The British chaplain who visited Miss Cavell on the eve of her execution found her very calm and resigned. "She was brave and bright to the last. She professed her Christian faith, and said that she was glad to die for her country." It is said that the final scene was horrible. Miss Cavell, so it was reported, fainted on the way to execution, and was shot by the officer in command of the firing party as she lay unconscious. When the news leaked out a wave of horror and loathing swept over all the world--except Germany. At home Nurse Cavell was mourned alike in palace and in cottage. A memorial service was held in St. Paul's, and many plans were proposed for keeping her beautiful memory green. On the battlefield our men charged with the cry, "For Miss Cavell!" and the French hailed her as a new Joan of Arc. In the long, black list of German atrocities there is no more inhuman deed than the murder of Nurse Cavell. CHAPTER XLVII. THE WAR IN THE AIR. Over and over in these pages you have read of "airy navies grappling in the central blue." Every soldier, fighting his battles over again by the home fireside, loves to describe the aeroplanes that hovered above his trench while white, fleecy clouds of shrapnel burst around them. No returning soldier but can thrill his hearers with stories of deadly combats in the high heavens. The exploits of aircraft in this war open a new chapter of military history. Nothing is more remarkable than the rapid progress which has been made in the conquest of the air. In October 1897 a daring man succeeded in flying about three hundred yards; in October 1915 men frequently made flights of hundreds of miles. Twenty years ago the aeroplane was unknown; to-day it is a recognized arm of warfare. No army or navy dare enter upon war without its air service. Our French allies were the pioneers of these new powers of the air, and when war broke out they were well equipped with aircraft. It is said that at the close of the year 1915 they possessed more than three thousand aeroplanes, and that the number was being constantly increased. French aircraft are divided into three classes, according as they are to be used for scouting, for fire control, or for bombardment. The scouting machines are of various kinds, and include a new type of small machine known as the "Baby" Nieuport. This machine, which only carries a pilot, is no more than 25 feet wide, but it has a motor of 80 horse-power, and can attain the amazing speed of 120 miles an hour. The "Baby" Nieuports can rise higher and quicker than an eagle. [Illustration: A German Machine brought down and fired by a British Battle-plane. (_From the drawing by John de G. Bryan. By permission of The Illustrated London News._) This picture illustrates the splendid feat by which Second Lieutenant Insall won the Victoria Cross. (See page 384.)]