I wish those who read Peter Parley’s Annual would encourage these kind of mysteries. I mean those hundreds of rich persons who can give the “children of the poor” a treat in such a manner. Our good Queen Victoria has set us an example in this particular, which all would do well to follow, and poor old Peter says, in consequence:—“God bless the Queen of England.”
God bless the Queen of England and happy may she reign,
Through many years of peaceful strength, our freedom to maintain;
May virtue be the brightest gem to sparkle in her crown,
A loyal people’s ardent love the safeguard of her throne.
Something about Ships and Shipping.
The launch of a “first-rate” man-of-war is one of the finest sights in the world, as it exhibits the triumph of mechanical genius, and the wonderful perseverance of man. The building of such a ship is a work of great skill, labour, and assiduity, and no country possesses these qualities in greater proportion than Englishmen. It may be interesting to my young friends, were I to explain, in brief, the methods used in the construction of a ship, that when they see a mighty castle floating on the seas, such as the Duke of Wellington, carrying one hundred and thirty-one guns, they may know something about the means taken to produce such gigantic effects.
In building large ships, a good ship-yard is essential. It must be a place to which the tide flows daily, and containing a good depth of water, with plenty of room, so that the ship, when launched, may not run a-ground. The most celebrated ship-yards for the building of men-of-war in England, are those of Chatham, Plymouth, Pembroke, and Portsmouth, and in these places the building of ships is performed on a very grand scale, and very large numbers of workmen are employed.