It remained for Germany, however, to apply this doctrine of destruction to mercantile craft and to neutral shipping, and to conduct war on the principle that war justifies _any_ means, any barbarity, even the indiscriminate slaughter of non-combatants. This assassin striking from behind has called the British blockade barbarous; but that blockade at least gives the nation against whom it is exercised a choice between evils, so much so in fact that all nations recognise it, and for ages have recognised it, as part of the procedure of war--no accusation of barbarity was made against Germany in 1871 for the starvation of the civilian population of Paris. But this sea-murder is a different thing, a thing that does not advance the end of the war, and a sign of a claim on the part of its authors that civilisation cannot allow. It is as if they questioned: “Since we have a certain power of destruction, shall we not use it as pleases us?” And the answer? There were, after the sinking of the _Lusitania_, rows of bodies of women and children laid out for identification; there were many other instances, almost equally tragic, and the answers that they afford are eloquent enough. May they be well remembered in the day of settlement. E. CHARLES VIVIAN [Illustration: THE “KATWYK” MURDER (A Dutch ship of this name was torpedoed by the Germans.)] Arcades Ambo Looking at this cartoon one can understand why Raemaekers is not _persona grata_ in the Happy Fatherland. With half a dozen touches he has changed Satan from the magnificent Prince of Evil whom Gustave Doré portrayed into a--Hun. Henceforth we shall envisage Satan as a Hun, talking the obscene tongue--now almost the universal language in Hades--and hailed by right-thinking Huns as the All Highest War Lord. Willy senior must be jealous. With the learned Professor, the cartoonist not only produces a composite portrait of all the _Herren Professoren_, but also drives home the point of his amazing pencil into what is perhaps the most instructive lesson of this monstrous war--the perversion to evil uses of powers originally designed, nourished, and expanded to benefit mankind. When the _Furor Teutonicus_ has finally expended itself, we do not envy the feelings of the illustrious chemists who perfected poison gas and liquid fire! Will they, when their hour comes, find it easy to obey the poet’s injunction, and, wrapping the mantle of their past about them, “lie down to pleasant dreams”? We are assured that these professors have not exhausted their powers of frightfulness. It may be so. This is certain: Such frightfulness will ultimately exhaust them. With this reflection, we may leave them, grist to be ground by the mills of God. HORACE ANNESLEY VACHELL [Illustration: ARCADES AMBO THE PROFESSOR: “I have discovered a new mixture which will blind them in half an hour.”