Produced by Thierry Alberto, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net SEA WARFARE BY RUDYARD KIPLING MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON 1916 CONTENTS PAGE THE FRINGES OF THE FLEET 1 TALES OF "THE TRADE" 93 DESTROYERS AT JUTLAND 145 THE FRINGES OF THE FLEET (1915) In Lowestoft a boat was laid, Mark well what I do say! And she was built for the herring trade, But she has gone a-rovin', a-rovin', a-rovin', The Lord knows where! They gave her Government coal to burn, And a Q.F. gun at bow and stern, And sent her out a-rovin', etc. Her skipper was mate of a bucko ship Which always killed one man per trip, So he is used to rovin', etc. Her mate was skipper of a chapel in Wales, And so he fights in topper and tails-- Religi-ous tho' rovin', etc. Her engineer is fifty-eight, So he's prepared to meet his fate, Which ain't unlikely rovin', etc. Her leading-stoker's seventeen, So he don't know what the Judgments mean, Unless he cops 'em rovin', etc. Her cook was chef in the Lost Dogs' Home, Mark well what I do say! And I'm sorry for Fritz when they all come A-rovin', a-rovin', a-roarin' and a-rovin', Round the North Sea rovin', The Lord knows where! THE AUXILIARIES I The Navy is very old and very wise. Much of her wisdom is on record and available for reference; but more of it works in the unconscious blood of those who serve her. She has a thousand years of experience, and can find precedent or parallel for any situation that the force of the weather or the malice of the King's enemies may bring about. The main principles of sea-warfare hold good throughout all ages, and, _so far as the Navy has been allowed to put out her strength_, these principles have been applied over all the seas of the world. For matters of detail the Navy, to whom all days are alike, has simply returned to the practice and resurrected the spirit of old days.