WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:07.000 The favorite locale of writers of romantic adventure from Dumas to Sabatini has always been the Wayside Tavern. 00:07.000 --> 00:13.000 One of their favorite periods has been the Napoleonic era, and the same locale and the same historical period 00:13.000 --> 00:19.000 provide one of the most baffling true stories in all the chronicles of the strange and incredible. 00:21.000 --> 00:26.000 The coach that sped along the road from Vienna that crisp wintery morning in November 1808 00:26.000 --> 00:32.000 carried Benjamin Bathurst, ambassador from England to the court of France as the first emperor of Austria. 00:32.000 --> 00:39.000 At the moment the eminent Mr. Bathurst was highly impatient, for he was returning to London with a report on weighty matters of state. 00:39.000 --> 00:43.000 His secretary, who sat beside him in the coach, listened patiently to his complaints. 00:43.000 --> 00:45.000 What's the matter with the blasted creatures, Papa? 00:45.000 --> 00:47.000 I'm afraid we need fresh horses, sir. 00:47.000 --> 00:57.000 Well then let's get fresh horses. We'll find the nearest inn and change horses there. 00:57.000 --> 01:01.000 Later, the English diplomat was comfortably ensconced in the inn. 01:01.000 --> 01:05.000 He had scarcely finished his third mug of ale when his secretary approached the table. 01:05.000 --> 01:07.000 The horses are haunted, sir. 01:07.000 --> 01:09.000 Very well. I'll go out and look them over. 01:09.000 --> 01:11.000 Settle my account with the host, Papa. 01:11.000 --> 01:16.000 Having paid for the beer, the secretary followed his employer out under the street in front of the inn. 01:16.000 --> 01:19.000 He found Mr. Bathurst examining the horses with a critical eye. 01:19.000 --> 01:23.000 This one will do. Wait here. I want to take a look at the other one. 01:23.000 --> 01:27.000 The ambassador stepped in front of the horses and disappeared on the other side of them. 01:27.000 --> 01:31.000 Palmer opened the coach's door and glanced in to be sure that the luggage was safe. 01:31.000 --> 01:33.000 No sound came from the other side of the coach. 01:33.000 --> 01:37.000 Anything the matter, sir? Mr. Bathurst? 01:37.000 --> 01:41.000 The secretary hastened around to the other side of the carriage to see what had happened to his employer. 01:41.000 --> 01:44.000 He's not here. 01:44.000 --> 01:47.000 Palmer could see for several blocks in either direction. 01:47.000 --> 01:49.000 There was no one in view. 01:49.000 --> 01:51.000 He threw open the door of the coach again. 01:51.000 --> 01:53.000 It was empty. 01:53.000 --> 01:58.000 He ran into the inn and made inquiries, but my host assured him that Mr. Bathurst had not come back into the inn. 01:58.000 --> 02:05.000 Two other patrons sitting at a table near the window informed Palmer that they, too, had seen the diplomat walk around in front of the horses, 02:05.000 --> 02:07.000 but that he had not reappeared. 02:07.000 --> 02:12.000 The secretary, in a state of utter bewilderment, sat down to wait for his employer's return. 02:12.000 --> 02:15.000 But Benjamin Bathurst did not come back. 02:15.000 --> 02:20.000 In fact, that was the last time he was ever seen. 02:20.000 --> 02:24.000 A single footnote needs to be added to this strange story. 02:24.000 --> 02:30.000 On January 23, 1810, more than a year after the British ambassador's sudden disappearance, 02:30.000 --> 02:35.000 a small and inconspicuous item appeared in a Hamburg newspaper. 02:35.000 --> 02:42.000 Mr. Benjamin Bathurst, former British minister to the court of our emperor, has at last been found. 02:42.000 --> 02:53.000 His secretary, Mr. George Palmer, announced recently that he had received a letter from Bathurst himself informing him that he is safe and in good health. 02:53.000 --> 02:56.000 In time, this item fell into Palmer's hands. 02:56.000 --> 02:58.000 There's not a word of truth in it. 02:58.000 --> 03:00.000 I received no letter from Mr. Bathurst. 03:00.000 --> 03:05.000 The theory has been advanced that Benjamin Bathurst was abducted by political enemies 03:05.000 --> 03:09.000 and that the item was inserted to bring to a halt the widespread search for him. 03:09.000 --> 03:17.000 Napoleon Bonaparte himself felt obliged publicly to disclaim any hand in the affair, but such a disclaimer was scarcely necessary. 03:17.000 --> 03:24.000 For after all, how can a man be abducted in broad daylight in the middle of the main street of a village 03:24.000 --> 03:28.000 while three eyewitnesses remain in complete ignorance of what is taking place? 03:28.000 --> 03:32.000 No, such a simple and logical explanation will not do. 03:32.000 --> 03:59.000 And until a better one is found, the case of Benjamin Bathurst must remain a mystery incredible but true.