PREFACE To the average citizen, the life on board ship is, unfortunately, a closed book. Only when the fleet is in port has he the opportunity of treading the deck of a man-0-war, and then his visits result only in a confused impression of guns, machinery, and cramped spaces. Of the ways of the service he has seen nothing. It has seemed worth while, therefore, to publish the account which follows, not because it describes any unusual or important events, but because it sets forth the daily life and the days work for the thousands of bluejackets who to-day man the fighting vessels of our Navy. This book records the observations and im- pressions formed by a civilian during a winters cruise with the Atlantic Fleet. It is a journal of what the fleet does in times of peace to maintain its efficiency, a record of what it accomplishes when off parade. Most gratefully do l here acknowledge the courtesies with which I was fairly overwhelmed during those four months with the fleet. In publicly acknowledging my indebtedness to the many who have been so kind to me, I desire to express my obIigations in particular to the Secretary of the Navy and to Rear Admiral Seaton Schroeder, U. S. N., who was then Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, for the authority to make this cruise to Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, U. S. N., the commanding officer of the Kansas, the ship to which I was assigned, and to my shipmates and to others in the Service for their hospitality and many acts of kindness....