During the reign of Henry VI., the Parliament voted an army of 20,000 bow-men for service in France. The battle of St. Albans, 1455, seems to have been entirely won by the archers. Although fire-arms had attained no inconsiderable degree of perfection in the reign of Henry VIII., yet the long-bow was still the favourite weapon. Indeed, in the reign of Elizabeth, the musket was so unwieldy, and slow to charge and discharge, that the bow was considered superior by many. We find that Queen Elizabeth, 1572, engaged to furnish Charles IX. of France with 6,000 men, part to be armed with long, and part with cross-bows; and in the attack made by the English on the Isle of Ré, 1627, it is said some cross-bow-men were in the army. In 1643 a company of archers was raised for the service of Charles I.; and in a pamphlet printed in 1664, there is an account of the successes of the Marquis of Montrose against the Scots; and bow-men are repeatedly mentioned as in the battle. The Grenadiers of the Highland Regiments, in the time of William III., when recruiting, wore the old red bonnet, and carried bows and arrows with them. The Highland bow was very short, and by no means powerful. MERITS OF THE LONG BOW. ~Range of long-bow.~ ~Accuracy of long-bow.~ The English could not accomplish more than 600 yards, except on a few extraordinary occasions; our modern archers not more than from 300 to 500 yards. The Turkish ambassador when in England in 1795, sent an arrow upwards of 480 yards; and there are two or three instances on record since archery has been merely a pastime, which have exceeded it by twenty or thirty yards. It is said of Domitian, that he would cause one of his slaves to stand at a great distance with his hands spread as a mark, and would shoot his arrows so correctly as to drive them between his fingers. Commodus, with an arrow headed with a semi-circular cutting edge, could cut or sever the neck of a bird. The story of William Tell, who struck an apple placed upon his child’s head, is well known, and generally regarded in the light of an historical fact. It is stated that Robin Hood could split a hazel wand. ~Penetration of long-bow.~ In a journal of Edward VI., His Majesty relates that 100 archers of his guard shot before him two arrows each, and afterwards altogether. The object aimed at was a well-seasoned deal board, one inch thick. Many pierced it quite through, and some struck in a board on the other side. The distance is not mentioned, but we know that Henry VIII. prohibited any one above the age of 25 to shoot at a mark at a less distance than 200 yards. ~Advantages of the long-bow.~ The long-bow was light, inexpensive, and unaffected by weather, as the strings could be removed. Moreover, 12 arrows could be fired with accuracy in one minute. Two feathers in an arrow were to be white, and one brown or grey, and this difference in colour informed the archer in an instant how to place the arrow.