Those things used to be called the wooden walls of England."
'The scene was the Naval Exhibition at Chelsea, in the summer of 1891. 'The speaker' was " young man, and his auditor cone of there lithe, Lrighthaired girls one often sees in this island.
"And aren't they the wooden walls of England, now?" she said, as child might ask when Nowh might be expected in Liverpool with his ark, "Not exactly," replied her escort tenderly; "they are rather out of style. Come; I'll show what sorts of walls we have now," and he led her off in the direction of the beautiful models of the great steel ships of war.
The young fellow was right in assuming, that this country had a big and powerful navy, but the chances of wat decrease with the preparations made to meet it. Besides, the interests that would be put. to hazard yw constantly larger and nations avoid Bhting as long as possible.
This is a hopeful consideration, and if England had nothing to be afraid of be the danger of being attacked from al we might sleep i a peace. But there is an enemy against which neither army nor navy is of any avail It defies the gunboats in the Channel and the redcoats on the shore, and Kills more people than are ever likely to fall in battle,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.