The Old Navy and the New #265252

During the more than half a century covered by this chronicle so marvelous have been the changes in naval architecture and armament in the development of means of locomotion both on shore and afloat, and in the establishment of rapid communication over the whole inhabited globe, that the intelligent reader can hardly realize that they have occurred within so brief an historical period of time.<br><br>A principal object of these memoirs has been to note these mutations in their order, and to present a picture of naval life as affected by them. The writer does not assume that his experience and service differ materially from those of many other officers who might with equal propriety give their memoirs to the public. His intention has been to make the narrative as impersonal as possible, representative not only of his own experience, but also of that of many other officers, varying from his only in time and circumstances.<br><br>If this volume cannot be read with interest by the youth, as well as by those of more mature years, the fault must be attributed to the narrator, and not to the character of the scenes and incidents he has endeavored to depict.<br><br>If, through the over-appreciation of friends who have persistently urged the writer to publish his memoirs, he has been betrayed into an indiscretion in placing before the public what may prove lacking in interest at present, he would in hope that at some future time, perhaps after the lapse of a century or more, the book will be quoted as an authority upon the history of the memorable period during which he served, if not with distinction, at least without reproach.