myself cannot fail to recognise the symptoms. I always find that when
the circumstances is mere hearsay, and happened to nobody knows who,
people are very ready to tell it; when it has happened to one of their
own family, they are considerably less communicative, and will only tell
it under protest; but when they are themselves the parties concerned, it
is the most difficult thing imaginable to induce them to relate the
thing seriously, and with its details; they say they have forgotten it,
and don't believe it; and as an evidence of their incredulity, they
affect to laugh at the whole affair. If the General will tell me the
story, I shall think it quite as decisive a proof of courage as he ever
gave in the field."
Betwixt bantering and persuasion, we succeeded in our object, and the
General began as follows:--
"You know the Belgian Rebellion (he always called it so) took place in
1830. It broke out at Brussels on the 28th of August, and we immediately
advanced with a considerable force to attack that city; but as the
Prince of Orange hoped to bring the people to reason, without bloodshed,
we encamped at Vilvorde, whilst he entered Brussels alone, to hold a
conference with the armed people. I was a Lieutenant-Colonel then, and
commanded the 20th foot, to which regiment I had been lately appointed.
"We had been three or four days in cantonment, when I heard two of the
men, who were digging a little drain at the back of my tent, talking of
Jokel Falck, a private in my regiment, who was noted for his
extraordinary disposition to somnolence, one of them remarked that he
would certainly have got into trouble for being asleep on his post the
previous night, if it had not been for Mungo. 'I don't know how many
times he has saved him,' added he.
"To which the other answered, that Mungo was a very valuable friend, and
had saved many a man from punishment.
"This was the first time I had ever heard of Mungo, and I rather
wondered who it was they alluded to; but the conversation slipt from my
mind and I never thought of asking any body.
"Shortly after this I was going my rounds, being field-officer of the
day, when I saw by the moonlight, the sentry at one of the outposts
stretched upon the ground. I was some way off when I first perceived
him; and I only knew what the object was from the situation, and because
I saw the glitter of his accoutrements; but almost at the same moment
that I discovered him, I observed a large black Newfoundland dog
trotting towards him. The man rose as the dog approached, and had got
upon his legs before I reached the spot. This occupied the space of
about two minutes--perhaps, not so much.
"'You were asleep on your post,' I said; and turning to the mounted
orderly that attended me, I told him to go back and bring a file of the
guard to take him prisoner, and to send a sentry to relieve him.
"'Non, mon colonel,' said he, and from the way he spoke I perceived he
was intoxicated, 'it's all the fault of that _damne_ Mungo. Il m'a
manque.'
"But I paid no attention to what he said and rode on, concluding _Mungo_
was some slang term of the men for drink.
"Some evenings after this, I was riding back from my brother's
quarter--he was in the 15th, and was stationed about a mile from
us--when I remarked the same dog I had seen before, trot up to a sentry
who, with his legs crossed, was leaning against a wall. The man started,
and began walking backwards and forwards on his beat. I recognised the
dog by a large white streak on his side--all the rest of his coat being
black.
"When I came up to the man, I saw it was Jokel Falck, and although I
could not have said he was asleep, I strongly suspected that that was
the fact.
"'You had better take care of yourself, my man,' said I. 'I have half a
mind to have you relieved, and make a prisoner of you. I believe I
should have found you asleep on your post, if that dog had not roused
you.'
"Instead of looking penitent, as was usual on these occasions, I saw a
half smile on the man's face, as he saluted me.
"'Whose dog is that?' I asked my servant, as I rode away.
"'Je ne sais pas mon, Colonel,' he answered, smiling too.
"On the same evening at mess, I heard one of the subalterns say to the
officer who sat next him, 'It's a fact, I assure you, and they call him
Mungo.'
"'That's a new name they've got for Schnapps, isn't it?' I said.
"'No, sir; it's the name of a dog,' replied the young man, laughing.
"'A black Newfoundland, with a large white streak on his flank?'
"'Yes, sir, I believe that is the description,' replied he, tittering
still.
"'I have seen that dog two or three times,' said I. 'I saw him this
evening--who does he belong to?'
"'Well, sir, that is a difficult question,' answered the lad; and I
heard his companion say, 'To Old Nick, I should think.'
"'Do you mean to say you've really seen Mungo?' said somebody at the
table.
