After a number of more or less strenuous missions, I felt thoroughly
run down. During the Boer War I had been shot through the left lung
and now I began to experience trouble. A series of hemorrhages
brought about by unchecked cold and exposure, led me to consult
Professor Bayer, the noted specialist in Berlin. He advised me to get
away from everything for a month at least, recommending the pine
ozone.
There is no lack of pine forests in Germany or Norway; and I had
plenty of acquaintances in both countries. To any one of them I would
have been welcome, but this would have entailed social obligations and
I wanted to be absolutely alone. There were but two of my friends at
whose places I could do exactly as I wished, where man and beast knew
me. One, whose place was in the Pushta, Hungary, was probably away on
a hunting trip and Hungary was too remote. The other, a schoolmate of
mine, lived near Furstenwalde, about fifty-eight kilometers from
Berlin. Furstenwalde, I decided, was an ideal spot, near Berlin, yet
isolated enough and in the heart of one of the largest of the
well-cared-for Prussian domain forests. So Ehrenkrug, the seat of the
_Koenigliche Ober Forsterei_ and the family seat of the Freiherren von
Ehrenkrug, was the place I selected.
I had enjoyed three weeks of rest and quietness, doing some desultory
fishing and shooting but spending most of my time in a hammock slung
under some of the giant Fichten, when my sylvan idyl was disturbed by
the red-faced, stub-nosed post boy of the Forsterei.
He brought me a letter from Graf Wedel, an astonishing missive.
_Dear Graves:_
I hope your health has improved sufficiently for you to attend to this
matter. Be pleased to understand that this is by no means an official
command. However, I need not point out to you the advantages,
accruing to you through your assistance in the case. The matter
briefly is this. I have been approached by the Grand Duke of
Mecklenburg-Schwerein to assist him in the solving of a rather
delicate private affair. It is outside the usual routine but we find
it advisable to comply. The mission is delicate and leads into
England, for which reasons I have decided to let you undertake the
affair if willing. In case of acceptance, all necessary leave of
absence will be arranged. This is not a command but let me again
point out the advisability of your showing compliance.
Truly yours, V. Wedel.
Three weeks in the pine forests had been better than all the
physicians in Berlin. Besides, I was tired of the monotonous country
life and was hungry for the fleshpots of Egypt. Between the lines of
Wedel's letter I could read the opportunities for earning a handsome
fee. I wrote Wedel that I had no objections, providing the mission
was something I could accomplish, for I was still in the dark as to
its nature. I knew that intruding into the private affairs of ducal
and princely houses is often a most unthankful business. I have ever
found it more satisfactory and less nerve racking to undertake a
mission into some foreign country than to become involved with some
petty local affair of royalty. For some such affair I judged to be
the dilemma of the house of Mecklenburg-Schwerein.
Within two days there came another communication from Wedel asking me
to be at Mecklenburg-Schwerein on a certain immediate day. Taking
leave of my friends, and thanking them for their hospitality, I left
for Schwerein. Upon my arrival at the seat of the dukedom I was met
by a quiet landau of the Grand Ducal stables. Two flunkies in the
Grand Duke's livery took my luggage, escorted me to the carriage and I
was driven up to the old castle. The landau took me to a side
entrance and I was promptly shown into an austere and unpretentious
chamber. Scarcely had I entered when a quiet, elderly,
benevolent-looking gentleman dressed in a shooting jacket appeared in
another doorway, evidently much perturbed. I at once recognized him
as the old Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein. He appraised me for
fully a minute; then as if to himself he said:
"You're only a boy, but I suppose they know," shaking his great gray
head. "Strange times. Strange times." Then suddenly realizing his
inhospitality, he urged me to be seated. "Take a seat, take a seat."
Unlike the gentlemen of the Wilhelmstrasse, he did not plunge
immediately into the subject at hand. He began a chat with me about
purely personal affairs. Finally the conversation drifting around to
the cause of my visit, he said:
"Can you fulfill this mission?"
I told him I could not say until I had learned what it was. I
requested that he give me the privilege of refusal should I find
myself unable to negotiate it successfully. He agreed that it was
fair and when he looked at me again he seemed to suggest that he did
not believe me so young after all.
