[47] The Chinese considered this a practical form of warfare even in comparatively recent times. In _The Voyage of H.M.S. Nemesis_ (1841) an account is given of the preparations made against the British fleet. At Canton it was stated that "several hundred divers were said to be in training who were to go down and bore holes in our ships at night; or even, as the Chinese privately reported, to carry down with them some combustible material which would burn under water and destroy our vessels". [48] There is, however, in this MS. a picture of what is probably intended for a diver wearing a metal helmet without a tube. [49] i.e. King Solomon. [50] Included in the ships' companies of the Middle Ages were "seamen who knew how to swim for a long time under water". These divers "pierced the ships (of the enemy) in many places so that the water could enter". In an old work on naval architecture, published in 1629, it is stated in reference to the Turkish pirates of Barbary that "The Corsairs, indeed, are very wily in attack and defence, acquainted with many kinds of projectiles, even _Submarine Torpedoes_, which a diver will attach to an enemy's keel". [51] See _The Story of the Submarine_, by Colonel C. Field, R.M.L.I. [52] _See The Story of the Submarine_, by Colonel C. Field, R.M.L.I. [53] Letter from Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington, 9th August, 1695. [54] In the Civil War in America the _Louisiana_ was filled with 430,000 pounds of powder, and exploded against Fort Fisher on Christmas Eve, 1864, with little or no effect. This is the last recorded case of an explosion-ship, unless we reckon the four fireships in the form of rafts that in April, 1915, were sent by the Germans against a fort at Osowiec. Some never arrived; the others were blown up by the guns of the fort. [55] _War with Russia_, by H. Tyrell. [56] i.e. tinder. CHAPTER XIII Naval Brigades "The sailor who ploughs on the watery main, To war and to danger and shipwreck a brother, And the soldier who firmly stands out the campaign, Do they fight for two men who make war on each other? Oh no, 'tis well known, The same loyal throne Fires their bosoms with ardour and noble endeavour; And that each with his lass, As he drinks a full glass, Toasts the Army and Navy of Britain for ever." _Chorus_--"And that each, &c."