152 ALL AFLOAT 



round little craft afloat. It is worth noting 

 that in the special class of sea tugs the Dutch, 

 and not the British, are easily first : a curious 

 exception to the general rule of British supre- 

 macy at sea. Then, with many variations and 

 several intermediate types, there are the two 

 main distinctive kinds of inland vessels : the 

 long, low, grimy, cargo-carrying whale-back, 

 tankship, barge, or other useful form of 

 ugliness, simply meant to nose her way 

 through quite safe waters with the utmost 

 bulk her huge stuffed maw will hold ; and, at 

 the opposite end of the scale, the high, white, 

 gaily decorated ' palace ' steamer, with tier 

 upon tier of decks, and a strong suggestion of 

 the theatre all through. Sea-going craft show 

 the same variations within a given type and the 

 same intermediate types between the two ends 

 of the scale. But the general distinction is 

 quite as well marked, though the necessity for 

 seaworthy hulls brings about a closer resem- 

 blance along the water-line. There is the cargo 

 boat, long, comparatively low, and rather 

 dingy ; with derricks and vast holds, which 

 remind one of the tentacles and stomach of an 

 octopus. The opposite extreme is the great 

 passenger liner, much larger and more shapely 

 in the hull ; but best distinguished, at any 



