he lived to complete two volumes, he brought his story down only to the year 1422. To continue the work upon the same lines up to the year 1793, as he purposed, he would, I estimate, have needed at least fifteen, and possibly twenty, volumes more. It may be doubted whether any writer who is already in middle life is justified in undertaking, and looking forward to the single-handed completion of, a book framed on such a colossal and ambitious scale. Nicolas, however, chose to venture upon the forlorn hope. His brilliant failure is less astonishing, though scarcely less meritorious, than his success would have been.
Since Nicolas's time, there have been but two serious British naval writers on British naval history — Professor J. K. Laughton, R.N., and Vice-Admiral P. H. Colomb. The former has given us a number of admirable, though short, studies, mainly biographical,[1] and has done invaluable editorial work, especially in connection with the publications of the Navy Records Society. The latter has produced a learned and useful book,[2] which, though it deserves mention here, belongs rather to the domain of technical criticism than to that of ordinary history.
In addition to the major writers already named, Lieutenant John Marshall, R.N.,[3] Admiral Sir Charles Ekins,[4] Lieutenant Miles, R.N.,[5] Mr. A. Duncan, R.N.,[6] Captain S. M. Eardley-Wilmot, R.N., Mr. Joseph Allen, R.N.,[7] Commander C. N. Robinson, and others, besides the authors of numerous biographical volumes, compilations, controversial pamphlets, and technical treatises, belong to the category of naval men who, with more or less success, have striven to elucidate the history of their profession.
Yet, in spite of all this, the Navy has done relatively little towards making public the true story of the progress and work of the service. For this there are obvious reasons. A British naval officer, especially if he be of the executive branch, does not receive, and never has received, in early life, such training as fits him for the avocation of letters. His education does not specially en-
- ↑ Some of these were collected in ' Studies in Naval History,' 1887.
- ↑ ' Naval Warfare.'
- ↑ Lieut. John Marshall, R.N.: ' Royal Naval Biography,' 12 vols. 1823-29.
- ↑ Admiral Sir Charles Ekins: ' Naval Battles, from 1744 to the Peace in 1814, critically reviewed and illustrated.'
- ↑ ' Epitome of the Royal Naval Service,' 1841.
- ↑ ' The Mariner's Chronicle,' 6 vols, 1750; etc.
- ↑ ' The Battles of the British Navy.'
