taken
advantage of by the enemy's vessel to make an attack with her ram.
There was also the further danger of being precipitated to the ground,
unless the shutting and opening of the necessary valves were quickly
attended to. In whatever position the vessel might be, the tubes
pointing towards the earth were naturally those through which the
current should be rushing, while the tubes pointing upwards should be
closed. The means by which a vessel turned upside down might be
righted and placed again on a level keel, was accomplished by using
the four tubes pointing downwards at one side of the vessel only,
while the four at the other side were kept closed.

The Atlanteans had also sea-going vessels which were propelled by some
power analogous to that above mentioned, but the current force which
was eventually found to be most effective in this case had a denser
appearance than that used in the air-boats.

_Manners and Customs._--There was doubtless as much variety in the
manners and customs of the Atlanteans at different epochs of their
history, as there has been among the various nations which compose our
Aryan race. With the fluctuating fashion of the centuries we are not
concerned. The following remarks will attempt to deal merely with the
leading characteristics which differentiate their habits from our own,
and these will be chosen as much as possible from the great Toltec
era.

With regard to marriage and the relations of the sexes the experiments
made by the Turanians have already been referred to. Polygamous
customs were prevalent at different times among all the sub-races, but
in the Toltec days while two wives were allowed by the law, great
numbers of men had only one wife. Nor were the women--as in countries
now-a-days where polygamy prevails--regarded as inferiors, or in the
least oppressed. Their position was quite equal to that of the men,
while the aptitude many of them displayed in acquiring the vril-power
made them fully the equals if not the superiors of the other sex. This
equality indeed was recognised from infancy, and there was no
separation of the sexes in schools or colleges. Boys and girls were
taught together. It was the rule, too, and not the exception, for
complete harmony to prevail in the dual households, and the mothers
taught their children to look equally to their father's wives for love
and protection. Nor were women debarred from taking part in the
government. Sometimes they were me