In one of the most luxurious dining-saloons on one of the most luxurious of the great German liners—­I promised my trustworthy informant not to be more definite—­the man who was head-waiter during the year preceding the war impressed those under him with being much more interested in some mysterious business ashore than in his duties aboard ship.  He threw most of his work on subordinates, who complained, though unsuccessfully, to the management.  Unlike other head-waiters and chief stewards, he was never aboard the ship when it was in port.  He was the only German in the dining-saloon, and he seemed to have great influence.  He conversed freely with influential passengers of various nationalities.

The liner was in the English Channel eastward bound, when news came that Germany had declared war upon Russia.  What little interest he had previously displayed in his duties now vanished completely, and he paced the deck more and more impatiently as the vessel neared Cuxhaven.  He was one of the first to go ashore, but before leaving he turned to two of the stewards and exclaimed, “Good-bye.  I am going to Wilhelmshaven to take command of my cruiser.”

In general, the work of military attaches of all countries is added to by more or less formal reports by officers who may be travelling on leave.  But German military spying goes much farther than this, for inasmuch as most Germans have been soldiers, the majority of Germans travelling or resident in a foreign country are trained observers of military matters and, often act as semi-spies.

The system of “sowing” Germans in foreign countries, as I have heard it called in Germany, and getting them naturalised, was begun by Prussia before the war of 1866 against Austria.  It was so successful under the indirect auspices of the Triumvirate—­Moltke, Roon, and Bismarck—­that it was developed in other countries.  Thus it is that, while there are comparatively few Frenchmen, for example, naturalised in England, many German residents go through this more or less meaningless form just as suits their particular business or the German Government, double nationality being regarded as a patriotic duty to the Fatherland.

There are, as a rule, three schools of German espionage in other countries—­the Embassy, the Consulates, and the individual spies, who have no connection with either and who forward their reports direct to Germany.

There is a fourth class of fairly well-paid professional spies, men and women, of all classes, who visit foreign countries with letters of introduction, who attend working-men’s conventions, scientific, military, and other industrial congresses, receiving from 40 pounds to 100 pounds monthly by way of pay.  The case of Lody, whom the British caught and executed, was a type of the patriotic officer spy.  But his execution caused no real regret in Germany, for he was regarded as a clumsy fellow, who roused the vigilance of the British authorities, with the result, I was informed in Germany, of the arrest and execution of several others, mostly, it is said, Dutch, South American, and other neutrals.