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1863
Nov. 20.     guns One of them is a monster the other some what smaller but large enough to make one shiver at the thought of the damage she might do. The turret can be turned in any direction. 18 men are required to man the guns how they can find the room in the confined space round them I cannot imagine. The greatest [[danger?]] they are exposed to is the loosening of the bolts fastening the iron plates which are sometimes driven into the turret by the robust concussions causing great damage. The quarters for the officers & men are of course entirely under water they seem to be quite comfortable although very small. It is very difficult to ventilate the vessel the pipe for that purpose we observed on deck is a new invention. We were shown an engine for pumping in the air through the opening in ^the top of the Turret. After leaving the Monitor we went on board of another vessel, which has been awaiting government order for three [[strikethrough]] weeks [[strikethrough]] months. She has an apparatus for heating the steam after it comes from the boiler & so a greater amount of the power is produced from the same amount of fuel. Capt Blake her commander received a sword for gallant conduct on board the Hatteras which was sunk by the Privateer Alabama. In the evening Miss Felton, the Misses [[Blagden?]] & Mr Welling Mr. Harris & [[strikethrough]] the [[strikethrough]] took tea with us.

21st.    Father read poetry to me all the evening admiring Mr ___ the most

23rd.     Saw Mrs. Hodge after church on Sunday. She said Capt Rodgers was preparing to sail. He has been very ill during the summer. Com Shubric is very ill with fever Father saw his daughter Mrs Chamber to day she fears

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he cannot recover. I asked Father how I knew that my [[nephew?]] was [[written upside down on top margin]] like myself whether he saw as I did & he said from the [[consideration?]] [[end top margin note likely continuing with left margin note as follows]] Of impression from the fact that we can reason from [[ideology?]] & understand each other when we so reason. He said it was a subject that had puzzled him greatly when he was a boy.

Nov. 24th.    Rain all day. Father made experiments in regard to the specific gravity of oils. He said he judged whether they more less viscid by the velocity with which they spouted out through a hole in the bottom of ^a vessel into which they were poured. He judged that all liquids ought to flow ^they sink on [[?]]with equal velocity for although some are much heavier than others, as mercury than water the weight upon each atom as it passes out from the superincumbent atoms of the liquid is proportionally greater in one case than the other When reading about Specific Gravities He said it amused him now to think how some old women that he knew when he was boy used to obtain the specific gravity of their soft soap boiling the lye they obtained from ashes until an egg which would sink in water would swim in [[strikethrough]] [[water?]] [[strikethrough]]. He said it was a great disappointment to him that Will could not follow in his footsteps. he had manifested a great taste for Nat Phil. when he was a very little boy but as Father was not attached to [[Princenton?]] college while he was there his attention was turned in other directions.

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