On the night before the Battle of Trafalgar Nelson knelt in his cabin on the _Victory_ and wrote a beautiful prayer, in which he besought, "May humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet." It has always been so, and it will always be so. I must now tell you of an action in which humanity _before_ victory led to a great disaster. On 22nd September three British cruisers, the _Aboukir_, _Hogue_, and _Cressy_, were cruising off the coast of Holland. They were old ships, and they were at sea for the last time; the Admiralty had already decided to sell them for breaking up. The weather was bad, and the usual escort of destroyers had been delayed. Suddenly there was a terrible explosion on board the _Aboukir_. She had been hit by a torpedo from a submarine right under one of her magazines. The submarine, the famous U9, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Weddingen, had got within range under cover of a trawler flying the Dutch flag. The _Aboukir_ sank rapidly, and at once the _Hogue_ and the _Cressy_ slowed down, and began to lower their boats in order to save the survivors who were struggling in the water. This was a splendid chance for the German submarine; for, as I have already told you, it is very difficult for under-water craft to torpedo a ship travelling zigzag at a high speed. She has to aim herself at her target, and only by chance can she do this when her quarry is rapidly changing its course. When, however, it comes to rest, the submarine has an easy task. Two torpedoes in quick succession now sped towards the _Hogue_, and five minutes later she had gone under, and the sea was dotted with men swimming for dear life or clinging desperately to bits of wreckage. Soon afterwards there was another explosion, and the _Cressy_ suffered the same fate. Three torpedoes had been fired at her, and two of them had hit her. Two Dutch trawlers now came to the rescue, and their crews worked like Trojans to save the lives of our men. British destroyers also arrived, and took part in the work of rescue; but the loss of life was very great. About 60 officers and 1,400 men were killed or drowned. The ships themselves were no great loss, but the 1,460 brave and highly-trained men who went down on that fateful day can never be replaced. "The conduct of the crew," says the commander of the _Cressy_, "was excellent throughout." "There was no panic of any sort," wrote the commander of the _Hogue_, "the men taking off their clothes as ordered, and falling in with hammock or wood. . . . All the men behaved extraordinarily well, obeying orders even when in the water and swimming for their lives. I witnessed many cases of great self-sacrifice and gallantry. Farmstone, able seaman, of the _Hogue_, jumped overboard from the launch to make room for others, and would not avail himself of assistance until all men near by were picked up; he was in the water about half an hour." [Illustration: The sinking of the Aboukir, Hogue, and Cressy.