27.0nly a few weeks after the loss of the Chesapeake a whole British squadron on Lake Erie surrendered to an American squadron.Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry，the American commander，had named his flagship the Lawrence，from the heroic captain of theChesapeake.In the course of the battle the Lawrence was so cut up as to become unmanageable.Commodore Perry then passed in an open boat，under a heavy fire of musketry，to another vessel of his squadron，the Niagara，which he at once directed into the center of the enemy‘s line，and soon compelled their surrender.He announced his victory in the laconic dispatch，“We have met the enemy and they are ours；two ships，two brigs，one schooner，and one sloop.”
28.The ships which made so glorious a record for the American navy in those two wars were built of wood and equipped with sails.Steam was not yet used to propel vessels.In our navy now，however，all the fighting ships are made of steel and are driven by steam.Sailing ships are no longer of any use.And the powerful cannon on a modern warship throw huge shells to a distance of several miles.But，after all，the success of our new navy in defending the republic will depend on just what it did in 1805and 1812the skill and spirit of the officers and crews.
29.The management of the navy is in what is known as the navy department ，at Washington，whose head，the secretary of the navy，is a member of the president’s cabinet.
30.T h e n a v y d e p a r t m e n t maintains a school，at Annapolis，Ma r y l a n d ，i n w h i c h b o y s a r e trained to become naval officers.Appointments to this school are made in about the same way as those to the militar y school at West Point.
31..A Fa m o u s Po e m Ab o u t a Famous Ship.0ne of the mostfamous Warships of the Americannavy was the frigate Constitution.She was one of the earliest vesselsbuilt，and was frequently engaged in the war with Tripoli and in the war of 1812.Although a woodenOLIVER WENDELL HOLMESPublished and copyrighted，1894，by A.W Elson &Co.，Bostonship，she was affectionately called “01d Ironsides”by the sailors.
32.Oliver Wendell Holmes was born at Cambridge，Massachusetts，in 1809；was graduated at Harvard University when twenty years old；became a physician，and was long a professor in the Harvard Medical School.His literary works were many and varied.He died in 1894.The poem which follows was written when the Constitution had become so old that it was proposed to break her up as unfit for service.After the poem rang through the land the plan was reconsidered，and the old warship was carefully preserved as a memorial of the great deeds of our gallant navy.
Old Ironsides
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
AY，tear her tattered ensign down！Long has it waved on high，And many an eye has danced to see that banner in the sky；Beneath it rang the battleshout，and burst the cannon‘s roar；The meteor of the ocean air shall sweep the clouds no more！
Her deck，once red with heroes’blood，where knelt the vanquished foe，When winds were hurrying o‘er the flood，and waves were whitebelow；No more shall feel the victor’s tread，or know the conquered knee；The harpies of the shore shall pluck the eagle of the sea！
O，better that her shattered hulk should sink beneath the wave！
Her thunders shook the mighty deep，and there should be her grave！
Nail to the mast her holy flag，set every threadbare sail，And give her to the god of storms，the lightning and the gale！
33.The PostOffice Department.One of the most familiar sights in acity is the lettercarrier in his bluegray uniform and with his leather bagslung at his side.Probably no one of our readers has not mailed a letter；if in a city，at a postbox attached to a street lamp；if in the country，at the postoffice.The lettercarrier and the postmaster are officers of the United States，under the direction of one of the president‘s cabinet.The head of the department is called the postmastergeneral .
34.It is very convenient to be able to send a letter to any part of theUnited States，and the price paid for carrying it，only two cents for an ordinary letter，is so small that almost any one can afford it.The stamp put on the envelope，we should remember，is merely to show that the money has been paid to the postoffice for carrying the letter to its destination.By an arrangement with the postoffice departments of other nations it is possible，on paying five cents instead of two，to have a letter taken promptly to almost any place in the world.
THE GENERAL POSTOFFICE WASHINGTON
35.Besides letters，the post carries newspapers and packages of many kinds.Then，if one wants to send money in a letter，the postoffice will sell a money order，which is much safer to inclose than cash.
36.The law forbids a n y o n e e x c e p t t h e United States posto f f i c e d e p a r t m e n t from carr ying on the business of conveying letters.The price of a stamp，now two cents on an ordinary letter，until nearly the middle o f t h i s ce n t u r y w a s sometimes as high as twentyfive cents.At that time envelopes were not commonl y used，but the last page of the letter was left blank，and when the sheet was folded and fastened together with sealing wax the addresswas written on the back.
A POSTMAN
37.The Interior Department.The secretary of the interior ，another of the president’s cabinet，has a great variety of business to manage.
38.Every ten years the people of the United States are very carefully counted.At the same time lists are made of the kinds of business in which men are employed，of the number and kind of educational institutions，of the nationality of the people，and of a number of other things which it is convenient to know.This is called the census .The last census was taken in 1890，and showed the number of people in the United States to be 62，622，250.The work of taking the census is done by the department of the interior.