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The Modern Submarine 77 and was a constant source of wonder, fear, and amuse- ment among those travelling in the ferries and upon the excursion boats. Only one serious trouble was experienced, and that was in connection with the engine. The internal combustion motor of those days, however, was far from being reliable, but this circum- stance was rightly ignored in considering the merits of Holland’s invention, inasmuch as the power plant was obviously open to, and was certain to undergo, considerable improvement as knowledge was acquired. The newspapers which had hitherto derided Hol- land’s idea of reducing Jules Verne s phantasy into grim reality followed the evolutions of this boat with ill-disguised interest. Ridicule gave way to specula- tion concerning the influence of the submarine upon future warship and naval developments. Ihe boat lacked a distinctive name, but the newspapers sup- plied the deficiency by christening it the “ Fenian Ram,” from the fact that it had been built at the direct instigation and with the money of the Fenian movement in the United States to further the Fenian dream of a liberated Ireland. The plotters had been successful in preserving their activity in this field a tight secret. But the manoeuvres of the boat in the waters of New York Bay, and the pertinacity of the press in probing the mystery associated with its construction, laid bare the whole conspiracy. The inevitable followed. The Irish patriots have always been assailed as lacking in constancy and with failing to pull together for a prolonged period. Moreover, the golden opportunity to strike at England had passed before the boat had been completed. Some dissatisfied members of the