seemed to have rallied round the Kaiser, and to be ready to back up his words with martial deeds. By this time I had little doubt that I had been sent for in connection with the outbreak of hostile feeling between the two powers. But it was impossible for me to anticipate the actual nature of the task which awaited me.

On reaching Berlin I was met by a private emissary of Finkelstein's, who hurried me off to the Director's private house. The first words with which he greeted me convinced me that the business I had come about was of no ordinary kind.

"Do not sit down," he said to me, as I was about to drop into a chair, after shaking hands with him. "I must ask you to come into my dressing room at once, where you will transform yourself as quickly as possible into an officer of the Berlin Police. The moment that is done, I am to conduct you to the Palace, where his Majesty will see you alone."

As I followed the Director into the dressing room, where I found a uniform laid out ready for my wearing, I naturally asked: "Can you tell me what this is about?"

Finkelstein shook his head with a mysterious air. "The Kaiser has told me nothing. But he warned me very strictly not to let a single creature in Berlin know of your arrival, and from that fact I have naturally drawn certain conclusions."

I gazed at Finkelstein with some suspicion. We were good friends, having worked together on more than one occasion, and I knew he would have no wish to keep me in the dark. On the other hand, if he had been instructed to do so, I knew he would not hesitate to lie to me. The secret service has its code of honour, like other professions, and fidelity to one's employer comes before friendship.

Keeping my eye fixed on him, I observed carelessly ----

"You will tell me just as much or as little as you think fit, my dear Finkelstein. On my part I shall, of course, exercise a similar discretion after his Imperial Majesty has given me my instructions."

As I expected the bait took. Curiosity is the besetting weakness of a secret service officer, and the Berlin Director was no exception to the rule. Putting on his most confidential manner, he at once replied ---

"My dear V ------, if you and I do not trust each other, whom can we trust? Rest assured that my confidence in you has no reserves. I have spoken the bare truth in saying that the Kaiser has given me no indication of his object in sending for you. But the fact that he has ordered me to take these precautions to conceal the fact of your arrival in Berlin tells me plainly that there is a person whom he wishes to keep in ignorance; and that person can only be ------"

"The Chancellor?" I threw in, as my companion hesitated.

Finkelstein nodded.

"You consider, perhaps, that it is against the Chancellor that I am to be employed?" I went on.

 "It looks like it," was the cautious answer.

"And the reason why this task is not placed in your hands?"

"Is because I am a native of Hanover, and the Kaiser regards me rather as a public official than as a personal servant of his own dynasty," said Finkelstein.

"In other words, he regards you as a creature of the Chancellor's." I continued bluntly.

The Director made a pleasing and ingenious attempt to blush. "I can only affirm to you, on my sacred word of honour, that his Majesty has no cause to trust me any less than if I were a Prussian," he declared. "And I shall take it as a personal kindness if you will endeavour to convince the Kaiser of my loyalty."

"I will take care that he knows your sentiments," I answered, with an ambiguity which Finkelstein fortunately did not remark.

By this time I had completed my transformation. A glance at the cheval glass showed me a stiff, well set up Prussian official, exhaling the very atmosphere of Junkerdom and sauerkraut. I gave the signal to depart, and we were quickly driving up the Unter Den Linden on our way to the Imperial Palace.

"Announce to his Majesty - the Herr Director Finkelstein and the Herr Inspector Vehm," my companion said to the doorkeeper.

A servant, who had evidently received special instructions, stepped forward. "The Herr Inspector is to be taken to his Majesty at once," he said firmly.

Finkelstein bit his lip as he unwillingly turned to re-enter his carriage. I followed the lackey into the private cabinet of the monarch who had just found himself the centre of an international cyclone.

Wilhelm II. received me cordially. It was not the first time we had met. About the time of his ascending the throne I had been the means of inflicting on him a defeat which a smaller man would have found it hard to forgive.

