see the small barks which ply in the harbour of Malta bearing the eye on their bows, in the same manner as the boats of ancient Egypt. They do not appear to have had any thing like the aplustre of the Romans, an ornament fixed to the stern, and sometimes to the prow, on which a staff was erected, bearing a riband or flag; but streamers were occasionally attached to the pole of the rudder, and a standard was erected near the head of the vessel. The latter was generally a sacred animal†; a sphinx, or some emblem connected with religion or royalty, like those belonging to the infantry before described‡; and sometimes the top of the mast bore a shrine or feathers, the symbol of the deity to whose protection they committed themselves during their voyage. There is a striking resemblance, in some points, between the boats of the ancient Egyptians and those of India; and the form of the stern, the principle and construction of the rudder, the cabins, the square sail, the copper eye on each side of the head, the line of small squares at the side, like false windows §, and the shape of the oars of boats used on the Ganges, forcibly call to mind those of the Nile, represented in the paintings of the Theban tombs. The head and stern of the Egyptian pleasureboats were usually ornamented with, or terminated in the shape of, a flower richly painted; in the * Vide plate 16. boats with coloured sails. + Perhaps answering to the raparpov of the Greeks, though not at the prow itself. boats of burden they were destitute of ornament, and simply rounded off; and I have met with two only in which there was any resemblance to a beak. But as this was in Nile boats, and at the stern *, it could not have been intended for an offensive purpose. Nor are the ships of war, represented at Medeenet Haboo, furnished with beaks. At the head, a forecastle frequently projected above the deck, which was assigned to the man who held the fathoming pole, above mentioned, and at the stern another of similar form was sometimes added, where the steersman sat; reminding us of the poop of Roman vessels. † They were very generally adopted, and found of great service in the war gallies : the archers profiting by these commanding positions to rake the enemy's decks, as they bore down upon a hostile galley, and to disable the rowers. In the pleasure-boats they served also as hatches for going below deck, and were similar to what the Nile boatmen now call the hôn. The gallies or ships of war differed in their construction from the boats of the Nile. They were less raised at the head and stern, and on each side, throughout the whole length of the vessel, a wooden bulwark, rising considerably above the gunnel, sheltered the rowers, who sat behind it, from the missiles of the enemy; the handles of the oars *The remainder of the boat is destroyed, I cannot therefore say if the head was of the same form. "Ipse gubernator puppi Palinurus ab alta." Virg. Æn. v. 12. and 175. In the Roman gallies the fighting men were placed in a similar manner at the head and stern, Liv. xxx. 43. and xxxvi. 42., in towers, called propugnacula. Hor. Epod. i. 2. passing through an aperture at the lower part. Besides the archers in the raised poop and forecastle, a body of slingers was stationed in the tops, where they could with more facility manage that weapon, and employ it with effect on the enemy. On advancing to engage a hostile fleet, the sail was used till they came within a certain distance, when the signal or order being given to clear for action, it was reefed by means of ropes running in pullies, or loops, upon the yard. The ends of these ropes, which were usually four in number, dividing the sail as it rose into five folds, descended and were attached to the lower part of the mast, so as to be readily worked, when the sail required to be pulled up, at a moment's notice, either in a squall of wind or on any other occasion; and in this respect, and in the absence of a lower yard, the sail No. 371. H War galley; the sail being pulled up during the action. a raised forecastle, in which the archers were posted. Thebes. c another post for the archers, f slingers, in the top. boats on the Nile. Having prepared for the attack, the rowers, whose strength had been hitherto reserved, plied their oars; the head was directed towards an enemy's vessel, and showers of missiles were thrown from the forecastle and tops as they advanced. It was of great importance to strike their opponent on the side; and when the steersman, by a skilful manœuvre, could succeed in this, the shock was so great that they sank it, or obtained a considerable advantage by crippling the oars; and greater facility was given for boarding in this part, being distant from the fighting men, and occupied only by the rowers. The small Egyptian gallies do not appear, as already observed, to have been furnished with a beak, like those of the Romans, which being of brass sharply pointed, and sometimes below the water's surface, did great damage to an enemy's vessel, and exposed it to the danger of sinking, by forcing in the planks of the bottom; but a lion's head fixed to the prow, supplied its place, and being probably covered with metal, was capable of doing great execution, when the galley was impelled by the force of 16 or 20 oars.† This head occasionally varied in form, and perhaps served to indicate the rank of the commander, the name of the vessel, or the deity under whose protection they sailed, like the sign (Tapanuor) of the Greeks, Romans, and other people; unless indeed the lion was always *We have no representation of their large ships of war. They are represented with eight and ten oars on each side. Herodot. viii. 88. Act. Apost. xxviii. 11. Virgil (Æn. v. 116.), shows that ships had names given them, like our own at the present day, as the Chimæra, the Centaur, and others. chosen for their war gallies, and the ram, oryx, and others, confined to the boats connected with the service of religion. Some of the boats on the Nile were furnished with 44 oars, 22 being represented on one side; which, allowing for the steerage and prow, would require their total length to be about 120 feet. They were furnished, like all the others, with one large square sail; but the mast, instead of being single, was made of two limbs of equal length, sufficiently open at the top to admit the yard between them, and secured by several strong stays, one of which extended to the prow, and others to the steerage of the boat. Over the top of the mast a light rope was passed, probably intended for furling the sail, which last, from the horizontal lines represented upon it, appears to have been like a=དv«0EDiv= No. 372. Large boat with sail, apparently made of 'the papyrus, a double mast, and many |