assume that this visit to
England, coming after the thorough education received in Francem did much
toward forming the views to which expression was soon given in designs and
reports on new types of war ships.

[Illustration: M. DUPUY DE LOME.]

When the young constructor settled down to his work in the arsenal at
Toulon, on his return from England, the only armed steamships in the
French Navy were propelled by paddle-wheels, and there was great
opposition to the introduction of steam power into line-of-battle ships.
The paddle-wheel was seen to be unsuited to such large fighting vessels,
and there was no confidence in the screw; while the great majority of
naval officers in France, as well as in England, were averse to any
decrease in sail spread. M. Dupuy had carefully studied the details of the
Great Britain, which he had seen building at Bristol, and was convinced
that full steam power should be given to line-of-battle ships. He grasped
and held fast to this fundamental idea; and as early as the year 1845 he
addressed a remarkable report to the Minister of Marine, suggesting the
construction of a full-powered screw frigate, to be built with an iron
hull, and protected by a belt of armor formed by several thicknesses of
iron plating. This report alone would justify his claim to be considered
the leading naval architect of that time; it did not bear fruit fully for
some years, but its recommendations were ultimately realized.

M. Dupuy did not stand alone in the feeling that radical changes in the
construction and propulsion of ships were imminent. His colleagues in the
"Genie Maritime" were impressed with the same idea: and in England, about
this date, the earliest screw liners--the wonderful converted "block
ships"--were ordered. This action on our part decided the French also to
begin the conversion of their sailing line-of-battle ships into vessels
with auxiliary steam power. But M. Dupuy conceived and carried out the
bolder scheme of designing a full-powered screw liner, and in 1847 the
Napoleon was ordered. Her success made the steam reconstruction of the
fleets of the world a necessity. She was launched in 1850, tried in 1852,
and attained a speed of nearly 14 knots an hour. During the Crimean War
her performances attracted great attention, and the type she represented
was largely increased in numbers. She was about 240 ft. in length, 55 ft.
in breadth, and of 5,000 tons displacement, with two gun decks. In he