Forty famous ships : their beginnings, their life histories, their ultimate fate; being a collection of short, pleasant and diverting dissertations anent the several vessels therein comprehended, all of which have played their parts, some large, some small, in the great world drama of the sea, in acts of strife & in peaceful scenes, from the early Christian era to the present day. How and why they gained their great reputations; and sundry facts relative to their dimensions, rigging furniture, etc., etc., etc. Based upon the accounts of reputable and reliable authorities, both ancient and modern, and devoid of technical or tiresome refinements,