"'If Mungo is a large Newfoundland--black, with a white streak on its
side--I saw him just now. Who does he belong to?'
"By this time, the whole mess table was in a titter, with the exception
of one old captain, a man who had been years in the regiment. He was of
very humble extraction, and had risen by merit to his present position.
"'I believe Captain T. is better acquainted with Mungo than anybody
present,' answered Major R., with a sneer. 'Perhaps he can tell you who
he belongs to.'
"The laughter increased, and I saw there was some joke, but not
understanding what it meant, I said to Captain G., 'Does the dog belong
to Jokel Falck?'
"'No, sir,' he replied, 'the dog belongs to nobody now. He once belonged
to an officer called Joseph Atveld.'
"'Belonging to this regiment?'
"'Yes, sir.'
"'He is dead, I suppose?'
"'Yes, sir, he is.'
"'And the dog has attached himself to the regiment?'
"'Yes, sir.'
"During this conversation, the suppressed laughter continued, and every
eye was fixed on Captain T., who answered me shortly, but with the
utmost gravity.
"'In fact,' said the major, contemptuously, 'according to Captain T.,
Mungo is the ghost of a deceased dog.'
"This announcement was received with shouts of laughter, in which I
confess I joined, whilst Captain T. still retained an unmoved gravity.
"'It is easier to laugh at such a thing than to believe it, sir,' said
he. '_I_ believe it, because I know it.'
"I smiled, and turned the conversation.
"If anybody at the table except Captain T. had made such an assertion as
this, I should have ridiculed them without mercy; but he was an old man,
and from the circumstances I have mentioned regarding his origin, we
were careful not to offend him; so no more was said about Mungo, and in
the hurry of events that followed. I never thought of it again. We
marched on to Brussels the next day; and after that, had enough to do
till we went to Antwerp, where we were besieged by the French the
following year.
"During the siege, I sometimes heard the name of Mungo again; and, one
night, when I was visiting the guards and sentries as grand rounds, I
caught a glimpse of him, and I felt sure that the man he was approaching
when I observed him, had been asleep; but he was screened by an angle of
the bastion, and by the time I turned the corner, he was moving about.
"This brought to my mind all I had heard about the dog; and as the
circumstance was curious, in any point of view, I mentioned what I had
seen to Captain T. the next day, saying, 'I saw your friend Mungo, last
night.'
"'Did you, sir?' said he. 'It's a strange thing! No doubt, the man was
asleep!'
"'But do you seriously mean to say, that you believe this to be a
visionary dog, and not a dog of flesh and blood?'
"'I do, sir; I have been quizzed enough about it; and, once or twice,
have nearly got into a quarrel, because people will persist in laughing
at what they know nothing about; but as sure as that is a sword you hold
in your hand, so sure is that dog a spectre, or ghost--if such a word is
applicable to a fourfooted beast!'
"'But, it's impossible!' I said. 'What reason have you for such an
extraordinary belief?'
"'Why, you know, sir, man-and-boy, I have been in the regiment all my
life. I was born in it. My father was pay-serjeant of No. 3 company,
when he died; and I have seen Mungo myself, perhaps twenty times, and
known, positively, of others seeing him twice as many more.'
"'Very possibly; but that is no proof, that it is not some dog that has
attached himself to the regiment.'
"'But I have seen and heard of the dog for fifty years, sir; and my
father before me, had seen and heard of him as long!'
"'Well, certainly, that is extraordinary,--if you are sure of it, and
that it's the same dog!'
"'It's a remarkable dog, sir. You won't see another like it with that
large white streak on his flank. He won't let one of our sentries be
found asleep, if he can help; unless, indeed, the fellow is drunk. He
seems to have less care of drunkards, but Mungo has saved many a man
from punishment. I was once, not a little indebted to him myself. My
sister was married out of the regiment, and we had had a bit of a
festivity, and drank rather too freely at the wedding, so that when I
mounted guard that night--I wasn't to say, drunk, but my head was a
little gone, or so; and I should have been caught nodding; but Mungo,
knowing, I suppose, that I was not an habitual drunkard, woke me just
in time.'
"'How did he wake you?' I asked.
"'I was roused by a short, sharp bark, that sounded close to my ears. I
started up, and had just time to catch a glimpse of Mungo before he
vanished!'
