444 
MINUTES OP PROCEEDINGS OF 
was a bright and genial day in early spring, succeeded by the redoubled 
horrors of winter, when “ those tender buds and early blossoms which were 
called forth by the transient gleam of temporary sunshine, are nipped by 
frosts and torn by tempests.” 1 
Under the able direction of the king, the mobility of his light artillery far 
more than compensated for its enfeebled fire; but when he died, he was suc¬ 
ceeded by mere military drudges, incapable alike of rising above everyday 
routine, or of grasping the idea of mobility. The staff of Goliath had fallen 
into the hands of an ordinary mortal. Those who came after Gustavus 
Adolphus were powerless to wield the leather guns; the leather guns fell into 
disuse; the importance of mobility was forgotten; and another century of 
darkness, illumined by only an occasional gleam of light, closed round the 
course of field artillery. 
Shorecliefe, 
27th November, 1869. 
1 Wharton’s “History of English Poetry.’ 
