takes any service, but none after he has undertaken it. There was something almost prophetic in this his dying description of the combined caution and courage which ulti-Majesty at Windsor, and returned with the me plied: 'I never take anything unkind that is mately carried on to victory the task that he was leaving incomplete. But this interview and these topics were more than his strength could bear. He fainted away before Lord Wellesley had left the room. Lord Welles-spoke a good deal concerning a private letter 6 ed, with more philosophy. He was not much for delicacies at any time,' he told the Speaker; but there were some he found who felt a difficulty while the reports were so very strong of Mr. Pitt's extreme state." It was but seven months more, and he was lying in the same state himself. * He ley saw that the hand of death was upon him, and warned Lord Grenville of what was himself, East; ah! that will do; that will coming. He received the fatal intelligence bring him quick:' at other times seemed to be in an agony of tears, and immediately deter- in conversation with a messenger, and sometimes mined that all hostility in Parliament should be cried out 'Hear, hear!' as if in the House of suspended.' Such is Lord Wellesley's account Commons. During the time he did not speak of the effect of the intelligence upon Pitt's he moaned considerably, crying, O dear! O former colleague. His ancient rival Fox Lord!' Towards twelve the rattles came in his received it, if his own account may be trust-throat, and proclaimed approaching dissolution. Sir Walter, the Bishop, Charles, and my sister fatigue. At one [Jan. 23] a Mr. South arrived were lying down on their beds, overcome with from town in a chaise, bringing a vial of hartshorn oil, a spoonful of which he insisted on Mr. Pitt's taking, as he had known it recover people in the last agonies. Remonstrance as to its certain inefficacy was useless, and on Sir W. saying that it could be of no detriment, we poured a couple of spoonfuls down Mr. Pitt's throat. It produced no effect but a little convulsive cough. In about half an hour Mr. South returned to town; at about half-past two Mr. Pitt ceased moaning, and did not speak or make the slightest sound for some time, as his extremities were then growing chilly. I feared he was dying; but shortly afterwards, with a much clearer voice than he spoke in before, and in a tone I never shall forget, he exclaimed, Oh, my country! how I leave my country!' From that time he never spoke or moved, and at half-past four expired without a groan or struggle. His strength being quite exhausted, his life departed like a candle burning out.' The closing scene is best described in the words of Lord Stanhope's uncle, who stood by the side of the death-bed : "After this was concluded, Mr. Pitt begged to be left alone, and he remained composed and apparently asleep for two or three hours. Doctors Baillie and Reynolds arrived about three, and gave as their opinion that Mr. Pitt could not live above twenty-four hours. Our own feeling in losing our only protector, who had reared us with more than parental care, I need not attempt to describe. From Wednesday morning I did not leave his room except for a few minutes till the time of his death, though I did not allow him to see me, as I felt myself unequal to the dreadful scene of parting with him, and feared (although he was given over) that the exertion on his part might hasten the dreadful event which now appeared inevitable. Hester applied for leave to see him, but was refused. Taking, however, the opportunity of Sir Walter's being at dinner, she went into Mr. Pitt's room. Though even then wandering a little, he immediately recollected her, and with his usual angelic mildness wished her future happiness, and gave her a most solemn blessing and affectionate farewell. On her leaving the room I entered it, and for some time afterwards Mr. Pitt continued to speak of her, and several times repeated, 'Dear soul, I know she loves me! Where is Hester? Is Hester gone? In the evening Sir Walter gave him some champagne, in hopes of keeping up for a time his wasting and almost subdued stren th; and as Mr. Pitt seemed to feel pain in swallowing it, owing to the thrush in his throat, Sir Walter said: I am sorry, Sir, to give you pain. Do not take it unkind.' Mr. Pitt, with that mildness which adorned his private life, re Pitt's last exclamation, 'Oh, my country! how I leave my country!' is printed in the work before us how I love my country!' But we understand that, since the publication of his work, Lord Stanhope has discovered an earlier copy from the blotted and blurred MS., in which leave,' and not 'love,' is the reading. As far as internal evidence goes, there cannot be a doubt. The one is slightly melodramatic, and by no means natural in a man who carried the repression of feeling to an excess the other sums up with eloquent conciseness the circumstances which cast a gloom, deeper than the gloom of death, over the dying statesman's thoughts. Though it has hitherto rested on no very distinct authority, it has always been the popular belief, that Pitt died with the exclamation 'Oh, my country!' upon his lips. It is strange that Lord Macaulay should have treated the tradition with ridicule, and dismissed it as a fable.' There can be no doubt of its substantial authenticity now; but it was so true to the nature and the past career of the great Minister, that the wonder is that it should have ever been disbelieved. It was mournfully in character with a life devoted to his country as few lives have been. Since his first entry into the world he had been absolutely hers. For her he had foregone the enjoyments of youth, the ties of family, the hope of fortune. For three-and-twenty years his mind had moulded her institutions, and had shaped her destiny. It was an agonizing thought for his dying pillow, that he had ruled her almost absolutely, and that she had trusted him without hesitation and without stint, and that this was the end of it all. At his bidding the most appalling sacrifices had been made in vain; and now he was leaving her in the darkest hour of a terrible reverse, and in the presence of the most fearful foe whom she had ever been called upon to confront. Such thoughts might well wring from him a cry of mental anguish, even in the convulsions of death. It was not given to him to know how much he had contributed to the final triumph. Long after his feeble frame had been laid near his father's grave, his policy continued to animate the councils of English statesmen, and the memory of his lofty and inflexible spirit encouraged them to endure. After eleven more years of suffering, Europe was rescued from her oppressor by the measures which Pitt had advised, and the long peace was based upon the foundations which he had laid. But no such consoling vision cheered his death-bed. His fading powers could trace no ray of light across the dark and troubled future. The leaders had not yet arisen, who, through unexampled constancy and courage, were to attain at last to the glorious deliverance towards which he had pointed the way, but which his eyes were never permitted even in distant prospect to behold. ART. VIII.