t of their coal bunkers.

On the morning of August 5, after having bombarded some of the coast
cities of Algeria they found themselves cut off on the east by a French
fleet and on the west by an English fleet, but by a very clever bit of
stratagem they escaped. The band of the _Goeben_ was placed on a raft
and ordered on a given moment to play the German national airs after an
appreciable period. Meanwhile, under the cover of the night's darkness
the two German ships steamed away. After they had a good start the band
on the raft began to play. The British patrols heard the airs and
immediately all British ships were searching for the source of the
music. To find a small raft in mid-sea was an impossible task, and while
the enemy was engaged in it the two Germans headed for Messina, then a
neutral port, which they reached successfully. The Italian authorities
permitted them to remain there only twenty-four hours.

Before leaving they took a dramatic farewell, which received publicity
in the press of the whole world, and which was designed to lead the
British fleet commanders to believe that the Germans were coming out to
do battle. Instead, they headed for Constantinople. They escaped all the
ships of the British Mediterranean fleet with the exception of the
cruiser _Gloucester_. With this ship they exchanged shots and were in
turn slightly damaged, but they reached the Porte in seaworthy
condition, and were immediately sold to the Turkish Government, which
was then still neutral. The crews were sent to Germany and were warmly
welcomed at Berlin. The officers responsible for their escape were
disciplined by the British authorities.

Both Germany and England, the former by means of the eleven ships at
large, and the latter by means of her preponderance in the number of
ships, now made great efforts to capture trading ships of the enemy.
When England declared war there was issued a royal proclamation which
stated that up to midnight of August 14 England would permit German
merchantmen in British harbors to sail for home ports, provided Germany
gave British merchantmen the same privilege, but it was specified that
ships of over 5,000 tons would not receive the privilege because they
could be converted into fighting ships afterward. But on the high seas
enemy ships come upon were captured.

The German admiralty on August 1 had issued orders to German merchantmen
to keep within neutral ports, and by this means such importa