mines and foundered in the same month, having a
tonnage of 3,357. Two persons died in the trio of accidents.

The _Amiral Charner_, an old but serviceable French armored cruiser of
4,680 tons, was torpedoed in the Mediterranean near Syria on February
8, 1916. She went down within a few minutes, although about a hundred
men managed to reach the lifeboats and rafts. The weather was bitterly
cold, and only one survivor lived to bring the news. He was picked up
on a raft with fourteen dead companions and told an incoherent story
that bore little relation to the truth. But it was only too easy to
guess what had happened.

During the early period of the war the French navy escaped the heavy
blows that fell upon the British, partly because Germany concentrated
on her larger antagonist's navy, and partly due to the fact that the
British ships were nearly all engaged in the Atlantic, while the
French confined themselves more especially to the Mediterranean. With
the opening of operations at the Dardanelles and the coming of German
submarines the losses of the French sea forces began to grow rapidly.
But they held the Mediterranean against all attacks.

The _Arethusa_, which torpedoed the _Bluecher_ after she had been put
out of action by the _Lion_ in that famous fight, collided with a mine
near the east coast of England on February 14, 1916. She went down
with a loss of ten men, neighboring vessels doing notable rescue work.
The _Arethusa_ was a cruiser of 3,600 tons and had taken an active
part in all of the work that fell to the British fleet. She was one of
the pet ships of the navy, having a reputation for speed and luck that
made her name familiar to readers the world over. A half dozen brushes
with the enemy had found her well up in the fighting line, and she was
said by sailormen to have a charmed existence, never having been hit.
But she sunk quickly after striking the mine. The passing of so
gallant a ship was one of the chief developments of the month in its
naval history.

The Peninsular and Oriental liner _Maloja_ was blown up in the Channel
on February 28, 1916, supposedly by a mine. The loss of life was
large, 147 persons being drowned.

CHAPTER XVIII

CONTINUATION OF WAR ON MERCHANT SHIPPING--ITALIAN AND RUSSIAN NAVAL
MOVEMENTS--SINKING OF LA PROVENCE

Throughout the months of January and February, 1916 while negotiations
between Germany and the United States were in a critical stage, the
submari