was even lower, being only 4 and a half feet above the waterline.
Amidships, however, the deck was raised some 6 or 8 feet higher.

Between the two turrets was a large superstructure, the walls of which
curved outwards all over the top. A passage passed through it from side
to side, in which were the doors leading to the hatchways and to the
hurricane deck above, on which were the conning tower, wheels, etcetera.
The boats were also carried on this deck, high above the water, so that
there was no obstruction to the firing of the guns in the turrets below.

It might have been supposed, that a ship so low in the water could not
venture out to sea in rough weather, but, though her forecastle was
frequently completely submerged in a heavy sea, she has behaved very
well.

Other turret ships, however, had been built a year or two earlier with
masts and sails, and bows of ordinary height. At first these ships were
over-masted and canvassed, but after one of them, the _Captain_,
capsized during a gale in the Bay of Biscay, this defect was remedied.
This class was represented by the _Monarch_, completed in 1869, a vessel
of 8930 tons, and 15 knots speed. She carried seven guns, those in the
turrets weighing 25 tons.

The turret-ship reached its highest development in the year 1876, when
the _Inflexible_ was designed. By this time, guns had so greatly
increased in power, that the thickness of armour required to withstand
their shot was very great, and, as this involved an enormous addition to
the dead weight that had to be carried, some means had to be devised
whereby an efficient protection could be carried. The "central citadel"
form of design was that finally adopted, in which the armour was
concentrated on a citadel in the centre of the vessel, amply protecting
the engines, turrets, and other "vitals" of the ship, the rest of the
hull being left wholly unprotected, save for a "protective deck," about
the level of the waterline. This deck being horizontal, would always be
struck by shot at a very oblique angle, hence its thickness afforded a
much greater amount of protection--about double--than if placed
vertically on the sides.

The _Inflexible_ was a ship of 11,800 tons, and was driven at a speed of
nearly 13 knots, by engines of 6,500 horse-power. The turrets were
arranged one on each side of the ship, and thus enabled to fire both
ahead and astern or on the broadside. These turrets were protected by
armour 18