Then
the small artillery cried _tik-tak, tik-tak, tik-tak_ (something like
the rattle of machine-guns, only very much slower).
The cannons of those days seem like mere pop-guns to those who knew the
British Grand Fleet that swept the Germans off the sea. But the best
guns Drake used against the Spanish Armada in 1588 were not at all bad
compared with those that Nelson used at Trafalgar in 1805. There is
more change in twenty years now than there was in two hundred years
then. The chief improvements were in making the cannon balls fit
better, in putting the powder into canvas bags, instead of ladling it
in loose, and in fitting the guns with tackle, so that they could be
much more easily handled, fired, and aimed.
The change in ships during the sailing age was much greater than the
change in guns. More sails and better ones were used. The old
forecastle, once something really like a little castle set up on deck,
was made lower and lower, till it was left out altogether; though the
name remains to describe the front part of every ship, and is now
pronounced fo'c's'le or foxle.
Pages:
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113