[429]. Became in time the quartermaster of the royal engineer establishment at Chatham, and when the siege of Sebastopol was at its highest, was removed from the corps by promotion into the Turkish contingent engineers with the rank of Captain.
[430]. Sir Howard Douglas, ‘On Military Bridges,’ 3rd edit., p. 32.
[431]. Ibid., 33.
[432]. Ibid., 33.
[433]. It is simply a half-cylinder, 20 feet long by 1 foot 9 inches wide, and 3 feet deep, strengthened internally by hollow tubes, and deriving its buoyancy from an ingenious distribution of water-tight compartments, which not only preserve the flotation but provide seats for the troops. To render the contrivance more efficient for rafts or bridging purposes, a similar half-cylinder is attached to its consort by strong hinges and bolts. When shut its form is cylindrical; when open, two boats in rigid connection, taking the same swing in the water—the same motion on the wave. In this Siamese connection it is intended always to be used; and fitted as it is with all the necessary details, and the means of applying a rudder or an oar for steerage at any end, it appears to be adequate for all the uses and contingencies, not only of a pontoon, but of an ordinary passage-boat. It moreover aspires to the merciful functions of a lifeboat, being capable, without risk of capsizing or sinking, of venturing out in heavy seas to save human life imperilled by squalls or shipwreck.
[434]. ‘United Service Journal,’ iii., 1843, p. 139.
[435]. Ibid., p. 139.
[436]. Ibid., p. 138.
[437]. ‘United Service Journal,’ iii., 1843, p. 139.
[438]. Ibid., pp. 137, 140.