"Before we drop the subject of Russia's navy," the Doctor continued, "perhaps you would like to hear about the _Popovkas_."
Neither of the youths had heard of these things, and wondered what they could be. Doctor Bronson relieved their perplexity by explaining that the _Popovkas_ were a new style of iron-clad ship intended for the defence of harbors, rather than for rapid cruising at sea.
[Illustration: FRIGATE UNDER SAIL AND STEAM.]
"They were the invention of Admiral Popoff, of the Russian navy," he remarked, "and hence comes their name. The first of them was built in 1873, at Nicolaieff, on the Black Sea, and was called the _Novgorod_. She is circular, with a diameter of one hundred feet, and carries two eleven-inch guns in a revolving turret like that of the _Monitor_. She measures two thousand tons, and has engines which propel her about six miles an hour. The other ship of this class is the _Admiral Popoff_, one hundred and twenty feet in diameter, carrying two twelve-inch guns in a revolving turret, and capable of steaming eight miles an hour. There is a gentle slope of the sides from the water's edge to the base of the turret, so that any other shot than a plunging one would be glanced off. As the ships have not yet been tried in battle, their advantages are only theoretical."
[Illustration: THE "DREADNOUGHT"--TYPE OF THE "PETER THE GREAT."]
Frank asked how many officers and men were employed in the navy of the Czar.
"From the latest reports at hand," the Doctor answered, "there are twenty-nine admirals, vice-admirals, and rear-admirals, four hundred and four captains, and nine hundred and thirty-four lieutenants and midshipmen. Seventy-six admirals, one hundred and forty captains, and fifty lieutenants are employed on shore duty, and there are thirty-five captains and thirty-nine lieutenants and midshipmen serving in lines of commercial steamers subsidized by the Government; one thousand and ninety-four pilots, engineers, artillerists, and others complete the official list, and the men before the mast number twenty-four thousand five hundred and twelve. The sailors are obtained by conscription or by voluntary enlistment--generally the former--and required to serve nine years. Seven years of this period are in active service, and two years in the reserve, whence the men may be called out in case of war."