for you? Let your ships he harder than
the rocks, swifter than the message-bird, more buoyant than the
swan, and as enduring as the Mestua Mountain."

Our ships are of peculiar form and construction, and of all but
exhaustless strength and durability. In ancient times the form of a fish
had been taken as a model for their construction, and the same form was
continued for centuries. The ships built on this principle, however,
often foundered at sea, or were broken to pieces, when driven against
the rocks, by the violence of tempests.

Moved by the loss of life and consequent suffering thus occasioned, I
sought to construct a vessel that could neither founder nor be broken,
at whatever speed it might move.

I reasoned that a fish, formed to live and to act principally under the
water, was hardly a fit model for ships intended to float on its
surface, and certainly not to sink.

After much consideration on the part of our scientific men, the form of
the swan was successfully adopted as best fitted for sea-going ships.

Our "Swan-ships," as I may call them, are constructed of timbers,
previously seasoned to prevent insect breeding and to resist all
tendency to shrink, and are completely covered with the hide of the
hippopotamus, which, it should be observed, is impervious to water, and,
when prepared for use, is so tough that no knife or machine, however
sharp or powerful, can cut, pierce, or indeed make any impression upon
it, until it has passed through a process, in which fire has a great
part, and is thus purposely deprived of its impenetrable nature.

In the construction of the ship, the outline of the swan is followed as
nearly as possible. The prow rises out of the water, shaped like the
bird's neck and head; the keel is rounded like the belly; the stern is
an imitation of the tail; the legs are supplied by two large adjuncts in
the shape of webbed feet, with the addition, however, of numerous wheels
fastened round the swan's belly, which are partially immersed in the
water and moved by powerful machinery within the vessel.

On each side of the swan's body is an auxiliary platform, forming, as it
were, a wing. These platforms are raised in fine weather, and serve as
open-air promenades for the passengers, in addition to another terrace
on the swan's back, immediately above.

The ship has no masts, and is thus available throughout for passengers
and merchandise. The apertures between the decking, t