a boat. An officer stood up with a little ball
of gun-cotton in his hand, smaller than an orange, to which was attached
a thin line of what is called lightning cotton, the other end being
fastened to a pistol. As the launch glided on he threw the ball into
the cask. The boat moved away as rapidly as possible, when the pistol
being fired, in an instant the cask was blown to atoms. What a fearful
effect would have been produced had the innocent-looking little ball
been thrown into a boat full of men instead of into a cask!

Another experiment with gun-cotton was then tried. A piece not larger
than a man's hand was fastened to an enormous iron chain fixed on the
deck of the ship. We were all ordered to go below, out of harm's way.
Soon afterwards, the gun-cotton having been ignited by a train, we heard
a loud report; and on returning on deck we found that the chain had been
cut completely in two, the fragments having flown about in all
directions.

The chain of a boat at anchor was cut by means of a piece of gun-cotton
fixed to it, and ignited by a line of lightning cotton fired from one of
the launches. This showed us how the chain-cable of a ship at anchor
might be cut; while a torpedo boat might dash in, as she was drifting
away with the tide and the attention of her officers was engaged, to
blow her up.

The chief experiments of the day were still to come off. We saw a
number of buoys floating in various directions some way up the harbour.
A launch advanced towards one, when the buoy being struck by the pole,
the charge of a torpedo some twenty yards away was ignited, and the
fearful engine exploding, lifted a huge mass of water some thirty or
forty yards into the air. How terrible must be the effects when such a
machine explodes under a ship! As soon as the torpedoes had exploded,
the boats pulled up to the spot, and picked up a large number of fish
which had been killed or stunned by the concussion--for many did not
appear to be injured, and some even recovered when in the boats.

Papa, though very much interested, could not help saying that he was
thankful these murderous engines of war had not been discovered in his
time. It is indeed sad to think that the ingenuity of people should be
required to invent such dreadful engines for the destruction of their
fellow-creatures. When will the blessings of the gospel of peace be
universally spread abroad, and nations learn war no more?

We next pulled over