22 MAY 1915, Page 22

Little Comrade. By Burton E. Stevenson. (Hutchimion and Co. 6s.) — Litfie

Comrade is a capital story of the escape of an American and a beautiful Alsatian spy through the German lines on the outbreak of the war. There is a striking account of the advance of the German "army of occupation," filling the Belgian roads and lanes with a grey tide of men; of the interminable procession of its transport and artillery; and finally of the great army bivouacking before the crossing of the Meuse. The book is breathlessly exciting, but Mr. Stevenson's American—even in the hurry of escaping with the heroine from a room beset by sentries—should not be allowed to misquote Meredith so flagrantly. The phrase is "a rogue in porcelain," not "an imp in porcelain." The atmosphere of the indifference and hurried excitement of war is excellently produced.