Permit me to congratulate you on the success of the new system of Entry and Education of Naval Cadets, which has always elicited my warmest sympathy as the only means of doing away with class prejudice. A relative and namesake of mine, a Lieutenant in the Service, only the other day spoke to me most highly of the mental and physical development of the present-day Cadets, and remarked how very favourably they compared with the Cadets entered under the old _régime_. I remain, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, HENRY BENBOW. Admiral of the Fleet Sir JOHN FISHER, G.C.B., O.M. A NAVAL CANDIDATE’S ESSAY. I give here an essay written on 20th February, 1908, by a candidate for entry at Osborne as a Naval Cadet. His age was 12½; his height four foot nothing. The subjects were suddenly set to the candidates by the Interview Committee, and they were allowed only ten minutes to write the essay in. The original of this essay I sent to King Edward. _What Nation ought we to protect ourselves most against--and why?_ “In my opinion we should protect ourselves most against Germany. “The most important reason is that they have the second largest Navy in the world; to which (their Navy) they are rapidly adding. They are also building three ships equal to our ‘Dreadnought.’ Their Army also is very formidable; though they are suffering from flat-feet. It is also rumoured that the present German Emperor has a feud against King Edward; namely, when they were young, King Edward punched the German Emperor’s head; how far that is true, I don’t know. “I always think that Englishmen and Germans are, more or less, natural enemies. One of the reasons for this is, I think, that Englishmen and Germans are so different; for most of the Germans I’ve met in Switzerland were not quarter so energetic as our English friends. They (the Germans) would never go much above the snow line. Also I think we rather despise the Germans, because of their habit of eating a lot. The Germans also would like a few of our possessions.” CHAPTER XI SUBMARINES I begin this chapter with a letter written to me on April 18th, 1918, by Colonel Sir Maurice Hankey, Secretary to the War Cabinet:-- MY DEAR LORD FISHER, Last night I dined with Lord Esher. He showed me letters of yours dated 1904 describing in detail the German Submarine Campaign of 1917. It is the most amazing thing I have ever read; not one letter only, but several.