Chapter XVI: Signals (2)

[539] _Entwickelung des Kriegswesens_, Breslau, 1886, iii. 266.

[540] _Quellen zur Geschichte des Feuerwaffen_, 1872, A, viii., xix.

[541] Ducas, _Hist. Byzant._, Bonn, 1831, p. 211.

[542] Sabellicus, _Hist. Venet._, Dec. iii., lib. 10 (Jähns).

[543] Clarendon’s “Hist. of the Great Rebellion,” p. 522. Boillot calls orgues “barriquades,” _Modelles Artifices de feu_, &c., Chaumont, 1598, p. 189.

[544] See Admiralty survey of Gibraltar, by Capt. Aldrich, R.N.

[545] “Die Granate vor dem Stück crepirt ... wodurch ein Artillerist das Leben verloren habe.” _Neues militärisches Hannovranisches Journal_, Stück iv., p. 225, kindly communicated to me by Major W. Balck, German General Staff. Apparently by an eye-witness.

[546] Drinkwater’s “Siege of Gibraltar,” 1786, p. 87.

[547] “Die Bomben fielen so tief in den Sand, dass die Stücke niemand schaden konnten.” _Hannovranisches Journal_, as above.

[548] Capt. Sayer’s “Hist. of Gibraltar,” 1862, p. 291.

[549] Drinkwater, p. 89. The Hanoverian officer, speaking of the trial, says: “Versuch, welcher der Erwartung vollkommen entsprach.” Of the effect of the fire on the enemy he says: “ Die Brandröhren (waren) so genau bestimmt, dass die Bombe oft den Feind über den Köpfen crepirte ... und incommodirte den Feind unaufhörlich.” _Journal_, as before.

[550] “Universal Military Dictionary,” by Capt. G. Smith, R.A., 1779, art. “Shell.”

[551] Writing on 5th April 1813, Shrapnel said it was “nearly thirty years” since he began his experiments. “Synopsis of Reports and Experiments by the Ordnance Select Committee: Shrapnel Shell,” 1858.

[552] “Ammunition,” by Capt. (afterwards Col. Sir V. D.) Majendie, R.A., 1867, i. 350 _ff._; “Memoirs of Sir J. Sinclair,” ii. 244.

[553] Shrapnel’s shell failed at the first trial, 3rd June 1803—they were too thin. After the second trial, 29th June 1803, “about a dozen” were recommended to be supplied to ships for each carronade.—Ord. Sel. Committee, “Shrapnel Shell,” p. 2.

[554] _Die Shrapnels: eine Erfindung des 16-ten Jahrhunderts_, in “_Archiv für die Officiere der K. Preuss. Artillerie, &c._,” Berlin, 1852, Band 32, p. 160. Toll does not allude to Shrapnel personally. He gives the text of Zimmerman’s MS., which I quote above.

[555] One of Boillot’s mortar shell, which nobody has yet claimed to have been a Shrapnel, was of _minimum_ thickness, “afin qu’elle rompe plus facilement”—_Modelles, Artifices de feu, &c._, Chaumont, 1598, p. 163.

[556] Some of Boillot’s mortar shell contained bullets, not only inside but outside, where they were stuck into some glutinous substance with which the shell was covered. Ib., p. 167.

[557] Capt. May, R.A., reported that before reaching the Great Belt, 1807 (on the voyage to the siege of Copenhagen), Shrapnel’s own fuzes were found to be so affected by the damp as to be unserviceable, and that others had to be improvised.—Ord. Sel. Com., “Shrapnel Shell,” for 19th June 1809.

[558] “Ehe die Zünder nicht zu der Vollkommenheit gekommen waren, genau tempirt werden zu konnen, was erst gegen das Ende des vorigen (18-ten) Jahrhunderts eintrat, konnte uberhaupt von der Erreichung einer Wirkung, wie sie Shrapnel vor Augen hatte, gar nicht die Rede sein; und es ist das unstreitbare Verdienst Shrapnels, dass er die Vervollkommung der Zünder zur Erreichung bis dahin nicht gekannter Kartätschwirkung benuzte.”—“Notiz über die Geschichte der Shrapnells,” by Hauptmann Meyer, in _Archiv für d. Offic. d. K. Preuss. Art._, _&c._, 5 Band, zwieter Heft, p. 157.

[559] Given further on.

[560] “Mag auch nicht ain Hagel gemacht werden der ganntz vom Rohr fert und sich erst uber etlich hundert Schrytt nachet oder feer wie man will von einander thut und sich austhaylet?”

