the avowed enemy of other countries engaged in
this terrible war.

These stories, light though they be, give a conception of what it is to
search the seas in a submarine, and the bravery of the youngest branch
of the Navy--the Royal Naval Air Service--is palpable even from the
modest accounts given by these seaplane pilots. They have confidence in
their supremacy over the enemy, and are all smiles even in the face of
imminent danger. It shows that often British coolness and pluck have
saved a machine as well as the lives of men.

Of special interest is the talk with the captain of a mine-sweeper while
he is on the bridge of his vessel. He tells of the many neutral lives
that have been saved by English seamen at the risk of their own vessels
and the lives of their crews. Noteworthy is it that Great Britain in the
course of this war has not been the cause of the loss of a single
neutral life. Mines have been placed at random by Germany's pirate
craft.

The grit of the English seaman comes to light in the author's journey
in a naval ambulance train, as does also the fact that the service takes
the utmost care of its wounded and sick. In the account of the Royal
Naval Division it is touching to note that the men who are fighting in
France and who distinguished themselves so valiantly in the Ancre and
other battles, still cling to sea terms or talk.

The accounts in this volume may cause the people of my native country to
appreciate the necessity for silence on the part of the British
Admiralty, as now that their ships are linked with ours in the effort to
defeat a common enemy the same idea of giving no information to the
enemy even at the cost of criticism undoubtedly will be included in
orders. Nevertheless, while playing the trump of silence, it is
encouraging to read stories of the Navy so that the readers have certain
knowledge that silence and brief reports do not mean that nothing is
being accomplished. We have recently had an instance of the efficiency
and courage of the officers and men in the fight between two British
destroyers and half a dozen of the enemy craft, in which the Germans
lost two vessels and the British none. Commanders and others greatly
distinguished themselves in this conflict, which occurred in the dead
of a moonless night. And the deeds of the Royal Navy are certain to be
emulated by the officers and men of the United States Navy, for blood
will tell.