Having procured four, or five, small ships, of two, or three feet in lenghth, (or as many as you design to fight) make a number of small reports, which are to serve for guns. Of these, range as many as you please, on each side of the upper decks; then at the head and stern of each ship, fix a two ounce case, eight inches long, filled with a slow port-fire receipt, but take care to place it, in such a manner, that the fire may fall in the water, and not burn the rigging; in these cases, bore holes at unequal distances, from one another, but make as many in each case, as half the number of reports, so that one case may fire the guns, on one side, and the other those on the opposite. The method of firing the guns, is, by carrying a leader, from the holes in the cases, to the reports on the decks; you must make these leaders very small, and be careful in calculating the burning of the slow fire, in the regulating cases, that more than two guns, be not fired at a time. When you would have a broad-side given, let a leader be carried to a cracker, placed on the outside of the ship, which cracker must be tied loose, or the reports will be too slow; in all the ships put artificial guns, at the port holes. Having filled, and bored holes, in two port fires, for regulating the guns, in one ship; make all the rest exactly the same; then when you begin the engagement, light one ship first, and set it a sailing, and so on with the rest, sending them out singly, which will make them fire regularly, at different times, without confusion, for the time between the firing of each gun, will be equal to that of lighting the slow fires. The fire ship, may be of any size, and need not be very good, for it is always lost in the action. To prepare a ship for this purpose, make a port fire equal in size, with them in the other ships, and place it at the stern; in every port, place a large port fire, filled with a very strong composition, and painted in imitation of a gun, and let them all be fired at once by a leader from the slow fire, within two, or three diameters of its bottom; all along both sides, on the top of the upper deck, lay star composition about half an inch in thickness, and one in breadth, which must be wetted with thin size, then primed with meal powder, and secured from fire, by pasting paper over it; in the place where you lay this composition, drive some little tacks with flat heads, in order to hold it fast to the deck, this must be fired just after the sham guns, and when burning will shew a flame all round the ship; at the head take up the decks, and put in a tin mortar loaded with crackers, which mortar must be fired by a pipe, from the end of the slow fire; the firing of this mortar will sink the ship, and make a pretty conclusion. The regulating port fire of this ship, must be lighted at the same time, with the first fighting ship.