of
first-rate quality, were not in any way amiss, and the rigging at the
mast-head was not very noticeable. The ribs were solid, but coarse, less
delicacy of wood being required for steam than for sail. Her speed was
six knots an hour. When lying-to she rode well. Take her as she was,
"Lethierry's Galley" was a good sea boat; but people felt, that in
moments of danger from reefs or waterspouts, she would be hardly
manageable. Unhappily her build made her roll about on the waves, with a
perpetual creaking like that of a new shoe.

She was, above all, a merchandise boat, and, like all ships built more
for commerce than for fighting, was constructed exclusively with a view
to stowage. She carried few passengers. The transport of cattle rendered
stowage difficult and very peculiar. Vessels carried bullocks at that
time in the hold, which was a complication of the difficulty. At the
present day they are stowed on the fore-deck. The paddle-boxes of
Lethierry's "Devil Boat" were painted white, the hull, down to the
water-line, red, and all the rest of the vessel black, according to the
somewhat ugly fashion of this century. When empty she drew seven feet of
water, and when laden fourteen.

With regard to the engine, it was of considerable power. To speak
exactly, its power was equal to that of one horse to every three tons
burden, which is almost equal to that of a tugboat. The paddles were
well placed, a little in advance of the centre of gravity of the vessel.
The maximum pressure of the engine was equal to two atmospheres. It
consumed a great deal of coal, although it was constructed on the
condensation and expansion principles. It had no fly-wheel on account of
the instability of the point of support, but this was then, as now,
compensated for by two cranks at the extremities of the revolving shaft,
so arranged that one was always at right angles when the other was at
dead-point. The whole rested on a single sheet of cast-iron, so that
even in case of any serious damage, no shock of the waves could upset
its equilibrium, and even if the hull were injured the engine would
remain intact. To render it stronger still, the connecting-rod had been
placed near the steam-cylinders, so that the centre of oscillation of
the working-beam was transferred from the middle to the end. Since then
oscillating cylinders have been invented which do away with the
necessity of connecting-rods, but in those days the placing of the
connecting-