[561] Napoleon III., iii. 264.

[562] _Modelles_, _&c._, p. 163.

[563] “Hydrodynamics,” in _Ency. Brit._, p. 457.

[564] “Instrumenta naviganda possunt fieri sine hominibus remigantibus, ut naves maximæ, fluviales et marinæ, ferantur unico homine regente, majori velocitate quam si plenæ essent hominibus.... Item possunt fieri instrumenta volandi.”—_De Secretis_, _c._ iv.

[565] “Inventions and Devices,” No. 42, fol. 31-2.

[566] Cæsar, _De Bell. Gall._, v. 43. See also p. 90 here.

[567] Tacitus, “Hist.,” ii. 21.

[568] See p. 202.

[569] See p. 4.

[570] “Das es dir den hals nit abstoss.” Romocki, i. 189.

[571] Romocki, i. 192 _n._

[572] Napoleon III., iii. 156. Whitehorne describes a similar fireball, in which tow is used instead of cloth.

[573] Jähns, 810.

[574] “Ungefähr aus derselben Zeit.” Romocki, i. 189.

[575] Valturio’s plate is reproduced, ib., p. 193.

[576] “Ye vester darynn gestozzen, ye pesser.” Berlin Firebook, in ib., p. 192.

[577] “Es waren eiserne Kugeln von geringer Cohärenz, die, mit, Pech und Harz gefüllt, angezündet, aus den Mauerbrechern geschossen wurden. Beim Aufschlagen zerschellten diese Kugeln und die Stücke, von deren jedem eine heftige Flamme emporloderte, wurden umhergeschleudert. Das kleineste von ihnen konnte schwer verletzen, weil das Pech hinderte, es abzuschütteln. Niemand vermochte vor diesem Feuer auf den Mauern zu bleiben.” Bembo, _Opera_, 1556, i. 15, in Jähns, 810.

[578] Romocki, ii. 21.

[579] “Haec vocatur scientia experimentalis quæ negligit argumenta, quoniam non certificant, quantumcunque sint fortia, nisi simul adsit experientia conclusionis.... Sola experientia certificat hic, et non argumentum.” _Opus Tertium_, _c._ 13.

[580] Daniel’s _Hist. de la Milice Française_, 1724, i. 240.

[581] Major Ralph Adye, R.A., “The Bombardier,” &c., 1802.

[582] “Annals,” &c., p. 584, for the year 1543. Stow died in 1605. The 15½″ mortar, under Firemaster Thomas Wright, which accompanied a small force sent by Cromwell in 1651 to reduce the Royalist castle of Elizabeth in Jersey, may have been one of Bawd and Collet’s. Between five and ten rounds were fired daily for several days without any damage to the piece, although the carriage broke down completely on two occasions. The range was 1540 yards, and the shooting accurate. The first round, we may feel certain, was laid with extreme care. “I proffered to lay a wager of ten pounds with Captain Dover,” says the Firemaster, “that my first shot should strike the Castle, ... and by God’s providence it did strike one side of the great Tower, where the Granado brake” (_i.e._ exploded). The second shell “brake verie kindly,” and for the third he “altered (the) degrees of elevation.” Captain Dover may have paid his bet, but the Ordnance Office forgot to remit Wright’s pay; hence the “Perfect Narrative of the Particular Service performed by Firemaster Thomas Wright,” &c. &c., 1651. The word _explode_ is not found before the seventeenth century—see Dr. Murray’s “New English Dictionary”—and was sparingly used in Wright’s time.

[583] “Italus a Parmensi ad Foederatos perfugiens, inauditam artem jactabat parandi vasa, cavatosque e ferro aut lapide globos, qui in obsessas urbes adigerentur, impleti ejus naturæ materiâ, ut simul ignem concepissent, in innumeros quasi acinos dissilirent.”

[584] See the accounts of the bailiffs of St. Omer in 1342, in Napoleon III., iii. 77.

[585] Ib., p. 149.

[586] Reinaud and Favé, p. 158.

[587] Whitehorne, _c._ 25.

[588] Portfires go back to about 1700. Muller’s “Treatise on Artillery,” p. 202.

[589] The battle of Uddevalla in Sweden, 1677, was decided by _armes blanches_, a prolonged storm of rain having put a stop to all firing. Crichton and Wheaton’s “Scandinavia,” p. 109.

[590] Père Amiot, in Reinaud and Favé, p. 183.

[591] Hassan, ib., 37.

[592] Nye, p. 68 _bis_, where it is called “priming.”

