“The ‘Europe’ and ‘Africa’ became flag-ships, and the ‘Asia’ was afterward taken by the Grand Duke Alexis, who made a yacht of her, and a very handsome one she made. She remains the Grand Duke’s yacht to this day. “The rest of the history of this transaction is generally known. The vessels were fitted out, went to sea, and made their way to Russian ports without interruption, and a final treaty of peace was effected through the Congress of European Powers at Berlin. I believe that the strongest argument the Russian government could offer to persuade Great Britain against intervention was the fitting out of these vessels as commerce destroyers in our shipyard. “The next year during a trip abroad I visited Paris. I found there Captain Semetschkin, who told me that the Grand Duke Constantine was in the city and would like to receive me. The captain arranged that I should call the next morning, and at the same time informed me that the Grand Duke had given a contract for a new ship, afterward called the ‘Livadia,’ designed by Admiral Popoff and Dr. Zimmerman, to be built at the Fairfield Works at Glasgow. Admiral Popoff was a notable example of that type of man to which, for example, De Lesseps, and Keely of motor fame, and Eads belong. Such men affect an almost celestial knowledge in everything they undertake, and that affectation, coupled with an apparent sincerity of manner, earnestness of purpose, and unflinching nerve, often enables them to captivate people of good information on general topics, but unacquainted with the technique of engineering problems; and who therefore are unable to detect the cunning charlatanry of such pretenders. “Admiral Popoff had fascinated the Grand Duke Constantine with his peculiar type of war-ship, which was a circular floating turret of large dimensions that could be revolved by means of her propellers, so that, porcupine-like, she could present her ‘bristles’ in every direction to an enemy.