AGAIN, when the Spanish Armada swooped down upon England (1588) a terrible tempest dispersed a part of the enemy’s fleet.* Many of the vessels were wrecked and only a few were left to creep back, crippled and disheartened, to the ports of Spain. When Queen Elizabeth publicly thanked the leaders of her valiant navy for what they had done to repel the Spanish forces, she also acknowledged how much England owed to the protective power of wind and wave.

The same elements taught Napoleon a lesson which he never forgot. He had carefully planned an expedition against England, but violent and long-continued storms compelled him to abandon the hazardous undertaking (1804). The great French commander felt himself invincible on land, but he was obliged to confess that “a few leagues of salt water” had completely out-generalled him.*

In fact, ever since England organized a regular navy (1512) the encircling arms of the ocean have been her closest and surest friend.