nd carry only light
batteries of rapid-fire guns. When these vessels are slow, like the
_Detroit_, they are intended for long voyages and for duty in foreign
countries, and are of little use in a sea fight. The very fast unprotected
cruiser, like the American line steamers, _St. Paul_ and _St. Louis_,
attach little importance to their armament, and rely for protection upon
stowing the coal behind the place occupied by the armour belt in other
vessels. All the beautiful wood-work, which was so much admired in these
vessels, was ripped out to make room for these coal-bunkers, which are
sufficient to protect them from anything but the heaviest guns. On account
of their extreme weakness as fighters, these cruisers are necessarily the
fastest of all the large vessels, and can run away from anything. For this
reason no concern was felt for the _Paris_ by those who knew the
principles which govern the safety of modern vessels.

The various types of cruisers are not expected to fight with any but
vessels of their own class, which they may encounter in the discharge of
similar duties, such as scouring the seas as the advance guard of the
slower line of battle-ships, preying upon or escorting merchant vessels,
blockading ports, and acting as convoys for troop-ships. Gunboats are
simply light-draught cruisers, and are intended for use in shallow waters
and rivers.

Torpedo-boats, as their name implies, depend entirely upon the torpedo as
the weapon of attack, and they carry no guns except a very few
light-calibre rapid-fires to keep off small boats. Their success depends
on their ability to approach a vessel very rapidly, launch their torpedo,
and retreat before they are detected and sunk. Speed is their great
requisite, and a torpedo-boat like the _Porter_ can speed thirty-two miles
an hour. Naval experts consider their bark worse than their bite, because,
with the modern system of lookouts and search-lights, and the accuracy and
rapidity of the secondary batteries, it is impossible for a torpedo-boat
to get within range without exposing itself to instant destruction, and
after a torpedo-fleet has once met with a serious repulse, it is believed
that it would be almost impossible to get the crews to go into action
again.

The torpedo-boat destroyer, contrary to general belief, does not carry any
heavy guns, but depends on its great speed and its ability to cripple a
torpedo-boat with its 6-pounders while keeping out of range of