HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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“ Experience,” says Mr. Gibbon, who has minutely followed the best histo-rical authorities, on which he has himself made the most sagacious and correctremarks, “ has shewn, that the success of an invader most commonly dependson the vigour and celerity of his operations. The strength and sharpness ofthe first impression are blunted by delay; the health and spirit of the troopsinsensibly languish in a distant country; the naval and military force, a mightyeffort which perhaps can never be repeated, is silently consumed; and everyhour that is wasted in negociation, accustoms the enemy to contemplate andexamine those hostile terrors, which, on their first appearance, he deemed irre-sistible. The formidable navy of Basiliscus pursued its prosperous navigationfrom the Thracian Bosphorus to the coast of Africa. He landed his troops atCape Bona, or the promontory of Mercury, about forty miles from Carthage.The army of Heraclius, and the fleet of Marcellinus, either joined or secondedthe imperial lieutenant; and the Vandals, who opposed his progress by sea orland, were successively vanquished. If Basiliscus had seized the moment ofconsternation, and boldly advanced to the capital, Carthage must have surren-dered, and the kingdom of the Vandals was extinguished. Genseric beheldthe danger with firmness, and eluded it with his veteran dexterity. He pro-tested, in the most respectful language, that he was ready to submit his person,

enamoured with his courage, and gallant behaviour, offered him his life and liberty ; but the brave com-mander answering, ‘ It shall never be said that John owed his life to dogs,’ quitted his plank, and wasdrowned. As for Basiliscus, Zonarus writes, that, in the heat of the engagement, he all on a suddentacked about, and, crowding all his sails, betook himself to flight; which raised the courage of theenemy, and quite disheartened h:s own people. Marcellinus, after the reduction of Sardinia, returnedto Sicily, with a design to pass from thence over into Africa ; but, before he set sail, he was assassinatedby an officer who commanded under him, not without the privity, as was supposed, of Anthemius, towhom his power gave no small umbrage. Heraclius, who was on full march from Libya to Carthage,being informed of the bad success of Basiliscus, thought it advisable to turn back, and hasten into theterritories of the empire. Basiliscus returned to Sicily with the few ships that had escaped, having lostupwards of fifty thousand men. From Sicily he returned to Constantinople, and there, as his treacherywas publicly known, took sanctuary in the church of St. Sophia. Though both the emperor and peoplewere highly incensed against him, yet, by the mediation of the empress Verina, his sister, his life wasspared, and leave granted him to retire to Heraclea in Thrace. Such was the issue of this unhappyexpedition, which is said to have cost both empires above an hundred and thirty thousand poundsweight in gold ; not only the two princes, but all governors, and other persons in employments, cheer-fully contributing large sums, to defray the charges of an enterprize so advantageous to the empire.’Priscus, the historian, who flourished at that time, wrote a very minute and exact account of it; buthis work has not reached our time.

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