16 INTRODUCTION 



The stagnation, or rather the decadence of the French 

 marine, is a matter of common knowledge. It is true 

 that the Frenchman willingly slumbers and dreams of 

 past glories ; yet he has the faculty of waking promptly 

 enough. But is it not perhaps too late ? Should we 

 prove to have the strength and courage to recover 



"The few steps lost by hundreds in advance "? 



To the first question I answer, No I to the second, 

 Yes ! We must believe in success, for no work is other 

 than sterile if conceived in despair. Let us go boldly 

 forward. 



In one of those delightful romances of his, in which 

 the profoundest truths are found lurking behind a mask 

 of paradox and humour, the illustrious Mr. H. G. Wells, de- 

 scribing the condition of human society many hundreds 

 of centuries hence, supposes it divided into two classes 

 only : the Morlocks and the Eloi. The Morlocks are 

 industrious and labour without rest. The Eloi live 

 without care, rather like a set of gods on strike, and enjoy 

 an eternal repose. But woe to them if during the night 

 they wander from their houses ! they are caught, 

 killed, eaten by the Morlocks ! . . . Well, we must not 

 become Eloi. 



The effort ahead of us will be stupendous, for the 

 marine is a homogeneous body. Those of the Great 

 Powers richest in ships of war and commerce are also 

 those which possess the most numerous fishing-fleets. 

 Many armoured vessels go with many liners, many 

 tramps, many trawlers. Consider the case of Japan. 

 Scarcely was the country re-born amid the thunder of the 

 guns of Tsushima but she was launching steamers of 

 heavy tonnage from her slips, and developing her fleets 

 of fishing-boats. The fishing-boat and the merchant 