Fortunately, the German Kaiser was of metal sterling enough to recognise merit even in an enemy, and to realise that my fidelity to my then employer was the best guarantee that I should be equally faithful to himself, if it fell to my lot to serve him.

"What has Finkelstein told you?" was the Emperor's first question, after he had graciously invited me to sit down.

"Only that he was able to tell me nothing, sire."

The Emperor gave me a suspicious glance.

"He appeared to regret that your Majesty had not given him your confidence," I added, choosing my words warily. "He assured me that you might rely on his entire devotion, as much so as if he were a native of your hereditary states."

"And what do you say to that?" demanded the Kaiser, with a piercing look.

"I think that your Majesty cannot be too careful whom you trust."

Wilhelm II. allowed himself to smile gravely. "I see, Monsieur V -------, that you are a prudent man. If Herr Finkelstein wishes to convince me of his loyalty to the Hohenzollerns, he cannot begin better than by renouncing the pension which he continues to draw secretly from the Duke of --------." His Majesty pronounced the name by which a well known dispossessed sovereign goes in his exile.

Familiar as I long have been with instances of perfidy in others, I could not restrain an exclamation of astonishment at this revelation of Finkelstein's double dealing. The Kaiser continued ---- "After that you will not be surprised if I caution you particularly against letting Herr Finkelstein know anything of the object of the inquiry I wish you to undertake."

I bowed respectfully, and waited with some impatience to learn the true nature of my mission. "I could not receive you here without taking someone into the secret of your employment," the Kaiser went on to explain; "and I chose Finkelstein in order to give the affair as much as possible the aspect of a private and domestic matter. In reality the task I have to set you is one of the most grave in which you have ever been engaged."

The Kaiser took one of the Berlin papers of the day before, which was lying on the desk in front of him, and pointed to a column in which was set out in conspicuous type the telegram which had convulsed Europe and Africa, and had already caused Lord Salisbury to issue orders for the mobilisation of his Flying Squadron.

"I have sent for you, in two words, to find out for me the authorship of this telegram," the Kaiser said.

Notwithstanding my long training in the most tortuous paths of secret intrigue, I was fairly taken aback by this announcement.

"That telegram!" I could only exclaim. "The one which your Majesty addressed to President Kruger!"

"I never sent it," Wilhelm II. declared gravely. "It is a forgery pure and simple."

For a moment I sat still in my chair, almost unable to think. "But what -----? But, who ------?" I articulated, struggling with my bewilderment.

"That is what you have got to find out for me," was the answer. "Let me tell you all I know. The first intimation I had of the existence of such a thing was the sight of it in the press. I sent instantly for the Chancellor, who came here wearing a reproachful expression, and evidently prepared to complain bitterly of my having taken such a step without previously informing him. When I told him that the whole thing was an impudent fabrication, he could scarcely believe his ears. In fact, for some time I believe he was inclined to consider my repudiation of it a mere official denial."

I ventured to raise my eyes to his Majesty's as I observed ----

"Your Majesty has taken no steps to make your repudiation public?"

The Kaiser gave an angry frown. "That is the serious part of the affair," he answered.

"Kruger, in his eagerness to proclaim to the world that I was on his side, had sent copies of this infamous production to every newspaper in the two hemispheres before it reached my eyes. At the moment I first saw it, it had already been read and commented upon all round the globe. The British newspapers were already threatening war, and my own people had been excited to a pitch of enthusiasm such as no other act of mine has ever called forth.

If I were now to disavow this forgery, my disavowal would be received everywhere with the same scepticism as was felt even by my own Chancellor. The British would triumph over me for what they would regard as a surrender to British threats."

I sat silent. I realised the full difficulty of the Kaiser's position. He was committed in spite of himself to the act of some imposter, whose real motives were yet to be discovered, but who had already succeeded in bringing the two greatest powers in Europe to the verge of war.

