he survivors but an absolute surrender, by
which life was saved at the cost of perpetual servitude.

The danger, however, was as yet but half overcome--the snake was
scotched but not killed. For as yet the fleet remained intact, and might
land its thousands on the Egyptian coasts and carry fire and sword over
the broad region of the Delta. The Tanauna and their
confederates--Sheklusha, Shartana, and Tursha--made rapidly for the
nearest mouth of the Nile, which was the Pelusiac, and did their best to
effect a landing. But the precautions taken by Ramesses, before he set
forth on his march, proved sufficient to frustrate their efforts. The
Egyptian fleet met the combined squadrons of the enemy in the shallow
waters of the Pelusiac lagoon, and contended with them in a fierce
battle, which Ramesses caused to be represented in his sculptures--the
earliest representation of a sea-fight that has come down to us. Both
sides have ships propelled at once by sails and oars, but furl their
sails before engaging. Each ship has a single yard, constructed to
carry a single large square-sail, and hung across the vessel's single
mast at a short distance below the top. The mast is crowned by a
bell-shaped receptacle, large enough to contain a man, who is generally
a slinger or an archer, placed there to gall the enemy with stones or
arrows, and so to play the part of our own sharpshooters in the
main-tops. The rowers are from sixteen to twenty-two in number, besides
whom each vessel carries a number of fighting men, armed with shields,
spears, swords, and bows. The fight is a promiscuous _melee_, the two
fleets being intermixed, and each ship engaging that next to it, without
a thought of combined action or of manoeuvres. One of the enemy's
vessels is represented as capsized and sinking; the rest continue the
engagement. Several are pressing towards the shore of the lagoon, and
the men-at-arms on board them are endeavouring to effect a landing; but
they are met by the land-force under Ramesses himself, who greet them
with such a hail of arrows as renders it impossible for them to carry
out their purpose.

[Illustration: SEA-FIGHT IN THE TIME OF RAMESSES III.]

It would seem that Ramesses had no sooner defeated and destroyed the
army of the Purusata and Tekaru than he set off in haste for Pelusium,
and marched with such speed as to arrive in time to witness the naval
engagement, and even to take a certain part in it. The invading fleet