63 



Being constructed by Mons. Dupuis Delome, one of the most intelligent 

 naval architects of the age, it seemed rather surprising indeed, to 

 some, that he should have made so gross a miscalculation ; and indeed 

 experience verified their belief, for she was found to answer when at 

 sea all that was required of her, even in the worst weather. Yet, as 

 Mr. Russell observes, she must not be viewed as her builder's "chef 

 d'ceuvre :" she was no doubt built to suit the capabilities of the French 

 dockyards — an abundance of wood, and but little iron. Had her build- 

 ers possessed the resources of England, the probability is, her construc- 

 tion would have been at least modified. The following is a true 

 representation of this fine frigate, taken expressly for this paper, by 

 Lieutenant Peile, U. 1ST. P. 



No doubt a great part of the stability depends on the materials of 

 the hull being composed of the same or of different materials. In my 

 opinion all iron is by far the most serviceable, yet I know that to this 

 theory I have many opponents. General Sir Howard Douglas says, in 

 support of iron bottoms : — " In spite of their horror of iron, the Admi- 

 ralty ought to have discovered before this time that, even if the top sides 

 of a man of war should be of wood, the bottom or water portion should 

 be of iron ; for it has been found in almost every case where one of 

 our screw liners was driven at even the moderate speed of 10 J- or 11 

 knots, the seams opened and the caulking escaped, and this indeed 

 seems to be one of the strongest objections to converting old wooden vessels 

 into demi-iron ships of war, such as the ' RoyalOak.' ' ' From a Parliamen- 

 tary return, dated 4th of May, 1863, in reply to a motion of Sir James 

 Elphinstone, it appears that there were built, and building, eleven iron 

 and ten wooden iron-clad ships of war, and the seven floating batteries, 

 of which three have never been commissioned ; and two, though sent on 

 foreign service in a supposed efficient state, have cost the nation £3571 

 for repairs to the hulls, which expense indeed is not to be wondered at, 

 when we find the " Thunderbolt," one of the batteries, has never been 



