It was only
later on that I knew he was one of your principal secret agents
in America.
"He praised my talents highly and offered to furnish the capital
to start me as an Oriental dancer with a large company of my own.
There was only one condition attaching to his offer, a condition,
ma foi! which was not disagreeable to me. It was that, after six
months tour in the States and Canada, I should go to Brussels and
settle down there in a house that Herr von Schornbeek would
present me with.
"Mon ami, in those days, I understood nothing at all of
diplomacy. I knew only that I was often hungry and that I had a
little talent which, were it given a chance, might keep me from
want. Herr von Schornbeek fulfilled his promises to me. I had my
company, I did my tour of America and Canada with great success
and finally I came to Europe and made my debut at Brussels.
"I knew Brussels already from the old days. As a half-starved,
unhappy child with a troupe of acrobats, I had often appeared
there. But now I came to Brussels as a conqueror. A beautiful
villa in the suburb of Laeken was ready to receive me and I found
that a large credit had been opened in my name at one of the
principal banks so that I could keep open house.
"I think I scarcely realized then the role that I was destined to
fill by the German Secret Service.
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