[593] “Quickmatch,” in official “Treat. on Ammunition,” p. 430.

[594] Muller’s “Treatise on Artillery,” 1768, p. 203.

[595] General Sir Howard Douglas, “Naval Gunnery,” 1860, p. 458. Sir Charles Douglas also introduced into his ship (at his own expense) the quill tubes he had invented for naval use, and flannel cartridge cases which at that time were used “for artillery cartridges of all sorts.” Captain G. Smith, “Univer. Mil. Dict.,” 1779; “Laboratory.”

[596] “Artillery Equipment,” Colonel F. Miller, _V.C._, R.A, Pt. II., p. 84. It is uncertain to what extent flint-locks were adopted for the Artillery. “Ammunition,” by Sir V. D. Majendie, i. 192.

[597] “Naval Gunnery,” as before.

[598] The above facts are chiefly taken from the “Treatise on Ammunition,” by the late Colonel Sir V. D. Majendie, R.A., 1867; and the work on “Artillery Equipment,” by the late Colonel F. Miller, _V.C._, R.A.

[599] “Elementary Lectures on Artillery,” by Major C. H. Owen and Captain T. L. Dames, Woolwich, 1861.

[600] Reinaud and Favé, p. 44.

[601] “Quand tu voudras attaquer ton adversaire, mets le feu à la rose,” ib., 38. “Tu mets le feu aux roses et tu lances la marmite,” ib., 43.

[602] “Inventions and Devices,” 1578, p. 39.

[603] For instance: “Adviserez que le trou d’icelle (the shell) soit du costé de la bouche dudit mortier.” _Modelles, Artifices du Feu_, &c., 1598, p. 163.

[604] As happened centuries afterwards with Shrapnel’s fuzes when cut “short.”

[605] “Art of Shooting in Great Ordnance,” p. 13.

[606] Ib., pp. 30, 31.

[607] Among the stores detailed by Firemaster T. Wright in his “Perfect Narrative,” &c., of his expedition to Jersey, 1651, are found “1000 Fuzes for shels, 600 hand Fuzes.”

[608] “Invention die bishero noch nit ist gebraucht worden.” _Archeley_, 1621, p. 119. The Spanish _Tratado de Artilléria_, 1613, I have not seen and rely upon the French and German translations, both by J. T. Brey, the former entitled _Artillerie_, &c., the latter _Archeley_, &c. Either of them has been carelessly executed—perhaps both of them.

[609] “La bouche du tuyeau sur la poudre de la charge de la ditte pièces.” _Artillerie_, p. 119.

[610] “150 schritt”—geometrical paces, I presume: 1 geom. pace = 5 ft.

[611] _Wachthaus._ The French translation has _corps de garde_.

[612] Blom’s _Kristian d. IV.’s Artilleri_, p. 277.

[613] P. 63 _bis_.

[614] Pr. Lieut. W. Ritter von Breithaupt, _Der Entwicklungsgang und die darauf gegründete Systematik der Zünderwesens_, &c., 1868, p. 18.

[615] “Gegen das Ende des 16 ten Jahrhunderts fiel man darauf, Granaten aus Kanonen zu schiessen. Da aber die ersten Versuche nicht mit gehöriger Vorsicht, und überhaupt mit zu starker Pulverladung angestellt wurden, so misslangen sie, und man behielt die sicherere Art, sie aus Haubitzen zu werfen, bei.” Major C. von Decker, _Geschichte des Geschützwesens_, &c., 1822, p. 74.

[616] In firing against buildings, “ist es nicht eben von nöthen auf das Tempo genau Achtung zu geben.” Mieth, _Artill. Recent. Praxis_, Leipsig, 1683, lib. iii. c. 34.

[617] In firing against troops, “the fuze must have such a length as ... to set fire to the powder as soon as the shell touches the ground.” “Universal Mil. Dict.,” Captain G. Smith, R.A., 1779; “Laboratory.”

[618] A Chinese shell was thrown from the deck of one of our vessels into the sea, I forget by whom, in the attack on the Peiho Forts, 1860.

[619] As was done more than once during the dynamite outrages in London some years ago.

[620] At the siege of Gloucester, during the Great Rebellion, a grenado fell near Southgate; “but a woman coming by with a pail of water, threw the water thereon and extinguished the phuse thereof, so that it brake not.” Vicars’ “Jehovah Jireh,” 1646, i. 402.

