Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/21



Trafalgar the British navy was at the zenith of its fame, for we had established a complete supremacy on the ocean, and swept from the sea all hostile fleets. Every project of Napoleon for distant conquest had been frustrated by our fleet, and in after years, at St Helena, he frankly recognised the fact. 'You,' he said to O'Meara, in one of those many interesting conversations recorded by the latter, 'are superior in maritime force to all the world united, and while you confine yourself to that arm you will always be dreaded.' On another occasion he remarked: 'Your soldiers are brave, nobody can deny it; but it was bad policy to encourage the military mania instead of sticking to your marine, which is the real