[Illustration: How they kept the Flag flying.]
Shot after shot hit the _Cap Trafalgar_ on the water line, and soon she caught fire. After the duel had lasted one hour and forty-five minutes she heeled over at such an angle that the men on the _Carmania_ could actually look down her funnels. Then there was an explosion, and her bows went under; another explosion followed, and she slowly disappeared. Many of the men struggling in the water were rescued by the empty collier that accompanied her. The _Carmania_ was prevented from sending her boats to the rescue because she was on fire forward. Our loss was nine men killed, five seriously wounded, and twenty-one slightly wounded. The following message was received from the Admiralty soon after the news reached London:--
"Well done. You have fought a fine action to a successful finish."
On the night before the Battle of Trafalgar Nelson knelt in his cabin on the _Victory_ and wrote a beautiful prayer, in which he besought, "May humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet." It has always been so, and it will always be so. I must now tell you of an action in which humanity _before_ victory led to a great disaster. On 22nd September three British cruisers, the _Aboukir_, _Hogue_, and _Cressy_, were cruising off the coast of Holland. They were old ships, and they were at sea for the last time; the Admiralty had already decided to sell them for breaking up.
The weather was bad, and the usual escort of destroyers had been delayed. Suddenly there was a terrible explosion on board the _Aboukir_. She had been hit by a torpedo from a submarine right under one of her magazines. The submarine, the famous U9, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Weddingen, had got within range under cover of a trawler flying the Dutch flag. The _Aboukir_ sank rapidly, and at once the _Hogue_ and the _Cressy_ slowed down, and began to lower their boats in order to save the survivors who were struggling in the water.
This was a splendid chance for the German submarine; for, as I have already told you, it is very difficult for under-water craft to torpedo a ship travelling zigzag at a high speed. She has to aim herself at her target, and only by chance can she do this when her quarry is rapidly changing its course. When, however, it comes to rest, the submarine has an easy task.