Like the settlement of the _Arabic_ case, this was hailed as a great diplomatic victory for the United States. Unlike it, there was no question of sharing the credit with the anti-submarine activities of the Allies, whose merchant ships in the Mediterranean were being torpedoed with startling frequency. On December 21st, the new 12,000 ton Japanese liner _Yasaka Maru_ was sunk without warning, near Port Said. Thanks to the splendid discipline of her crew, no lives were lost. There was an alleged American on board, but there was some irregularity about his citizenship papers. Nor were there any Americans aboard the French passenger ship _Ville de la Ciotat_, torpedoed on Christmas Eve, with the loss of seventy lives. There was nothing to mar the smug satisfaction of the American people on New Year’s Day. Then came the news of the sinking of the Peninsular and Oriental liner _Persia_, on December 30th, off the Island of Crete. “I was in the dining room of the _Persia_ at 1.05 P.M.,” declares Mr. Charles Grant of Boston, who was one of the two Americans on board. “I had just finished my soup, and the steward was asking me what I would take for my second course, when a terrific explosion occurred. “The saloon became filled with smoke, broken glass and steam from the boiler, which appeared to have burst. There was no panic on board. We went on deck as though we were at drill, and reported at the lifeboats on the starboard side, as the vessel had listed to port.... “The last I saw of the _Persia_, she had her bow in the air, five minutes after the explosion.... “Robert McNeely, American Consul at Aden, sat at the same table with me on the voyage. He was not seen, probably because his cabin was on the port side. “It was a horrible scene. The water was black as ink. Some passengers were screaming, others were calling out good-by. Those in one boat sang hymns.” The _Persia_ was apparently torpedoed, without warning. Like the _Hesperian_, she was armed with a 4.7 gun. One of the ship’s officers saw the white wake of the torpedo. But no one saw the submarine. The commander of that submarine evidently believed, like Captain Sirius, in striking first and letting the lawyers talk about it afterwards. INDEX _A-1_, 124. _A-3_, 124, 135. _A-5_, 125. _A-7_, 124. _A-8_, 124, 126. _Aboukir_, 160, 169. Accidents, 124. Aeroplanes, 17, 71, 172. Air-chamber, 47. _Alabama_, 70. _Albemarle_, 43, 166. _Alert_, 136. Alkmaar, 4. Alstitt’s submarine, 75. _Ancona_, 202. _Anglo-Californian_, 187. Apostoloff’s submarine, 66. _Arabic_, 198, 205. _Argo_, 92. _Argonaut_, 85, 92, 98. _Argonaut Jr._, 85. _Argus_, 34. _Asia_, 12. Aube, Admiral, 59. _Audacious_, 161, 169. Awash condition, 127. _B-2_, 124. _B-11_, 165. _Badger_, 168. Baker’s submarine, 82. Balance-chamber, 44, 48.