War Material in Advocate

This first number of the Advocate begins by urging the undergraduates to take their due part in military preparation, and ends with a reminder that "in former crises men have been inspired to clearer thought and more spontaneous expression," and with a summons to "literary activity of the right sort."

It is only natural that all the prose in this number should deal more or less directly with the war, or at least with soldiers. J. T. Rogers '18 contributes two stories: "Those who stand and wait" is a satirical study of an eloquent young pacifist who is forsaken, when the war comes, by all his disciples; "The Female of the Species" is a story in early-Kipling style, of a Prussian captain and the traditional seductive female spy. F. D. Perkins '19, in "The End of a Perfect Day," reproduces in amusing fashion the confused state of mind of one man in the midst of an extensive maneuvre at Camp Azan--"knowing he is wrong, but not knowing how to be right."

"Jean Petit," by Phillip C. Lewis '17, is an anecdote of ambulance work and of a brave young Frenchman. "War in the Home" satirizes, all too gently, a frivolous American family; and "The Road to Victory," by James Gore King '20, goes back to France, and makes a vision of Napoleon inspire Gen. Petain. It is far from sure that Napoleon deserves so much credit.

Verse is abundant: among the longer poems is one by J. D. Parson '17, containing some imaginative lines upon a well worn subject; and J. T. Rogers experiments with initial rhymes. The unfortunate result is that the reader's attention is concentrated upon the beginning of each line, while the middle and the end are forgotten.