a bugler in attendance on him, ascends a rude
ladder which leads to the top of the battery, and
takes a careful survey of the scene, in order to
be sure that the word of command to fire may
be given with safety; at this time he also
receives the report of the man who is looking
out seaward, and whose business it is to be
sure that there is no vessel in a line with the
target and within the range. All being
pronounced safe, the commandant gives the word to
the bugler to " Sound attention," upon which a
peculiar little sharp flourish is got out of the
instrument, and a very impressive pause ensues.
During that pause the officer gives one more
look around, and then rapidly descending the
ladder, gets under cover of the hut, and gives
the word again to the bugler " Sound fire."
At that moment, a figure, which has been
standing by the side of a small hut perched
upon the embankment of the estuary,
disappears within the building, and then the usual
earthquake takes place which proclaims that
the piece has gone off. For a short time, which
seems a long time, nobody stirs, as quantities of
small fragments of iron and wood are struck out
of the target, and fill the air, so that it would
be dangerous to come out from under the shelter
of a roof, and a pretty strong roof too. But when
sufficient time has been allowed for the last of
these to descend, we all emerge from cover, and
rush off to inspect the target, and see what
amount of damage the shot has inflicted.
Unless, indeed, it should happen, which is always
possible, that any member of the company feeling
curious about that hut on the embankment
which was just now mentioned, should walk off
in that direction first, with the view of ascertaining
what might be the purpose to which this
small edifice is devoted. Any one fired with
this noble curiosity, would observe without
doubt, first, that there was a row of telegraph-
poles between this same hut and the spot where
the cannons were placed; secondly, as he drew
nearer, that the wires which the poles
supported were carried down into the interior of
the building—into which, however, when the
curious one sought to follow them, he would
find himself repulsed by the individual in charge,
who would politely but unequivocally inform
him that the words " No admittance," inscribed
on a board beside the hut, must be understood
literally. Inside that low hovel is the machinery
of the galvanic battery, by means of which the
guns nearly a quarter of a mile off are
instantaneously discharged when the command " Fire"
is given by the commandant's bugler.

It is quite certain that whatever complaint
may be made of the extravagance of the War-
office, or Admiralty, no one would find any
signs of lavish expenditure in the various
official edifices which adorn the practising-
ground at Shoeburyness. The hut devoted to
the important purpose just mentioned, is one
built upon the principle of that stage hovel in
which Edgar is discovered in the storm-scene in
King Lear; the shelters provided for the
committee on iron, and the commandant, are rather
suggestive of cow-sheds; while a couple of rusty
iron plates, leaning one against another, and
looking hardly worth the consideration of a
dealer in marine stores, are labelled with the
imposing inscription, " For the Lords of the
Admiralty." The fact is, that when that shower
of fragments which follows the discharge of one
of these mighty guns takes place, people are glad
to put their heads into any shelter they can get.

As to what these experiments prove, and how
far they are valuable in showing what we might
expect were a naval engagement between iron-
sided ships and rifled cannon to take place, it is
not easy to speak. It is probable that the
impression left upon the mind of a casual observer
by the trials of strength which come off at
Shoeburyness, would be, that on the whole the
target has the best of it. No shell can penetrate
it completely, so as to remain intact and burst
when inside the ship. The worst a shell can
do is to penetrate to the woodwork behind
the iron plates, and there remain embedded. No
doubt two or three apertures, even of this sort,
if made exactly in the right places, would be
very awkward things to stop; but surely it
would be difficult to make such " very palpable
hits" at sea. The target is quite still, is placed
at the best angle for receiving the full force of
the blow to be inflicted, and is exactly opposite,
and on a plane parallel to that occupied by
the gun. These are circumstances very much in
favour of the gun and against the target.
These are elaborately chosen circumstances. No
doubt if a ship like the Warrior were to steam
into Portsmouth harbour, and take up a position
exactly opposite to a battery of Whitworth and
Armstrong guns, the water being smooth, and
the opportunities for taking a fair aim being
afforded—no doubt under those circumstances
she would promptly come to grief. In an
engagement out at sea, with rough weather, the
object to be aimed at perpetually in motion, and
the position occupied by the guns equally lively,
the result might be different. These are thoughts
which would suggest themselves to a casual
observer of these experiments; moreover, he
would probably remark, as he stood behind the
target when all was done, that no entire missile
had passed through it, that all remained lodged
in the woodwork, or rebounded from the iron
plates outside; and as he examined the props,
and other portions of the structure which
supports the target, and which represent, in fact,
the " between-decks" of a ship, he would
observe how very little damage had been done—a
few scratches on the wood, made by the splinters
flying about, being all. On the other hand, it
must be remembered, that these armour-plates
experimented on at Shoeburyness are much more
massive than those with which our iron ships
are at present fortified; secondly, that even
these were in every case perforated; lastly,
that though—supposing the ship's side to be
represented by this target—few lives might be
lost inside the ship, and few wounds inflicted,
yet the vessel herself would be so mutilated as
to be put hors de combat entirely.