【英文读物】German Spies in England.docx

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1、【英文读物】German Spies in EnglandTO THE READER From the outbreak of war until to-day I have hesitated to write this book. But I now feel impelled to do so by a sense of duty.The truth must be told. The peril must be faced.Few men, I venture to think, have been more closely associated with, or know more

2、of the astounding inner machinery of German espionage in this country, and in France, than myself.Though the personnel of the Confidential Department established at Whitehall to deal with these gentry have, during the past six years, come and gone, I have, I believe, been the one voluntary assistant

3、 who has remained to watch and note, both here and in Belgiumwhere the German headquarters were establishedthe birth and rapid growth of this ever-spreading canker-worm in the nations heart.Pg 8I am no alarmist. This is no work of fiction, but of solid and serious fact. I write here of what I know;

4、and, further, I write with the true spirit of loyalty. Though sorely tempted, at this crisis, to publish certain documents, and make statements which would, I know, add greatly to the weight of this book, I refrain, because such statements might reveal certain things to the enemy, including the iden

5、tity of those keen and capable officials who have performed so nobly their work of contra-espionage.Yet to-day, with the fiercest war in history in progress, with our bitterest enemy threatening us with invasion, and while we are compelled to defend our very existence as a nation, yet Spies are nobo

6、dys business!It is because the British public have so long been officially deluded, reassured and lulled to sleep, that I feel it my duty to now speak out boldly, and write the truth after a silence of six years.Much contained within these covers will probably come as a complete revelation to many r

7、eaders who have hitherto, and perhaps not unjustly, regarded spies as the mere picturesque creation of writers of fiction. AtPg 9 the outset, however, I wish to give them an assurance that, if certain reports of minewhich now repose in the archives of the Confidential Departmentwere published, they

8、would create a very considerable sensation, and entirely prove the truth of what I have ventured to write within these covers.I desire, further, to assure the reader that, since 1905, when I first endeavoured to perform what I considered to be my duty as an Englishman, I have only acted from the pur

9、est patriotic motives, while, from a pecuniary point of view, I have lost much by my endeavour.The knowledge that in the past, as now, I did what I conceived to be but my duty to my country, was, in itself, an all-sufficient reward; and if, after perusal of this book, the reader will only pause for

10、a moment and reflect upon the very serious truths it contains, then I shall have accomplished all I have attempted.We have, since the war, had a rude awakening from the lethargy induced by false official assurances concerning the enemy in our midst.Pg 10It is for the nation to now give its answer, a

11、nd to demand immediate and complete satisfaction from those who were directly responsible for the present national peril, which, if unchecked, must inevitably result in grave disaster.WILLIAM LE QUEUX.Hawson Court,Buckfastleigh, Devon.February, 1915. CHAPTER I HOW THE TRUTH WAS HIDDEN The actual tru

12、th regarding Germanys secret and elaborate preparations for a raid upon our shores has not yet been told. It will, however, I venture to think, cause considerable surprise.A few curious facts have, it is true, leaked out from time to time through the columns of the newspapers, but the authoritiesand

13、 more especially the Home Office, under Mr. McKennahave been most careful to hide the true state of affairs from the public, and even to lull them into a false sense of security, for obvious reasons. The serious truth is that German espionage and treasonable propaganda have, during past years, been

14、allowed by a slothful military administration to take root so deeply, that the authorities to-day find themselves powerless to eradicate its pernicious growth.Unfortunately for myselffor by facing the British public and daring to tell themPg 12 the truth, I suffered considerable pecuniary lossI was

15、in 1905 the first person to venture to suggest to the authorities, by writing my forecast The Invasion of England, the most amazing truth, that Germany was secretly harbouring serious hostile intentions towards Great Britain.The reader, I trust, will forgive me for referring to my own personal exper

16、iences, for I do so merely in order to show that to the grievous, apathetic attitude of the Government of the time the present scandalous state of affairs is entirely due.I had lived in Germany for a considerable period. I had travelled up and down the country; I had lived their home life; I had lou