"There's rather an unhappy and most inconvenient entanglement in my
household," he began. "My nephew, the young Grand Duke, is tangled up
and ensnarled with a certain lady in England whom he wishes to marry.
It is unfortunate that she is of too high a social status to be
entirely ignored or roughly bought off. Still, she is not eligible
for admission into our house. For more than political reasons, it is
impossible that she enter into an alliance with us." His eyes
flashed. "This lady has lately threatened to make trouble through my
persistent refusal to countenance her desired relationship." He
frowned. "She has in her possession compromising letters and
documents which my nephew was foolish enough to give her. These must
be returned to my hands. Monetary questions need not be considered
for a moment. Pressure and influence have been tried on both my
nephew and the lady. But of no avail. The means I leave to you. But
force and publicity must at all cost be avoided. I can give you very
little help as to procedure and information. What do you think of the
chances?"
It has ever been my way to he conservative in making promises and I
said:
"I hope your Highness will pardon me, but I find it often undesirable
to voice my thoughts until I have reached a certain stage of my
investigations."
This appeared to impress him and he rose saying:
"I am entirely in your hands. Communicate direct with my chamberlain,
or if necessary to use cable, I shall arrange with your chief in
Berlin for forwarding facilities. Be good enough to wait and I shall
send you my secretary." Slapping me on the shoulder, "You'll not
regret it, helping us out of this quandary."
Neither did I. The Grand Duke stalked out. A flunky appeared and
conducted me to a private little dining-room where cold game and wine
were served and at the end of which the secretary came in and handed
me an envelope with the Grand Duke's compliments and a request to
start at once on my mission. Assuring him I would be on the road that
same night, I returned to Berlin. I got Stammer of the Wilhelmstrasse
on the telephone and requested a preliminary two months' leave of
absence. I then caught the Hook of Holland Express en route for
London.
Upon opening the Grand Duke's letter I had found it contained three
bank notes of 1000 marks each and a draft for 500 pounds on the
English, Scottish and Colonial Bank, with a note saying that any
future request would be honored at three days' notice to the same
bank. Thus I would have all the money I wanted in London.
On the way over, I followed my usual custom and considered the
situation in detail. The lady in question was in society and the
first thing to do was to try to get in touch with the little circle or
clique in which she moved. This might have been difficult in any
other city but London. But a man of appearance, culture and money,
setting his stage right, can with tact and persistence force an entry
into any clique of London society.
The only thing I had to worry about was a setting of my stage. I was
undecided about it. One often has to leave things to circumstances,
being guided by any momentary points that may arise. My first task
was to create an impression, something that would get people talking
about me. I did not want to show any sensational parvenuism; London
is not impressed by that.
Rather, I must become known for some eccentricity that would arouse
legitimate curiosity. Your Britisher, the women included, are always
interested in a man of travel, a hunter, a desultory globe-trotter;
and nothing attracts the English mind so quickly as a well-bred
eccentricity in manner or habit. The broad lines of my plan
determined upon, I left the precise setting of the stage until the
last minute.
I quartered myself at first at the Russel Square Hotel, in a few days
transferring to the patrician Langham. I began by making tentative
inquiries. I purchased all society papers which I read from cover to
cover, and then carefully feeling my way put further questions that
would locate the set in which my lady was a central figure. From
acquaintances I made around the hotel, from the society reporters of
newspapers, I began to get little scraps of information. Fortunately
it was the season in London and everybody was coming into town. I
soon knew who the Lady's intimates were and their favorite rendezvous.
The next step was to become familiar with the personality of the lady
and to gain some idea as to her habits, her likes and dislikes. I
heard that the lady was in the habit of going horseback riding in Hyde
Park. Every day I made it my business to take a two-hour canter along
the bridle path. My patience was rewarded on the fifth morning, for I
saw her galloping by with a party of friends.
