d iron, so that the ships and workmen are
protected while the building is going forward.

Before leaving we went into the mast-house, near the entrance to the
yard. Here we saw the enormous pieces of timber intended to be built
into masts--for masts of large ships are not single trees, but composed
of many pieces, which are bound together with stout iron hoops. Here
also were the masts of ships in ordinary. They would be liable to decay
if kept on board exposed to the weather. Each mast and yard is marked
with the name of the ship to which it belongs. The masts of the old
Victory are kept here, the same she carried at Trafalgar. Not far off
is the boat-house, where boats from a large launch down to the smallest
gig are kept ready for use.

We looked into the Naval College, where officers go to study a variety
of professional subjects. When papa was a boy the Naval College was
used as the Britannia now is--as a training-school for naval cadets.
Finding an officer going on board the Excellent--gunnery ship--we
accompanied him. We were amused to find that the Excellent consists of
three ships moored one astern of the other, and that not one of them is
the old Excellent, she having been removed. Our friend invited us to
accompany him on board an old frigate moored a little way up the
harbour, from which we could see some interesting torpedo experiments.

As we pulled along he gave us an explanation of the fish torpedo--a
wonderful instrument of destruction which has been invented of late
years. It is a cylinder, which carries the explosive material at one
end and the machinery for working the screw which impels it at the
other. It can be discharged through a tube with such accuracy that it
can strike an object several hundred yards off. On getting on board the
old frigate, we found a large party of officers assembled. We were to
witness the explosion of two other sorts of torpedoes. One was used by
a steam launch, the fore part of which was entirely covered over by an
iron shield. The torpedo was fixed to the end of a long pole, carried
at the side of the launch. At some distance from the ship a huge cask
was moored, towards which the launch rapidly made her way. The pole,
with the torpedo at the end, was then thrust forward; the concussion
ignited it the instant it struck the cask and blew it to fragments.

Another launch then approached a large cask floating with one end out of
the water, to represent