2. Hand-guns came into use somewhat later than cannon, but in the times of the Tudors they gradually superseded the bow and arrow. Henry VIII. was much opposed to the change, for the English archer excelled all others in his art. Excellence is never a mere accident. It was due, in this case, to a long and careful training begun in boyhood and enforced by law. Fathers and masters of apprentices were obliged to teach the lads under their care the use of the bow, to provide them with weapons suited to their strength, and to compel them to practise at stated times. Our forefathers have set us an excellent example. If Old England is to ward off all danger from her shores, and to hold her proud place among the nations, she must see that her lads are in like manner provided with rifles suited to their strength, and encouraged to practise regularly at the target. Lads' Brigades and Cadet Corps must become the order of the day. 3. The use of gunpowder made sweeping changes in the art of warfare, just as smokeless powder and quick-firing rifles and guns are doing to-day. Both the archer and the mailed knight disappeared. The old castles became quite useless as fortresses, and the barons in consequence lost much of their old power. In the reign of Henry VII. we find them, for the first time, quite unable to stand up against the king, who took care to keep in his own possession the only great guns in the kingdom, much in the same way as in India, at the present day, we are careful to keep the artillery wholly in the hands of British soldiers. 4. Gunpowder is a great leveller. It puts the weak and strong, the short and tall more nearly on a level. It is the men, small or large, who can shoot straight that are likely to win the battle. As soon as fire-arms displaced the bow and arrow, success in battle no longer turned mainly upon the valour of the gentlemen in armour, but upon the right handling and steady discipline of the rank and file. A volley of shots from a line of common soldiers could scatter death and disorder among the ranks of the bravest knights in armour. The gentlemen-at-arms soon found that their armour was only an encumbrance, and that its proper place was on the walls of their grand old halls, or, for people to look at, in some public gallery, like that in the Tower of London. The sword and the lance still hold their ground, but there are many signs that the rifle will soon supplant them in actual warfare.