The next morning I was on the bridle path at the same hour. Finally
she came galloping along with the same group, and after they had
almost gone from sight, I galloped after them. I found out where they
kept their horses and after they had dismounted I sauntered up to the
stable and made inquiries. I learned that they always went out at the
same time of day. Thereafter I made it my business to pass the lady
on the bridle path day after day. I pride myself on few things, but
my horsemanship is one of them. Many a hard tussle and bleeding nose
I got riding Brumbies across the wild tracks of Australia. I also
learned a trick or two among my Tuareg friends which I exhibited for
the lady's benefit on various occasions. I did not hope to gain an
introduction, but only to attract attention and familiarize her party
with my appearance, applying one of the test points of human
psychology. I employed the theory of the subconscious attraction of
an often-seen, though unknown face.
I soon ascertained that my lady and her friends followed all the whims
of London society. One in particular interested me. They were in the
habit of frequenting Carlton Terrace between three and four every
afternoon and eating strawberries. I also went to eat strawberries.
Carlton Terrace during the strawberry season is an exquisitely colored
fashion plate of life's butterflies and drones. This throng of
fashion and beauty, marked with its air of distinction carelessly
abandoned to pleasure, ever murmuring pleasant nothings and tossing
light persiflage from table to table, is truly an interesting study of
the lighter sides of life. One sits on a magnificent markee-covered,
glass-enclosed terrace, overlooking the Thames with its ever-changing
scenes of fussy tugs and squat barges.
At Carlton Terrace one pays well for the subtleties of eating. By
courteous consideration of the waitresses I managed to secure a
much-coveted outside corner table, near to the one reserved for the
lady and her party. I always made it a point to withhold my entrance
until the lady was in the terrace; then I would stroll in alone, take
a seat alone, and show a desire to be alone. They have a very clever
way of serving strawberries at the Carlton. A vine, growing from ten
to twelve large luscious berries is brought on in a silver pot. It is
the acme of luxury. You pick the fresh berries from the vine on your
table, the Terrace supplies quantities of cream, and you pay half a
sovereign--$2.50--for a dish of strawberries. One dish is enough for
the average customer. Every afternoon I ordered five!
Day after day I consumed in strawberries two sovereigns and a
half--$12.50--of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein's money.
Always tipping the girl a half sovereign which made my daily
strawberry bill come up to three sovereigns ($15). For about ten days
I did this, always at the same time, always being careful to make my
entrance after the lady's party was seated, always ordering the same
number of portions, always giving the girl the same tip. It wasn't
long before I began to be observed. I soon saw that not only the
attendants but the patrons of the Terrace were becoming interested in
my foible. One day as I passed I heard someone say:
"Here comes the strawberry fiend."
I was satisfied. I knew it would be easy now to effect an entrance to
the lady's set. I had been marked as something out of the usual in
the restaurant which from three to four in the afternoon at that time
of the year is the most fashionable in London. Now, a woman like my
lady does not flirt. If you glance at her under favorable conditions,
such as my strawberry "stunt" had created for me, she will return the
glance. You both half smile and do not look at each other again that
afternoon. That is not flirting. Splitting hairs, we shall call it
psychic interest.
I continued my strawberry festival and one day a manager of Carlton
Terrace told me that people were making inquiries about me. Several
men had wanted to know who I was. Under questioning, he told me that
one of the men was a member of the lady's set. It was easy to put
together two and two. Obviously the inquiry had been inspired by her.
Meanwhile I had sent several communications to the Grand Duke,
insisting that pressure be brought to bear upon his nephew and to keep
him away from London; not even permitting him under penalty of
stopping his allowance, to write the lady in the case until the Grand
Duke gave his permission. By now, London had gradually filled and the
season was at its height. I went the rounds of the theaters from
Drury Lane to the Empire, and I visited the clubs. I found here men
whom I had met previously and presently I rounded up two or three
fellows with whom I had been fairly intimate at one time or another on
hunting expeditions and at continental watering-places. I made them
introduce me to different sets. Dexterous maneuvering obtained me
invitations to afternoon teas and at-homes in the same circle
frequented by my lady.
I was introduced to her at an afternoon reception. She was a typical
outdoor Englishwoman. Not particularly handsome, hut possessing to
the full the clearness of skin and eyes and strong virile health, that
is the hereditary lien of Albion's daughters. Tall, willowy and
strong, of free and independent manners and habits, she was the direct
antithesis of the usual German woman. I reasoned that this was
probably the reason of the young Duke's infatuation.
