XXll APPENDIX.

have been designed, appear to have been of the same form ; but the various ends of navigation, some of which were better answered by one form, some by another, soon gave occasion for a distinction, not only in point of size, but also in the mode of construction and equipment.

Without attempting to enumerate every trifling alteration, we may state generally, that the vessels of the ancients were divided into three classes — ships of burthen, of war, and of passage ; and these again had their several distinctions into other classes and sub-Managemerit of the vessels.

Number of banks of oars.

divisions. Ships of burthen were usually of an orbicular form, having large and capacious hulls for the convenience of stowage ; whereas, ships of war were of a greater length in proportion to their size, as we find to be the case at the present day. Transport vessels were of a form between the ships of war and of burthen, being more capacious than the former, and longer than the last-mentioned species.

There was at the same time a difference in the managetnent of the vessels enumerated. Men-of-war, though not wholly destitute of sails, were chiefly managed with oars, that they might be more able to tack and manoeuvre in light or contrary winds, and to lay themselves alongside the enemy to advantage ; while the other two species were commonly governed by sails, and vessels of transport were towed, when it was practicable, with ropes. All three modes of government (by sail, oar, and tow-rope) were, however, occasionally adopted by each of the classes. The rowers were not placed, as some have imagined, upon the same level in different parts of the ship, nor perpendicularly above each other’s heads ; but their seats, being fixed one at the back of another, ascended gradually in the manner of stairs. The most usual number of these banks was three, four, and five, composing what are called trireme, quadrireme, and quinquireme galleys ; the second of these having a range of oars more than the first, and the third a range more than the second — the height of the vessel always increasing in proportion to the number of ranges.

In primitive times, the long ships had only one bank of oars ; and