the other officers of the yard for the polite attention we received from them during our stay of seven days at Plymouth.

The towns of Devonport and Plymouth are much superior to Portsmouth and Portsea. They are regular, very well paved, and the houses are nearly all built of limestone with which the county of Devonshire abounds. After the establishment of the dock yark at Plymouth which is situated about a mile from it, the neighbourhood of the dock yard was occupied by houses of those that were employed there and so rapidly did it, improve, that in a short time it became a small town, and was called Plymouth Dock. In the year 1824, the inhabitants, proud of the rapid progress they had made in a comparatively short period and knowing the importance of the town, applied for and received permission from King George the Fourth to call it Devonport. And a monument has been erected in Carr Street by the inhabitants in honour of this event.

Near the monument is a Town Hall, erected about twenty years ago, it is a fine building with a handsome portico in the front and is used for public meetings.

Plymouth Dock yard which should now be called Devonport Dock Yard, stands on the eastern bank of the Hamoaze and is one of the principal naval arsenals of England. The entrance to it is through a large and handsome gateway, at

the bottom of Fore Street, which is the principal one in Devonport. It is very wide and well lighted with gas, and has an imposing appearance from the Dock Yard gate.

The appearance of the Dock Yard at the entrance is remarkably fine, and one would hardly suppose that it is a busy place such as a dock yard always is, no blows of hammers or no confused noise is heard here, neither do we see the dock and slips or persons moving about, or any sort of material used in shipbuilding purposes, on the contrary we see an extensive and wide avenue in the front, the warden's house on the right, and the dock chapel, and the guard room on the same side. On the left hand is a small piece of ground containing a few flower plants and a fountain, and a few strangers or visitors walking here and there during the working hours of the yard.

This part is also kept remarkably clean and free from chips or dirt, so that it presents a scene far different from a naval arsenal.

Going through this avenue and turning to the left we see a long range of building which is appropriated to the residence of the senior officers; the Admiral's house is in the middle part and is easily distinguished from the rest by its external beauty, and largeness, the other houses are also very commodious and a beautiful terrace extends along the front of this building at the end of which is the Admiral superintendent's office.

The Dock Yard contains an area of 70 acres, and has magnificent store houses, and other buildings suitable to the importance of a great naval arsenal. The new north dock was constructed in the year 1789, it is 285 feet in length, 85 feet wide and 29 feet deep, the smithy is situated near this dock, and contains upwards of forty forges, in the front of it is a wharf on which a great number of anchors are kept.

In addition to these there is a double dock called the north dock, and a third one which was built in the reign of William the Third, and now used for repairs of frigates.

The building slips are very fine and covered over with beautiful roofs. We were here greatly pleased to see the "Hindoostan" building all of Teak, and there are also two new vessels building, on the plan of the present surveyor Sir William Symonds, these vessels will be the largest second rates in the world, and will carry ninety guns on two decks.

The rigging house is a fine building it is three stories high, and four hundred and eighty feet in length, where immense quantity of rigging is kept in readiness for fitting out ships.

The Rope house is 400 yards long, where cables and cordage are manufactured the same as at Chatham and Portsmouth. There are also other necessary workshops, such as bricklayer, plumber, glazier, joiner, &c.

A steam engine is also erected to drain the docks, and new saw mills have very lately been introduced; we may as well state here that the Admiralty is said to have come to the determination of erecting sawmills in all the royal dock yards.

The mould loft in the dockyard, is large, though the floor is not quite so good as in Chatham yard; but the operation of laying off ships, and making the moulds or patterns is carried on with the same accuracy and precision.

In the month of September, 1840, a fire broke out at Plymouth, which completely destroyed the Talavera, 74 guns, and the Imogene frigate; and the Minden, 74 guns, which was built at Bombay by our grandfather, was in the Double, her head caught fire, which injured her bow very much; but by dint of great exertion, the progress of the flames was checked, and the ship saved from destruction. We walked on board the vessel with much pleasure and pride, as she was the first ship that was built out of England for the Royal Navy; and our grandfather had received the approbation of the Board of Admiralty for building this ship, and for which they made him a present of a handsome silver cup, made by Rundell and Bridge, the celebrated jewellers and goldsmiths of London.

There is also in and near Devonport, a gun wharf, which was built nearly a century ago; it

lies north of the back yard, and covers five acres of ground.

There are two storehouses in it, which contain a vast quantity of muskets, pistols, cutlasses, and other weapons ranged along the walls, and the ground is occupied by a great number of guns and pyramids of shots.

The Admiral was kind enough to give us his own gig, in which we went to see the breakwater. It is the most gigantic work that was ever undertaken and accomplished. During the late war with France there was a great difficulty experienced by the English vessels which were to be fitted out at this grand naval arsenal, in consequence of the harbour being open and exposed to the ocean and the southwest wind which is very prevalent in winter. A safe place of anchorage was therefore greatly required; and by the means of this breakwater the natural defect of Plymouth harbour has been completely remedied; and it is now considered one of the best in England. This work is another great instance of English perseverance, it so completely shelters the harbour. We noticed the water within the mound was smooth when the sea without it was in considerable agitation; and we were informed that in 1817, two small vessels of war, that were anchored without the breakwater, were lost during a hurricane, while a small collier, that was under its cover, rode out the gale in safety. A writer, in

T