There was a Northumberland English longbow still to the fore early in the present century, and the late Mr. Matthew Culley of Akeld, in a letter to the Newcastle Society, dated Nov. 26, 1814, wrote concerning it: “This bow had long been used by the hereditary bowmen of Wark Castle. It is described as having been formed of various coloured wood inlaid together, and of great length and strength. From the joining of different sorts of wood very valuable properties are derived, which are well known to mechanics, and more especially to ship-builders. This weapon, so dreadful in the hands of its ancient possessors, being no longer in request, was consigned to the children as a plaything.” There is an English longbow at Dover Castle. The longbow continued in use long after the introduction of firearms, but was practically superseded by the harquebus in the sixteenth century. Though used at the siege of Rochelle in 1627, its reputation had sunk so low in the reign of Charles I. that that king granted two commissions under the great seal for enforcing its use, and another to prohibit the enclosure of fields near London, which would have had the effect of interfering with the practice of archery. A curious fact in connection with the longbow is that Benjamin Franklin proposed in 1776 to equip the colonial forces with the weapon. PART XIX. THE CROSSBOW. The Latin equivalent is _arcus balistarius_ or _balista manualis_. The weapon does not appear on the Bayeux tapestry, but the Princess Anna Comnena, who calls it “tzangara,” mentions it as forming part of the armament of the Crusaders, late in the eleventh century; and that it was in use by English and French soldiers in the twelfth century is shown by a bull of Pope Innocent II. in 1139, which fulminates against its barbarity, and only sanctions its use in warfare with the infidel, meaning thereby all nations still unconverted to Christianity. Such prohibitions were, however, soon brushed aside, like others of a similar character both before and since. Guillaume Guiart, writing towards the end of the thirteenth century in the _Branche des Royaux Leguages_, mentions the weapon as being in use at the battle of “Haringues” in 1297. The first form was a simple hand crossbow, which consisted of a steel bow let into a stock which was strung for use by the action of the left foot and right hand, and discharged by a trigger, which probably gave rise to the lock of the hand-gun. During the second half of the thirteenth century various mechanical contrivances were adopted, which, while materially increasing the projective power, rendered the weapon much more unwieldy. The crossbow was in constant use during the fourteenth century, when the Genoese made it a speciality, and the services of these mercenaries were in great request in the wars of the period; it was, however, never a favourite weapon in England. At the battle of Creçy the English army