He  proposed  to  fill  a  copper  case  with  one  hun-
dred pounds  or  more  of  gunpowder,  with  a  cork


FUNDAMENTAL,  CONSTITUTIONS        554


FUNDING  SYSTEM  ADOPTED


cusMon  to  buoy  it  up.  A  gun-lock  was  to  he
80  attaclied  as  to  be  operated  upon  by  tbe  clock-
work. Tbe  latter  was  so  made  as  to  run  a  cer-
tain number  of  uiiuutes  before  ojieriitiug  upou
the  lock.  Tbe  torpedo  was  to  be  suspended  in
a  water-tigbt  piue  box.  Tbis  was  to  be  con-
nected with  a  harpoon  by  a  line  of  such  length
that  when  the  harpoon  should  be  fired  from  a
gun  iu  the  stern  of  a  row-boat  into  the  bow  of
an  enemy's  vessel,  the  torpedo  or  uiiue  would
swing  aronnd  to  a  position  under  the  bottom
of  the  ship-of-war,  about  amidships.  The  oper-
ation of  attack  is  shown  in  the  annexed  draw-
ing, in  which  A  is  a  platform  on  which  the  tor-
pedo rests  in  the  boat ;  B  is  the  torpedo,  and  C
the  water-tight  pine  box;  D  is  the  pin  to  be
drawn  to  allow  the  clock-work  to  start.  The
liarpooner  stationed  at  the  gun  steers  the  boat
and  fires  according  to  his  judgment.  The  dia-
gram on  the  lower  part  of  the  drawing  shows  a
bird's-eye  view  of  a  vessel  (A)  at  anchor ;  B,  her
cable ;  E,  F,  two  torpedoes ;  C,  D,  the  coupling-


TORPEDOES.
lines,  twelve  feet  long.  On  touching  the  ves-
sel's cable,  the  torpedoes  were  drawn  under  her
by  the  tide.  In  this  way  the  Dorothea  was  at-
tacked.