[621] “Per tempus quo quispiam non festinanter Symbolum Apostolorum recitare possit,” p. 174. Watches were invented by Huygens in 1674, and independently by Hooke in 1675. Ball’s “Mathematical Recreations,” 1892, p. 216.

[622] _Zur Geschichte der Artillerie_, by Hauptmann C. Schneider, in _Oesterreichische Mil. Zeitung_, Wien, 1863, No. 79.

[623] _Theoria et Praxis Artill._, Nürnberg, 1682, Part II., p. 62.

[624] “Brände von Holtz, Papier oder Eisen,” ib.

[625] “Man das Tempo entweder durch einen perpendicul oder nach einem perfecten und gewissen Tacte erkundigen muss,” ib.

[626] “Das rechte Tempo nun zu finden, kan auf keine audere Weise, als aus den ersten Würffen erlernet werden.” _Artill. Recent. Praxis_, l. iii., c. 34, p. 45.

[627] “Treatise on Artillery,” 1768, p. 204.

[628] Ib., p. 203.

[629] MS. letter kindly lent to me by Col. F. Whinyates, late R.H.A.

[630] Gen. Piobert’s notes, communicated to Prof. Turquem and Capt. Favé, the translators of Gen. C. von Decker’s _Expériences sur les Shrapnel_, Paris, 1847, p. 320.

[631] “Ammunition,” by Col. Sir V. D. Majendie, i. 235. The Prussians had a similar series of fuzes about the same time; Breithaupt, _Der Entwicklungsgang ... der Zünderwesens_, p. 21. On the 21st Nov. 1808, Shrapnel proposed to carry the bored fuzes in canvas bags painted different colours. Ord. Sel. Com., “Shrapnel Shell.”

[632] Hasans er-Rammah in Reinaud and Favé, p. 25. This composition was called “priming,” and belonged to the “slow receipt” family.

[633] Napoleon III., iii. 275.

[634] Nye, p. 63, _bis_.

[635] Spak’s _Öfversigt öfver Artilleriets Uppkomst_, &c., p. 157.

[636] Muller’s “Treatise on Artillery,” 1768, p. 203.

[637] J. G. von Hoyer’s _Allgemeines Wörterbuch_, Tübingen, 1804.

[638] 5″ fuze, official “Treatise on Ammunition.”

[639] _Beitrag zur Gesch. d. Artillerie_, Haupt. C. Schneider, Wien, 1864.

[640] See plate in Romocki, i. 343.

[641] _Art. Mag. Artilleriæ_, &c., pt. i. bk. 4, c. 3. They were called “blind shell” because they gave out no light in their flight.

[642] “Wer ein wenig Vernunft hat und nicht gar tumm ist, wird klar sehen dass dieselbe Invention einen sehr bald in die andere Welt schicken kan.” _Artill. Recent. Prax._, c. xi. p. 13.

[643] _Theor. et Praxis Artill._, pt. i. p. 68.

[644] “Cutting the Rigging,” Proposition iii.

[645] MS. in Royal Library, Berlin, q. in Romocki, i. 347.

[646] Cap. 48.

[647] See his Patent, No. 3032, 11th April 1807.

[648] We are told by Mr. Greener that “all the gunsmiths in England” laid claim to the invention of the cap: “The Gun and its Development,” 3rd ed., 1859, p. 110. How many of them, if any, established their claim I do not know; but it is absolutely certain that the notion of a copper cap struck Colonel Hawker in 1818. He gave a sketch of what he wanted to the celebrated Joe Manton, who made him some caps and adapted a gun for their use. “Instructions to Young Sportsmen,” by Col. Peter Hawker, 11th ed., 1859, p. 76.

[649] The concussion fuze was set in action by the shock of discharge; the percussion fuze by the shock of impact with the target.

[650] Reinaud and Favé, p. 180.

[651] Marcus Græcus, recipe 33.

[652] Hassan er-Rammah in Reinaud and Favé, p. 24.

[653] 1, 2, and 3 oz. rockets in Nye, p. 82.

[654] Signal rocket, official “Treat. on Ammunition.”

[655] Hassan, as above.

[656] Official “Treat. on Ammunition.”

[657] Hassan, in Reinaud and Favé, p. 27.

[658] Kentish’s “Pyrotechnist’s Treasury,” 1878, p. 187, No. 13.