"'Is that the way he always wakes the men?'
"'So they say; and, as they wake, he disappears.'
"I recollected now, that on each occasion when I had observed the dog, I
had, somehow, lost sight of him in an instant; and, my curiosity being
awakened, I asked Captain T., if ours were the only men he took charge
of, or, whether he showed the same attention to those of other
regiments?
"'Only the 20th, sir; the tradition is, that after the battle of
Fontenoy, a large black mastiff was found lying beside a dead officer.
Although he had a dreadful wound from a sabre cut on his flank, and was
much exhausted from loss of blood, he would not leave the body; and even
after we buried it, he could not be enticed from the spot. The men,
interested by the fidelity and attachment of the animal, bound up his
wounds, and fed and tended him; and he became the dog of the regiment.
It is said, that they had taught him to go his rounds before the guards
and sentries were visited, and to wake any men that slept. How this may
be, I cannot say; but he remained with the regiment till his death, and
was buried with all the respect they could show him. Since that, he has
shown his gratitude in the way I tell you, and of which you have seen
some instances.'
"'I suppose the white streak is the mark of the sabre cut. I wonder you
never fired at him.'
"'God forbid sir, I should do such a thing,' said Captain T., looking
sharp round at me. 'It's said that a man did so once, and that he never
had any luck afterwards; that may be a superstition, but I confess I
wouldn't take a good deal to do it.'
"'If, as you believe, it's a spectre, it could not be hurt, you know; I
imagine ghostly dogs are impervious to bullets.'
"'No doubt, sir; but I shouldn't like to try the experiment. Besides,
it would be useless, as I am convinced already.'
"I pondered a good deal upon this conversation with the old captain. I
had never for a moment entertained the idea that such a thing was
possible. I should have as much expected to meet the minotaur or a
flying dragon as a ghost of any sort, especially the ghost of a dog; but
the evidence here was certainly startling. I had never observed anything
like weakness and credulity about T.; moreover, he was a man of known
courage, and very much respected in the regiment. In short, so much had
his earnestness on the subject staggered me, that I resolved whenever it
was my turn to visit the guards and sentries, that I would carry a
pistol with me ready primed and loaded, in order to settle the question.
If T. was right, there would be an interesting fact established, and no
harm done; if, as I could not help suspecting, it was a cunning trick of
the men, who had trained this dog to wake them, while they kept up the
farce of the spectre, the animal would be well out of the way; since
their reliance on him no doubt led them to give way to drowsiness when
they would otherwise have struggled against it; indeed, though none of
our men had been detected--thanks, perhaps, to Mungo--there had been so
much negligence lately in the garrison that the general had issued very
severe orders on the subject.
"However, I carried my pistol in vain; I did not happen to fall in with
Mungo; and some time afterwards, on hearing the thing alluded to at the
mess-table, I mentioned what I had done, adding, 'Mungo is too knowing,
I fancy, to run the risk of getting a bullet in him.'
"'Well,' said Major R., 'I should like to have a shot at him, I confess.
If I thought I had any chance of seeing him, I'd certainly try it; but
I've never seen him at all.'
"'Your best chance,' said another, 'is when Jokel Falck is on duty. He
is such a sleepy scoundrel, that the men say if it was not for Mungo
he'd pass half his time in the guard house.'
"'If I could catch him I'd put an ounce of lead into him; that he may
rely on.'
"'Into Jokel Falck, sir?' said one of the subs, laughing.
"'No, sir,' replied Major R.; 'into Mungo--and I'll do it, too.'
"'Better not, sir,' said Captain T., gravely; provoking thereby a
general titter round the table.
"Shortly after this, as I was one night going to my quarter, I saw a
mounted orderly ride in and call out a file of the guard to take a
prisoner.
"'What's the matter?' I asked.
"'One of the sentries asleep on his post, sir; I believe it's Jokel
Falck.'
"'It will be the last time, whoever it is,' I said; 'for the general is
determined to shoot the next man that's caught.'
"'I should have thought Mungo had stood Jokel Falck's friend, so often
that he'd never have allowed him to be caught,' said the adjutant.
'Mungo has neglected his duty.'
"'No, sir,' said the orderly, gravely. 'Mungo would have waked him, but
Major R. shot at him.'
"'And killed him,' I said.
