The raising of the siege of Cadiz, in consequence of the glorious victory gained by the Duke of Wellington over the French, near Salamanca, on the 22nd July, 1812. This mortar, cast for the destruction of that great fort, with powers surpassing all others, and abandoned by the besiegers on their retreat, was presented, as a token of respect and gratitude, by the Spanish Nation, to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent.'

"I might tell you of Perkins's steam-gun, of Shrapnel's shells, of Congreve's rockets, and of Cochrane's bomb-cannon, but I want to speak of a new power, that is more destructive than all these put together."

"What can that be, uncle? Why, it must be wonderful!

"It was on Saturday, the 20th of February, 1841, that Sir Robert Peel, Sir George Murray, Sir Henry Hardinge, Sir Francis Burdett, Lord Ingestre, Colonel Gurwood, Captain Britten, Captain Webster, and others, met together to witness an experiment about to be tried. A boat, twenty-three feet long and seven broad, had been placed on a sheet of water, in the grounds of Mr. Boyd, in Essex, a few miles only from London. The boat had been filled up with solid timber, four and a half feet deep, crossed every way, and clamped together as closely as possible, with eight-inch spike nails, so that it was almost as firm as a solid tree. The boat was set in motion, and then struck by the new power just abaft her starboard-bow. The effect was terrible. The water ́ parted and appeared like a huge bowl, with lightning playing on its surface. The boat was scattered into a thousand pieces. A column of water, resembling a huge fountain, threw the fragments of the boat some hundred feet into the air, and many of these fell at a distance of two or three hundred yards."

"What a dreadful explosion!"

"Dreadful indeed, boys! The eight-inch spike nails that I spoke of, were snapped in pieces like so many carrots, and the mast of the boat resembled a tree riven by the lightning. The boat

weighed perhaps two tons and a half, and the timber in her five tons and a half more; the weight of water displaced by the explosion could hardly be less than fourteen or fifteen tons, and yet the instrument of destruction that effected all this mischief was only eighteen pounds in weight."

"What, was it gunpowder?"

"That I cannot tell. Fearful as it was when exploded, it was harmless enough before, for one of the captains kicked it about like a foot-ball. The inventor said that he could carry enough on a single mule to destroy the strongest fortress in Europe."

"Terrible! Terrible! Why, it would destroy a ship directly."

"Yes. A small craft with this power on board would tear to pieces the largest ship that ever was built. Muskets, cannon, bomb-shells, rockets, and explosions of every kind are not to be compared to it; and, most likely, should it ever come into general use, it will make a complete change in naval and military tactics all over the world."

The passionate soldier. - A blue-jacket paying his debts.-A monkey on board. A ship. -Keel.-Decks.-Masts.-Sails.-Rigging.—

Life-boat.

Cables.

Anchors.

Capstan.-Buoys.-Blocks.Knotting. Quadrant. - The Indian and his fine clothes. - His return home.

His relation of his adventures. - The indignation of his tribe. His tragical end.

"I WILL now say a little about a ship, without dwelling long on the subject. It must be, touch

and go, aloft and below, for young people must learn to be sometimes satisfied with little."

“The more you tell us the better; we like a long account much better than a short one. Tell us all that you can think of about a ship and about sailors too."

66

No, that will not suit me just now; my account must be short. Sailors are sometimes hard to manage; and it becomes necessary to be quick in finding out when any ill-will is spreading among them, for it might lead on to a mutiny. Soldiers and sailors should be obedient as well as brave— a red-coat should never be found in the black hole, nor a blue-jacket show a white feather in the hour of danger.

"A mutiny is a sad thing among sailors or soldiers."

"It is; but I think sailors can be managed more easily than soldiers, because they usually go to sea early; whereas soldiers are often men before they enlist, with all the strength of their passions about them. A French newspaper says There is a private in the first regiment of cuirassiers in the French service, whom nothing can withstand when he becomes enraged; in that state he breaks iron like so much glass, and makes a plaything of a horse, as if it were a child's toy. In July last, his lieutenant, having directed him to take charge of the fresh horses, Memuel complained of partiality, and