"Before I can undo the mischief which has been done," the Emperor proceeded, "I must first of all ascertain from what quarter this forgery emanated. When I have obtained that information, backed by clear and convincing proofs, it may be possible for me to satisfy the British Government that they and I have been the victims of a conspiracy. If you can succeed in furnishing me with these proofs, it shall be the best day's work you ever did in your life."

I listened carefully to these words, scrutinising them for any trace of a double meaning. It was impossible for me to dismiss entirely from my mind that suspicion which the story told by Wilhelm II. was naturally calculated to excite. I asked myself whether the Kaiser was really in earnest, or whether he was not inviting me, in a delicate fashion, to extricate him from the consequences of his own rashness, by putting together some fictitious account of the origin of the telegram, which might impose on Lord Salisbury.

It was clearly necessary, however, for me to appear to be convinced. "May I ask if your Majesty's suspicions point in any particular direction?" I asked, trying to feel my way cautiously. "The President of the Boers is perhaps ------."

The Kaiser interrupted me. "I do not think Kruger would dare to provoke me by such a trick. He would know that he would be the first to suffer when it was found out. No, I am convinced that we must look nearer home for the traitor."

Something in the Emperor's tone struck me as significant. "If you could give me any indication of the person -------" I ventured to throw out.

His Majesty looked at me fixedly as he answered ----- "Does it not occur to you, Monsieur V -----, that there is in my Empire a powerful family, the heads of which seem at one time to have cherished the notion that the Hohenzollerns could not reign without them, a family which aspired to play the  same part in modern Germany which was played by the Mayors of the Palace in the Empire of the Merovingians?"

"You allude, sire, without doubt, to the Bismarcks?"

"My grandfather was forced into war with the French by a forged telegram. There would be nothing surprising in an attempt from the same quarter to force me into a war with England."

I had no answer to make to such reasoning. Daring as such a manoeuvre might appear, it was absurd, in the face of historical facts, to pronounce it improbable. After a minute spent in considering the situation, I turned to the question of how the fraud might have been carried out.

It was quite clear to me that such a message could not have gone over the ordinary wires. The despatches of Emperors are not, as a rule, handed in over the counter of a post office, like a telegram from a husband announcing that he is prevented from dining at home. I asked the Kaiser to explain to me the system pursued with regard to Imperial messages.

"That is a matter about which you will be able to learn more from the Chancellor than from me," was the answer. "Foreign despatches go through the Chancellery, and there is a staff of telegraphists there to deal with them. The wires go direct to the Central Telegraph Office, I believe, from which it would, of course, find its way to the Cable Company."

"Then this fabrication must have been sent from the Chancellery in the first instance?" I inquired. "It could not have been received at the Central Office from an outside source?"

"Impossible. They would not dare to transmit a message in my name which had not reached them through one of the authorised channels."

This was the rely I had expected. But I did not fail to mark the admission that there was more than one channel through which the forgery might have come. I was quick to ask ---- "Is there not some other source from which this telegram may have reached them besides the Chancellery? Your Majesty, no doubt, has a private wire from the Palace." 

The Kaiser looked a little put out. "That is so, of course," he conceded. "But that wire is used only for my personal messages, and those of the Imperial family."

"Still, a message received over this wire, and couched in your name, would be accepted at the Central Office, would it not?" I persisted.

"Undoubtedly. But the Palace operator, a man who works under the eye of my secretary, would not dare to play me such a trick, which, he would be aware, must be detected immediately. Take my advice, Monsieur V -------, waste no time over side paths, but go direct to the Chancellor, and commence your perquisitions among his staff."

I bowed respectfully, as though accepting his plan of campaign. But, as I withdrew from the Emperor's cabinet, the doubt pressed more strongly than ever upon my mind whether I was not being asked to play a part. I half expected everything prepared for me at the Chancellery, Prearranged clues leading to the detection of a culprit who would recite a confession which had been put into his mouth beforehand.

I was perfectly willing to perform my part in the comedy in a manner satisfactory to my employer, but all the same I meant to keep my eyes open, and not to let myself be the victim of a deception intended for English consumption.

