This is one of the most remarkable narratives of the War. It is a great historical record, as well as a fascinating story of personal experiences. Dr. Sven Hedin is one of the great Swedish explorers and historians. His record as a man of intrepid daring is known throughout Europe. By special permission of the Kaiser, Dr. Hedin was commissioned to visit and observe the German Armies in Belgium and France. He is the friend of Kings and was received with open arms at the headquarters of the general staff of the German Army. These experiences he describes in a volume entitled "With the German Armies in the West," which is one of the few War books which has been accepted by the German government as a true record. Dr. Hedin's talks with the Kaiser, the Crown Prince, and the Army Officers, with his journeys along the battle grounds of the Western front, allow us to look behind the scenes for the first time. A few selections from his remarkable tales are here given by permission of his publishers _John Lane Company_. [2] I--"ON MY WAY TO WILHELMSTRASSE, BERLIN" The rain falls thick and heavy and patters down on the dripping lines outside my balcony. Berlin is dull and miserable in the autumn when the rain sweeps its long, monotonously straight streets with their heavy, dark houses. Not even the trooping of the colors and the march past at midday raise the drooping spirits, and only a few pedestrians with open umbrellas join the band and march in step with the soldiers. No calls are made, no visits paid, for the whole of the aristocracy is in mourning for lost relatives and everybody's thoughts are centered on the war. Nobody feels inclined for the futile pleasures of ordinary times when the newspapers speak of a father who has lost four sons at the front, or of a mother whose three sons have each died a hero's death for Emperor and country. But no complaints are heard, no tears seen. In the streets one seldom sees signs of mourning. There is perhaps a tacit convention not to express in black and white the sorrow which is felt at the bottom of the heart, but to make the grief subservient to the proud consciousness that the beloved one has fallen for his country, never to return!...