ad made the most emphatic statements that the forthcoming
ultimatum to Serbia would be "pacific and conciliatory," and assured the
Russian Ambassador that he could therefore safely leave Vienna on his
vacation on the very eve of the ultimatum, and when the German
Ambassadors in the same capitals gave the most solemn and unequivocal
assurances that

"the German Government had no knowledge of the text of the Austrian
note before it was handed in and had not exercised any influence on
its contents,"

and later admitted, when the lie had served its purpose by lulling the
world into a sense of false security, that it had been fully consulted
by its ally before the ultimatum was prepared and had given it carte
blanche to proceed, when these notable examples of Prussian
Machiavellism are recalled, little attention will be given to these
futile attempts to wash from the shield of German honor the blood of
Edith Cavell.

One can to some extent understand the Berserker fury which caused von
Bissing to say in effect to this gentle-faced English nurse, "You are in
our way. You menace our security. You must die, as countless thousands
have already died, to secure the results of our seizure of Belgium"; but
can we understand or in any way palliate the attempt to hide the stains
of blood on that prison floor of Brussels with a cobweb of self-evident
falsehoods?

These stains can never be washed out to the eye of imagination.

"Let none these marks efface,
For they appeal from tyranny to God."

In the last interview between our representative and Baron von der
Lancken, which took place a few hours before the execution, our
representative reminded these Prussian officials

"of our untiring efforts on behalf of German subjects at the
outbreak of the war and during the siege of Antwerp. I pointed out
that, while our services had been gladly rendered and without any
thought of future favors, they should certainly entitle you to some
consideration for the only request of this sort you [the American
Minister] had made since the beginning of the war."

Even our Minister's appeal to gratitude and to one of the most ordinary
and natural courtesies of diplomatic life proved unavailing, and at
midnight the Secretary of the American Legation and the Spanish
Minister, who was acting with him, left in despair. At 2 o'clock that
morning Miss Cavell was secretly executed.

Even the o