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of a British officer *, about twenty-five years since, reconcile to human under-standing, that the undertaking, though difficult, is practicable, and with vesselsconsidered even at the present day of no contemptible size. Still, however, itmust be obvious, that the natural limits of human exertion imperiously require,that in such cases, the dimensions of vessels should be governed by the extentof those limits; yet when it is found, that a vessel, of more than one hundredtons burthen, named the Royal Convert, in consequence of its having beencaptured some time before, was transported over land through an Americandistrict, where it was impossible to execute such contrivances as might havebeen rendered subservient to the facilitation of the undertaking in a countrymore populous, and where the natural impediments afforded less opposition,some credit may be given to the account, as to the probability of conveyinga fleet of ancient gallies across an Isthmus, where every contrivance humaningenuity, and the force of human strength, could suggest, or support, becameunited together.

The ancient principles of naval war, or what are generally known by thename of tactics, appear at this time to have been revived ; for the change, ifany, from that very remote «ra when the fleets of Athens put to sea in thepatriotic but almost desperate attempt of withstanding the power of the Per-sians, was very immaterial. The disposition for naval encounter was that of acrescent, with the horns inward ; the van, or first division, which might moreproperly be stiled the center, endeavouring to assail and destroy its adversariesby the impression of the beaks; and in this circumstance, did the Greeks,and other subjects to the eastern empire, materially differ in their management,and opinion, from their Venetian allies. In the center of the deck was erecteda machine, or engine, for the purpose of throwing large stones and darts of anextraordinary size, in annoyance of the enemy ; a contrivance somewhatsimilar, in its situation and effects, though with less dangerous and morecontracted powers, to that of the mortars in a modern bomb ketch. Astrong frame of timber was erected in the midship of the galley, bearing almosta strict analogy to the principle of the mortar bed, which served not only tosupport the weight of the engines just mentioned, but also, on certain occa-sions, a crane, which raising, as was the custom in the Punic wars, and the

* Captain Schanck, tvho conveyed a considerable number of vessels, among which were someof no insignificant dimensions, over land from Sillery into lake Champlain.

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