interview which
had been courteous and could not make me anticipate what was
in store for me.
Before leaving Herr von Jagow I expressed to him my wish to
make a personal call on the Chancellor, as that would be the
last opportunity that I should have of seeing him.
Herr von Jagow said that he did not advise me to carry out
this intention as the interview would serve no purpose and
could not fail to be painful.
At 6 o'clock in the evening Herr von Langwerth brought me my
passports. In the name of his Government he refused to agree
to the wish which I expressed to him that I should be
permitted to travel by Holland or Belgium. He suggested to
me that I should go either by way of Copenhagen, although he
could not assure me a free passage by sea, or through
Switzerland via Constance.
I accepted this last route; Herr von Langwerth having asked
me to leave as soon as I possibly could it was agreed, in
consideration of the necessity I was under of making
arrangements with the Spanish Ambassador, who was
undertaking the charge of our interests, that I should leave
on the next day, the 4th August, at 10 o'clock at night.
At 7 o'clock, an hour after Herr von Langwerth had left,
Herr von Lancken, formerly Councilor of the Embassy at
Paris, came from the Minister for Foreign Affairs to tell me
to request the staff of my Embassy to cease taking meals in
the restaurants. This order was so strict that on the next
day, Tuesday, I had to have recourse to the authority of the
Wilhelmstrasse to get the Hotel Bristol to send our meals to
the Embassy.
At 11 o'clock on the same evening, Monday, Herr von
Langwerth came back to tell me that his Government would not
allow our return by way of Switzerland under the pretext
that it would take three days and three nights to take me to
Constance. He announced that I should be sent by way of
Vienna. I only agreed to this alteration under reserve, and
during the night I wrote the following letter to Herr von
Langwerth:
"BERLIN, AUGUST 3rd, 1914.
"M. LE BARON;
"I have been thinking over the route for my return
to my country about which you came to speak to me
this evening. You propose that I shall travel by
Vienna. I run t
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