X INTRODUCTION 



too early inculcated ; indeed, it should not be a Lard 

 task to teach it to our boys, for the story is so inte- 

 resting, so full of thrilling romantic interest, that 

 even in the hands of the dullest teacher it could 

 hardly be made dry. Under a proper handling of 

 the subject, the grimiest little tramp steamer that 

 ever lumbered across the Channel, deep laden with 

 the roughest of cargoes, would become glorified, her 

 sordid trade details would glow with a halo of romance 

 that would fire the minds of even the most youthful 

 hearers with a determination to uphold, at all hazards, 

 that supremacy so laboriously gained. And for the 

 older learners the story has one special advantage, in 

 that it is entirely free from the deadening, hamper- 

 ing influence of party politics. It soars above the 

 squabbles of party into the clear serenity of national 

 interest, making all men agree that whatever diver- 

 gent views they may have upon the means whereby 

 our sea-supremacy shall be upheld, upheld it shall 

 certainly be. 



The first great aspect of the ocean dealt with is 

 one that is of world-wide interest, because it affects 

 the health of man generally. It is the part that the 

 whole ocean-covered surface of the globe plays in 

 the dissemination of vital force all over the world. 

 This is no mere national question, it is universal, 

 and with its benignant operations man has nothing 

 whatever to do. Like the vitalizing sunlight, it is 

 independent of good or evil, civilized or uncivilized 

 behaviour on the part of man. Freed from his control 

 in any sense, it is equally free from the consequences 

 of his folly ; it showers daily benefits upon him, who- 

 ever he is or wherever he may be, and he cannot 



