The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-05-29

-.szA
dark, cavernous retreat, of irrepu
lar shape, so low that one fears t,
strike ones head against the beams
10 make room for the admiral AMI
his staff, the officers of the shin ar,
relocated to less favorable cabins
and it is very possible that some O
the Junior lleutenants will have t.
descerd under the armor plotting int,
pitchy darkness, like that in which
all officers have to live on board th.
Ihunderer. Possibly the admiralty
may have reconsidered their decision
by the time the Dreadnought is com
missioned, but at present there seems
to be a craze for making vessels into
fiag-ships, and appointing admirals
In profusion. The Mediterranean
teet has not less than four admirals
at this moment, counting Rear Ad.
mlral Lizard at Malta, who is STYLED
r'second in command in the Mediter.
ranean," as-one; while the channel
Ey g. ga sadf rHop, Which, since the with
drawal Of The Shannon, consists OF
but three vessels, is commanded by
two flag officers lin the proportion,
that is, of one admiral to a vessel
and a half.
The interior of modern turret
vessel has been llikened to the works
Of watch, and the simile is a very
good one. Unfortunately, one can
not in this case exam ne the ssworks"
with the same facility. Armed with
candle, we have to take particular
care not to tumble over the little
tramways with their trolleys which
intersect the dark space in all direc.
tons, as ifit were coal mine. The
bulkheads which subdivide the YES
sci constitute SO many engine rooms,
in which groups of workmen are
busy by the light of talIoy. candles.
Their energy wakes and their move
ments quicken perceptibly at the
sight of Captain Moss gold lace cap,
as he passes on his tour of inspec.
4on.g The admiralty has ordered
the vessel to be out of hand by mid.
summer, and it will require consid-
cradle pressure to bring about this
end. The various engines are all on
board, but there is still good deal
of finishing to be done. The hy-
draulic apparatus for loading and
sponging the. guns--for this will not
be done, by hand-still lacks some
thing before it is complete, and the
same may be said of the air-pumps
and other machinery necessary for
the charge and discharge Of the fish
torpedo. A pair of electric lights
are to. come IN board, and the me-
chanism for driving the electro mag.
nets is not yet in its place. On the
other hand the mighty engines that
move the ship are pronounced in
gssaodl order, and the steam: steariug
gear is ready for use. Thessystem
sc 33auSliary engines, which is met
with at every turn, engines for
pur Ping, ventiiatfag, feeding, start
lng, steering, etc, has been, finished
anu tested, but their maintenance in
9 sevieeable condition will be ebvi-,
ously one of the chief cares of the
engineers on board. In a word, the
Dreadnought is an example of the.
most modern battle-ship in which
cranks and pistons, valves and cy
finders, take the place of the bone
and sinew of our blue Jackets
it is wise thus to dispense
with human energy and sub
stitpte for !itspulseless, mechanism is,
of course, a moot point, for if ma
chinery caHnot begwounded, it is OBJ
ylous tbatyaf gunneris more easily !
replaceable in action than a broken
tifafh5 OF leaky valve. I Fortunate it
is for US that we do not rely alone on
clock work ships like those of the
Dreadnought and Thunderer class.
Il London News.
The following letter is selected
from hundreds on file in the office of
4