hts have no business trafficking with heavy-weights in naval
warfare.

"Von Spee made a brave fight," said Sir Frederick, "but we kept him
at a distance that suited us, without letting him get out of range."

He had had the fortune to prove an established principle in action. It
was all in the course of duty, which is the way that all the officers and
all the men look at their work. Only a few ships have had a chance to
fight, and these are emblazoned on the public memory. But they did
no better and no worse, probably, than the others would have done. If
the public singles out ships, the navy does not. Whatever is done and
whoever does it, why, it is to the credit of the family, according to the
spirit of service that promotes uniformity of efficiency. Leaders and
ships which have won renown are resolved into the whole in that
harbour where the fleet is the thing; and the good opinion they most
desire is that of their fellows. If they have that they will earn the
public's when the test comes.

Belonging to the class of the first of battle-cruisers is the Inflexible,
which received a few taps in the Falklands and a blow that was nearly
the death of her in the Dardanelles. Tribute enough for its courage--
the tribute of a chivalrous enemy--von Spee's squadron receives
from the officers and men of the Inflexible, who saw them go down
into the sea tinged with sunset red with their colours still flying. Then
in the sunset red the British saved as many of those afloat as they
could.

Those dripping German officers who had seen one of their battered
turrets carried away bodily into the sea by a British twelve-inch shell,
who had endured a fury of concussions and destruction, with steel
missiles cracking steel structures into fragments, came on board the
Inflexible looking for signs of some blows delivered in return for the
crushing blows that had beaten their ships into the sea and saw none
until they were invited into the wardroom, which was in chaos--and
then they smiled.

At least, they had sent one shell home. The sight was sweet to them,
so sweet that, in respect to the feeling of the vanquished, the victors
held silence with a knightly consideration. But where had the shell
entered? There was no sign of any hole. Then they learned that the
fire of the guns of the starboard turret midships over the wardroom,
which was on the port side, had deposited a great many things on the
floor which did not belong there; and th