"The man made no answer, but touched his cap and rode away.
"I heard no more of the affair that night; but the next morning, at a
very early hour, my servant woke me, saying that Major R. wished to
speak to me. I desired he should be admitted, and the moment he entered
the room, I saw by his countenance that something serious had occurred;
of course, I thought the enemy had gained some unexpected advantage
during the night, and sat up in bed inquiring eagerly what had happened.
"To my surprise he pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and burst into
tears. He had married a native of Antwerp, and his wife was in the city
at this time. The first thing that occurred to me was, that she had met
with some accident, and I mentioned her name.
"'No, no,' he said; 'my son, my boy, my poor Fritz!'
"'You know that in our service, every officer first enters his regiment
as a private soldier, and for a certain space of time does all the
duties of that position. The major's son, Fritz, was thus in his
noviciate. I concluded he had been killed by a stray shot, and for a
minute or two I remained in this persuasion, the major's speech being
choked by his sobs. The first words he uttered were--
"'Would to God I had taken Captain T.'s advice!'
"'About what?' I said. 'What has happened to Fritz?'
"'You know,' said he, 'yesterday I was field officer of the day; and
when I was going my rounds last night, I happened to ask my orderly, who
was assisting to put on my sash, what men we had told off for the guard.
Amongst others, he named Jokel Falck, and remembering the conversation
the other day at the mess table, I took one of my pistols out of the
holster, and, after loading, put it in my pocket. I did not expect to
see the dog, for I had never seen him; but as I had no doubt that the
story of the spectre was some dodge of the men, I determined if ever I
did, to have a shot at him. As I was going through the Place de Meyer, I
fell in with the general, who joined me, and we rode on together,
talking of the siege. I had forgotten all about the dog, but when we
came to the rampart, above the Bastion du Matte, I suddenly saw exactly
such an animal as the one described, trotting beneath us. I knew there
must be a sentry immediately below where we rode, though I could not see
him, and I had no doubt that the animal was making towards him; so
without saying a word, I drew out my pistol and fired, at the same
moment jumping off my horse, in order to look over the bastion, and get
a sight of the man. Without comprehending what I was about, the general
did the same, and there we saw the sentry lying on his face, fast
asleep.'
"'And the body of the dog?' said I.
"'Nowhere to be seen,' he answered, 'and yet I must have hit him--I
fired bang into him. The general says it must have been a delusion, for
he was looking exactly in the same direction, and saw no dog at all--but
I am certain I saw him, so did the orderly.'
"'But Fritz?' I said.
"'It was Fritz--Fritz was the sentry,' said the major, with a fresh
burst of grief. The court-martial sits this morning, and my boy will be
shot, unless interest can be made with the general to grant him a
pardon.'
"I rose and drest myself immediately, but with little hope of success.
Poor Fritz being the son of an officer, was against him rather than
otherwise--it would have been considered an act of favouritism to spare
him. He was shot; his poor mother died of a broken heart, and the major
left the service immediately after the surrender of the city."
"And have you ever seen Mungo again?" said I.
"No," he replied; "but I have heard of others seeing him."
"And are you convinced that it was a spectre, and not a dog of flesh and
blood?"
"I fancy I was then--but, of course, one can't believe--"
"Oh, no;" I rejoined; "Oh, no; never mind facts, if they don't fit into
our theories."
THE OLD FRENCH GENTLEMAN'S STORY.
I spent the summer of fifty-six at Dieppe--a charming watering-place for
those who can bear an exciting air, and are not very particular about
what they eat. Dieppe, as travellers see it who are hurrying through to
Paris, has a most unpromising aspect, with its muddy basins and third
and fourth rate inns on the quays, but if you are not hastening from the
packet to the train, which the great proportion of people do; you have
only to pass up one of the short streets you will see _en face_, when
you issue from the Custom-house, into which you have been introduced on
landing, and you will find yourself on an esplanade of considerable
extent, with a wide expanse of clear salt water before you, a fine
terrace walk along the shore, and several newly erected hotels opposite
the sea. Of course, there is an _etablissement_ where the usual
amusements are provided; the bathing is excellent, and the company
numerous, for Dieppe is the favourite watering place of the fashionable
world of Paris. The beauty of the place is greatly increased by a
judicious suggestion of the Emperor's. I was told that when he and the
Empress were there in '55, they complained of the absence of flowers on
the esplanade; it was objected that none would grow there; however, he
recommended them to try hollyhocks, china-asters, and poppies, the
latter are the finest I ever saw, and the brilliant and varied masses of
colour produce a very good effect. But they do not feed you well here;
'_La Viande est longue a Dieppe_' as the Garcon of the Hotel Royal urged
when I objected to the meat which, on application of the knife fell into
strips of pack-thread; the poultry is lean and bad; fish scarce, because
it all goes to London or Paris, by contract, and everything dear.
