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Show I M IE EVOLUTION IF HE fill 1 W -. ' For Centuries Before the Christian Era They Were I " Used Egyptians and the Military Mast. I i'. 'Am a place of peril toe flitilng (op ot of a Modern man-of-war la the mart H fa oipot.! petition In heated action, H , cut OS M IU occupant ar fron all H ,, sheltering armor and poised high and H M clear a n tamptlng target for an sn- H ray quick-firing anna. It that H , nt let totn away aad ewpt over- H , board by tb ttnpat of anal! bll H , that snip of to-day can bring to btar H t upon uaarmortd paila nf a to, anil H lt ,th brave defenders mwt an to cr- H lt tain dtath without tb thane of a bit H ct of floating aMir. an In th oldin day, H i to hold thorn up till aurcor mm nf- 1 M 'tar tin flam rath of con flirt. H l i The etory of th fighting top reach Hj a war hack centurle More tha Cbrla- H r 'ln W '"' lck " "' earlleat B j illmo when war craft might pardonably H - be called hlp by virtue of thalr aiio- H I csaf ill struggle with wave mid tern- B ptit; and, amid tha rapid change of H to-day, It U hard to trace the Conner- m i itlon between those ancient crnft with P x lllr rude equipment and the modern H t IbaUlcshlp. flerco and strong, by right H I of tho power alio haa plucked H t from tho howala of the earth H ( 'and turned to her own purpose of 8 t might and majestic dominance. H j The carving and drawing of tho H twar craft of the ancient HKyptlina and H Asiatic, two thouaand yeara before H ' 'Chrlit, bear the embryo ot the mlll- H ' Itary top perched at the roaalhead of H the tingle par that boro their aalla H ' jthco. It wa inertly a rough bket- B like arrangement In which one or two H I men might aland and aaaall the war- P rlora of tha foo where they rrourhed H (behind the sheltering bulwark nf B buckler hung agalntl the aide l'ercli- 1 rd high alMive, (he man In the ga- 1 'hie," aa later It waa rnllad. picked oft. H like sharp-shooters, the enemy before P ,ho could wmie aboard or tempted hi in H I Into open tpriMiM and the ronav H queneee auch rathnaa brought M Down upon tha foa'a deck the hurt- B I ling ipear waa aent, while the lop- B men rested far above retaliation aava P from the rneniy'a tupmen, If he bad H any. During tho time of tho naval H ttrugglea between tha Oreek and the B Humana, tho lighting top disappeared, ! for It waa euntnmary then to lower the PH rnaila and truat only to the -great BH awecpa or oara when going Into ne- BbW tlon, 8'- . " aa It mar aoem the mr- BkVJ Jejuni- ' ionarrrlel fluhtlnj PH I top j the id fur the purpoae only PH 'of lueetlii, the allaek ot plralea, with PH iwhum ne- every neo waa than In- PPj felted. Ihoae top were not unlike PPJ raika, and, with two or three ueu In PPJ 'them, cutlld I hoUte.1 well up and PPJ (Into poallloa In time to be of aervlea. PPJ Many ot our Intra merebnnt llnara and PH all whalara carry a mmewhat almllar ! nrraaaautant well up on their maata J ' tn-day and. from the crow'a neat, aa PH It la rinw called, moat of tbe lookout PPJ duty la now don The Japanea have) PPJ adopted iimethlnK of tbe kind for their PBl modern naval veaaela and the cut of PHm the t'hltoae'a meat I typical PH A the ahlpa grew In nuwar their PH mnH bail to b heightened by apllrlng PPJj on additional aiara, and in give apread PBH for the aiaye and ihruiiiN that bald PftpJ them In plate a pkitrorm waa built ! at tha top of tha ler meal There PHb the archer and apearnian fimnd ample PPJI room for bla work, nnd tha ftaion PH chronlclea ot that luitr writer. Air PPP John Froleeart. In the latter part ot PHb the fourteenth eanlurr Kite aa anma PHb very lntereatlng accountii nf the dam- PHh age Inllli'teil upon the Kremh (he PHh BpanUh, and lb Ueimree by tha toll men of tbe nrltlab ahtpt. Down upon up-on tha fragile etrurturea ot wood tbey harled great atooea that bora down the foe In great bleeding inane, tor through their decka, opened their eama, and acnt them to the bottom In n atyle that Sir John makea highly commendable In the eTntentli century w find tbe topa broad and open pave for