1 8 Book of Steamships 



forming splendid marks for those mag- 

 nificently-handled, wasp-like craft in 

 which Drake and his captains fought. 



Right down to the 'fifties of the last 

 century the wooden warship, having lost 

 its castles, retained its immense free- 

 board, with deck upon deck of guns. 

 They, too, offered a good target, but 

 built as they were of good oak, the guns 

 of that period simply plugged them 

 through and through without greatly 

 endangering them. 



What did matter in warfare was the 

 amount of destruction done to the masts 

 and rigging. That, briefly told, is the 

 development of the naval sailing ship. 

 And it was to battleships much resem- 

 bling those which fought at Trafalgar 

 that the steam engine was first fitted, 

 in a manner which rather savoured of 

 great uncertainty and disbelief in its 

 effectiveness. 



The mercantile ship grew up on rather 

 different lines, improving greatly in 