INDEX

Abd Allah ibn al-Baythar (_d._ 1248), 16

Abd ur-Razzak on Bijanagar (1441), 115

Accent de Sincérité, 126

Africanus, Sextus Julius, 40

Agniastra, 105

Al-Bunduqani, meaning of, 91

Alor, taking of (A.D. 712), 91

Amiot, Father, on Chinese powder, 128

Ammianus Marcellinus on fire-arrows, 30

Anagram, Friar Bacon’s, suggested solution of, 157

Anna Comnena, Princess, on crossbows, 48

—— on sea-fire, 44

—— on siphons, 43

Antiquity, Chinese veneration for, 125

’Arába (_Persian_), its double meaning, 114

“Arabian Nights,” mention of astrolabe in, 78

—— mention of _qaus bunduq_ in, 93-4

Arabic language, general ignorance of, in Middle Ages, 82

—— words in _Liber Ignium_, 77

Arangal, siege of (1309), 119

Arderne’s recipe for powder (_cir._ 1350), 177

Arquebuse, original meaning of the word, 92

Arrows for muskets (1588), 200

Artillery, original meaning of the word, 7

Assos, flower of the stone of, 17, 151

Assyrians, early use of incendiaries by the, 29

Astrolabe = Asturlab = Usturlab, origin of, 78

Astronomy, Chinese, 113, 126

Babar’s projectiles, size and price of, 122

Bacon’s (Friar) charcoal, 149

—— mode of refining saltpetre, 25, 151

—— recipe for gunpowder, 157

Baghdad, siege of (A.D. 813), 96

Baldwin I. on Byzantine defences, 84

Balls, hot clay, British and Arabic, 90, 217

Barbour’s “Bruce,” mention of incendiaries in, 50

Barúd (_Arabic_), successive meanings of, 6

Baza, siege of (1325), 100

Bengali gunners, Babar on, 121

Benjamin of Tudela on Byzantines, twelfth century, 53

Bergen op Zoom, siege of (1588), 226

Beringuccio on iron round shot, 201

Berwick, Greek fire at (1319), 50

Bijanagur, alleged use of cannon at (1368), 113

Bilqan, siege of (1256), 203

Bitar taken by a single rocket (1657), 172

Bokhara, siege of (1067), 96

Bombshells originally oblong, 238

Bourne’s “box” for testing powder (1578), 192

Bows, cross-, 48

—— slur-, 168

—— stone-, 93

Boxer’s (General E. M.) wooden time-fuze (1849), 243

“Brazen Head,” legend of Bacon’s, 161

Breteuil, Greek fire at (1356), 51

Bristol, fire-pikes at siege of, (1643), 169

Bronze, Egyptian, 1750 B.C., analysis of, 203

—— price of, at various times, 204

Bullets, hot, for small arms, 202

Bunduq (_Arabic_),successive meanings of, 6

Calthrops = crowsfeet, 170

Cannon, invention of, ascribed to the Germans, 54

Cap, percussion, invention of (1818), 245

Carcasses, invention of (1672), 224

Carriages, gun-, field-, introduction of (1461-83), 114

Cartridge-cases, Artillery, flannel (1770-80), 230

Cartridges, Infantry, early composite (1590), 179

Case, early use of, 208

—— Zimmermann’s, 212-13

Casiri’s translations, 99

Caxton on price of naphtha (1480), 187

Chalcocondyles on early cannon, 54

Charcoal, hazel and willow wood for, 62, 137, 149

Charleston, siege of, 1863, incendiaries at, 49

Chen-tien-lui, Chinese projectile, 130, 138

China, early communication of, with the west, 136

Chinese historical works, 124, 126

—— snow, 17

Chronoscope, Wheatstone’s electro-magnetic (1840), 194

Combustion, progressive, 3

Compass, Mariner’s, 112

Comte, A., on the invention of powder, 111

Concussion fuze, invention of English (1850), 245

Conde’s metaphor, _trueno con fuego_, 101

Congreve, on his rockets, 175

Constantine VII., on sea-fire, 34, 46

Copredy Bridge, action at (1644), 208

Corning (graining) powder, first mention of (1429), 182

Cracker of Marcus Græcus, 87

—— of Friar Bacon, 87, 159

Creed, Apostles’, used to measure time, 239

Cressy, English guns at, 7

Crusades, no explosive used during the, 97

Crusoe’s (Robinson) wildfire, 52

Cunningham, General, on decay of Indian temples, 111

Cuprum (copper), origin of word, 80

Dahir, King of Alor (712), 91

Darts for cannon, 199

Delium, siege of (424 B.C.), 31