In this mood I presented myself before the Chancellor. As soon as the Imperial autograph introducing me met his eye, his Excellency threw aside, or pretended to throw aside, all reserve.

"I am delighted to find the Emperor has placed this business in your hands, Monsieur V -----," he said obligingly. "Your reputation is well known to me, and I am convinced that you will be perfectly discreet. The Emperor is, of course, thoroughly taken aback by the results of his unfortunate impulse, and wishes to relieve himself of the responsibility he has incurred. In that I am quite willing to help him, but not at my own expense, you understand."

I murmured something about the Bismarcks. His Excellency gave a smile of contempt. "All that is absurd," he rapped out. "The Emperor is quite foolish about that family, which possesses no more influence today than any Pomeranian squire. No, if his Majesty wants a victim he ought to be content with one of his own staff. I refuse to allow the Imperial Chancellery to be discredited in the eyes of Europe."

This reception, so unlike what I had anticipated, made me begin to think that my inquiry would have to be serious. After a little further conversation with the Chancellor I decided to go to work regularly beginning by tracing the Imperial telegram back from the Central Office.

The Chancellor readily furnished me with the necessary authority to produce to the Director of the Telegraph Service, to whom I had merely to explain that I had been instructed to verify the exact wording of the now famous despatch.

It is unnecessary for me to detail my interview with this functionary, whose share in the business was purely formal. Suffice it that within a quarter of an hour after entering his office, I came out with the all important information that the congratulation to Mr Kruger had come direct from the Imperial Palace, over the Kaiser's own private wire.

By this time it was clear to me that either Wilhelm II. was playing a very complicated game indeed with me, or he really was the victim of one of the most audacious coups in history. My interest in the investigation was strongly roused, as I made my way to the Palace for a second time that day, bent upon meeting with the telegraphist by whose agency, it now appeared, the war making despatch had come over the wires.

My recent audience in the Imperial cabinet had invested me with authority in the eyes of the household, and I had no difficulty in getting a footman to conduct me to the operator's room, which was situated at the far end of the corridor which I had previously passed through on my way to the Kaiser.

The room being empty on my arrival, I dismissed the footman in search of the operator, who, he informed me, would most probably be found with the private secretary to the Emperor. The moment I found myself alone I stepped up to the apparatus. I am an expert telegraphist, and the machine speedily clicked off the following dispatch --

"To the German Ambassador, London, --- See Lord Salisbury privately, at once, and inform him British Government entirely deceived as to my sentiments. Proofs will be sent to you shortly. --- WILHELM, Kaiser."

I had hardly taken my fingers off the instrument when the door opened and the operator walked in. Herr Zeiss -- I heard his name at the Central Office -- appeared to me to be a simple minded man, more likely to be the victim of a conspiracy than himself a conspirator. I thought it my best plan to assume an air of omniscience at the outset.

"How is this sir!" I demanded with some sternness. "Do your instructions permit you to leave this instrument unguarded for any person who pleases to send his own message over the Emperor's private wire?"

The telegraphist stared at me with a mixture of surprise and alarm. "I don't know who has authorised you, Herr Inspector ------" he began, when I cut him short.

"Am I to go to his Majesty, and ask him if you have permission to leave this room when you please, without taking any precautions against unauthorised use of the wire?"

Herr Zeiss quickly changed his tone. "That is not a thing of which I am ever guilty," he protested.

"You have been guilty of it right now," I retorted.

"I have not been away two minutes. No one could have taken advantage of my absence."

"Nevertheless, advantage has been taken of your absence."

"I don't believe it!"

"Ask the Central Office to repeat the message you have just sent them, then."

Casting a frightened look at me, the man complied. I have seldom seen an expression of deeper astonishment and terror on a man's face than that which marked the unfortunate operator's as my despatch came back to him, word after word, ending with the Imperial signature.

"My God!" he cried out, "Who has done this? I shall be ruined!"

