THE PREMIERE'S STORY
I have to confess that quite unintentionally I did my Government and my
country a great wrong. In spite of all my very considerable experience,
I did not see at the time the danger into which I was drifting, and I
had gone too far to draw back when I realised with a shock the awful
position in which I had placed myself.
As you know, I was drafted into the Ministry through an rather unusual
channel. It is not often that a diplomat forsakes diplomacy to take
part in politics. An extraordinary combination of events, however,
contrived to place me in a curious position, with the result that great
influence was brought to bear on me to give up the Embassy of which I
was in charge, and return to England to take up a minor position in the
Cabinet.
Probably, in spite of the influence which was exerted, I should never
have consented to do this but for the fact that I knew the minor
position I was offered was merely a temporary one. I was given to
understand clearly that it was but a stepping-stone to the Premiership.
So I decided to accept the office.
Now the country from which I returned was Russia. I was, as you may
possibly remember, Ambassador at St. Petersburg.
I was there for many years, and enjoyed an unusually close and intimate
friendship with the Czar. That was at once the beginning of my
ambitions and troubles. It was, indeed, that friendship which, to a
great extent, induced me to transfer my labours from St. Petersburg to
London.
I do not know what acquaintance you may have of Russian affairs, nor
what knowledge you may have of the Emperor himself. I can only assure
you that, in spite of all that may be said against him, his Majesty is
absolutely sincere and honest in his desire for universal peace. He
suffered untold agonies of mind during the struggle with Japan, and
since peace was arranged has made use of every diplomatic means to
bring about a general disarmament by the Powers.
In this aim he met, of course, with most violent opposition. Some of
the Imperial family went so far as to accuse their kinsman and nominal
ruler of being a traitor to his country.
However, in spite of all opposition, he persevered; and, as he believed
that England was also sincere in her desire for peace, he cultivated my
acquaintance to a marked degree.
Unfortunately, in an evil hour, it suddenly dawned upon me that my name
might be handed down to posterity, jointly with that of the Czar's, as
the man who paved the way to universal peace.
But my ideas were different from those of the Czar. His Majesty wished
to work along the line of least resistance, and was quite prepared
to spend years of patient effort in bringing about his dream of the
millennium.
For my part, I was, I suppose, an old man in a hurry. I could not
afford to wait for years to see the triumph of my schemes. I was
getting on in life, and it seemed to me that if I did not hasten I
might die without my ambition being realised.
I therefore set to work entirely to remodel the Czar's ideas, and as a
result ultimately worked out the most daring plan for compelling Europe
to lay down its arms that had ever been conceived.
When that plan was fully perfected I was to take it to my own King and
ask for his consent to it. I knew his Majesty was as genuinely desirous
for peace as the Czar, and I really foresaw no difficulty in being able
to persuade him to sanction the scheme which I had drawn up.
It is quite unnecessary to go into its full details here, but perhaps
I had better give you a glimpse of the outline. Briefly, England was
to make use of the _entente cordiale_ to compel France, by means of
an ultimatum which would expire at the end of twenty-four hours, to
consent to stand in with Great Britain and Russia in a demand that
Germany's military force should be whittled down to the limits of
the Swiss Militia. It was also to be stipulated that Germany's naval
programme should always be one-half of the combined programmes of Great
Britain, Russia, and France.
Thanks to the treaty with Great Britain made some years ago with the
Scandinavian States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain
and Italy, Germany would have been speedily isolated. She would have
awakened one morning to find herself absolutely friendless, except,
perhaps, for Austria. It would have been doubtful, too, whether even
Austria would have remained faithful to her pushful friend when she saw
the whole of Europe allied against the Fatherland.
It was certainly a daring scheme, but one which, I think, must have met
with instantaneous success. Every aspect of it had been considered, and
even the contingency provided for by the Czar and myself.
Naturally it was impossible to carry the details of so complicated a
piece of business in one's head. I was half-afraid to commit them to
writing myself, and so the Czar suggested that he should, with his own
hand, draw up the lines of the agreement which we proposed to foist on
Europe.
I brought a copy of the document, made by the Czar himself, back
to this country, and for three years I waited impatiently for an
opportunity to present the scheme to his Majesty, and, if possible,
persuade him to put it into operation.
Those were three years of terrible anxiety. I carried the papers with
me both day and night. A hundred times a day I would clap my hands to
my breast-pocket to see if they were safe, and a score of times I would
start up in my bed at night feverishly to ascertain if I still had them
in my possession.
But, in spite of all my care, I lost them. I kept the papers in a thin
morocco-leather case, which bore the Imperial arms of Russia. One day
I was looking through them in my room in Downing Street when I was
suddenly informed that I was wanted at the telephone. Unfortunately, at
that time I had no extension to my room.
I need not particularise as to from whom the telephone message came.
Suffice it to say that it was a summons which I could not disregard. I
hastily gathered the papers together and, as I thought, thrust them
into the breast-pocket of my coat.
