HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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or three inches long, so contrived, that wherever they fell, one of the pointsshall always be upright, and the remainder act as the stand or basis ofthem.

The effect produced by so incommodious a contrivance may easily be con-ceived, and the oddity of it certainly proved the inventor to be an ingeniousman, useful to his country in the hour of danger, notwithstanding philanthropyand humanity, regardless of national honour and public necessity, may feel,on the first impression, compelled to lament the end to which that genius wasso destructively applied.

Among all the various contrivances of annoyance in use among the ancients,the most destructive and dangerous appears to have been that which, when after-wards improved to the height of its supposed perfection, was called the Greekfire, invented by Callinicus, a Syrian, who lived in the seventh century, of whichhereafter. Notwithstanding practice and experience caused considerable im-provement to be made during subsequent centuries in this diabolical art, yet, inthe remotest ages of antiquity, the Rhodians, and many other nations, possessedthe knowlege ot a certain combustible composition which fire could not extin-guish, nor any operation smother, except what was next to impossible toeffect, the total exclusion of the external air. The use of a vessel, purposelyfitted to act as what is in modern times called a fireship, was neither unknownnor unpractised by the ancients. The page cf history is full of instances, andmany authors have occasionally felt themselves raised almost to a degree ofenthusiasm when describing the horrid effects produced by them.

Curtius gives a very circumstantial account of a fireship, equipped by the Tyriansat the time their capital was besieged by Alexander. “ Having selected,” says theauthor, “ one of the largest gallies they possessed, they loaded it by the stern withstones, and other ballast, so that the prow became considerably elevated above thesurface of the water. The whole of the vessel which was above water was payedvery thick with sulphur, and other substances, easily inflammable, which opera-tion being completed, advantage was taken of a wind favourable for the attempt,and all the sails being set, the crew, who in aid of the sails made use of theiroars also, directed it towards the mole which Alexander had, with so much diffi-culty, laboured to construct. When they had approached sufficiently near tothe destined object of destruction, the vessel veas set on fire, and the crew jumpedinto boats which had followed for the purpose of receiving them.” This pro-ject,