The United States is also busy putting the older ships in good order, and rushing the work on those being constructed. The Government, it is reported, has the details of construction of many boats now building on the other side. One report was that the United States had an option on every ship being built in Europe, except, of course, vessels being built for Spain. This report, however, has not been confirmed. For the United States to have the option on a ship means that no other nation will be allowed to buy that ship unless the United States decides that she does not wish to have it herself. The Spaniards are disturbed at the news of an American squadron at Hongkong, on the coast of China. If you will look on your map, you will find that the Philippine Islands are not very far from Hongkong. These islands belong to Spain, and in the event of a war between the United States and Spain, great damage could be done by this fleet. * * * * * The monitor _Terror_ has arrived in New York harbor from Hampton Roads. This boat is 249 feet long, 56 feet wide, and can steam 12 knots an hour. The _Puritan_ and _Miantonomoh_ are two boats in the same class as the _Terror_, and for harbor defence they are unsurpassed. Very little surface is exposed to the fire of the enemy, as they are very low in the water; so low, that often, when in a sea-way, the waves wash over everything but the smoke-stacks and the turrets, so you can see how very difficult it is to do any damage to these formidable boats. They are all provided with rams. A ram is a very heavily reinforced projecting bow. Many war-vessels are built this way, so that they may run down and sink their antagonists in time of war. You will remember that the famous Confederate ram _Merrimac_ employed this mode of attack as a last resort, in her famous fight with the _Monitor_ during the Civil War. She was not successful, for she did not strike the _Monitor_ squarely. With their immense weight these monitors could pierce with their rams the armor of almost any ship and sink it. * * * * * On Wednesday, February 23d, M. Zola was found guilty of publishing a letter criticising the Government for its conduct in the Esterhazy court-martial and declaring the innocence of Albert Dreyfus. This letter was published in the Paris _Aurore_, whose editor is M. Perreux. M. Zola was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, and was also fined 3,000 francs, or about $600. As we told you in our last number, M. Perreux was condemned to serve four months in prison and pay 4,000 francs. In summing up--that is, in making his final address to the court--M. Labori, counsel of M. Zola, made touching references to the unhappiness of the Dreyfus family, the courage of the wife of the prisoner, and the letter from the disgraced man in September, 1897, protesting his innocence. The remarks made a great sensation in the court-room, many people weeping.