How the Nations Waged War: A companion volume to "How the War Began"Kennedy, J. M. (John McFarland)
History
How the Nations Waged War: A companion volume to "How the War Began"
Kennedy, J. M. (John McFarland)
World War, 1914-1918
On the other hand, I should like to state that I received all through
this trying time nothing but courtesy at the hands of Herr von Jagow
and the officials of the Imperial Foreign Office. At about eleven
o'clock on the same morning Count Wedel handed me my passports--which
I had earlier in the day demanded in writing--and told me that he
had been instructed to confer with me as to the route which I should
follow for my return to England. He said that he had understood that
I preferred the route via the Hook of Holland to that via Copenhagen;
they had therefore arranged that I should go by the former route,
only I should have to wait till the following morning. I agreed to
this, and he said that I might be quite assured that there would be no
repetition of the disgraceful scenes of the preceding night, as full
precautions would be taken. He added that they were doing all in their
power to have a restaurant car attached to the train, but it was rather
a difficult matter. He also brought me a charming letter from Herr
von Jagow, couched in the most friendly terms. The day was passed in
packing up such articles as time allowed.
The night passed quietly without any incident. In the morning a strong
force of police was posted along the usual route to the Lehrter
Station, while the Embassy was smuggled away in taxi-cabs to the
station by side streets. We there suffered no molestation whatever,
and avoided the treatment meted out by the crowd to my Russian and
French colleagues. Count Wedel met us at the station to say good-bye on
behalf of Herr von Jagow and to see that all the arrangements ordered
for our comfort had been properly carried out. A retired colonel of the
Guards accompanied the train to the Dutch frontier, and was exceedingly
kind in his efforts to prevent the great crowds, which thronged the
platforms at every station where we stopped, from insulting us; but
beyond the yelling of patriotic songs and a few jeers and insulting
gestures we had really nothing to complain of during our tedious
journey to the Dutch frontier.
Before closing this long account of our last days in Berlin I should
like to place on record and bring to your notice the quite admirable
behaviour of my staff under the most trying circumstances possible.
One and all, they worked night and day with scarcely any rest, and I
cannot praise too highly the cheerful zeal with which counsellor, naval
and military attachés, secretaries, and the two young attachés buckled
to their work and kept their nerve with often a yelling mob outside,
and inside, hundreds of British subjects clamouring for advice and
assistance. I was proud to have such a staff to work with, and feel
most grateful to them all for the invaluable assistance and support,
often exposing them to considerable personal risk, which they so
readily and cheerfully gave to me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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