ty, that it is thriving and improving. By the statistics
which our consul, Mr. James, was kind enough to furnish me, it appears
that 1847 was the great year of its commercial activity, its imports in
that year valuing 94,000l., and its exports 364,000l. In 1852, the
imports were under 25,000l. and the exports a little more than
81,000l., which is certainly, by a comparison with the average of the
ten years preceding, an evidence of decreasing, rather than increasing,
commercial prosperity. Its population is 16,000; and that small
number--when it is remembered that it is the port of entry for the great
state of Virginia--is a strong argument against its asserted prosperity.
Not long before my arrival they had been visited with a perfect deluge
of rain, accompanied with a waterspout, which evidently had whirled up
some of the ponds in the neighbourhood; for quantities of cat-fish fell
during the storm, one of which, measuring ten inches, a friend told me
he had himself picked up at a considerable distance from any water.

The only real object of interest at Norfolk is the dockyard, which of
course I visited. Mr. James was kind enough to accompany me, and it is
needless to say we were treated with the utmost courtesy, and every
facility afforded us for seeing everything of interest, after which we
enjoyed an excellent lunch at the superintendent's. They were building a
splendid frigate, intended to carry 58-inch guns; her length was 250
feet, and her breadth of beam 48. Whether the manifest advantages of
steam will induce them to change her into a screw frigate, I cannot say.
The dockyard was very clean and the buildings airy. Steam, saw-mills,
&c., were in full play, and anchors forging under Nasmyth's hammer, I
found them making large masts of four pieces--one length and no
scarfings--the root part of the tree forming the mast-head, and a very
large air-hole running up and down the centre. The object of this
air-hole is to allow the mast to season itself; the reader may remember
that the mast of the "Black Maria" is made the same way. As far as I
know, this is a plan we have not yet tried in our dockyards. I find that
they use metallic boats far more than we do. I saw some that had
returned after being four years in commission, which were perfectly
sound. To say that I saw fine boats and spars here, would be like a
traveller remarking he saw a great many coals at Newcastle. All waste
wood not used in the yard is given awa