“But why does a bombshell do more mischief than a cannon ball?”
“Because it is filled with combustible matter, and has a fuse to it, so that after sinking into the ground, which it does on account of the great height from which it falls, it bursts to pieces with great force, tearing up and destroying everything around it.”
“We understand now. A cannon ball is bad enough, but a bombshell must be dreadful.”
“As a fuller account of a siege and a storming party will be given you before I have done, it will be enough now to say, that to besiege a place is to encamp an army before it with the design to take it; and to storm a place is to enter it by force, breaking through all opposition.”
“A storming party must be a desperate affair, and a soldier had need have the heart of a lion.”
“True, boys, a soldier has need of a firm heart to go through what he has to endure; he is expected to be cool in the hottest engagement; to fire steadily though up to his knees in water; and to stand at ease, when required, under the galling grape-shot of an enemy’s battery.”
CHAPTER XI.
The tale-telling captain.—The heroic and kind-hearted officer.—The standard-bearer.—Flags.—The royal standard.—Flag of the lord high-admiral.—Flag of the admiral of the fleet.—Colours in the army.—Day signals.—Night signals.—Fog-signals.—Cipher flags and substitutes.—Telegraphs.—Alphabet for field signals.—Description of a sailor on shore.
“We want, uncle, to hear you go on in your account of soldiers and sailors. Now for a good long account.”