Many of the cannon of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were remarkable for their beautiful and ornate character. A decorated Spanish cannon now preserved in the Paris Museum, is a fine example of these florid pieces, which were always cast of brass or mixed metal. Diego Ufano, in his treatise on Artillery, published in 1614, shows us the metallic mixtures of copper, tin, and brass, and the proportions of these, then used for cast pieces of cannon. The Russian arsenals are very rich in great and ancient cannon and others of historical interest. In front of the first arsenal at the Kremlin, are ranged a wonderful memorial of Napoleon's terrible retreat from Moscow, in the shape of no less than 875 pieces of captured ordnance; of these 365 are French, 189 are Austrian, 123 are Prussian, and the remainder bear the royal insignia of Italy, Naples, Bavaria, Saxony, Westphalia, Hanover, Spain, Würtemberg, Holland, and Poland. Many of these (says Sutherland Edwards) are inscribed with pretentious names that contrast strongly with their present humble position, such as the "Invincible," the "Conqueror," the "Eagle," and so forth. In front of the second arsenal is a wonderful collection of colossal cannon, ranged in a long line, with the shortest in the centre; thus their muzzles present a complete arc. The largest of these is a 4800-pounder, weighing, however, only forty tons! It has never been fired, and is only remarkable as a piece of casting. An inscription on it tells that it was cast by the Russian master-founder named Chokoff, in 1586, by order of the Czar Feodor, who in that year conquered Siberia (the way to which was discovered by the Cossack warrior Jermack), and of whom a clever representation, on horseback, with crown and sceptre, appears close to the muzzle. Beside it are six other large pieces, the smallest of which weighs nearly four tons.--("The Russians at Home.") About the end of the fifteenth century the following guns were in universal use:-- The Cannon-Royal . . . . . 48 pounder. " Bastard-Cannon . . . . 36 " " Half-Carthoun . . . . 24 " " Culverin . . . . . . . 18 " " Demi-Culverin . . . . 9 " " Falcon . . . . . . . . 6 " " Saker . . . . . . 6, 5, 8 " " Basilisk (also). . . . 48 " " Serpentine . . . . . . 4 " " Aspik . . . . . . . . 2 " " Dragon . . . . . . . . 6 " " Syren . . . . . . . . 60 " " Falconet . . . . . 3, 2, 1 " " Moyenne . . . . . . . 12 ounces By the middle of the seventeenth century, the largest cannon generally used in the field were 24-pounders, or others like the culverins of Nancy (18-pounders), so called from being first cast in that city; while the smallest were 6 and 3-pounders.