times. This was his opinion, and he gave the highest credit to those who had performed such a service. It was altogether a most skilful proceeding. He was greatly surprised at the small number of men that was lost on board the fleet, and on inquiring how it happened, he discovered that it was because the vessels were moored within one third of the ordinary distance. The guns of the fortress were intended to strike objects at a greater distance, and the consequence was, that the shot went over the ships that were anchored at one third the usual distance. By that means they sustained not more than one tenth of the loss which they would otherwise have experienced. Not less than five hundred pieces of ordnance were directed against the walls; and the precision with which the fire was kept up, the position of the vessels, and, lastly, the blowing up of the large magazine, all aided in achieving this great victory in so short a time. He had thought it right to say thus much, because he wished to warn the public against supposing that such deeds as this could be effected every day. He would repeat, that this was a singular instance, in the achievement of which great skill was undoubtedly manifested, but which was also connected with peculiar circumstances which they could not hope always to occur. It must not, therefore, be expected, as a matter of course, that all such attempts in future must necessarily succeed."

The reasons given for the superiority of land batteries, are equally applicable, no matter what the size or kind of vessel-whether it be moved by wind or steam. The ship is every where equally vulnerable, and the men and guns are much concentrated within her, and, consequently, much exposed. On the other hand, in a properly constructed fort,

"It is only the gun, a small part of the carriage, and now and then a head or an arm raised above the parapet that can be hurt; the ratio of the exposed surfaces being not less than fifteen or twenty to one. Next, there is always more or less motion in the water, so that the ship's gun, although it may have been pointed accurately at one moment, at the next will be thrown entirely away from the object, even when the motion in the vessel is too small to be otherwise noticed; whereas, in the battery, the gun will be fired just as it is pointed, and the motion of the ship will merely vary to the extent of a few inches, or at most two or three feet, from the spot in which the shot is to be received. In the ship, there are, besides, many points exposed that may be called vital points. By losing her rudder, or portions of her rigging, or of her spars, she may become unmanageable, and unable to use her strength; she may receive shots under water, and be liable to sink; she may receive hot shot, and be set on fire; these damages are in addition to

those of having her guns dismounted, and her people killed, by the shots that pierce her sides and scatter splinters from her timbers; while the risks of the battery are confined to those mentioned above, namely, the risk that the gun, the carriage, or the men, may be struck. That the magazines should be exposed, as were those of the castle of St. Juan d'Ulloa, must never be anticipated as possible."

It has been thought by many, who are entirely unacquainted with the facts, that the reduction of the castle of St. Juan d'Ulloa, and of Acre, has been wholly due to the use of the newly-invented Paixhan gun and shells. The character and influence of this invention is entirely misunderstood. The influence which this must have upon the relative force of ships and battery, is the very reverse of what is usually believed by the community. By the profession it is thought that the Paixhan shells have no advantage whatever over solid shot in attacks upon fortifications; whereas, the liability of a ship to be sunk and destroyed by these shells thrown from shore, is greatly increased. Indeed this was the object had in view by Paixhan in the improvements he made in his gun. Walls can be breached only by several shot, having great penetrability, fired in the same position. Breaching guns are always loaded with charges one third heavier than for ordinary service. Whether the shot used be solid, or hollow, it is manifest that the requisite precision of firing for breaching in this way, is wholly unattainable in vessels; and, if it were attainable, hollow shot could not be used, because every one of them would break to pieces against the wall. This will take place even where the charge is much less than in common service. European experiments, which recently have been most fully and satisfactorily repeated in this country, prove that every hollow shot thrown against the stone, or brick walls of a battery, if fired with a velocity sufficient to give them any penetration, will be broken into fragments by the shock. If the rupture of the shell should happen to explode the powder it contains, still the wall could receive no material injury from this explosion, if the penetration by the hollow shot had not been considerable. In the experiments before alluded to, the damage done by the solid thirty-twopounder ball was much greater than that by the hollow shot thrown from the Paixhan gun.

But the action of a hollow shot thrown from a land battery against a vessel, is an affair of very different character. It is not broken by the wooden sides of the ship, but, besides

penetrating the bulwarks, and scattering splinters, it is sure to augment many-fold, the ordinary damage done by a solid ball, in exploding on the decks, or in the ship's sides. By these shells the timbers are torn piece-meal, and the fragments scattered around, dealing out death in all directions; and the vessels themselves are either deprived of their means of mobility, are set on fire, or exposed to be swallowed up by the element on which they float. All the facts of history fully accord with these deductions of theory.

The preceding remarks on a subject of vital importance to the security, honor, and welfare of our country, will, we think, be read with more than ordinary interest at this time, when the aspect of our foreign relations is at best not pacific, if not positively threatening, and it is hoped they will assist in arousing public attention to our present unprotected condition, and to the adoption of an efficient system of defence.

ART. VIII.-Letters from Abroad to Kindred at Home. By the author of Hope Leslie, etc. New York: 1841. Harper and Brothers. 2 vols. 12mo.

