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ine Engisin nave several nорме пагоors roadsteads on their side of the channel. principal one is at Portsmouth, where ther not only an immense harbor entirely enclo within the land, but also a great roadstead posite to it, called Spithead, where an alm unlimited number of ships may lie at ancl protected by the Isle of Wight, which, lil natural breakwater, shelters them not only f the seas rolling in from the Atlantic up channel, but also in a great measure from winds. Portsmouth has consequently been n the principal naval station of Great Britain, Spithead is the great rendezvous of the fi and squadrons that are preparing to go forth distant expeditions, and the final resting P of the ships when they return home.

In reading English history and English ta especially those relating to the sea, you will c tinually meet with allusions to ships com home from sea and anchoring at Spithead, of the officers or passengers going on shore Portsmouth to proceed to London.

It is supposed that the growth of the Eng naval power, which, until within a short per

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ituated in precisely the most conpossible for ships going out or

arbors constructed by means of arn the French side of the channel ufficient, as has already been said, ses of men of war. For these an norage ground is required, freely Il times. It is necessary that this und should be very large, for a ng at anchor requires a great deal the first place it is necessary, when et down, to pay out a very consid-' of cable in order to make the an-generally, in the case of a large etty deep water, a length of several sometimes of nearly a thousand end of this cable the ship rides to the anchor, and she plays all chor, according as the tides or curimpel her, but always with her t. Thus for each ship a great cir

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themselves coming into collision.

It is true that ships when they are to rem for a long time in the same position may moored head and stern, in which case they held fixed in one position, and are prever from swinging round with the tide. But o narily they are held by one or more anchors tached to the bow, and thus they require a la space extending around the anchor as a cen which the ship may traverse freely in ev direction, without having any other ship enough to interfere with it. Thus to furn anchorage ground for a great navy, a roadst of several square miles in extent is required. this roadstead the water must be deep enougl float the largest ships at low tide, and not deep for conveniently putting down and tal up the anchors; the bottom, too, must be such a kind that the anchors will easily t hold of it, and lastly, the whole space must well sheltered from the sea.

Such a place the English have at Spith There, for an extent of several miles the wa is of the right depth, the bottom is of the ri

nined to make one.

was to find somewhere along their in some open bay, where the depth right and the bottom was good, and a breakwater on the outer side of it, waves from rolling in, and thus to ps the necessary shelter, while lying

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which they selected was a bay, town of Cherbourg. They began s for building a breakwater here, undred years ago, and the actual tructing it has occupied a very long two miles long, and in connection nds not far from the two ends of sheet of water containing many It is built up from the bottom of e the water at high tide is forty or ). It is more than a hundred feet op, and it spreads to an immensely th below. It contains three im, one in the middle and one at each perhaps the most massive, and in

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a vast excavation within the land, for a floa dock, with immense ship-yards and arsenal joining it, for the construction and fitting o ships of war. It was necessary to cut this mainly out of the solid rock, at an almos credible cost. Now that the works are all ished, the place forms one of the strongest most celebrated naval stations in the w though the English pretend to believe that breakwater, or the Digue, as the French ca will not stand permanently against the sea, that some time or other a tremendous storm come and sweep it away-a disaster which have no fear will ever happen to the great nat breakwater, the Isle of Wight, which gu their anchorage ground at Spithead, and entrance to Portsmouth harbor.

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