it was further intimated that von Tirpitz himself
was anxious that peace should be concluded, possibly because of
his fear that the proposed blockade would not be successful.
Of course, I informed the State Department of these mysterious
manoeuvres.
I was taken by back stairways to a mysterious meeting with von
Tirpitz at night in his rooms in the Navy Department. When I was
alone with him, however, he had nothing definite to say or to
offer; if there was any opportunity at that time to make peace
nothing came of it. It looked somewhat to me as if the whole
idea had been to get this American to go to Paris and Petrograd,
certify from his personal observation to the strength of the
German armies and position, and thereby to assist in enticing
one or both of these countries to desert the allied cause. All of
this took place about ten days before the eighteenth of February,
the time named for the announcement of the blockade of England.
Medals were struck having the head of von Tirpitz on one side
and on the other the words "Gott strafe England," and a picture
of a sort of Neptune assisted by a submarine rising from the
sea to blockade the distant English coast.
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