"How do you do, you wild Colonial boy. Still as fond of strawberries
as ever?"
We both burst out laughing.
"So your ladyship observed and classified my little maneuvers."
"Of course," with a toss of her head.
Unforced and pleasant chatting followed. I could more and more
understand the Grand Duke's infatuation; in fact, considered him quite
a "deuced, lucky beggar."
From that day on I made it a point to be present whenever she attended
public places, such as the theater, concerts or restaurants.
Gradually and imperceptibly, by little services here and there, I won
her confidence. There was an after-theater supper, in the Indian room
of the Windsor, and I was invited. By this time people had come to
know something about me. I was a globe-trotter, a man of leisure,
interested as a hobby in research work in medicine. I discovered that
her affair with the young Grand Duke was a fairly open secret in her
set; also, that she was expecting him in London almost daily.
Gradually I hinted that I knew the young Grand Duke. As I gained her
confidence further, I invented amorous affairs for him and hinted to
her about them. In this way I finally managed to induce her to talk.
Subtly I instilled a vague resentment against him, which was
accentuated by his non-appearance in London society up to now. His
Highness having been kept away by his Serene Uncle, the serene one
having been cautioned to do so by me.
Two months passed before I was invited to the lady's home in Mayfair
and by that time, partly because I pretended to know the young Grand
Duke, I was on a more intimate footing. I had learned that she had
met him at a hunting party at the Earl of Crewes' shooting box in
Shropshire. Later, she intimated that this was but their official
meeting and that their acquaintance actually dated from a mountain
trip she had taken to Switzerland, the universal playground of royalty
traveling _incog_. I learned too that her heavy bridge gambling had
cost her a lot of money.
The information that the lady was in debt did not come easily. To
obtain it, I had to work on her maid. Whenever the occasion arose, I
made it my business to tip the maid liberally. I contrived to do a
number of little things for her. Knowing the lady to be out, I called
at the house one day and while pretending to be waiting for my
hostess, I put some leading questions to the maid. I learned that her
mistress was pressed for money. That was an opening worth working on.
Thereafter I contrived to be present whenever there was a bridge party
at the lady's. They are pretty high gamblers, those English society
women, and I came to see that the lady was generally a heavy loser.
It was my good fortune for her to lose to me one night. Now, it is
the custom at these gatherings not to hand over cash; instead, the
unlucky one pays with what corresponds to an "on demand note." I took
her note that night and with others--the whereabouts of which I
learned from the maid and which I indirectly purchased from the
holders--I took all these to a notorious money-lender and made a deal
with him. He was to take the notes and press the lady for payment, of
course keeping my name out of it. It is obvious that, trying as I was
to w in her confidence, I could not go myself and hold these
obligations over her head. That same day the money-lender paid the
lady a call. He paid her a good many other calls, harassing her,
threatening legal action and driving her until she was almost to a
state of nervous collapse. Well-placed sympathies soon made her talk
and she burst out pettishly that she was in debt and that most of her
acquaintances were in debt--nothing unusual in that set.
This was an opportune chance to be of material benefit to the lady.
Seriously we talked over her affairs. I found them pretty well
entangled. We discussed the young Grand Duke. I gradually persuaded
her that there was no hope of a legitimate marriage with the house of
Mecklenburg-Schwerein, but because of her association with the young
Grand Duke and the fact that she had been betrothed to him, it was
only right that the Duchy provide her with some means of assistance.
The ice was perilously thin, for the lady is a high-spirited woman of
ideals and I had to be careful to word my language so that it would
not appear as though she were blackmailing. In justice to her, I
believe that if she had taken that view of it she would have dropped
the entire matter, and retired from society for the season rather than
go through with my plan. Finally I said:
" Have you any means by which you could compel the ducal house to make
adequate acknowledgments and redresses to you?"
