19. Two French field-pieces, taken at the battle of Hochstadt, in 1704, in which the French had 12,000 men killed, 5000 wounded, and more than 20,000 taken prisoners. 20. An iron cannon of the first invention, being bars of iron hammered together, and hooped from top to bottom with iron hoops, to prevent its bursting. It has no carriage, but was to be moved from place to place by means of fix rings fixed to it at proper distances. 21. A huge mortar, weighing upwards of 6000 weight, and throwing a fhell of 500 weight two, miles: this mortar was fired fo often against Namure in king William's time, that the very touch-hole is melted for want of giving it time to cool. This fiege is one of the most memorable in hiftory. The place was thought to be impregnable, and yet taken from a compleat army within, headed by a marshal of France, in the fight of 100,000 men without, that came to relieve it. Lord Cutts commanded the English at the general affault of the Castle, where he acquired the name of the English falamander; scarce an officer or foldier in his corps came off unhurt; the greatest part fell in the action, than which none was ever more desperate. 22. A fine twisted brafs cannon, 12 feet long, made in Edward the VIth's time, called queen Elizabeth's pocket piftol, which your guides, by way of joke, will tell you fhe used to wear on her right fide when the rode a hunting. 23. Two brafs cannon, three bores each, carrying fix pounders, taken by the duke of Marlborough, at the battle of Ramilies. Here the famous French houfhold troops, which had been boafted of as impenetrable, were totally defeated and ruined: The French French had 8000 men killed, and 6000 taken prifoners. 23. A mortar that throws nine fhells at a time; out of which the balloons were fired at the late fireworks. 24. A very curious brafs cannon, finely carved, weight 52 c. 3 qrs. 18 lb. carrying 24 pounders, with lord Ligonier's coat of arms upon it, and the names of his majefty's principal officers of ordnance, as under, The Right honourable John Lord Viscount Ligoner, mafter-general. The moft honourable John marquis of Granby, lieutenant-general. The honourable Sir Charles Frederick, Knight of the Bath, furveyor-general. The honourable Rawlinfon Earl, Efq; Charles Cocks, Efq; Befides thofe above enumerated, there are in this ftore-room, a vaft number of brafs cannon, all new; together with sponges, ladles, rammers, hand-fpikes, wadhooks, &c. wherewith the walls are lined all round; and under the ceiling there hangs on poles upwards of 4000 harnefs for horfes, befides mens harnefs, drag-ropes, &c. This room, which is at leaft 380 feet in length, 50 wide, and 24 high, has a paffage in the middle 16 feet wide, on each fide of which the artillery are placed. In it are 20 pillars for fupporting the fmall armory above; all hung round with implements of war; and befides the trophies of standards, colours, &c. taken from the enemy, it is now adorned with the tranfparent and well-coloured pictures brought hither from the fireworks played off at the conclufion of the laft peace. Of ( HER Of the HORSE Armory. ERE the fpectator is entertained with a perfect representation of those illuftrious kings and heroes of our own nation, of whofe gallant actions he has heard and read fo much; all of them equipped and fitting on horfeback, in the fame bright and fhining armour they were used to wear at the very time when thofe glorious deeds were performed, which will be for ever remembered to their praife. But not to anticipate the reader's curiofity.In afcending the ftair-case, just as you come to the landing-place, by cafting your eye inward, you'll fee the figure of a grenadier in his accoutrements, as if upon duty, with his piece refting upon his arm, which at firft glance you will be apt to mistake for real life, fo admirably has the painter difcovered the excellence of his art in the representation of this centinel. Having entered the room, you firft behold a great number of iron caps and breaft-plates, most of which were in ufe in the late war; but the only one that was wont to be fhewn as a curiofity, hangs upon a beam on the left hand as you pass thro' the entry; it has had the lower edge of the left fide carried away by a flant fhot of a cannon-ball; and, as an old warder ufed to tell the story, the rim of the man's belly that wore it, and part of his bowels, were carried away at the fame time; notwithstanding which, being put under the care of a fkilful furgeon, the man recovered, and lived ten years afterwards. This story the old warder conftantly told to all ftrangers, till his late Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales coming to fee the curiofities in the Tower, and it falling to the old man's lot to attend his Highness; when he came to his breastplate, he repeated to him his accustomed tale; His C Royal Royal Highness liftened to him with feeming pleafure, and when he had done, looking upon him with a fmile: And what, friend, fays he, is there fo extraordinary in all this? I remember myfelf to have read in a book, of a foldier who had his head cleft in two fo dextroufly by the enemy, that one half of it fell on one shoulder, and the other half of it on the oppofite shoulder; and yet, on his comrade's clapping the two fides nicely together again, and binding them close with his handkerchief, the man did well, drank his pot of ale at night, and scarcely recollected that ever he had been hurt.-This fimilar story so seasonably applied, put all the company that attended his Royal Highnefs into a horse laugh; which fo dafhed the old warder that he never had courage to tell his story again, fo that the poor battered breast-plate has lain unnoticed ever fince. I have already faid, that the breaft-plates here laid up, were almost all in use in the late war; but they were not thought necessary at first, till the want of them was felt at the battle of Dettingen, when the black musketeers of the enemy being covered with their cuiraffes, (the fame piece of armour with the addition of a back-piece) pierced the very lines of our army, and rode up undaunted to the muzzles of our guns, till being flanked by our foot, and ill fupported by their own troops, they were forced to retreat, tho' with an inconfiderable lofs, confidering their defperate attempt. This plainly difcovered the great ufe of breast-plates, and orders were fent to England for the immediate embarkation of all that were in the Tower fit for service. In the wars of queen Anne, there was the fame omiffion, till the duke of Marlborough being convinced of the difadvantage his horfe fought under against an enemy entrenched, as it were, in iron; fent lord Cadogan over, who went himself to the Tower, and chofe out out as many breaft and back-plates as he could find' for his purpose; but the duke would not fuffer the latter to be worn, being, as he said, an useless incumbrance; for he was fure his men would never fhew their backs to the enemy. Most of those breastplates are mufquet-proof; they are quilted on the infide, and fo contrived as to cover the whole trunk of the body, and yet, by the manner of fixing them on, are very little trouble to the wearer. There are likewife to be feen here a great many cuiraffes taken from the French, out of a ship called the Holy Ghost, and marked Torras, perhaps the admiral's name. What has been faid above is rather by way of remark than description.---When you enter the room, the first thing your conductor presents to your notice is, 1. The figures of the horfe and foot, on your left hand, fuppofed to be drawn up in military order to attend the kings on the other fide of the houfe; thefe figures are as big as the life, and have lately been painted, and look indeed very noble. 2. A large tilting lance of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, King Henry the VIIIth's general in France. -This nobleman excelled at the then fashionable diverfion of tilting, and engaging King Henry VII. who was likewife paffionately fond of that royal exercife, gave the king fuch a fhock with his fpear, that had like to have coft him his life.-The Duke's valour had indeed been fufficiently tried in France, when he attended Princess Mary of England on her marriage with Lewis the XIIth.-On this occafion, Francis de Volois, prefumptive heir to the crown of France, being willing to give fome proof of his valour, caufed jufts to be proclaimed; thefe jufts continued three days, in which 305 men at arms were anfwered, C 2 by |