17、nged in their officers clubs; and I had indulged in the night-life of Berlin; and, further, I had kept my eyes and ears open. By this, I had gained certain knowledge. Therefore I resolved to write the truth, which seemed to me so startling.My daring, alas! cost me dearly. On the day prior to the pub

18、lication of the book in question, Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman, then Premier, rose in the House of Commons andthough he had never had an opportunity of seeing my workdeliberately condemned it, declaring that it should never have been written because it was calculated to create alarm. Who, among the

19、readers of this book, would condemn anything he had not even seen? Now the last thing thePg 13 Government desired was that public attention should be drawn to the necessity of preparing against German aggression.Once the real fear of the German peril had taken root in our islands, there would instan

20、tly have been an irresistible demand that no money should be spared to equip and prepare our fighting forces for a very possible warand then good-bye to the four-hundred-a-year payments to Members, and those vast sums which were required to bribe the electors with Social Reform.In the columns of the

21、 Times I demanded by what right the Prime Minister had criticised a book which he had never even seen, and in justice to the late Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman I must here record that he apologised to me, privately, for committing what he termed a political error.Political error! If there had been no

22、 further political errors in this dear old country of ours, we should have no war to-day.The Government was bent upon suppressing the truth of my earnest appeal; hence I was held up to derision, and, in addition, denounced on all hands as a scaremonger.Now, at the outset, I wish to say that I am no

23、party politician. My worst enemy could never call me that. I have never voted for a candidate in my life, for my motto has ever been Britain for the British. My appeal to the nation was made in all honestyPg 14 of purpose, and in the true sense of the patriotism of one who probably has the ear of a

24、wide public. The late Lord Roberts realised this. Our national hero, who, like myself, was uttering words of solemn warning, knew what pressure the Government were endeavouring to place upon me, and how they meant to crush me; therefore on November 29th, 1905, he wrote the following:Speaking in the

25、House of Lords on the 10th July, 1905, I said:It is to the people of the country I appeal to take up the question of the Army in a sensible practical manner. For the sake of all they hold dear, let them bring home to themselves what would be the condition of Great Britain if it were to lose its weal

26、th, its power, its position. The catastrophe that may happen if we still remain in our present state of unpreparedness is vividly and forcibly illustrated in Mr. Le Queuxs new book, which I recommend to the perusal of every one who has the welfare of the British Empire at heart.But alas! if the publ

27、ic disregarded the earnest warnings of Bobs, it was scarcely surprising that it should disregard mineespecially after the Prime Minister had condemned me. My earnest appeal to the nation met only with jeers and derision, I was caricatured at the music halls, and somebody wrote a popular song which a

28、sked, Are we Downhearted?Neither the British public, nor the authorities, desired the truth, and, ostrich-like,Pg 15 buried their heads in the sand. Germany would never dare to go to war, we were told, many wiseacres adding, Not in our time.The violent storm of indignation sweeping upon my unfortuna

29、te head, I confess, staggered me. The book, which had cost me eighteen months of hard work, and a journey of ten thousand miles in a motor-car, was declared to be the exaggerated writing of a Jingo, a sensationalist, and one who desired to stir up strife between nations. I was both puzzled and paine

30、d.Shortly afterwards, I met Mr. (now Lord) Haldanethen War Ministerat dinner at a country house in Perthshire, when, in his breezy way, he assured me over the dinner-table that he knew Germany and German intentions better than myself, and that there would never be war. And he waxed humorous at my ex

31、pense, and scorned Lord Robertss warnings.The Kaisers cleverness in ingratiating himself with certain English Statesmen, officers, and writers is really amazing, yet it wasthough at that time unsuspectedpart of the great German plot formed against us.As an instance how the Emperor was cleverly misle

32、ading the British Cabinet, Lord Haldane, speaking on June 29th, 1912, at a public dinner, at which Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, the German Ambassador, was present, said:Pg 16I speak of one whom we admire in this country and regard as one of ourselves.He (the Kaiser) knows our language and our in