tbe after part, where a wooden breaatwork waa reared lo ahleld the topmen. Why only tot after part ahould have been alnglad out for protection I oin for peculation, but It la not Improbable that the aalla before the meet rovered to n great extent the raarkimen lrf the top nnd behind the meat only did they need eupplemenlal protection The wooden bulworka In the top were vn-rloualy vn-rloualy painted according to the nationality na-tionality of (he ehlp, and for a couple of hundred yeara (ha( alyle of top prevailed, and In form, aquire behind and rounded In front, atlll I In vogue In modern eo.ll powered naval veaaela. vea-aela. During nil the frigate action of the war of 1112 the aharpehooter In the lop nf the virion ahlpa did ciccllent work, and (hero It wn the marine allowed what could lie eKrled of him, even though he atond out with no ahclter other than n atray hammock or ki haitlly trtecd up for hi protection. protec-tion. The Oral of our ahlpa ot the new navy bad tope that wero practically ileal duplicate of Ihrmi nf ihn laio war. and but 'or the preaenee of modern rapid-fire gun, were rrally of loaa defenalve value than thoao ot thirty odd year ago It wnan't till we ho-gan ho-gan to build our hatlleahtp (tut we really launched nut Into regular modern mod-ern military uaata, nnd then we followed fol-lowed In principle the practice ot the French. The modern maat on a nghllng ulp I purely for military purpoae, namely, name-ly, on auch ahlpa that are without a apread ot canvrta of any aorl, and It duty how la principally for a aervlc that waa once merely Incidental to tho of the aalllng ablp To bear alg-naU alg-naU la Ita Aral mlnalon. and then to carry an armament of rapld-Br guna with which to mt lb attack of tor' pado boa,t. In awevp I he open port, and to enfilade the unprotected gun atullona of an eocmy With (lading anna pouring out a veritable ralti of bulleU at lb rat ot 1 dot) a inliiul, and with other heavier automatic guna capable ot burling a hundred or more ot on-putid ahell In the aame tliuo lb modern military top la nomellug to b eonaldered wher the band greaad. 1w ft fffflOHV EVOLUTION OP TUB MIUTATIT UAST. t the atlnk balla, and lae rwVa of tht pant might b dlaahd w)tk t brur, j There la but tittle oVmbt (ka( tbt Krencb have aet tb pe (,. tbe mod era flghtlnc top, anal an imurlantly have tb Ir veaaet 4vloped the j growth In rlotooa profaato " Ta" i let Ira of form that It waa o wondel , we aoon beard ot wanting aubltlty II Ihelr ablpa. Thalr meat mot de-algna de-algna are decidedly Modanttad bat atlll bear the hail mark of gr( freedom With the Preach the Idea haa beei to rarer entirely the poaltloee of the ana and the men In tha topt to KT the navigator a cbane? to guide bit hip In action from if point well abo4 Ih amoke of tb gone, ami t ,n bear aloft the warohllghu Wher-ever Wher-ever a rloaed In (op la foam on 'hip of other nation It la of frcnih In-eptratlon In-eptratlon The Ilrlllah have nlrnoat .xrlualvely held to an open or uncovered top the only ral protection to eltber guna or men being ih ahtalda carried on the. weapon themaelre. With u the guaboata Wllmlnjton nnd the Helena represent a, greatest development of Ih mlllUry meet In all It mean for fighting and 'itI purpoae for conning tb aklp and foi tb carriage of that great thlnlng er that li to took far Into the night Th conning lower, ao (o apeak. I. ju.t he-low he-low the lower top, nnd li reaehej through tho Ixxly of the matt proper Juit becnue of thla curlou type ol matt, one of tho enemy' lire auill lory crulter took one of thex boau for a battleahlp the other dr and Iml no time In buttling for the dletanl liorlion Tho national tendcnclea of the va rlou no v le arc marked by the military mail their recent veaaela bear and. whether they eek their Inspiration from flrent llrltaln or Kranm It I coiiy enough lo tell. The ltuclani are tintetlled. Auttrla I rquallr divided; III. I'AIIAI,, RI'AIN'S RUUMAUINi; TOItl'IIDO DOAT. (Icrmany lean toward the French, while the Japancto and the Italian follow fol-low tho linglUh. uoiiKtiT o. siCKiutirrr |