HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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the principles of war, and the code of tactics being nearly similar, the only cir-cumstance that could fairly be expected to create any difference, is the superiorweight and excellence of the Roman or Grecian arms, which rendered theintroduction of weighty engines on board their gallies of war occasionally neces-sary ; since stability, which could only be produced an enlargement of dimension*,became an indispensable requisite. Still, however, the features of the descend-ant, though impaired and degenerated in grandeur, bear no trivial traces of what,according to a modern and scientific term, is called the character of the ancestor.A variety of causes, and in particular the ignorance of South Sea islanders in respectto the existence of those immense continents, not only known to the ancients, buton a part which they actually dwelt: the difficulty and extreme folly of carryingwar into distant countries, which even when subdued, could neither feed theiravarice and ambition, have at all times tended to confine the restless mind of theZealander or Otaheitean within the narrow limits of what may almost be calleddomestic warfare; and have consequently rendered their gallies as insignificant,when compared with the trireme, as those of the Athenians, or of Rome, wouldhave been, in all probability, had their views extended no farther than those ofthe modern imitators. In addition to the canoe of the South Sea Islands, is thefollowing description of that built by the inhabitants of Nootka Sound, on thenorth-west coast of America.

“ Their large war canoes (says Mr. Meares), were generally finished on the spotwhere the trees grew, of which they are made, and then dragged to the water-side.Some of them have been seen which were fifty-three feet in length, and eight feetin breadth. The middle part of these boats is the broadest, and gradually nar-rows to a point at each end ; but their head or prow is generally much higher thanthe stern.

“ As their bottoms are rounded, and their sides flam out, they have consequentlysufficient bearings and swim firmly in the water. They have no seats, but seve-ral pieces of wood, about three inches in diameter, are fixed across them, to keeptheir sides firm and preserve them from being warped. The rowers generally siton their hams, but sometimes they make use of a kind of small stool, which isa great relief to them. In the act of embarking they are extremely cautious, eachman regularly taking the station to which he has been accustomed. Some ofthese canoes are polished and painted, or curiously studded with human teeth,particularly on the stern and the prow. The sides were sometimes adorned withthe figure of a dragon with a long tail, of much the same form as is seen on

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