33、stitutions as we do, and he speaks as we do.The German Emperor is something more than an Emperorhe is a man, and a great man. He is gifted by the gods with the highest gift that they can giveI use a German word to express itGeist (spirit). He has got Geist in the highest degree. He has been a true l

34、eader of his peoplea leader in spirit as well as in deed. He has guided them through nearly a quarter of a century, and preserved unbroken peace. I know no record of which a monarch has better cause to be proud. In every direction his activities have been remarkable.He has given his country that spl

35、endid fleet that we who know about fleets admire; he has preserved the tradition of the greatest army the world has ever seen; but it is in the arts of peace that he has been equally great. He has been the leader of his people in education, and in the solution of great social questions.That is a gre

36、at record, and it makes one feel a sense of rejoicing that the man who is associated with these things should be half an Englishman. I have the feeling very strongly that in the last few years Germany and England have become much more like each other than they used to be. It is because we have got s

37、o much like each other that a certain element of rivalry comes in.We two nations have a great common task in the worldto make the world better. It is because the German Emperor, I know, shares that conviction profoundly that it gives me the greatest pleasure to give you the toast of his name.The Gov

38、ernment, having sought to point the finger of ridicule at my first warning, must have been somewhat surprised at thePg 17 phenomenal success which the book in question attained, for not only were over a million copies sold in different editions in English, but it was translated into no fewer than tw

39、enty-six languagesincluding Japaneseand, further, was adopted as a text-book in the German Armythough I may add that the details I gave of various vulnerable points around our coasts were so disguised as to be of little use to the enemy.I had had a disheartening experience. Yet worse was to come.A c

40、ouple of years later, while making certain inquiries in Germany with a view to continuing my campaign, and my endeavour to disclose the real truth to the British public, I discovered, to my surprise, the existence of a wide-spread system of German espionage in England.Just about that time Colonel Ma

41、rk Lockwood, the Member for Epping, asked a question in the House of Commons regarding the reported presence of spies in Essex. For his pains he was, of course, like myself, promptly snubbed.A week later, I ventured to declare, at a meeting in Perth, that in our midst we were harbouring a new, most

42、dangerous, and well-organised enemya horde of German spies.German spies in England! Who ever heard such wild rubbish! This completed the bitterness of public opinion against me. ThePg 18 Press unanimously declared that I had spoken wilful untruths; my statements were refuted in leading articles, and

43、 in consequence of my endeavour to indicate a grave national peril, a certain section of the Press even went so far as to boycott my writings altogether! Indeed, more than one first-class London newspaper which had regularly published my novelsI could name them, but I will notrefused to print any mo

44、re of my work!I was, at the same time, inundated with letters from persons who openly abused me and called me a liar, and more than one anonymous communication, which I have still kept, written in red ink and probably from spies themselves, for the caligraphy is distinctly foreign, threatened me wit

45、h death.Such was my reward for daring to awaken the country to a sense of danger. It caused me some amusement, I must confess, yet it also taught me a severe lessonthe same bitter lesson which the British public, alas! taught Lord Roberts, who was so strenuously endeavouring to indicate the danger o

46、f our unpreparedness. It told me one plain truth, a truth spoken in the words of the noble General himself, who, with a sigh, one day said to me, Nothing, I fear, will arouse the public to a sense of danger until they one day awaken and find war declared.On the day following my speech, the German Pr

47、ess, which published reports of it,Pg 19 called me the German-hater, by which epithet I am still known in the Fatherland. The editor of a certain London daily newspaper told me to my face: There are no spies in England; adding, You are a fool to alarm the public by such a statement. Nobody believes

48、you.I, however, held my own views, and felt that it was my duty to act in one of two ways. Either I should place the confidential information and documents which I had gathered, mostly from German sources, in the hands of the Press, and thus vindicate myself; or give them over to the Government, and

49、 allow them to deal with them in a befitting and confidential manner. The latter attitude I deemed to be the correct one, as an Englishmaneven though I have a foreign name. At the War Office the officials at first sniffed, and then, having carefully examined the documents, saw at once that I had discovered a great and serious truth.For this reason I have never sought, until no