_Master Gunner_.—“But now thou shalt not. Be thou rul’d by me: Chief Master Gunner am I of this town; Something I must do to procure me grace. The Prince’s espials have informed me, How the English, in the suburbs close intrench’d, Wont, through a secret grate of iron bars In yonder tower, to overpeer the city; And thence discover how, with most advantage, They may vex us, with shot, or with assault. To intercept this inconvenience, A piece of ordnance ’gainst it I have plac’d; And fully even these three days have I watch’d If I could see them.” SHAKESPEARE’S _Henry VI._ part 1, act i. scene 4. (_Before Orleans_.) IT is a fact admitted by historians, that in the reign of King Edward III., the English, not unfrequently, made use of cannons in sieges, during their wars with the French; but whether they ever used them in the open field, in the fourteenth century, as has been asserted, is a point which may well be doubted. History is replete with instances of the extreme caution and reluctance, with which the English adopt innovations upon ancient customs, even when recommended by the probability of improvement. Their implicit belief in the excellence of the long bow, and the proud recollection of the splendid victories which they had obtained by means of it, would, for a considerable period of time, render it a useless task, to attempt to convince them, of the superiority of the newly discovered military engines. Until their efficacy had been often proved, their shape and workmanship had attained some degree of perfection, and the artificers employed in their production, had become sufficiently skilful, to make different kinds and sizes, one description of which was portable, and was eventually called Hand Cannon, Hand Gun, or Hand Culverin, and, subsequently, Harquebuss, Arquebuse, Haquebut, Hackbut and Hagbut, the origin of the modern Musket, the advantages of the recently discovered engines of war, would be very slow in disclosing themselves; and would by no means be sufficiently obvious, to induce a warlike nation, precipitately to admit them into general use. The change in the art of war, by the application of gunpowder to military purposes, was extremely slow and gradual. If any person, ignorant of, or not reflecting upon, that circumstance, should ask, at what period the ancient weapons were laid aside, and firearms introduced in their stead; the answer is readily and correctly given. There never was such a period. More than two centuries elapsed, after the common application of gunpowder to warlike purposes in Europe, before the English and the other European nations, entirely relinquished the use of bows and arrows, and in lieu of them, but by slow degrees adopted the use of firearms.