After a long hesitation, she jumped up, swept from the room and
returned presently with a handful of letters. I saw on some of them
the Grand Duke's coat of arms. The young fool had been careless
enough for that! She shook the letters in a temper and cried:
"I wonder what Franz's uncle would say to these? Why, I could compel
him to marry me."
Here was the chance. The iron--in this case my lady's tempe--was hot.
I suggested that we sit down and talk it over. As an introductory
attack, to create the impression that I knew what I was talking about,
I hinted that I was connected with a leading family in Germany and
that I was in London _incog_. I approached the situation from the
viewpoint that I was her friend, not a friend of the house of
Mecklenburg-Schwerein, but that, by knowing them and their ways, I
could be of great assistance to her.
"It is regrettable," I consoled; "but you have no chance for a
legitimate, even a morganatic alliance with the young Grand Duke. I
consider their entire attitude toward you utterly unfair. In view of
your understanding with him, you are most certainly entitled to
adequate recompense from his house. If you went into court you could
obtain this on grounds of breach of promise, but I can understand your
feelings. Such a step would only cast odium upon an old and noble
family such as yours."
That seemed to her liking.
"But what can I do?" she said.
"In view of my friendship for you," I told her, "I would consider it
an honor if you would permit me to act on your behalf. I think I can
negotiate with the young Grand Duke's uncle and I promise that he will
regard the matter in a fair light. I appreciate the extreme delicacy
of the situation and you must observe the necessity of a man handling
this affair."
She shook her head and tapped the letters nervously.
"No. It is intolerable," she said. "Not to be thought of."
I saw that I had to make it stronger. I thereupon invented the most
ingenious lies it has ever been given me to tell. In about five
minutes I had painted the young Grand Duke in such colors that the
adventures of Don Juan were saintly compared to the escapades of his
ducal highness.
"Why, consider it yourself," I said. "He was to be over here with you
during the season. He has not come. You told me yourself that he has
not even answered your letters. Well, that's all there is to it.
Your ladyship, he and his house deserve any punishment that you can
visit upon them."
The idea of punishment appealed where the other had failed. The
outraged pride of woman, especially an Englishwoman, is a terrible
thing. Soon after that I made haste to take my leave. At my quarters
I wrote two letters to myself and signed the Grand Duke's name to
them. In these I offered to pay her ladyship's debts. They were
addressed to me and after allowing a reasonable time to elapse, I
again went out to Mayfair and read them to her. She was now cold and
hard and gave me full permission to go ahead and make any arrangements
I deemed advisable. I thereupon went to the Grand Duke's bank in
London and notified them that I must have 15,000 pounds ($75,000). In
four days I had the money. The rest of the transaction was
commonplace. She handed over all the letters and documents and I gave
her the 15,000 pounds. I know to-day that her ladyship travels
extensively in a very comfortable manner on the yearly appanage
allowed her by the old Grand Duke. I do not know whether she still
goes to Carlton Terrace to eat strawberries, but I flatter myself that
her present good fortune is partially due to the fact that she once
went there.
At the time of closing our little transaction, she took the precaution
to protect adequately and seal all letters and documents from my
perusal. Of course that was a disappointment. I put the packet away
carefully, closed up my aftairs in London and went back to Germany,
going direct to Mecklenburg-Schwerein where I delivered the package to
the old Grand Duke in person. He seized it eagerly and opened it in
my presence. I noticed as he ran through the letters that he did not
stop even to glance at them. He did, however, stop and pick out from
the pile an official looking document, at the sight of which a
tremendous sigh of relief seemed to escape him. The document had a
decidedly close resemblance to a marriage license as issued in
Switzerland. Of course I only got a fleeting, cursory glance at it,
but the eagerness of the Grand Duke in pouncing upon that one document
and ignoring the letters, and hints previously dropped by her
ladyship, embellished by rumors I later heard in Switzerland, all
leave very little doubt in my mind that a clandestine marriage did
actually take place between this lady of the English nobility and the
young Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein.
His Royal Highness must have been satisfied, for besides a fee of 5000
marks, I received a few days later through Wedel a diamond pin and a
magnficent gold watch and chain inscribed with the Grand Ducal arms of
Mecklenburg-Schwerein inscribed:
"For services performed faithfully to my house."