Dickson, General Sir A., on port-fires, 230

Discoveries, accidental, 162

Douglas, Captain Sir C., R.N., inventions of, 230

Drake, Sir Francis, demands arrows for muskets (1588), 200

Dunnett, Sergeant D., rockets at Waterloo under, 176

Dunois’ capture of Pont Audemer (1449), 173

Dutens on Marcus Græcus, 84

Encyclopædias, Chinese, 124

Espingarda, meaning of, 117

Europeans in China in early times, 135

—— in India in early times, 114, 121

Existence, the struggle for, 108

Explosion, meaning of, 3

Famagusta, Greek fire at (1571), 51

Feringiha, meaning of, 121

Firdusi, mention of incendiaries by, 96

Fire-arrows, defects of, 30

—— early use of, by Greeks (429 B.C.), 29

—— early use of, in Greece (480 B.C.), 55

Fire-ships, early use of (413 B.C.), 31

Firework, an Arabic and English, 247

—— soft or slow, as time-fuze, 233

Flexible instruments, Byzantine, meaning of, 48

Flint and steel as percussion fuze (1596), 244

Forsyth, Rev. A., applies fulminates to priming (1807), 245

Fother, an ancient English weight, 203

Fouling of serpentine powder, 179

Franks, Portuguese guns called, by Chinese (1520), 139

Freeburn, Quartermaster, R.A., invents concussion fuze (1846), 245

Friction tube invented by Mr. Tozer (1851), 231

Fulminates, first use of, in priming (1807), 245

Furtenbach’s instrument for testing powder (1627), 193

Fuze, concussion, first English (1846), 245

—— hand (1651), 236

—— percussion, earliest proposal of (1596), 244

—— —— first English (1850), 245

—— time, Boxer’s wooden (1849), 243

—— —— calculated, the phrase (1779), 210

—— —— early Arabic, 231

—— —— early Danish, 237

—— —— early English (1543), 235

—— —— proposed adjustment of (1596), 239

—— —— length of early, constant, 237

—— —— nineteen in English service (1850), 242

—— —— short, difficulties with, 241

—— —— short, Shrapnel’s mode of cutting, 242

—— —— Shrapnel’s, rendered useless by damp (1807), 213

—— —— Ufano’s experiments with (_cir._ 1600-13), 236

Gama, Vasco da, in Calicut (1498), 117

Gauttier on _al-Bunduqani_, 92

Geber. _See_ Jabir

Gentoo Laws, code of, 105

Gibbon on firearms in China, 140

—— on gunpowder, 111

—— on Jesuits in China, 126

Gibraltar, hot shot at siege of (1779-83), 217

—— shell-fire from guns at, 209

Glazing gunpowder, mentioned in 1684, 182

Golail, a two-stringed long-bow, 93

Gold, alchemical preparation of, resembled that of saltpetre, 153

“Golden Garlands,” an Arabic firework, 247

Grain, influence of size of, of gunpowder, 195

Gram, the sword of Sigurd, 105

Greek fire, a Crusader’s term, 49, 76

—— —— composition of, 31

Greenhill, Professor, on stability of projectiles, 215

Grenados, spherical shell, 238

Guisarme, meaning of, 117

Gun, or gonne, triple use of, 7

—— pressure on bore of, with different projectiles, 206

—— nature of earliest missiles for, 199

—— flint-lock for, invention of (1778), 230

Gun-carriages, field, introduced (1461-83), 114

Gun-metal, composition of, 203-4

—— price of, 204

Gunpowder, Arderne’s recipe for (_cir._ 1350), 177

—— Friar Bacon’s recipe for (_cir._ 1248), 157, 177

—— Chinese, badly made, 134

—— composition of, at various times, 197-98

—— compressed, 222

—— corned (grained), advantages of, 182

—— —— too strong for guns at first, 183

—— damage to, by damp, 180

—— definition of, adopted here, 3

—— effects of invention of, 111

—— fouling of serpentine (ungrained), 179

—— French adopt one kind for all arms, 194

—— ingredients of, carried separately at first, 181

—— invention of (_cir._ 1248), 162

—— Louis XIV.’s Ordonnances about, 193

—— price of English, at various times, 184

—— ramming-home serpentine, 181

—— silent, 197

—— smokeless, 196

—— sulphurless, 196

—— tests of, 192-94

Gunstone-maker’s wages in the sixteenth century, 205