WERE we speak of these volumes as mere literary critics, it would be with almost unqualified coinmendation, but no one needs to be told that Miss Sedgwick is an elegant and delightful writer, as that has long been known to all the world, and this last production of her pen will, in that respect, fully sustain her reputation. Still less is it our object to notice the work as a mere book of travels; to that character, as it is commonly understood, it evidently lays no claim, the author, as she informs us in her preface, purposely avoiding all details upon the hackneyed subjects of professed tourists; with great good taste, and in kind compassion to her readers, she has spared us another term in the infinite series of descriptions of the Rhine and the Danube, the Alps and the Appenines, the Eternal City and the bay of Naples. But it is for another, and a vastly more important reason, that out attention has been attracted to these letters from abroad. We were very curious to know what impressions the social and political institutions of the old world had made upon a

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person of superior intelligence, all whose modes of thinking, and views of society, had been formed in the new-one, too, deebly imbued with a belief in the self-governing power of man, and in the doctrines of the reform school in general. Holding many of these opinions to be false, and some of them, especially in the ultraism to which they are carried, to be dangerous to the welfare of the human family, we have been highly gratified to find that the effect, upon one of their ablest and most popular supporters, of a comparison of the conditions of man under various forms of government, has, on the whole, been so favorable to conservatism.

Miss Sedgwick is a person of the very character to whom travelling is of the highest advantage; she needs only to see with her own eyes to see aright. Look, for instance, at her picture of England; notwithstanding her democratic prejudices were outraged at every step, she has painted it as it is, the most delightful home in the world, to all except such as are oppressed by pinching poverty. How much of this favorable account may be owing to the kindness with which she was received we pretend not to judge; such things have an influence upon the most honest-minded, and, therefore, it is not unfair to suppose they may have had some upon her.

It is pleasant to follow her over this most beautiful and favored island, and to observe with what fairness she portrays its distinguishing features-the cordial hospitality and friendly courtesy which are shown when rightly claimedthe smiling brightness of the country-the excellence of the inns, roads, and all other appliances of travelling-and the universal neatness in the grounds, dwellings, and dress, even down to the cottage and the beggar. The direct avowal which is made in relation to Captain Hall, in the following exclamation, "What a host of prejudices and false judg ments had one day's frank and kind intercourse dispersed to the winds for ever," might, we think, with equal truth, have often been made by our warm-hearted traveller in her European tour-that it was a predominant feeling with her we have abundant evidence. And here we cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of transcribing a short passage relating to this said monster, Captain Hall, who has, perhaps, been as much "sinned against as sinning. Such an instance of his kindness to a party of Americans may serve to soften the indignation which his book excited against him here ; at any

rate, it will prove that he does not harbor malice prepense against the whole Yankee nation.

"We left Southampton this morning, feeling much, when we parted from Captain Hall and his family, as if we were launching alone in the wide world. He told us, at the last, if we got into any difficulty, if we were at Johnny Groat's, to send for him. As far as the most thoughtful kindness and foresight can provide against difficulties, he has done so for us. Both he and Mrs. Hall have given us letters of introduction, (unasked,) and a score, at least, to their friends in London and Scotland, people of rank and distinction. To these they have added addresses to trades-people of all descriptions, and all manner of instructions as to our goings-on; a kind of mapping and charting inestimable to raw travellers like us. He has even had lodgings provided for us in London by his man of business, so that we shall find a home in that great, and, to us, unknown sea.

You will smile at all our letters running upon this theme of Captain H., and you may perchance fancy that our preconceived opinion of this gentleman is rather bribed by personal kindness than rectified. But remember that we had no claim upon his kindness. It is not our personal benefits (though heaven knows we are most grateful for them) that I am anxious to impress upon you, but to give you the advantage of our point of sight of a character that some of our people have misunderstood, and some misrepresented. I have no such crusading notions, as that I could set a whole nation's opinion right, but I should hope to affect yours, and perhaps half-adozen others. Captain H. has a mind wide awake, ever curious and active. These qualities have been of infinite service to him as a traveller, and to his charmed readers as well; but it is easy to see how, among strangers, they might betray him into some little extravagances. Then he is a seaman and a Briton, and liable on both scores to unphilosophic judgment. With the faults that proceed from an excess of activity, we, of all people, should be most patient, and certainly we might have forgiven some mistaken opinions in conformity to preconceived patterns, instead of imputing them to political prostitution. We might, indeed, had we been wise, have found many of his criticisms just and salutary, and thanked him for them, and have delighted in his frankness, his sagacity, and his vein of very pleasant humor; but, alas! our Saxon blood is always uppermost, and we go on cherishing our infallibility, and, like a snappish cook, had much rather spoil our own pie, than have a foreign finger in it. It is an old trick of the English bull-dog to bark at his neighbor's door, but let him do so if he will caress you at his own."-Vol. i. pp. 42–44.

The closing sentiment of the passage is a bad one, but we will not stop to quarrel with it.