The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-06-19
Ancient Vessels.

Magnificent and large as are some OF
our modern steam vessels, they are in
ferior, If we may judge from descrip-
tions, both in size and splendor, to the
vessels constructed by the Kings of
Egypt and Syracuse, on scale OF
grandeur corresponding to the immense
preparations of the sculpture and archi-
lecture. Ptolemeus Philopater, King
of Egypt, built vessel 400 feet long, 81
feet broad, ~ feet high from the keel to
the top of the prov, but 80 feet to the
top of the poop. She had four helms
of GO feet (; her largest oars were so feet
long, with leaden handles, so as to work
more easily by the rowers she had two
prows, two sterns, seven rostra or
beaks, successfully rising and swelling
out one over the other, the topmost one
most prominent and stately; on the
poop and prov she had figures Of ami
mails not less than Is feet high 4; all the
interior of the vessel was beautified with
delicate sort of painting of a waxen
color. She had 1000 rowers, 400 cabin
boys or servants; marines to do duty on
the deck, 2, 800; with animmense store of
arms and provisions. The same Prince
built another ship, called the Thai
amegus, or bed-chamber ship, which
was only used as pleasure yacht for
sailing up and down the Nile. She was
not so long or large as the preceding,
but more splendid i'll the chambers and
their furnishings. Hero, King of
Syracuse, built an enormous vessel,
which he intended for a corn-trader
her length is not given. She was built
at Syracuse, bya Corinthian shipbuilder,
and was launched by an apparatus de-
vised by Archimedes. All her bolts and
nails were of brass; she had twenty
rows of oars her apartments were all
paved with neat, square variegated tiles
on which was painted the story of Homer S
Had. She had gymnasium, with shady
walks, on her upper decks, garden plots
stocked with various plants, and nour-
ished with Gmpid water that flowed cir
culating round them in canal of lead.
She had, here and there on deck, arbors
mantled with ivy and vine branches,
which fourished III full greenness,
being supplied with the principle
of growth from the lcaden canal. She
had one chamber particularly splendid,
whose pavement was of agate and other
precious stones, and whose panels,
doors and roofs were of ivory and wood
of the thya tree. She had a schoolas-
terium or library with five touches, its
roof arched into a polus or vault, with
the stars embossed she had bath,
with its accomplishments, all most mag
nificent; she had on each side of her
deck ten stalls for horses, with fodder
and furnishings for the grooms and
riders fish-pond of lead, full of fish,
whose waters could be let out or admit
ted at pleasure she had two towers on
the poop, two on the prov, and four in
the middle, full of armed men that man
aged the machines invented by Archi-
mides for throwing stones of 300-pounds
weight and arrows Is feet long to the
distance of a furlong. She had three
masts and two antenne or yards that
swung with hooks and masses of lead
attached. She had round the whole
circuit of her deck a rampant of iron,
with iron crows, which took hold of
ships and dragged them nearer for the
purpose of destroying them. The tun-
nels or bowls on here masts were OF
brass, with men in each. She had
twelve anchors and three masts. 1t was
with difficulty they could find tree
large enough for her highest mast.
Great Britain-an ominous circumstance
for the superiority Of British oak-had
the glory of bestowing upon her a sufii-
cient tree for that purpose. 1t was dis
covered amid the recesses of Albion 5
forests by swineherd ! What is re-
markable in the construction of this
gigantic vessel is that her sentina OF
sink, though large and deep, was
emptied by one man 10y means of a
pump invented by Archimedes. Hero,
on finding that the Syracusan was toe
unwieldy to be admitted with safely
into the harbors of Sicily, made pres
ent to her to Ptolemy, who changed hei
name TO the Alexandrian. We may add,
as panergon to this long tale of ship,
that Archlmelus, the Greek epigram.
matist, wrote little poem on the large
vessel, which was rewarded by Hero
with a present to its talented author OF
1000 measures of corn-a premium pro-
portioned, ii not to the poem, at least
TO the magnitude of the theme cele-
DRAFTED.