"Whether you are ruined or not depends entirely on yourself," I said sharply. "It is in my power to save you, but only upon one condition."

Herr Zeiss turned on me a gaze of mute appeal.

"You must tell me the exact truth," I proceed, "and you must tell me everything. How often have you left this room without taking precautions against the misuse of the wire in your absence during the last two days?"

Zeiss considered for a moment. Then his face brightened up. "Not once, I can assure you positively of that, Herr Inspector."

This answer, given so confidently, came as a severe check to me. I looked at the man sternly, as I responded, with assumed confidence --- "And I am positive that you are mistaken. An unauthorised use has been made of this wire, and I am determined to know by whom."

The operator's face fell once more. He appeared to me to be honestly at a loss. "Come, think again. Begin by recalling any occasions on which you have been called away hurriedly, and have perhaps omitted to lock the door."

"But there has been no such occasion. I swear to you that I have not once left this room without taking ample precautions."

I fancied I discerned a touch of hesitation, rather in the operator's tone than in his actual words. "Speak more plainly," I said. "What do you mean by precautions?"

"Either the door was locked, or else -----" This time the hesitation was palpable.

"Or else what?"

"It was left in charge of a trustworthy person."

"And that trustworthy person, who was he?" I found it hard to suppress all signs of excitement as I put this question.

"The gentleman who will shortly be my brother in law."

"Ah! Perhaps this gentleman is an employee in the same department as yourself?"

"Not at all," Zeiss protested earnestly. "He is a teacher in the Military College. He knows nothing of telegraphy; in fact, he has sometimes asked me questions on the subject which have convinced me that he is quite a fool where electricity is concerned."

"Indeed! And the name of this foolish person, if you please?"

"Herr Severinski."

"A Pole!" I exclaimed.

"No, a Russian. He was exiled to Siberia on account of his political opinions, but escaped. He teaches Russian in the college."

"How did he come to be left in charge of this room?"

"He called here the day before yesterday, in the evening, to speak to me about the marriage with my sister. They have been engaged for some time, you must know. While he was here I received a note from my sister herself, pressing me to come and speak to her at once outside the Palace. I went, leaving my brother in law to wait here during my absence. My sister, I found, merely wished to urge me not to object to any proposal made by her betrothed. On my return I found Severinski yawning and apparently bored to death in my absence. I asked him, and he assured me no one had come near the room while I was away."

I could scarcely resist smiling as the whole intrigue, so simple, and yet so consummately successful, lay bared to my perception. My whole anxiety was now to keep the worthy but stupid Zeiss ignorant of the transaction in which he had been an unwitting accomplice.

I brought him away from the Palace with me, so as to leave him no opportunity of warning Severinski, and we proceeded together to the Russian's quarters. I flatter myself that the professor of the Military College was not a little disconcerted when he saw his dupe followed into the room by an Inspector of the Berlin Police.

I explained my position in such a manner as to let Severinski see that I knew everything, without enlightening the other man.

"The day before yesterday Herr Zeiss left you alone in his room in the Palace. You took the opportunity to send a telegram, the terms of which are known to me, over the Emperor's private wire. For this offence you and he are liable to severe punishment. What I now have to propose to you is to make a confession which will have the effect of exonerating everyone except yourself. If you do this, I think I can promise you that you shall suffer no penalty beyond, of course, the loss of your post in the Military College."

Severinski gave me a glance of intelligence. "You do not require me to denounce anybody else?" he inquired significantly.

"I do not require you to confess what is obvious to everyone," I returned with equal significance.

Poor Zeiss followed this exchange with an air of bewilderment. It was evident that the discovery of the other's guilt had caused a shock to his confiding nature, and he was still trying to reconcile the Russian's prompt surrender to me with his previous stupidity on questions of electrical science, when I summarily dismissed him from further share in the interview.

As soon as we were by ourselves Severinski spoke out boldly enough. "I am willing to give you a statement that I sent the telegram. But I am not going to tell you anything more. You must know that I am an Anarchist."

