Thirteen midshipmen seated upon this monster naval gun seem to emphasize its length. Sixteen of our super-Dreadnoughts each carry eight or ten 13.5-inch guns. They settled the fate of the _Blücher_ in the Dogger Bank fight, and sent the other German ships back to port shattered and on fire.] The fleet surgeon, with one or two surgeons, has entire charge of the health of both officers and men. His special domain is the "sick-bay", generally situated forward, so that the sick get the freshest air, and he is assisted in his duties by a staff of sick-berth stewards and sick-berth attendants. He is an autocrat in his way, as not even the captain can traverse his decisions as to health or disease. He makes a daily report of the officers and men on the sick-list to the captain, and arranges that one of his surgeons is always at hand in case of accidents. In action he and his staff and what extra assistants can be spared arrange a place down below the armoured deck where they can do what is possible for the wounded that are passed down to them. But in these days, when guns are closed up in separate turrets and casemates, it is not too easy a business to arrange for the transport of these poor fellows. The fleet paymaster is another non-combatant--so far as it is possible for anyone to be so classed on a ship-of-war--and has the responsible duty of looking after the pay, accountant, and clerical work of the ship, stores of all kinds, and many other matters of a like nature, including "slops" or clothes for the ship's company. The paymaster line has no curl on the sleeve and wears white cloth between the gold stripes of rank. The surgeons also have plain stripes, but with scarlet cloth between them. The engineers wear purple between their stripes, and the naval instructors sky-blue, but this is rarely seen, since most naval instructors are also chaplains and wear the ordinary clerical rig. Personally I have never set eyes on the sky-blue.