ty's famous ironclad turret-ship, the _Thunderer_.
Knowing how much you are interested in the navy of England, I will
relate a little of what I saw, premising, how ever, that although
strict veracity is not required of me, I am, as you know, a man of
principle, and therefore impose it on myself, so that whatever I say
in this letter in regard to this splendid man-of-war may be relied on
as absolutely true.

"Well, then, the gallant captain of the _Thunderer_, who is said to be
one of the best disciplinarians in the service, and to have done many
a deed of daring in the course of his adventurous career, received me
very kindly. He is every inch a sailor, and as there are full
seventy-three inches of him, I may be excused for styling him a
splendid specimen. In consequence of my being a friend of a friend of
his, the captain invited me to spend several days on board. During my
stay I inhabited the captain's `fighting cabin,'--and this, by the
way, reminds me that I was introduced to a young lieutenant on board,
named Firebrand, who says he met you not long ago at Portsmouth, and
mortally offended your mother by talking to her about the
_Thunderer's_ crinoline! The `fighting cabin' is so styled because it
may be inhabited in safety while the ship is in action, being within
the ship's tremendous armour plating. In times of peace the captain
occupies a large handsome cabin on the deck, which, although made of
iron capable of resisting winds and waves, and beautifully furnished,
is nevertheless liable to be swept bodily into the sea if hit by the
giant shot of modern days. A corresponding cabin on the port side of
the ship constitutes the ward-room. This also might be blown to
atoms, with the officers and all their belongings, if a shell were to
drop into it. But the officers also have places of refuge below while
in action.

"A large proportion of what meets the eye above the water-line of this
ironclad, and looks solid enough, is of this comparatively flimsy
build; not meant to resist shot or shell; willing, as it were, to be
blown away, if the enemy can manage it, though proof against
rifle-bullets. There is a huge central erection, styled the `flying'
or `hurricane' deck, from which enormous davits project with several
boats pendent therefrom. Out of this flying structure rise the great
iron mast--with a staircase inside leading to the `top