22 AUGUST 1914, Page 24

Napoleon and the Campaign of 1814. By Henry Houssaye. (Hugh

Rees. 8s. 6d. net.)—When Major R. S. McClintock was preparing this excellent translation of M. Houssaye's picturesque narrative of the campaign of 1814, he could hardly guess that its appearance would synchronize with the out- break of a new war on an even vaster scale. We may recall an incident of the battle of Livia, where a com- pany of recent conscripts made an involuntary movement to retreat from a shell which fell just in front of them. "Napoleon rode forward and halted beside the smoking projectile; the shell burst, killing the horse, which dragged the Emperor to the ground amid a cloud of dust and smoke. He got up without a wound, mounted another horse, and rode off," having set a useful example of courage to his troops.