At the same time Crashie’s venerable form faded away, and in its stead appeared the evil genius, Danhasch,[*] in all the naked hideousness of his real deformity. The demon soon vanished with a wild howl of rage, and the marquis found himself again in the grove with Lady Ellrington.
She implored him on her knees to forgive an attempt which love alone had dictated, but he turned from her with a smile of bitter contempt and disdain, and hastened to his father’s palace.
About a week after this event the nuptials of Arthur Augustus, Marquis of Douro, and Marian Hume were solemnized with unprecedented pomp and splendour. Lady Ellrington, when she thus saw that all her hopes were lost in despair, fell into deep melancholy, and while in this state she amused herself with carving the little image before mentioned. After a long time she slowly recovered, and the marquis, convinced that her extravagances had arisen from a disordered brain, consented to honour her with his friendship once more.
I continued upwards of two months at the Marquis of Douro’s palace, and then returned to Verdopolis, equally delighted with my noble host and his fair, amiable bride.
August 20th, 1882.
NAPOLEON AND THE SPECTRE
This story was printed by Mr. Clement Shorter in February 1919, in an edition limited to twenty-five copies for private circulation only. Extracts from it were printed in Poet-Lore, vol. ix., Autumn Number, 1897. The complete story is now published for the first time.
In the Introduction by Mr. Shorter in the privately printed pamphlet we are informed that the story is supposed to be ‘told at an inn by a traveller whose name is not given, but who is described as a dapper little man, dressed in brown coat and waistcoat and cream-coloured continuations.’
I venture to copy the following further extract from Mr. Shorter’s Introduction to the story:—
The identity of the ghost is revealed by Napoleon’s exclamation when he is recovering from his somnambulistic trance, ‘Where in the world is Piche?’ Piche is General Pichegru, who, when Napoleon was first consul, joined in a plot to assassinate him. The plot was discovered and Pichegru was arrested and imprisoned; but before the day fixed for his trial ‘he was found dead in his cell with his black silk cravat twisted tightly round his neck by means of a stick.’