Halhed on early Indian firearms, 105

Hälle on time-fuzes and percussion shell (1596), 239, 244

Harquebuss, _see_ Arquebuse

Hassan er-Rammah (_d._ 1295), 17

Havre, experiments with naphtha at (1758), 49

Hawker, Colonel P., invents percussion cap (1818), 245

Heraclea, siege of (805), 91

History, Chinese, the Jesuits on, 126

Homer, no mention of incendiaries in, 29

Hookah (_Persian_) = grenade or fire-pot, 94, 117

Huo-p’áu (_Chinese_), meanings of, 6

Igor, Russian Admiral, defeated by Greeks (941), 34

Ikreekh (_Arabic_), for igniting shell, 231

Incendiary, earliest, consisted of sulphur and pitch, 30

—— meaning of word, here, 3

Index, chemical, to Marcus’ _Liber Ignium_, 68

Iron, price of, at various times, 204

Jabir, the true and the false, 14

Jesuits superintend gun-casting at Peking (1618), 140

Jodhaimah possesses first Arabic machines, 90

Joinville on Arabic incendiaries, 4, 98, 102

Ka’aba, burning of the (683), 90

Kallinikos, the inventor of sea-fire (670-80), 33

Kallisthenes in Babylon (331 B.C.), 80

Khalid, Prince, the first Arab writer on incendiaries (_d._ 708), 72

Khubelai Khan sends for western gunners (1270), 133

Lateran Council, decree of, against incendiaries (1139), 88

Lead, price of, at various times, 204

Leipsig, battle of (1813), English rockets at, 176

Leo VI. on sea-fire, 46

Leo’s metaphor, _thunder and smoke_, 38

_Liber Ignium_ of Marcus Græcus, a composite work, 83

“Light of the Moon,” Arabic fixed light, 246

Louis XIV., Ordonnances of, about powder, 193

Lys, Passage of (1382), hand-grenades at, 169

Machine, meaning of, here, 3

Maghribiha, meaning of, 119

Mahmoud Shah Begurra of Gujarat (1482), 116

Mangonals in China, 133

Manjánik (_Arabic_) = machines, 90

Manu’s “Code of Laws,” 106

Marcus Græcus, a mere name, 86

Marsh’s percussion tube (1831), 231

Masawyah (Mesué), Arab physician, 84

Masudi on autumnal rains, 77

—-— on _qaus al-bunduq_, 92

Match, time-fuze called so by Stow, 235

Mecca, siege of (A.D. 638), 90

Mercier, Captain, 39th Regiment, proposes shell-fire from guns (1779),
209

Mercury, fulminate of, first used in priming (1807), 245

Metaphors, difficulties created by, 4, 101

Meyer, Hauptmann, on Shrapnel shell, 214

Mieth on early percussion shell, 244

Mills, powder, 187

Mithkal (or Miskal), a Persian weight, 122

Modhaffer Shah of Gujarat (1511), 118

Money, English and French, in fourteenth century, 186

Mons Meg, materials for repairing, 139

Moorsom’s (Commander, R.N.) percussion fuze (1850), 245

Mortar _éprouvette_, 193

Moyria de Maillac, Father, on Chinese historians, 126

Naphtha, Plutarch on, 39

Nassau, Graf. Johann von, proposes a percussion shell (1610), 244

Navez’s (Captain) electro-ballistic pendulum, 195

Niébla, siege of (1257), 101

“Nitiprakásika” on arms and armies, 107

Norton, time-fuzes called “pypes” by (1628), 237

Nye proposes mortar _éprouvette_ (1647), 193

Oppert, Professor, on early Hindu gunpowder, &c., 107

Orgue, meaning of, 207

Paris, use of incendiaries in (1870), 49

Pellet, for bullet, 183

Pendulum, ballistic, of Robins, 194

—— electro—ballistic, of Navez, 195

—— for timing fuzes, 240

Percussion powder, earliest, 245

Persia, late in adopting firearms, 116

Peshawur, battle near (1008), 94

Petroleum mentioned in Anglo-Saxon work (_cir._ A.D. 900), 82

“Piber til Granater,” early Danish time-fuzes, 237

Pien-king, siege of (1232), 130

Pikes, fire, at the siege of Bristol (1643), 169

Placentia, attack on (A.D. 69), 217

Platæa, siege of (429 B.C.), 29

Pont Audemer, taking of (1449), 173

Porcelain, dates of, forged by Chinese, 125

Portfires (_cir._ 1700), 229

Pressure on bore, comparative, with different projectiles, 206

—— gauge, Rodman’s, 195

Printing press, invention of, 113