I waved my hand scornfully. "If I consent to your suppressing the truth, Professor Severinski, it does not follow that I am willing to listen to absurd fictions. Be good enough to write out and sign a circumstantial account of your own part in this clumsy plot, and I will undertake that you shall not pass tonight in prison.

The Russian had the sense to do what he was told without further parley. I got from him more than I expected. He consented to put in writing that it was after his betrothal to Fraulein Zeiss that he had been solicited to make use of his connection with the Kaiser's private telegraphist, and he stated the amount of the bribe, a very heavy one, paid him for his services in sending the Imperial congratulations to the President of the Transvaal.

We became so friendly over the discussion that Severinski, who was bursting with vanity over his success, wanted me at last to let him tell me so much. I was obliged to order him to be silent.

"If you tell me that you are an agent of a certain great power, I must repeat what you say to the Kaiser. Then one of two things will happen. Either your Government will avow your action, in which case you will be hanged as a spy, or it will disavow you, in which case you will pass the rest of your life in prison as a criminal lunatic."

This menace had all the effect which I could have desired, and I was satisfied that the Russian would now hold his tongue. Bidding him a cordial farewell - for I confess the fellow's audacity had inspired me with some admiration - I hastened back to the Palace, to lay the results of my investigations before Wilhelm II.

"Your Majesty has been victimised by a secret agent whose employers are interested in bringing about a feeling of ill will, if not an actual war, between Germany and Great Britain. The day before yesterday this agent, whose name is Severinski, and who is employed to teach Russian"  - Wilhelm II. started - "in the Berlin Military College, visited your private telegraphist in the room at the end of this corridor. He had previously contrived that the telegraphist should be called away during his visit, and he took advantage of his absence to send the message which has caused so much trouble."

The Kaiser made no reply until he had finished reading the proofs I laid before him. "And you did not ask this Severinski by whom he was set on?" demanded his Majesty, giving me a keen glance.

"I did not know whether you would wish me to do so," I answered respectfully.

"You are right, a thousand times right," exclaimed the Emperor. "As long as they are in doubt whether I know it is they who have played me this trick, I have the advantage of them, and they will keep silence for their sakes." He paused in deep consideration for a minute, then he looked up quickly. "All this time I must not forget the English. Tell me Monsieur V ------, are you personally known to Lord Salisbury?"

"I have that honour, sire. On one occasion ------"

"Enough! There's not a moment to lose. You will leave Berlin by the first train, and proceed straight to the Ambassador's house in London. He will take you round to the Prime Minister, and you will offer him the proofs which you have just offered me, explaining at the same time that the excited state of public feeling in both countries makes it impossible for me to take any open action in the matter."

I bowed and moved towards the door.

"I will wire to the Ambassador to expect you," called out the Kaiser.

"Pardon me, your Majesty has done so already."

"How?"

"I also passed five minutes alone in the room of Herr Zeiss," I explained.

In the years which have elapsed since this celebrated episode, Willhelm II. has left no means untried to convince the British people of his friendly sentiments towards them. It is a service to his Imperial Majesty, though without authority from him, that I now venture to lift the veil from the most astounding transaction in the annals of even Muscovite diplomacy.

Sir Bertrand's Adventures In A Ruinous Castle by Mrs Barbauld - Gothic Stories 1800.

 

Sir Bertrand turned his steed towards the wolds, hoping to cross those dreary moors before the curfew tolled. But ere he had proceeded half his journey, he was bewildered by the different tracts; and not being able, as far as the eye could reach, to espy any object but the brown heath surrounding him, he was at length quite uncertain which way he should direct his course.

Night overtook him in this situation. It was one of those nights when the moon gives a faint glimmering of light through the thick black clouds of a louring sky. Now and then she suddenly emerged in full splendor from her veil; and then instantly retired behind it, having just served to give the forlorn Sir Bertrand a wide extended prospect over the desolate waste.

