manded by a Captain, assisted by two, or in some instances, six Lieutenants; under whom are, from four to twelve Midshipmen. There are also a master and his mate, a boatswain and his mate, a purser, a surgeon, and school-master, with a captain of every gun, 165. There does not exist a more prodigious and wonderful combination of human industry, than is visible on board a first-rate ship of war. It appears incredible that a vessel, as large as the largest parish church, should be moved and directed in the water with nearly the same rapidity and precision as a small boat; and it is wonderful that human hands could have fabricated and put together such gigantic materials. 166. The immense ropes and cables consist of hemp spun together; the aggregation of tim bers lately grew separately in the forests; the iron-work was melted and prepared from the ore; the cannon were cast in the foundry; in short, the whole fabric has been assembled together by man from the raw productions of the earth! 167. Forts and castles are constructed of thick walls of brick, stone, or earth; not built in straight lines, but projecting and indented, so that one part may protect and cover another, and so that the walls may stand obliquely to the fire of an assailant. Forts are also provided with wet or dry ditches; and with mines under the adjacent ground, to blow up an approaching enemy. d 168. The projecting angle, or work of a for tification, is called a bastion. A The straight wall that joins bastions, and which these are to defend, is called the curtain. The projecting angles are called salient an gles; and the angles which point inwards are called the re-entering angles. Works beyond the ditch are called out-works The sloping bank of earth all round is calle the glacis. The upper part of the wall is the parapet; and the walk within the wall is called the rampart. Obs.—In the cut, N L A F is a bastion. AL is the face of the bastion, LN the flank. N the gorge. abc the counterscarp. AM the flanked angles. M and ▲ the salient angles and re-entering angles. y the rampart. ▲ the line of defer ce.. 169. No fortress can be prudently assaulted by besiegers within the range of its guns, except by digging an approach in a zig-zag or slant direction, something like the capital Z. having approached in this way, a battery is raised in the night, and the attack begins. Afterwards other zig-zag approaches are made, called parallels; and other batteries are constructed nearer and nearer, till a breach is made, and the place taken by assault or capitulation. 170. The composition of gunpowder was first noticed by Roger Bacon, an English friar, in 1280; but Swartz, a German monk, applied it in projecting heavy bodies, about 1320. The first cannon were used by our Edward III. in 1346, at the battle of Cressy, and at the siege of Calais in 1347. Portable cannon, called muskets, were first used by the Spaniards about 1500; but they were very clumsy, being supported by a rest from the ground, and fired by a match. Locks of flint and steel, called firelocks, were not introduced till the wars of William III. and Queen Anne, 171. A ball, at its discharge from a gun, moves in a velocity of twenty miles in a minute, or one mile in three seconds. The distance depends on the weight of the ball, and the quantity and quality of the pow der; but a ball goes the farthest when the piece is elevated to an angle of 45 degrees; and there are tables constructed for every degree of elevation. In battle, it is found that not more than one ball in 60 does execution, owing to their rising, when they first leave the gun. 172. Formerly cannon were made so large, as to discharge stones of 100lbs. weight, to a distance of five or six miles, but it is now found that the largest convenient size is a 48-pounder; those carrying 24lb. shot are preferred. Ship-guns are from 48 to 3-pounders; guns in forts and castles are from 18 to 42-pounders; field-pieces, or flying-artillery, are 6, 9, or 12pounders. The best gunpowder is made of 25 parts of nitre, five of charcoal, and three of sulphur. Obs. Before the invention of gunpowder, large stones, equal to mill-stones, were thrown by machines called ballisia; and buttering-rams were used to make the walls of cities. -The modern art of war, setting at defiance the means of destruction existing in Gre-arms and cannon, attains its objects chiefly by rapid movements, by breaking the line of battle, and by passing into the rear of the enemy, seizing his magazines, and destroying his com munications. The great victories of Bonaparte over the generals and potentates in Europe, were gained by these means, 3.-On the dreadful subject of war, which ought never to be undertaken, except when unavoidable and self-defence, Portens, Bishop of London, wrote the f lowing impressive lines,-- 'Twas Man himself Brought Death into the world; and Man himself! To sate the lust of power: more horrid still, Of nature, that should knit their souls together Yet still they breed destruction, still go ou New pains for life, new terrors for the grave,-** From universal ruin. Blast the design, |