Instead of doing so, however, I must have missed the pocket in my
haste, and let the case drop to the floor.
I was detained longer than I expected at the telephone, and on going
back to my room some quarter of an hour later, I instinctively felt in
my coat to see if the papers were there.
To my horror they were gone!
I did not dare to excite my household too much, lest the affair should
come to the ears of my colleagues, and they should begin to wonder what
secret I was keeping to myself.
Nor, indeed, was it necessary to make many inquiries. I asked if there
had been any visitors, and was told that Captain Melun had called, and
had waited some five minutes in my room, but that he had left before my
return, saying that he was pressed for time just then, but would call
later in the day.
From that moment I had not the slightest doubt as to where the
documents had gone.
I sent for Melun and taxed him with the theft. He did not deny it.
You may think it rather strange that such a man as he should have
been allowed to enter my house, but I must explain that I had found
his services exceedingly useful in several matters. He was without
scruple of any kind, and it is often, I regret to say, convenient for a
minister to have some unscrupulous agent at his disposal.
I ordered Melun to give the papers up, and he laughed in my face. He
told me that he had mastered their contents, and quite appreciated
what they involved.
Indeed, he at once made the most insolent demands. He told me that I
could well afford to pay him a quarter of a million sterling to get the
papers back. He knew that my wealth was great, and did not hesitate to
blackmail me to the fullest extent.
In the course of long and angry negotiations I was compelled to agree
to pay over this sum. Indeed I dared not refuse.
He was not, however, content with this rapacious request. He wanted, he
said, to rehabilitate himself properly in society, and to that end he
had the colossal impudence to demand Lady Kathleen's hand in marriage.
I tell you frankly, Sir Paul, that I was so furious at this that I
leaped out of my chair, and, old man though I am, struck Melun across
his face.
It was an action which I deeply repented, for, as compensation, he
demanded another fifty thousand pounds, and again impudently insisted
upon his marriage with my daughter.
This, however, I steadily declined to consider for a moment. It seemed
to me impossible for a man of Melun's description to fail to be
contented with three hundred thousand pounds. To my dismay, I found I
was mistaken. He repeated over and over again that I should ultimately
consent to his marrying Lady Kathleen, and threatened me with exposure
and ruin if I still held to my refusal.
Now I would have gladly faced exposure and ruin rather than have
sacrificed my daughter to such a despicable hound as this. But,
unfortunately, it was not only my ruin which was involved.
Of a certainty it meant the ruin of British diplomacy, if not complete
disaster to the British Empire.
Disturbances in Russia alarmed the Czar. I sent Lady Kathleen over to
St. Petersburg, and she urged him to make a personal appeal to our King
to put the plan which I had prepared into instant action.
At the critical moment the Czar became thoroughly afraid of what the
consequences might be, and declined to make any move. Moreover, he
wrote me a letter saying that, even at the cost of Kathleen's marriage
to Melun, the papers must be recovered and returned to him.
All this, of course, occasioned great delay, and Melun began to press
me hard. I made every effort, most of them legitimate, but some,
I fear, not quite legal, to get the papers back. I had his rooms
searched, and I had the man himself seized and searched in my presence.
I had his friends and himself all searched on the same day and at the
same hour. It was all to no purpose. I could not get the faintest clue
as to the whereabouts of the papers.
Then Melun became more menacing than ever. He demanded £10,000 down and
complete immunity from observation.
And to these requests I had to accede, because he told me frankly that
if I were obstinate he would at once open up negotiations with Germany.
This, of course, was what I had been dreading.
I knew that if a breath of this business reached the Kaiser's ears it
would be the beginning of the end. I knew his Imperial Majesty too well
to harbour any hope that he would not strike while Russia and ourselves
were still in disagreement as to our course of action.
The situation, indeed, was all the more of a nightmare to me because I
had acted without the knowledge or consent of my King or my colleagues,
and the whole brunt of the blame would have to be borne by myself.
And what blame it would be! What everlasting shame and disgrace and
misery—not only for myself, but for this country!
I am no child in diplomatic matters, and I saw full well that the
moment Germany came into possession of the facts, the last great fight
among the nations would begin.
That, then, is my story. Four days ago I was given a week's grace
by the Czar in which to recover the papers or consent to Melun's
conditions. I dare not disobey the Czar's commands, nor is it possible
for me any longer to ignore Melun's request. At my earnest prayer the
Czar sent a special emissary to me to meet Lady Kathleen at Rouen.
His Majesty knew that in this matter I had been compelled to take my
daughter into my confidence. He quite appreciated the necessity for
this, and was indeed most kind about the matter, though he remained
insistent in his terms.
You may judge how terribly concerned he was when I tell you that the
representative he sent was a member of the Imperial family. And even
he was not informed of the contents of the papers.
You may realise, too, how desperate my position is, when I say that
I have at last accepted your offer of help much as a drowning man
clutches at a straw.