"The pleasure of seeing one's own face in print is a mixed and doubtful one, even when in miniature: but, magnified to about double the original and working size, it becomes an atrocity, and the King's guard will, we sincerely hope, forgive the jeers which greeted their appearance." Among other competitions instituted in these later days was a poem; at first sight, it might seem more appropriate to include this among the _Britannia_ games, but the following prize poem, by Cadet A. H. Taylor, demands a better fate:-- YE MARINERS OF ENGLAND: UP TO DATE. Ye submarines infernal That prowl beneath the seas, Who ne'er shall brave, in future years, The battle or the breeze, Your deep-sea warpath take again Where you need fear no foe, And creep through the deep Where six-pound shells don't go. Though the battle rages up above, You're safe down there below. The tops of conning towers Start up from every wave, For you are blind as moles below, And light and air ye crave. Where Tryon, Drake, and Shovel lie Ye submarines now go, As ye creep, etc. Now battleships and cruisers The seas no longer sweep, Since danger lurks beneath the waves A dozen fathoms deep; With Whitehead's fell torpedoes You pot them from below, As ye creep, etc. The meteor flag of England Shall still terrific burn, And submarines that start from Brest Shall never more return: The T. B. D.'s will nab them when They rise to get a blow; Though they creep through the deep Where six-pound shells don't go, Their men can't stand the tinned air long, Though they're safe down there below. [Illustration: THE "BRITANNIA" DRESSED FOR THE KING'S BIRTHDAY. _Photo: W. M. Crockett, Plymouth._] The "tinned air" is a right merry conceit; it is to be hoped that the prophetic words of the last verse may come true in case of war. We are doing a good deal of business in the matter of "tinned air" in England just now, which ought to assist in keeping the "meteor flag" flying. The officers who commanded the _Britannia_ during the 'nineties--and after, are as follow:-- Captain A. B. Thomas, appointed September 8th, 1892. Captain A. W. Moore, appointed April 17th, 1894. Captain the Hon. A. G. Curzon-Howe, appointed April 21st, 1897. Captain M. P. O'Callaghan, appointed February 20th, 1900. Captain C. H. Cross, appointed April 22nd, 1903. Captain Thomas had to resign his appointment through ill-health. Captain Cross is still in command, and will probably see the end of the _Britannia_ as at present constituted. During the 'nineties no fewer than 1,554 cadets entered, which, together with 618 in the next three years, makes a total of 2,172 in the thirteen years under consideration in this chapter. On this head some details will be found in the concluding chapter. CHAPTER VIII.