Your Excellency:
A circumstance has come to the notice of this Ministry, the
significance of which I am at a loss to define, but, since it
appears to involve matters of State, both here and abroad, I am
convinced that it is of sufficient importance to be brought to
your personal attention. Frankly, I am unwilling to take any
further action in the matter without your advice.
Briefly, the situation is this: We are holding, here at the
Ministry of Police, a person giving his name as Benjamin Bathurst,
who claims to be a British diplomat. This person was taken into
custody by the police at Perleburg yesterday, as a result of a
disturbance at an inn there; he is being detained on technical
charges of causing disorder in a public place, and of being a
suspicious person. When arrested, he had in his possession a
dispatch case, containing a number of papers; these are of such an
extraordinary nature that the local authorities declined to assume
any responsibility beyond having the man sent here to Berlin.
After interviewing this person and examining his papers, I am,
I must confess, in much the same position. This is not, I am
convinced, any ordinary police matter; there is something very
strange and disturbing here. The man's statements, taken alone,
are so incredible as to justify the assumption that he is mad. I
cannot, however, adopt this theory, in view of his demeanor,
which is that of a man of perfect rationality, and because of the
existence of these papers. The whole thing is mad; incomprehensible!
The papers in question accompany, along with copies of the
various statements taken at Perleburg, a personal letter to me
from my nephew, Lieutenant Rudolf von Tarlburg. This last is
deserving of your particular attention; Lieutenant von Tarlburg
is a very level-headed young officer, not at all inclined to be
fanciful or imaginative. It would take a good deal to affect him
as he describes.
The man calling himself Benjamin Bathurst is now lodged in an
apartment here at the Ministry; he is being treated with every
consideration, and, except for freedom of movement, accorded
every privilege.