Allen Upward

“ Although not lacking in self-confidence, I shrank before this tremendous task. Apart from my scruples as a Catholic—and I was by no means sure how far it was lawful for a layman to interfere in a Papal election—I doubted my power to influence the choice of the Sacred College in the short time at my disposal.
‘In ten days from now the Conclave will begin,’ I murmured reflectively.
‘I know it,’ broke in Victor Emmanuel. ‘I want you to be present in the Conclave as my secret agent.’
I trembled. The secrecy of the Conclave is guarded with the greatest care. ”

“ It was some years since I had seen or heard anything of the Countess Draga, though, of course, I was aware, in common with all well-informed students of contemporary politics, of the passion which she had inspired in the young King of Servia, when I was astonished by receiving one day a private letter from her, imploring me to come to Belgrade at once to advise her on a matter of the highest importance.
I lost no time in obeying the summons, by which I was singularly moved, since there is only one thing which can ever be of the highest importance to a woman. ”

“ I drew back disdainfully.
‘I must apologise,’ I said, with irony; ‘I have not had the honour of meeting you, Colonel Sigersen. Pray do not think I wish to intrude on you.’
Marloff saw his mistake. In the secret service of Russia nothing is more common than for two different agents to be employed independently of each other, and even as spies upon each other. When that happens, if the two men are wise, they strike up a private alliance, and compare notes at their employers’ expense. When they keep each other at arm’s length, each has it in his power to cause annoyance to the other. ”

“ The moment the last man had stepped across the threshold of the dressing-room, I took Alexander by the arm and drew, or rather dragged, him out into the corridor, and down the great staircase of the Palace.
We passed out unquestioned. It did not occur to one of the men whom we found outside that Masileff could have missed his prey.
My uniform was enough to disarm suspicion, for it was that of a regiment in which every man had sworn on the Gospel not to let Alexander escape alive. My agent had served me well. ”

“ THE MYSTERY OF CAPTAIN DREYFUS Every one must feel that the last word has not been said on that extraordinary transaction which convulsed France, and shocked Europe, during the close of the nineteenth century, under the name of the Dreyfus Case.
It is true that no effort has been spared by the Government of the Republic to put an end to an agitation which threatened to develop into a civil war. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Although I maintain friendly relations with the Russian police, with whom I have often collaborated, I knew they were not likely to tolerate my intrusion into their territory as the spy of a foreign Power. In dealing with half-reclaimed savages like the Slaves, one never knows what form their revenge will take, and Siberia is not a country in which I have ever had any inclination to reside. ”

“ I have already related how I exposed and defeated the insidious design concealed under the Peace Rescript of Nicholas II. Hardly had this audacious intrigue miscarried when Europe was startled to hear that the Ministers of the Imperial peacemaker had overthrown the ancient liberties of Finland, in order to swell the Finnish contingent to the armies of the Tsar.
This time I admit that I was deceived, like everybody else. The brutal frankness of the proceeding disarmed suspicion. When Russia openly declares herself a tyrant, it is difficult to believe she is dissembling. ”

“ I could not blame the journalists for being taken in by a story which had imposed on one of the most hard-headed diplomatists in Paris; I could only marvel at the astuteness and daring of the Muscovite statesmen who had contrived to turn the personal idiosyncrasies of their sovereign to use in their Machiavellian politics.
On reaching the shores of the Bosphorus I found, as I had anticipated, that I was wanted to disentangle a miserable intrigue of the harem, the kind of work more suited to a private detective than to a man in my unique position. ”

“ This bitter shaft of contempt roused even the Italian police into activity. On landing at the French port I was met by a detective sent from Rome.
I took him with me to a hotel, where we discussed the situation in a private room.
‘It seems to me that we are all right for the present,’ he urged. ‘As long as they think you are going to carry out the work they are not likely to send any one else.’
‘Do not be too sure,’ I answered. ‘There is a lame watchmaker over there who does not quite trust me.’
‘What do you propose to do?’ asked the detective.
‘To shoot King Humbert,’ I replied. ”

