Had fought and bled in mutual sacrifice; But what avail'd the club and spear, and arm The magic of the thunder, which destroy'd The warrior ere his strength could be employed? LORD BYRON. The Island, Can. 3. At this The subject of invention is one which causes innumerable disputes among mankind. present day many nations claim the same inventions, the Mariner's Compass, Printing, that of Gunpowder, and many others; but of all the important inventions which have caused dispute, and a likeness to which can be traced to the most remote ages of History, none excels that of Gunpowder. Voltaire gives the invention to the Chinese, and some others say that this nation had gunpowder many hundred years before it was known in Europe, and that we owe the invention to them. It is also stated that a people of India called the Oxydracæ, used gunpowder in the time of Alexander the Great. In an old work which I possess there is an extract from the Life of Apolloni * This paper was not originally published in the Athenæum. us Tyanous written by Philostratus about 1600 years ago, which mentions something like gunpowder in the time of Alexander. "These truly "wise men ("the Oxydrace") dwell between the "rivers Hyphasis and Ganges. Their country "Alexander the Great never entered; deterred, "not by fear of the inhabitants, but, as I suppose, by religious considerations. For had he passed the Hyphasis, he might doubtless have "made himself master of the country all round "them ; but their cities he could never have "taken, though he had led a thousand as brave "as Achilles, or three thousand such as Ajax "to the assault. For they come not out into “the field to fight those who attack them; but "these holy men, beloved by the gods, over"throw their enemies with tempests and thun"der-bolts shot from their walls. Tis said that "the Egyptian Hercules and Bacchus when “they overran India, invaded this people also, " and having prepared warlike engines attempt"ed to conquer them. They in the meantime "made no shew of resistance, appearing perfect"ly quiet and secure; but upon the enemy's "nearer approach they were repulsed with "storms of lightning and thunderbolts hurled upon them from above." 66 Roger Bacon and Bartholdus Scwartz are in Europe considered as the inventors of gunpowder, the latter flourished about 1320, the former about 1270.-Straith in his Memoir in Artillery says, "The discovery of gunpowder in Europe is fixed about the year 1320, but it does not appear to have been used for throwing stones and balls from cannon till about 1380." It is indisputable from the following extract from a treatise by Roger Bacon, that he knew concerning the compositions and effect of gunpowder; this treatise was published at Oxford, A. D. 1270, (vide Gray on Gunnery, Lon. 1731). "An artificial fire that shall burn at any "distance can be composed of salt-petre and "other ingredients; and afterwards, "a noise "like that of thunder and flashes as of lightning may be produced in the air, more terrible "than those caused by nature itself: for a small "quantity of the composition, not exceeding a "cubical inch in bulk duly applied, makes a "dreadful noise with violent flashings. And this 66 66 may be done several ways, whereby a city or "an army may be destroyed. Further on, "These are very wonderful things if one knew “how to use them with the just quantity of proper "ingredients." There has also as much dispute arisen concerning, when powder was first appli ed to military purposes, as about its invention. Captain S- — in his memoir says the first mention of it in military history is in 1496; I think it is generally considered the first mention made of it, is in the time of Edward at the battle of Cressy in 1346, it is also said to have been used at the siege of Calais in 1347. Gunpowder varies in different countries in its strength. England, Austria, France, Russia, Sweden and India have the component parts of different proportions; when ignited, Gunpowder expands with a velocity of" about 5000 feet per second, and the pressure of the fluid is about 2000 times that of common air." Climate and time act considerably on gunpowder, and before it can be depended on when taken from the stores, it is necessary to prove it, which exact proceeding generally forms the commencement of the annual practice of the Artillery Corps in India. " Powder was used by the French in 1338 if, we can believe the following from father Daniel; this, says he appears from the records of the "chamber of accompts in Paris, where in the year 1338, Bartholomew de Drach, treasurer “of war, charges in his accompts money paid to Henry de Famechon for furnishing powder and 66 66 "other necessaries for cannon before Pay "Guillaume." This is eight years before the battle of Cressy surely it would have been employed then by the French, at least it is highly probable they would have brought their most destructive engines to the contest to defeat one of the greatest enemies France ever had, the victorious Edward do not remember having seen any mention in history made of the French using Artillery at Cressy. Such then are a few remarks concerning the invention of gunpowder, they may be more interesting to the Artillerist, but I hope to a certain degree they will be interesting to all. POLYPHILUS. Thursday, March 7, 1844. |