of the means of prohibitive warfare. This public sentiment acted even
upon the opposition; and the majority of army and navy officers in the
two countries felt bound to admit that the arts of war in which they
had been educated were things of the past. Of course there were
members of the army and navy in both countries who deprecated the new
state of things. But there were also men, still living, who deprecated
the abolition of the old wooden seventy-four gun ship.

A British artillery officer conversing with a member of the American
Syndicate at a London club, said to him:--

"Do you know that you made a great mistake in the beginning of your
operations with the motor-guns? If you had contrived an attachment to
the motor which should have made an infernal thunder-clap and a storm
of smoke at the moment of discharge it would have saved you a lot of
money and time and trouble. The work of the motor on the Canadian
coast was terrible enough, but people could see no connection between
that and the guns on your vessels. If you could have sooner shown that
connection you might have saved yourselves the trouble of crossing the
Atlantic. And, to prove this, one of the most satisfactory points
connected with your work on the Welsh coast was the jet of smoke which
came from the repeller every time she discharged a motor. If it had
not been for those jets, I believe there would be people now in the
opposition who would swear that Caerdaff had been mined, and that the
Ministry were a party to it."

"Your point is well taken," said the American, "and should it ever be
necessary to discharge any more bombs,--which I hope it may not be,--we
shall take care to show a visible and audible connection between cause
and effect."

"The devil take it, sir!" cried an old captain of an English
ship-of-the-line, who was sitting near by. "What you are talking about
is not war! We might as well send out a Codfish Trust to settle
national disputes. In the next sea-fight we'll save ourselves the
trouble of gnawing and crunching at the sterns of the enemy. We'll
simply send a note aboard requesting the foreigner to be so good as to
send us his rudder by bearer, which, if properly marked and numbered,
will be returned to him on the conclusion of peace. This would do just
as well as twisting it off, and save expense. No, sir, I will not join
you in a julep! _I_ have made no alliance over new-fangled inventions!
Waiter, fetch me so