"THE TRADE."

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 55, 2 September 1916, Page 16

"THE TRADE."

"None knows Mow tho title of 'The Trade' came to bo applied to the submarine service," writes Rudyard Kipling in the Daily Chronicle, but so it is. The poet has accordingly « ritten the following linos on the customs of The Trade: — They bear, in placo of classic names, Letters and numbers on their skin, They play their grisly blindfold games In littlo boxe3 made of tin. ' Sometimes they stalk tho Zeppelin, Sometimes they learn where mines are laid Or where tho Baltic ice is thin. That is the custom of "The Trade." Few prize courts sit upon their claims, They seldom tow their targets in. They follow certain secret aims Down under, far from strife or din. ' When they aro ready to begin No flog is flown, no fuss is made More than tho shearing of a pin. That is tho custom of "The Trade." The Scout's quadruple funnel flames A mark from Sweden to the Swim, The Cruiser's thund'rous screw proclaims Her comings out and goings in. But only whiffs of paraffin Or creamy rings that fizz arid fade Show where tho one-eyed death has been. That is the custom of "Tho Trade." Their feats, their fortunes, ajid their fames Are bidden from their nearest kin; No eager public backs or blames, No journal prints tho yarns they spin (The Censor would not let thorn in!) When they return from run or raid. _ Unheard they work, unseen they win. That is the custom of "The Trade."