“ I gazed at the King in astonishment.
‘I am the King of Norway as well as of Sweden,’ his Majesty pursued, ‘and you must not think I favour one country more than the other. But I might as well be King at the same time of France and Germany, for any real harmony there is between the two countries. The Norwegians are working for absolute separation; the Swedes will grant them everything except the right to make war on Sweden ”

“ I decided to reserve my efforts in this direction until our arrival in Havana, where I did not doubt that I should be able to find some responsible ecclesiastic who would undertake the investigation of Kehler’s antecedents.
In the meantime I could only wait and watch. I was painfully impressed by the steady growth of the false priest’s influence over his victim, who seemed at last to respond to his least word or gesture. I had before me the spectacle of a possible Teresa or Elizabeth being gradually transformed into a Ravaillac by the dexterous touches of a rascally police agent. ”

“ Such an attitude, adopted in order to save France from disruption, is not without a certain dignity; but it is at the same time terribly unjust. It is as if France had repeated to the victim of the Devil’s Isle [57] the memorable words—‘It is better that one man should die for the people.’
The one person in Europe who is completely ignorant of the true motives underlying this grim tragedy is without doubt Dreyfus himself. ”

“ 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 my 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. ”

“ You forget the Sacred Presence. There is only one Emperor—he whom her Majesty permits to execute her will over the black-haired people. The vain assumption of Imperial titles by these foreign bandits is deeply offensive to the Court of Heaven. You understand? All such upstarts exist merely by the tolerance of her Majesty. We will speak of this person as the Viceroy of the German Province.’
I could scarcely resist a smile as I bowed apologetically. I imagined myself repeating this conversation to Wilhelm II., a ruler not inclined to take too low an estimate of his own consequence. ”

“ Within three days I found myself in the palace of Schönbrunn.
Of all my clients Francis-Joseph is the most unapproachable. Modern ideas of democratic equality find little encouragement in the Austrian Court. [198] After the friendly bonhomie of the German Kaiser, and the tactful kindness of the King of England, the Austrian sovereign’s manner affects one disagreeably: it is like touching a lump of ice. ”

“ I reflected that it was not a little singular that, in an age when the women of the Western world were clamouring for opportunities to play a greater part in life, this almond-eyed daughter of the Manchus had cast ridicule upon their agitation by proving that it was possible for a woman, born in the most conservative society of the globe, to achieve the supreme direction of five hundred millions of human beings, and to make sport of the statesmen of Europe and America. ”

“ The diplomacy of the United States, blunt and self-reliant, takes little account of the subterranean intrigue which pervades European politics. But the Government of Washington was not the only factor concerned. As Europe is beginning to learn, the Union is a federation, not so much of those geographical divisions which are painted in different colours on the map, and called States, but of those vast organisations of capital which control the American electoral system, and fill the Senate with their delegates. ”

“ THE BLOWING UP OF THE MAINE Although the revelations which have been made already in the British House of Commons have thrown some light on the international intrigues which complicated the progress of the Cuban War, the tragic event which caused the United States to draw the sword against Spain has remained a profound mystery to the present hour.
The truth concerning the destruction of the United States warship Maine, in the roadstead of Havana, is known fully to only two persons now alive. ”

“ Of all states Turkey was the one most deeply concerned in the foreign policy of Russia. Of all possible clients the most desirable was the ruler whose secret hoards had dazzled the imagination of every secret service agent in the world for a quarter of a century. ”

“ If an agent of mine blunders or breaks down I consider the fault is mine for having intrusted him with a task beyond his powers. Besides, there are no perfect instruments. In my own career I have made two mistakes.
Therefore I assured the unfortunate man that all was well, since Queen Draga was yet alive. We went together to the house in which my agent had been residing for some time in the character of correspondent of the Havas Agency. There I assumed the Servian dress which he had had the forethought to prepare for me, and, disguised as a sous-officier, I set off for the Palace. ”

“ China. There they can do all that they want with a hundred thousand men. So it is to their interest to get rid of the burden of a great army which will not be wanted for a generation.’
This was an ingenious idea, but it did not satisfy me, any more than the semi-official one had done. I ventured to object—
‘If that were all, sire, there would be no occasion for this melodramatic appeal to the other Powers. There is nothing to hinder Russia from reducing her armaments by one-half to-morrow. No one dreams of attacking her. Her army is kept up for offence, not for defence. ”

