extremely difficult, and occasionally the iron caps"
(Sir Emerson Tennent illustrates all his written
descriptions by well-executed woodcuts), "in-
stead of merely expanding the lead, were driven
completely through the opposite extremity,
converting the bullet into a distorted tube, which
sometimes remained firmly fixed in the barrel."
Cognisant of these defects, one of Lord
Hardinge's earliest measures was the institution of
a comprehensive inquiry into the whole subject
of rifled arms and projectiles; and by placing
himself in communication with Mr. Purdey,
Mr. Westley Richards, and others of the leading
gunmakers in England who supplied pattern
muskets of different diameters of bore; by
making comparisons of the weapons in use in
the armies of other military powers; by collecting
information from the leading factories of
Europe and the United States; by aid of the
facts and suggestions so acquired; the
adoption of the musket now known as the Enfield
rifle was resolved on, and arrangements were
made for the organisation of a government
factory to be provided with the requisite
machinery for shaping the various parts.
"Such," says Sir Emerson. Tennent, "was the
origin of the Enfield rifle of 1853. It was
stronger than its predecessor of 1851" (the
Minié), "and at the same time the musket and
its sixty cartridges weighed three pounds less.
It was rifled with grooves and lands on the old
system, with one turn in six feet six inches.
Its diameter was .577 of an inch, and at limited
ranges it fired a bullet weighing 530 grains
with great accuracy and force." But, serviceable
as this rifle proved—and its value was tested
in the Crimean war—still it was not a
perfect weapon, and numerous defects became, by
degrees, apparent, which are thus stated: "The
velocity of the ball proved to be lower than
had been looked for; its trajectory" (the
parabolic line described between the muzzle of
the gun and the object aimed at) "was consequently
higher, and its precision and penetration
less; the tendency to foul was considerable,
but what was above all embarrassing was, that
no two guns were alike in their properties and
performance, although all underwent the same
process, and were produced by the same means."
Hence it was justly concluded that there must
exist some subtle imperfection in the
manufacture, which required for its detection the
skill and experience of a master mind, and this
master mind was sought in MR. WHITWORTH, by
general admission the greatest mechanical genius
in Europe, and he who had been able to
construct a machine so delicately and accurately
made, as to measure objects which differ even
by the millionth part of an inch—though not a
gunmaker by profession—was equal to the great
military requirement. But before he proved this,
or accepted the government proposal to furnish
designs for a complete set of new machinery
for the Enfield establishment, Mr. Whitworth
insisted upon a preliminary series of scientific
experiments, in order to determine the true
principle on which rifle barrels ought to be
constructed: which experiments he offered to
conduct, provided a shooting gallery was erected for
him, under his own direction, in which to carry on
the necessary trials, and thus obtain data for his
guidance. Though Mr. Whitworth's offer was
purely disinterested—for he demanded no
compensation for his valuable time, and would
rather have incurred the necessary expense
himself than proceed without preliminary
investigation—there was hesitation on the part
of government as to its acceptance; but Lord
Hardinge's energetic representations finally
prevailed, and the Lords of the Treasury gave
their assent to Mr. Whitworth's propositions.
There were yet delays, arising from accidental
causes, which intervened between the first
experiments and the crowning discovery, but the
secret was ascertained at last, and these are the
terms in which its disclosure is stated by Sir
Emerson Tennent: "The principle was found
to consist in an improved system of rifling; a
turn in the spiral four times greater than the
Enfield rifle; a bore in diameter one-fifth less;
an elongated projectile capable of a mechanical
fit; and last, but not least, a more refined
process of manufacture!"

Into all the details given by Sir Emerson
Tennent, to show the manifest superiority of
the "Whitworth" over the "Enfield" rifle, we
do not enter; but we may mention some of the
most striking. When formally tried at Hythe,
in April, 1857, in competition with the best
Enfield muskets, in the presence of the Minister
of War and a large assemblage of the most
experienced officers, including the superintendent
of the Enfield factory, and General Hay,
the chief of the School of Musketry for the
army, its success was truly surprising:—in
range and precision the Whitworth excelled
the government musket, three to one. Two
diagrams accompany the statement of this fact,
showing the closeness of the "Whitworth"
shooting as compared with the scattered shots
of the "Enfield;" but here, where we have no
diagram to convince the eye, we must quote the
written words: "Up to that time the best
figure of merit obtained by any rifle, at home
or abroad, was 27; that is to say, the best
shooting had given an average of shots within
a circle of twenty-seven inches mean radius, at
500 yards distance; but the Whitworth lodged
an average of shots within a mean radius of
four inches and a half from the same distance,
thus obtaining a figure of merit of 4½. At
800 yards ifs superiority was as 1 to 4, a
proportion which it maintained at 1000 yards and
upwards. At 1400 yards the Enfield shot so
wildly that the records ceased to be kept; and
at 1800 yards they ceased altogether, while the
Whitworth continued to exhibit its accuracy as
before."

The result of the trial at Hythe was the
appointment of an official committee, competent
to deal with the question, and of which Mr.
Whitworth was himself a member. In that satisfactory
and exemplary fashion which is peculiar to official
committees, eighteen months were spent in