PAGE The Rush for the Gold-fields _Frontispiece_ Nasmyth's Steam-hammer 19 Bessemer Converting Vessel 28 Bessemer Process 30 Krupp's 15.6 Breech-loading Gun (breech open) 47 Josiah Wedgwood 52 Wedgwood at Work 56 Portland Vase 62 The Worcester Porcelain Works 64 Chinese Porcelain Vase 71 Wool-sorters at Work 82 Cotton Plant 101 The Hand-cradle Method of extracting Gold 103 Welcome Nugget 106 Hydraulic Gold-mining 115 Prospecting for Gold 125 Square-cut Brilliant, Round-cut Brilliant, Rose-cut Diamond 136 Kimberley Diamond-mine 139 Some of the Principal Diamonds of the World 145 The _Great Harry_ 153 Gatling Gun on Field Carriage 163 Nordenfelt-Palmcrantz Gun mounted on Ship's Bulwark 164 Lord Armstrong 166 Rifle-calibre Maxim Gun 178 One of the 'Wooden Walls of Old England' 184 The _Majestic_ 186 Section of the Goubet Submarine Boat 190 The Dandy-horse 204 The _Great Eastern_ and the _Persia_ 232 The _Campania_ 237 Clipper Sailing-ship of 1850-60 241 _La France_ 246 The _Great Eastern_ paying out the Atlantic Cable 281 Edison with his Phonograph 291 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. IRON AND STEEL. PAGE Pioneers of the Iron and Steel Industry--Sir Henry Bessemer-- Sir William Siemens--Werner von Siemens--The Krupps of Essen 9 CHAPTER II. POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. Josiah Wedgwood and the Wedgwood Ware--Worcester Porcelain 51 CHAPTER III. THE SEWING MACHINE.