MARTELLO TOWERS—A LONG SHOT. 435

but do not now remember them. They themselves willdoubtless recollect the occasions I allude to, and so willmany of their crews, who have lost a leg or arm infurtherance of the “ sportlikewise the orphans or thewidows of some poor fisherman, killed by a thirty-twopounder shot in endeavouring to save his all,—his boat! Iremember on one occasion, a British seventy-four, persistingin the attack of a Martello tower mounting only one gun, athirty-two pounder, lost upwards of forty men, withoutdoing the slightest injury to the enemy. On anotheroccasion near Ajaccio, an English line of battle ship, had athirteen inch shell explode on her lower deck, which killed,wounded, or knocked down one hundred men, “ Cut bonoWhen I shall come to the exposition of my ideas concerningthe horizontal projection of shells instead of solid shot,which I have been endeavouring to inculcate in numeroustracts and writings during the last twenty years, my readerswill see what little chance a fragile and combustible vesselof wood could ever have of escaping instant destructionwhen exposed, to receive only half a dozen such projectilesinto her sides,—into, or through which, hundreds of solidshot pass with comparative harmlessness!

Amongst the amusing operations of the Anglo-Sicilianartillery practice against the armament of Murat was onethat, I dare say, will be well remembered by the officerspresent on the occasion who shall read this book. Upon alittle hill just under the lighthouse was planted a forty-eightpounder long gun; and this devil of a gun, charged withsixteen pounds of good English powder, used ever and anonto send its shot clear across the faro or channel of Messina,—so that, although its line of fire was diagonal, the shotcame on shore, and often bounded inland to a considerabledistance. Its aim seemed principally directed to the king’stent on the hill of Piali. One morning it killed one of the

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