higher into the
empyrean than mortal has ever soared before; and after that you shall,
if you choose, sleep calmly until morning at the bottom of the English
Channel. By and by at the dinner-table I will endeavour to demonstrate
to you, my dear friend, that it is her immense proportions alone which
will enable her to float in so thin a fluid as air."

"Very well," said the baronet in the tones of a man still utterly
unconvinced; "if you say so, I suppose I must doubt no more. Now,
please, introduce to us the novel details of this wonderful craft of
yours."

"With pleasure," answered the professor, his brow clearing and a
gratified smile suffusing his countenance. "A few minutes will suffice
to show you all that can be seen from the outside. Those small circular
pieces of glass which you perceive let into the hull here and there are,
as you have no doubt already surmised, windows to enable us to observe
what is passing outside. The larger windows at the bow and stern
protect powerful electric lamps, and are exclusively for the purpose of
lighting up our surroundings when we are at the bottom of the sea.
This,"--pointing to what looked like a circular trap-door in the bottom
of the ship, some fifteen feet from the centre on the port side--"is the
anchor recess; and this,"--pointing to a corresponding arrangement on
the starboard side--"is the door through which we shall obtain egress
from and access to the ship when she is at the bottom of the sea."

"Do you mean by that, that we are going to leave the ship and walk about
on the bed of the ocean?" asked the baronet.

"Certainly," answered the professor with a look of surprise. "Our
exploration of the ocean's bed will probably be one of the most
interesting incidents of the expedition."

The baronet shrugged his shoulders and the professor continued:

"These bilge-keels serve a threefold purpose; they enable the ship to
rest steadily and firmly on the ground, as you see, which, from her
peculiar form, she could not otherwise do; they also form the sheaths,
so to speak, of four anchors to fasten her securely to the ground either
above or beneath the water--a most necessary precaution, believe me; and
they also add considerably to the cubical contents of the water-
chambers, with which they communicate, which will help to sink the ship
to the bottom. Lastly, there is the propeller, the only peculiarities
of which are its great diameter--fifty feet--its enormous