“ The whole of the Powers of the Continent were to be united in a Customs League against Great Britain.
Russia and Austria, I saw, had eagerly welcomed the proposal. Spain and Turkey, with the Balkan States, were also committed to it. So were Belgium and Holland, the first in revenge for British criticism of the Congo Free State, the second on account of the Boer War. Sweden and Denmark were evidently disinclined to the scheme, but unable to resist the pressure put upon them. Only three countries still held out firmly—France, Italy, and Portugal. ”

“ The Swiss himself proposed that we should come into the back shop and talk things over in confidence.
When we were all three seated together, it was the watchmaker who gave me the long-sought explanation in a few words.
‘This man is an Abyssinian. He has come here on behalf of the Emperor Menelik.’
‘Menelik!’ I exclaimed in astonishment. ‘What has he got to do with us?’
‘Nothing directly; but if you have read the papers you must know that Humbert was the moving spirit in the Abyssinian war. He made peace after Adowa, under pressure from the Crown Prince, who told him the dynasty was in danger. ”

“ I toured along the frontier almost from end to end, in a motor which I had ordered from Paris, and I came upon great stretches of country, several miles in extent, where a whole Russian army corps could have crossed the line without being observed, far less opposed.
At the end of this inspection, which lasted about a week, I crossed over to the Russian side.
I found myself received without apparent distrust. The legend of the mad Englishman on his motor-car had no doubt preceded me. The Russians do not dislike Englishmen, as individuals, in the way they dislike Germans. ”

“ Every one who knows anything of France knows that the soldiers have long chafed under the ascendency of the lawyers, which is a necessary consequence of Republican institutions. But Garnier’s words, if I interpreted them rightly, showed that the lesson of Boulanger’s failure had been laid to heart, and that this time the military conspiracy which undoubtedly existed had found a really formidable figurehead. In short, it was a question not of a military dictator, but of a monarch; not of a Boulanger, but of a Bourbon or a Bonaparte. ”

“ The fact that I killed a Russian sentry in order to cross the frontier should convince you that I am in deadly earnest.’
The officer, by some rare chance, was intelligent enough to believe me.
‘Pass on, sir,’ he said.
I pressed the lever, and set out on my mad race across an Empire to Vienna. I had nothing to eat or drink. I had no shields for my eyes; the Russian soldiers must have removed them while the car was in their hands. I was utterly unprepared for my terrible journey. ”

“ THE POLICY OF EDWARD VII. It is always a delicate matter for a foreigner to write about the Sovereign of another country in such a way as to be acceptable to his subjects. In case I, a citizen of the United States, should unwittingly offend any English prejudices in the following narrative, I can only assure my readers that I am actuated by no feeling but that of the most sincere respect for the greatest of living Sovereigns and the mighty people over whom he reigns. ”

“ Five minutes later I had placed the desolate creature in the train, and we were speeding on our way to Vienna.
It was in the train that I learned the few particulars that Anna had to tell. But I had already guessed the nature of the catastrophe.
Another party of soldiers, headed by a personal enemy of the Queen’s, had invaded the Royal suite through the waiting-maid’s room at the instant that Masileff and his men burst into the bedroom where the valet was lying insensible. Whether Draga’s life might really have been spared or not, it is impossible to say. ”

“ The Bear was the first to protest.
‘It is the curse of Anarchism that every one wants to have his own opinion. It seems to me that when men like ourselves, who have guided the movement [129] for years, are agreed on the right course of action, a new comrade ought to accept our decision.’
I did not retort that the word Anarchist, if it meant anything, meant one who had his own opinion and refused to be guided by the agreement of others. There is nothing a fanatic resents so much as reason, except ridicule. ”

“ Even in Paris, with its jealous and reckless Press, I found that the British King was a favourite with those who were most ready to criticise British policy.
I had an interview with Father Loubet, as the [263] French love to call their homely peasant-President; the man who has proved once more that sterling character counts for more in public life than rank or wealth or intellectual cleverness.
Later on I had the honour of accompanying the ruler of Britain on his stately progress of peace. ”