life in alleviating the sufferings of others, and her
school has turned out many nurses who have watched at the bedside
of the sick all the world over, in Germany as in Belgium. At the
beginning of the war Miss Cavell bestowed her care as freely on the
German soldiers as on others. Even in default of all other reasons,
her career as a servant of humanity is such as to inspire the
greatest sympathy and to call for pardon. If the information in my
possession is correct, Miss Cavell, far from shielding herself,
has, with commendable straightforwardness, admitted the truth of
all the charges against her, and it is the very information which
she herself has furnished, and which she alone was in a position to
furnish, which has aggravated the severity of the sentence passed
on her.

"It is then with confidence, and in the hope of its favourable
reception, that I have the honour to present to your Excellency my
request for pardon on Miss Cavell's behalf."

This note was read aloud to Baron von der Lancken, the very official who
had refused to answer the first communication of the Legation with
reference to the matter, and he

"expressed disbelief in the report that sentence had actually been
passed and manifested some surprise that we should give credence to
any report not emanating from official sources. He was quite
insistent in knowing the exact source of our information, but this
I did not feel at liberty to communicate to him."

Baron von der Lancken proceeded to express his belief "that it was quite
improbable that sentence had been pronounced," and that in any event no
execution would follow. After some hesitation he telephoned to the
Presiding Judge of the Court-Martial and then reported that the
embassy's unofficial information was only too true.

His attention was further called to the express promise of the German
Director of the Political Department to inform the American Legation of
the sentence, and he was asked to grant the American Government the
courtesy of a "delay in carrying out the sentence."

To this appeal for mercy Baron von der Lancken replied that the Military
Governor (von Bissing) was the supreme authority and that he "had
discretionary power to accept or to refuse acceptance of an appeal for
clemency." He thereupon left the representative of the American Legation
and apparently called upon von