Mr. A. Beaumont of the _Daily Telegraph_ has had a very narrow
escape from being shot as a spy. He is a naturalized American citizen,
but was born in Alsace. When the present war broke out, he started in a
motor-car to the front without the necessary passes and permits. He
circulated about and obtained good and useful news for his paper. The
other day, however, he was brought to a standstill in Belgium and was
arrested. The Belgian authorities asked at the French headquarters:
"What shall we do with him?" The reply was: "Send him on here to
headquarters, and if he proves to be a spy he will be court-martialed
and shot." This arose from the confusion of names. It seems that the
doings of a German spy named Bremont, of Alsatian birth, had become
known to the military authorities in France and Belgium. Beaumont
stoutly asserted that he was the victim of mistaken identity, and only
after very great difficulty, and with the exceptional efforts of Mr.
Herrick and of Sir Francis Bertie, the British Ambassador, was he able
to establish his true identity, when he was released by the French
Headquarter Staff, and handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Arrivals of detachments of German prisoners continue to be reported from
various parts of France. A Prussian officer, speaking French fluently,
was among a convoy of prisoners at Versailles yesterday. The officer, on
seeing some French territorials march past, singing the "Marseillaise,"
remarked to his guard: "What a disillusion awaits us!"




_Saturday, August 15._