192

HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

the variety of pleasures which surrounded them, were happy in contributingtowards the future maintenance of those gaieties from whence they had them-selves derived so much amusement and satisfaction. What remained of theirstate marine appeared analogous to the temper of the people ; the form of theirships was light, airy, and apparently ill calculated to brave the horrors of a tem-pest, or of those tremendous seas which frequently occur even in the Adriatic,and the Mediterranean. Their decorations were equally characteristic, as itwere, of the public mind, gay and gaudy ; their ships of war, and some evenof their merchant vessels, appeared better fitted for the yachts of princes thanfor the purposes of naval contest.

The Genoese, and some others among the Mediterranean or Italian states, hadnever shown themselves ambitious of possessing a navy, since the use of galleysas the sole vessels of combat had become exploded. Their public navies con-sisted of a few vessels under this description, incapable of rendering any furtherservice to their country than by occasionally checking the boldness of the in-ferior corsairs belonging to the Barbary states, who were in the habit of main-taining frequent warfare with them. Their commerce was almost equally insig-nificant ; so that the impotence of the protectors became less felt, becausethe duty that was required of them was consequently so inconsiderable. Anexception must, however, be made in respect to'the kingdom of Naples. Ex-clusive of l ather a formidable fleet of galleys, the Neapolitans possessed a squa-dron, not sufficiently consequential indeed to strike terror into or create any ap-prehension in the minds of the higher maritime powers, but fully sufficient to theirnecessities, and to the protection of their own state against those enemies w'hoseanger they had cause to dread. The knights of Malta, who derived from their pro-fession the peculiar privilege of disturbing the peace of all the adjacent countrieswhich were inhabited by Mahometans,maintained in a constant state of equipmenta fleet of galleys, with an inconsiderable number of ships of war and frigates ; butthe decline of that intolerant spirit of hereditary warfare, which had been carried'on with the utmost animosity on both sides during a number of centuries, fyastended very materially to diminish the force and consequence of their navy.The battle of Lepanto appeared to have given the death stroke to this species olfolly or insanity; and except the unavoidable disputes with the Barbary states,whose trade and sole maritime occupation was, and in some measure still conti-nues to be, piracy, the wars between the Christians and Turks became at leastas unfrequent as they were among the Christians themselves. The naval strengthof the Mahometans was at last on a par with that of their natural opponents;

and