the further
development it will suffice to confirm what follows here. This is what
happened. In the spring of 1917 connecting links were established with
Paris and London. The first impressions received were that the Western
Powers were ready to make use of us as a bridge to Germany and to a
general peace. At a somewhat later stage the wind veered and the
Entente endeavoured to make a separate peace with us.

Several important details only came to my knowledge later, some at the
time of my resignation in the spring of 1918, and some not until the
collapse in the winter of 1918-19. There was no lack of voices to
blame me for a supposed double policy, which the public also
suspected, and to accuse me of having made different statements to
Berlin from those I made in Paris. These charges were brought by
personal enemies who deliberately slandered me, which tales were
repeated by others who knew nothing about the affair. The fact is that
when I heard of the episode I immediately _possessed myself of
documents proving that not only did I know nothing whatever about the
matter_, but could not possibly have known.

Astronomical causes sometimes give rise to disturbances in the
universe, the reason of which cannot be understood by the observer. I
felt in the same way, without being able to prove anything definite,
from certain signs that I noticed, that in those worlds on the other
side of the trenches events were happening that were inexplicable to
me. I felt the effect, but could not discover the cause. In the spirit
of the Entente, now more favourably disposed for peace, an undertone
was distinctly audible. There was anxiety and a greater inclination
for peace than formerly, but again probably only in view of the
alleged laxity of our Alliance conditions and the hopes of the
downfall of the Quadruple Alliance. A friend of mine, a subject of a
neutral state, wrote to me from Paris in the summer and told me he had
heard from a reliable source that apparently at the Quai d'Orsay they
expected the Monarchy to separate from Germany, which, as a matter of
course, would alter the entire military situation.

Soon afterwards very secret information was received from a neutral
country that a Bulgarian group was negotiating with the Entente behind
the back and without the knowledge of Radoslawoff. As soon as
suspicion of a breach in the Alliance had been aroused in our Allies,
the Bulgarian party hastened to forestall the event. We