Nevertheless, Dieppe is a very nice place and the surrounding country is
exceedingly pretty and picturesque.
Some members of the Jockey Club were in the Hotel Royal, living very
fast indeed. They all bore very aristocratic names and titles, but not
the impress of high blood. How should they? Judging from what I saw,
such a course of profligate self-indulgence, unredeemed, even by good
breeding, must have effaced the stamp, if it ever was there. They
inhabited a pavilion in the cour, and the luxurious repasts that we
constantly saw served to them gave us an awful idea of the amount of
their bill. They played at cards all day--the live long summer day! And
only suspended this amusement when the garcons appeared with their trays
loaded with expensive wines and high-seasoned dishes. One other
amusement they had, which was no less an amusement to us--they had a
drag--a regular English four-in-hand. The cour of the hotel was divided
from the road by iron rails, with a large gate at each extremity for
carriages, so that to an English whip, nothing would have been easier
than to drive in at one of these gates, and round the sweep, and out at
the other; but this the jockey club could never accomplish; when the
gentlemen took the reins from the coachman, if they were in, they could
not get out; and if they were out, they could not get in; so after a few
ambitious attempts and ignominious failures, they submitted to the
inglorious expediency of mounting and dismounting outside the gates.
The French have certainly a remarkable incapacity for riding or driving,
which is strange, as they are active men and have generally light
figures. The Emperor is almost the only Frenchman I ever saw ride well;
but he rides like an English gentleman.
There were many elegantly drest women, of all nations, at Dieppe, but
there was one who particularly attracted my attention, and for whom,
when I afterwards heard her story, I felt an extraordinary interest.
This was the Countess Adeline de-Givry-Monjerac, at least so I will call
her here. When I first saw her she was going down to bathe, attended by
her maid, a grave elderly person, and I was so much struck by her
appearance, that I took the first opportunity of enquiring her name. She
was tall and very pale, with fine, straight features, and an expression
of countenance at once noble and melancholy. Her figure was so good, and
her bearing at once so graceful and dignified, that her unusual height
did not strike you till you saw her standing beside other women. She was
leaning on her maid's arm, and stooped a little, apparently from
feebleness. Her attire was a peignoir of grey taffetas, lined with
blue, and on her head she wore a simple capote of the same. Her age, I
judged to be about forty.
She lodged in the Hotel Royal, as I did also, but lived entirely in
private; and we only saw her there as she went in and out. Later in the
season, the Duchesse de B., and other persons, arrived from Paris, with
whom she was acquainted, and I often observed her in conversation with
them on the promenade; but her countenance never lost its expression of
melancholy. However, I should have left Dieppe, ignorant of the singular
circumstances I am about to relate, but for an accident.
There was a verandah in the court of the hotel, in which many of us
preferred to breakfast, rather than in the salon; and the verandah not
being very extensive, and the candidates numerous, there was often a
little difficulty in securing a table. One morning, I had just laid my
parasol on the only one I saw vacant, when the garcon warned me that it
was already engaged by _ce monsieur_, indicating an old gentleman, who
was standing with his back to me, in conversation with one of a
sisterhood called _Soeurs de la Providence_, who was soliciting him to
buy some of the lottery tickets she held in her hand; they were for the
_Loterie de Bienfaisance_, the proceeds of which are devoted to
charitable purposes. There are innumerable lotteries of this sort in
France, authorized by the government; and they seem to me to be the
substitute for our magnificent private charities in England, for very
large sums are collected. The tickets only cost a franc. I believe the
_tirage_ is conducted with perfect fairness; and people thus subscribe a
franc for the poor, with the agreeable, but very remote, chance of being
repaid, _meme ici bas_, a hundred thousand-fold.