[32] “The Tadpole of an Archangel,” by Major Drury, R.M.L.I.
[33] Those who come from the South are usually nicknamed “Russians.”
[34] The following I can vouch for, as I heard it myself:—A certain warrant man in one of our destroyers came off leave one morning a little late, and thus explained himself to his skipper: “I was waiting for the train all right, sir, when some silly fool walking across the line got run over by a train coming the other way. It took both his legs off, and there was he and the legs lying on the line. I stood there laughing so that I clean forgot my train.” This is not exactly typical, but we have a good many such Mark Tapleys in the R.N.
[35] These Samaurai, or officer class—there were three classes in Japan: (1) the nobles, descendants of rulers of provinces; (2) the officer class; (3) the common people—for generation after generation lived very uncertain lives; they were liable to be killed at any moment once they left their homes. In addition, they were used to killing, having the right to do so at pleasure. If they unsheathed their swords, they could not replace them until they had killed some one. Possessing this power, it is little wonder that a strong sense of dignity was acquired with it.
[36] Matsushima class.
[37] In Fuji to Mikasa.
[38] Chin Yen.
[39] Hei Yen, Naniwa, Takachiho.
[40] Matsushima class.
[41] Expressed before the Russo-Japanese War.