Hope and native courage a while urged him to push forwards; but at length, the increasing darkness, and fatigue of body and mind, overcame him; he dreaded moving from the ground he stood on, for fear of unknown pits and bogs; and, alighting from his horse in despair, he threw himself on the ground. He had not long continued in that posture, when the sullen toll of a distant bell struck his ears -- he started up; and, turning toward the sound, discerned a dim twinkling light.

Instantly he seized his horse's bridle, and with cautious steps advanced towards it. After a painful march, he was stopped by a moated ditch surrounding the place from whence the light proceeded; and, by a momentary glimpse of moonlight, he had a full view of a large antique mansion, with turrets and corners, and an ample porch in the centre. The injuries of time were strongly marked on every thing about it.

The roof in various places was fallen in, the battlements were half demolished, and the windows broken and dismantled. A drawbridge, with a ruinous gateway at each end, led to the court before the building. He entered; and instantly the light, which proceeded from a window in one of the turrets, glided along, and vanished; at the same moment the moon sunk beneath a black cloud, and the night was darker than ever. All was silent. Sir Bertrand fastened his steed under a shed; and, approaching the house, traversed its whole front with light and slow footsteps. All was still as death!

He looked at the lower windows, but could not distinguish a single object through the impenetrable gloom. After a short parley with himself, he entered the porch; and, seizing a massy iron knocker at the gate, lifting it up, and, hesitating, at length struck a loud stroke. The noise resounded through the whole mansion with hollow echoes. All was still again!

He repeated the strokes more boldly, and louder. Another interval of silence ensued! A third time he knocked; and a third time all was still! He then fell back some distance, that he might discern whether any light could be seen in the whole front. It again appeared in the same place, and quickly glided away as before! At the same instant, a deep, sullen toll sounded from the turret. Sir Bertrand's heart made a fearful stop!

He was a while motionless; then terror impelled him to make some hasty steps towards his steed -- but shame stopped his flight; and, urged by honour, and a resistless desire of finishing the adventure, he returned to the porch; and working up his soul to a full steadfastness of resolution, he drew forth his sword with one hand, and with the other lifted up the latch of the gate. The heavy door, creaking upon its hinges, reluctantly yielded to his hand; he applied his shoulder to it, and forced it open.

He quitted it, and stept forward -- the door instantly shut with a thundering clap. Sir Bertrand's blood was chilled! He turned back to find the door, and it was long ere his trembling hands could seize it -- but his utmost strength could not open it again. After several ineffectual attempts, he looked behind him, and beheld, across a hall, upon a large staircase, a pale bluish flame, which cast a dismal gleam of light around.

He again summoned forth his courage, and advanced towards it -- it retired. He came to the foot of the stairs; and, after a moments deliberation, ascended. He went slowly up, the flame retiring before him, till he came to a wide gallery. The flame proceeded along it, and he followed in silent horror, treading lightly, for the echoes of his footsteps startled him. It led him to the foot of another staircase, and then vanished!

At the same instant another toll sounded from the turret. Sir Bertrand felt it strike upon his heart. He was now in total darkness; and, with his arms extended, began to ascend the second staircase. A dead cold hand met his left hand, and firmly grasped it, drawing him, forcibly forward -- he endeavoured to disengage himself, but could not -- he made a furious blow with his sword, and instantly a loud shriek pierced his ears, and the dead hand was left powerless in his -- he dropped it, and rushed forward with a desperate valour.

The stairs were narrow and winding, and interrupted by frequent breaches, and loose fragments of stones. The staircase declined narrower and narrower, and at length terminated in a low iron gate. Sir Bertrand pushed it open -- it led to an intricate winding passage, just large enough to admit a person upon his hands and knees. A faint glimmering of light served to show the nature of the place. Sir Bertrand entered -- a deep hollow groan resounded from a distance through the vault -- he went forward; and, proceeding beyond the first turning, discerned the same blue flame which had before conducted him -- he followed it.