Projectiles for cannon, nature of earliest, 199

Pype, early time-fuze called a, 237

Quicklime, Pliny on, 39

Rain, autumnal, in _Liber Ignium_, 77

Ramming home serpentine powder, on, 181

Rantambhor, attacks on (1290 and 1300), 119

Rāy, Professor, on the Sukraniti, 110

Ribaudequin, 207

“Richard Cœr-de-Lion,” metrical romance (1272-1307), 50

Robins’ ballistic pendulum, 194

Rockets at Leipsig (1813), 176

—— Chinese, 135

—— Marcus Græcus’ (_rec._ 13, 32, 33), 62, 67

—— Tipu Sultan’s, 174

Rodman’s pressure gauge, 195

Roman candles, Chinese, 132

—— Marcus Græcus’ (_rec._ 12), 61

Romerentin, Greek fire at (1356), 51

Rose (_Arabic_), for igniting shell, 231

Round, one, comparative cost of, with different balls (_cir._ 1375), 205

Sal coctus, 13

—— Indicus, 15

Salonika, siege of (904), 40

Saltpetre, approximate date of discovery of, 28

—— Indian, price of (1580), 187

—— modes of refining:—
Hassan er-Rammah’s, 24
Marcus Græcus’, 23
Friar Bacon’s, 25
Waltham Abbey’s, 18
Whitehorne’s, 20

Sauverchala (_Sanskrit_), meaning of, 16

Sea-fire, composition of, 41

—— unknown to Westerns, 41, 84

Seringapatam, rockets at (1792, 1799), 174

Shahnama, mention of incendiaries in, 96

Shatagni (_Sanskrit_), meaning of, 105

Shell, common, first use of, 227

—— —— number of pieces into which it broke, 210

Shell-fire from guns (1779), 208

Shot (cannon), hot (1579), 217

Shrapnel’s fuzes indifferent, 213-14, 242

—— mode of cutting short fuzes, 242

Shrapnel shell, experiments with (1819), 242

—— principles of, 211, 213

Siang-yang-fu, siege of (1269-73), 133

Sieves for coming powder, 190

Silver, fulminate of, 245

Sincérité, Accent de, 126

Siphon (_Greek_), meaning of, 46

—— two kinds of, 43

Slur-bow, 168

Smith, Captain G., R.A., on shell fire, 241

Sora (_Indian colloquial_), meaning of, 16

Spanish words, &c., in _Liber Ignium_, 81

Spell, Indian, to ensure victory, 107

Steganogram, Friar Bacon’s, suggested solution of, 151

Stirling, siege of (1304), Greek fire at, 50

Stone, best, for round shot, 205

Stone-bow, a golail, 93

“Stone which is not a stone,” 151

Stow on shell (1543), 225

Strada, Father, on bombshells, 226

Struphnos, Admiral, sale of naval stores by (1200), 53

“Sukraniti,” recipe for powder in the, 109

Sulphurs, several (so-called), in early times, 80

Talwood, 179

Tampions for musket-arrows (1588), 200

Tayif, siege of (A.D. 630), 90

Tea in China and Europe, 113

Tell, William, legend of, 127

Temples, Indian, causes of decay of, 112

Testing powder. _See_ Gunpowder

Theophanes on invention of sea-fire, 33

Toll, Hauptmann, on Shrapnel shell, 212

Tourbillion, a firework, 247

Tozer’s friction-tube (1853), 231

Train of powder to fire early guns, 228

Translations, specimens of, 9

Trombes, or tronckes, 51

Tubes, friction (1853), 231

—— percussion (1831), 231

—— quill, for navy (_cir._ 1778), 230

_Tung-kian-kang-mu_, Chinese Encyclopædia, 130-31

Uddevalla, battle of (1677), 229

Ufano’s experiments with fuzes (_cir._ 1600), 236

Valturio´s bronze shell (1463), 138, 221

Wachtendonck, siege of (1588), 227

Watches invented (1674), 239

Weissenburg, siege of (1469), 220

Wheatstone’s electro-magnetic chronoscope, 194

Whitehorne on silent powder, 197

—— on serpentine and corned powder, 183

Wildfire, history of the word, 51

Words, changes in the meaning of, 6

Wright, Mr. Thomas, on mariner’s compass, 112

Xerxes’ fire-archers, 55

Yavakshara (_Sanskrit_), meaning of, 16

Yo (_Chinese_), successive meanings of, 6

Yung Loh, Chinese Emperor (1403), 133-34

Yusuf ibn Ismaël al-Juni on saltpetre (1311), 103

Zarb-zan = swivel gun, Babar’s, 121

Zembaq (_Arabic_), doubtful meaning of, 81

Zimmermann’s projectile (1573), 212-13

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