He Walked Around the Horses

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"He Walked Around the Horses" is a 7,500-word short story by H. Beam Piper, about a 19th century man who is transported to an alternate time-line. The story was first published in the April, 1948 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

1 Plot
2 Reprints
3 Notes
4 External Links

Plot

In November of 1809, an English diplomat travelling from Vienna to Hamburg suddenly and inexplicably disappears, and is never heard from again. The man appears in another reality—an alternate history. His name is Benjamin Bathurst, and his transfer from our history to this different history occurs while he was inspecting his horses and carriage while checking into an inn (hence the title). He realizes things are different--his carriage, valet, driver, and assistant are now missing. He goes into the inn and accuses the innkeeper of drugging him, and then playing an elaborate hoax on him. The innkeeper says he has never seen the man before, thinks him mad, and calls for the police.

The subsequent police investigation (the story is actually told as a series of reports, letters, and witness affidavits) reveals that the man believes that Europe is dominated by Napoleon Bonaparte, whom they’ve never heard of. In their history, Benedict Arnold was killed in battle at Quebec in 1776— so he was never at the Battle of Saratoga, which the British won. Hence the American revolution was defeated, and without the American example, the French republicans were never able to take power, so the Bourbons still rule in France, and Europe has been spared the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars.

Eventually, officials escort Benjamin Bathurst to Berlin, where they show him some contemporary newspapers, convincing him that this reality is very different from the one he knows. He tries to escape, and is shot dead.

The final document is from a British government official, assessing the entire affair. The papers that Bathurst had on his person seemed genuine looking, and caused some embarrasment for some British government officials who were thought to be in on the hoax. The real Benjamin Bathurst is in fact serving as “King’s Lieutenant-Governor for the Crown Colony of Georgia”. This British official has ascertained that many of the names mentioned in Bathurst's accounts were real people with similar histories to the ones that Bathurst reported. James Madison, he learns, is living in exile in Switzerland; Thomas Jefferson died in exile in Cuba; and Talleyrand is a man of some importance in France. Writes this British official: “I was baffled, however, by one name, frequently mentioned in those fantastic papers. This was the Enlgish General, Wellington. I haven’t the least idea who this person might be." The official then signs the final report with the name "Sir Arthur Wellesley."

Reprints

This story has been reprinted in, among other places, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 10 (1948).

Notes

Arthur Wellesley was the birth name of the man who, in 1814, became The Duke of Wellington. By that time he had already made his reputation as a general by defeating the French army in several battles in Spain. In 1815 the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

Greenberg and Asimov say that this story was inspired by an incident reported by Charles Fort.