The vault, at length, suddenly opened into a lofty gallery, in the midst of which a figure appeared, completely armed, thrusting forward the bloody stump of an arm, with a terrible frown, and menacing gesture, brandishing a sword in his hand. Sir Bertrand undauntedly sprang forward; and, aiming a fierce blow at the figure, it instantly vanished, letting fall a massy iron key. The flame now rested upon a pair of ample folding doors at the end of the gallery.

Sir Bertrand went to it, and applied the key to a brazen lock -- with difficulty he turned the bolt -- instantly the doors flew open, and discovered a large apartment, at the end of which was a coffin rested upon a bier, with a taper burning on each side of it. Along the room on both sides were gigantic statues of black marble, attired in Moorish habit, and holding enormous sabres in their hands. Each of them reared its arm, and advanced one leg forward, as the knight entered; at the same moment the lid of the coffin flew open, and the bell tolled.

The flame still glided forward; and Sir Bertrand resolutely followed, till he arrived within six paces of the coffin. Suddenly a lady in a shroud and black veil rose up in it, and stretched out her arms towards him -- at the smae time the statues clashed their sabres, and advanced.

Sir Bertrand flew to the lady, and clasped her in his arms -- she threw up her veil, and kissed his lips; when instantly the whole building shook as with an earthquake, and fell asunder with a horrible crash. Sir Bertrand was thrown into a sudden trance; and, on recovering, found himself on a velvet sofa, in the most magnificent room he had ever seen, lighted with innumerable tapers, in lustres of pure crystal. A sumptuous banquet was set in the middle.

The doors opened to soft music, a lady of incomparable beauty, attired with amazing splendour, entered, surrounded by a troop of gay nymphs more fair than the graces. She advanced to the knight; and, falling on her knees, thanked him as her deliverer. The nymphs put a garland of laurel upon his head; and the lady led him by the hand to the banquet, and sat beside him. The nymphs placed themselves at the table; and a numerous train of servants entering, served up the feast, delicious music playing all the time.

Sir Bertrand could not speak for astonishment -- he could only return their honours by courteous looks and gestures. After the banquet was finished, all retired but the lady; who, leading back the knight to the sofa, addressed him in these words:-

"Sir Knight, The grateful remembrance of my delivery from the iron hand of the Moorish tyrant, who in dying bequeathed his soul to the prince of the air for the horrid purpose of confining me in this my patrimonial castle, shall never be erased from my memory. And is to you I own his power over me, it was but transient and of short duration. 

With horror I view the remains of his now extinguished fascination; and though years have rolled after years, and involved in their course the fate of my venerable ancestors, yet I have at last the consolation to find myself by your valour free from the machinations of Almanzor (for that was the name of the Moorish prince, whom our valiant king Edward brought over with him on his return from the crusades). My father approved of my union with him, but alas! I never beheld him without the utmost horror.

His dark insidious looks, compared to the open and undisguised mein of him I had lately lost in the troubles of the times, made me shudder. In an unlucky moment I was induced to sign, in obedience to my father's will, a covenant with Almanzor, which he pretended would place me next heir to the Moorish throne. Each signature was made with our blood, and a requiem was afterward sung for the success of the union.

But alas! minds are not easily transferred; my soul owned allegiance to Sir Walter, a generous knight of this country, and whom this horrid eastern tyrant had destroyed in conflict; and because I peremptorily refused to drink his blood, this monster swore he would invoke every power to confine me until some more valorous knight should arrive to release me from his hands.

How long have I been enchanted? I do not know; but this I can declare, that from that time to the present I have not been free from horrid dreams like those which are said to infest the wicked in their graves."

So saying she rose up, and taking Sir Bertrand by the hand, led him to the couch, where he took his repose for a few hours. Early in the morning he took his departure, promising to return soon. He was as good as his word; and in a few days, the priest united them forever. The marriage was attended with great pomp, both of ecclesiastic and military men, who all bestowed the most liberal benedictions upon this happy pair.