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HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

Such was the extent of the Persian naval power at this early period, in con-junction with that of its allies: such also was, according to report, that of thedeluded friends of Xerxes, and such was the miserable and scarcely to be la-mented fate of both. Foiled as the Persian monarch had found himself inevery attempt he had hitherto made, not only against Greece, considered as aconfederated corps of republics, but Athens itself, though standing singly inopposition to his power, he resolved not yet to abandon hope. His thirdattempt was in its nature still more unprincelv, and indeed unmanly, thaneither of his former had been. Dreading the Athenian arms, he determinedthat the only prospect which remained by which he could subdue them, wouldbe by dividing the society, and arming Grecian against Grecian. For thispurpose, he set on foot a project of corrupting the Lacedemonians, and en-gaging them to act as his allies. Failing in this attempt, he employed thetreas’.ire destined for the former purpose, on an expedition which he sent toEgypt, in the hope of driving out of that country the Athenians, who, having-entered into an alliance with the inhabitants of that country, had transported thi-ther a considerable land force, for the purpose of creating a diversion to the Per-sian armament. After a contest, which continued six years, the Grecian adven-turers were completely overcome, and those who survived the ravages of war,considered themselves as being extremely fortunate in effecting their return toAthens in small parties, as chance and good fortune permitted them.

Megabazus, the Persian general, is reported to have effected a project in thecourse of the preceding contest, which fully proves the ships, as they werecalled, of the Athenians, must have been but of very inconsiderable burthen.They had fled for refuge to an island supposed to have been situated in theeastern branch of the Nile, and the Persian general, by causing a small canalto be dug from thence in a direction convenient for the purpose, is said tohave left the whole of their fleet aground in the space of one night. Thisill-fated people experienced, soon after this time, the melancholy truth of thatvery old proverbial expression, that one misfortune rarely comes unattended byanother; for being unacquainted with the real state of distress to which theircountrymen in Egypt were reduced, and imagining they only needed sometrifling succour, to enable them once more to make head against their enemies,they sent to their relief a fleet of fifty triremes, which being suddenly attackedby the Persian, became, with a very trivial exception, his prizes. The mi-serable