re the Emperor for his decision. Lancken stiffened perceptibly at
this suggestion and refused, frankly, saying that he could not do
anything of the sort. Turning to Villalobar, he said, "I can't do that
sort of thing. I am not a friend of my Sovereign as you are of yours,"
to which a rejoinder was made that in order to be a good friend, one
must be loyal and ready to incur displeasure in case of need. However,
our arguments along this line came to nothing, but Lancken finally came
to the point of saying that the Military Governor of Brussels was the
supreme authority (_Gerichtsherr_) in matters of this sort and that even
the Governor-General had no power to intervene. After further argument
he agreed to get General von Sauberschweig, the Military Governor, out
of bed to learn whether he had already ratified the sentence and whether
there was any chance for clemency.

Lancken was gone about half an hour, during which time the three of us
laboured with Harrach and Falkenhausen, without, I am sorry to say, the
slightest success. When Lancken returned he reported that the Military
Governor said that he had acted in this case only after mature
deliberation; that the circumstances of Miss Cavell's offense were of
such character that he considered infliction of the death penalty
imperative. Lancken further explained that under the provisions of
German Military Law, the _Gerichtsherr_ had discretionary power to
accept or to refuse to accept an appeal for clemency; that in this case
the Governor regretted that he must decline to accept the appeal for
clemency or any representations in regard to the matter.

We then brought up again the question of having the Emperor called on
the telephone, but Lancken replied very definitely that the matter had
gone too far; that the sentence had been ratified by the Military
Governor, and that when matters had gone that far, "even the Emperor
himself could not intervene."[13]

[Footnote 13: Although accepted at the time as true, this statement was
later found to be entirely false and is understood to have displeased
the Emperor. The Emperor could have stopped the execution at any
moment.]

He then asked me to take back the note I had presented to him. I at
first demurred, pointing out that this was not an appeal for clemency,
but merely a note to him, transmitting a note to the Governor, which was
itself to be considered the appeal for clemency. I pointed out that this
was especially state