unfortunate soldier trod upon the spot, the concealed mine blew up and seriously injured him; such petty warfare is as bad as shooting sentries, and a cruel application of science, that unnecessarily increases the miseries of war without producing those grand results for which the truly great captains, Wellington and Napoleon, only warred. (Fig. 115.) [Illustration: Fig. 115. A. Ring attached to balloon, carrying an hexagonal framework with six shells. B. Hollow fuse, which burns slowly up to the strings, and detaches each shell in succession. C. Section of shell. The shaded portion represents the gunpowder.] [Illustration: Fig. 116. The bill distributor, consisting of three hollow fuses, with bills attached in packets.] The bill distributor consists of a long piece of wood, to which are [Page 117] attached a number of hollow fuses, with packets of bills, protected from being burned or singed by a thin tin plate; 10,000 or 20,000 bills can thus be delivered, and the wind assists in scattering them, whilst the balloon travels over a distance of many miles. It must be recollected that in each case the shells and the bills are detached by the string burning away as the fire creeps up from the fuse. (Fig. 116.) Another most ingenious arrangement, also prepared by Mr. Darby, is termed by the inventor, the "Land and Water Signal," and may be thus described:--A short hollow ball of gutta-percha, or other convenient material, five or six inches in diameter, and filled with printed bills, or the information, whatever it may be, that is required to be sent, is attached to a cap to which a red flag, having the words "_Open the shell_" and four cross sticks, canes, or whalebones with bits of cork at equal distances, are fitted. The whole is connected by a string to the fuse as before described. These signals are adapted for land and water: in either case they fall upright, and in consequence of the sticks projecting out they float well in the water, and can be seen by a telescope at a distance of three miles. (Fig. 117.) Many of these signals were sent away by Mr. Darby from Vauxhall; one was picked up at Harwich, another at Brighton, a third at Croydon; in the latter case it was found by a cottager, who, fearing gunpowder and combustibles, did not examine the shell, but having mentioned the circumstance to a gentleman living near him, they agreed to cut it open; and intelligence of their arrival, in this and the other cases, was politely forwarded to Mr. Darby at Vauxhall Gardens. [Illustration: Fig. 117. The land and water signal, which remains upright on land, or floats on the surface of water. A. The water-tight gutta-percha shell, containing the message or information. B B B. Sticks of cane to keep the flag in an upright position; at the ends are attached cork bungs.]