Appeal—His Philanthropic Efforts—Use of Old Charts—Badly-constructed Ships—A Doomed Ship—Owner’s Gains by her Loss—A Sensible Deserter—Overloading—The Widows and Fatherless—Other Risks of the Sailor’s Life—Scurvy—Improper Cargoes—“Unclassed Vessels”—“Lloyd’s” and its History CHAPTER VIII. THE HISTORY OF SHIPS AND SHIPPING INTERESTS (_continued_.) The Largest Ship in the World—History of the _Great Eastern_—Why 129 she was Built—Brunel and Scott Russell—Story of the Launch—Powerful Machinery Employed—Christened by Miss Hope—Failure to move her more than a few feet—A Sad Accident—Launching by Inches—Afloat at last—Dimensions—Accommodations—The Grand Saloon—The Paddle-wheel and Screw Engines—First Sea Trip—Speed—In her first Gale—Serious Explosion on Board off Hastings—Proves a fine Sea-boat—Drowning of her Captain and others—First Transatlantic Voyage—Defects in Boilers and Machinery—Behaves splendidly in mid-ocean—Grand Reception in New York—Subsequent Trips—Used as a Troop-ship to Canada—Carried out 2,600 Soldiers—An eventful Passenger Trip—Caught in a Cyclone Hurricane—Her Paddles almost wrenched away—Rudder Disabled—Boats carried away—Shifting of Heavy Cargo—The Leviathan a Gigantic Waif on the Ocean—Return to Cork CHAPTER IX. THE HISTORY OF SHIPS AND SHIPPING INTERESTS (_continued_). The Ironclad Question—One of the Topics of the Day—What is to be 138 their Value in Warfare?—Story of the Dummy Ironclad—Two real Ironclads vanquished by it—Experience on board an American Monitor—Visit of the _Miantonoma_ to St. John’s—Her Tour round the World—Her Turrets and interior Arrangements—Firing off the Big Guns—Inside the Turret—“Prepare!”—Effects of the Firing—A Boatswain’s-mate’s Opinion—The _Monitor_ goes round the World safely—Few of the Original American Ironclads left—English Ironclads—The _Warrior_—Various Types—Iron-built—Wood-built—Wood-covered—The Greatest Result yet attained, the _Inflexible_—Circular Ironclads—The “_Garde Côtes_”—Cost of Ironclads—The Torpedo Question—The Marquis of Worcester’s Inventions—Bishop Wilkins’ Subaqueous Ark—Fulton’s Experiments—A Frightened Audience—A Hulk Blown Up—Government Aid to Fulton—The _Argus_ and her “Crinoline”—Torpedoes successfully foiled—Their use during the American War—Brave Lieut. Cushing—The _Albemarle_ Destroyed—Modern Torpedoes: the “Lay;” the “Whitehead”—Probable Manner of using in an Engagement—The Ram and its Power CHAPTER X. THE LIGHTHOUSE AND ITS HISTORY. The Lighthouse—Our most noted one in Danger—The Eddystone 156 Undermined—The Ancient History of Lighthouses—The Pharos of Alexandria—Roman Light Towers at Boulogne and Dover—Fire-beacons and Pitch-pots—The Tower of Cordouan—The First Eddystone Lighthouse—Winstanley and his Eccentricities—Difficulties of Building his Wooden Structure—Resembles a Pagoda—The Structure Swept away with its Inventor—Another Silk Mercer in the Field—Rudyerd’s Lighthouse—Built of Wood—Stood for Fifty