26 SEPTEMBER 1914, Page 24

The Siege of Liege. By Paul Hamelius. (T. Werner Laurie.

ls. net.)—In this modest and obviously veridical little book Professor Hamelius gives a very interesting description of his experiences during the siege of Liege. It is by no means highly coloured, and for that reason is all the more convincing. Professor Hamelius did not see any of the actual fighting, and well describes the agony of conscious uselessness that came upon himself and his friends when they wanted to fight and found that there was no place for them— "let this be a warning to men who think it sufficient to love their country without learning in times of peace how to defend it in times of danger." He also gives a striking account of the apathy which soon came over the besieged folks when not in the throes of actual panic—one of the inmates of his own house complained: "They fire so loud that they keep me awake !"