--1. Shot-proof Gun-Shields as adapted to Iron-Cased Ships for National Defence. By Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, RN. London, 1861. 2. Second Report of the Royal Commissioners on the National Defences. London. 3. What is good Iron, and how is it to be got? By R. H. Cheney. London, 1862. THE civil war now raging in America seems destined to furnish Europe with a series of surprises which defy the calculations of our most sagacious politicians, and at first sight appear to set at nought all the experience hitherto gained in the wars on this side of the Atlantic. The war itself, not only in its origin but in its duration, has been of a nature that no one anticipated; and even at this moment the most experienced statesmen are as unable to predict when or how it may end as they were to foresee its commencement. The siege, if it may be so called, of Fort Sumter, which was the first event of the war, is unlike anything that is known to have occurred in Enrope. We have no record of a powerful casemated fort in the sea being forced to surrender to the attacks of batteries situated on the shore before a breach was made or a single gun dismounted; and, what is more wonderful still, before a single man was killed or even wounded on the side either of the attack or the.defence. The battle of Bull's Run, which was the next great event, is equally without a parallel in the annals of European warfare; and so, too, is the duel recently fought between the two iron-plated vessels at the mouth of the James River. This duel was, so far as we know, almost as bloodless as the siege of Fort Sumter, and, if not so momentous in its political consequences, it is yet well worthy of the most attentive consideration of all persons interested in military matters. We could afford to smile at the siege of Fort Sumter, and did not think that any knowledge was gained through that event, as to the advantage of defensive works. The battle of Bull's Run was looked upon as so exceptional that no one attempted to draw any military conclusion from its phenomena. But the action between the 'Merrimac' and the Monitor' has aroused the attention of Englishmen almost as much as the affair of the Trent;' and the fight has been discussed, both in Parliament and out of doors, with a degree of interest and an amount of excite ment scarcely surpassed by the announcement of the seizure of the Confederate envoys from under the protection of the British flag. The difference, however, in the manner in which the two controversies have been conducted is striking in the extreme. There are few Englishmen who are not capable of forming a sound judgment, when they give themselves the trouble of thinking, regarding a point in which the national honour is concerned; and the unanimity and good sense shown by the whole people on the first occa sion was as striking as it was honourable and creditable to us as a nation. Unfortunately, however, there are very few persons who have the special knowledge which is requi site to draw any satisfactory conclusions from an unusual and complicated military event, or who are competent to give an opinion on the | lowered her line of flotation, as was intended, recent experiment of fight between two some three or four feet, so that her armour iron-plated vessels. The consequence is that extended to that distance below the waterpanic has seized the public mind. Every-line; but her port-sills were also brought so thing is considered as known, everything as low as to render it extremely doubtful how settled, by this one action. Both in Parlia- she would behave in the open sea, or with ment and outside, the most violent opinions any swell on. have been asserted in the most dogmatic manner, and Ministers have been forced by the clamour to give way against their conviction on matters nearly concerning the interests and the safety of the country. Had Parliament not been sitting at the moment, had more time been allowed for reflection, or for obtaining more accurate information, the result would probably have been different; but while things are in this position it may be well worth while to examine the details of the fight in Hampton Roads a little more closely than has hitherto been done, and to see if any modicum of real knowledge can be extracted from the vague and scanty intelligence which has yet reached us. The first vessel that took a part in this memorable action was the 'Merrimac'-since called the Virginia'-originally one of six first-class wooden frigates, built by the Americans in or about the year 1855. The 'Minnesota' and the 'Roanoke,' which also appeared on the scene of action, are sister vessels; their tonnage ranging between 3400 and 3600 tons, and equal to that of a first-rate line-of-battle-ship. (The tonnage of our 'Duke of Wellington,' 130 guns, is only 3776 tons.) They were all screw-steamers of the most improved class, and it was to match them that our Orlandos' and 'Merseys,' and other vessels of that description, were constructed. The Merrimac' was sunk and supposed to be destroyed by the Federal officers, when the confederates took possession of the naval yard at Norfolk. She was, however, afterwards raised and converted into an ironplated vessel of the most formidable descrip tion for inland defence. So far as can be made out from the very imperfect descriptions which have reached this country, it seems that her top sides and upper deck were entirely removed flush with the gun-deck, and for these a casing of iron was substituted, sloping inwards at an angle of 45 degrees. This coating must consequently have extended some feet beyond the original sides of the ship at the water-line, to which it was carried, on the assumption that she floated to her original depth. Upwards it extended to the level of the original upper-deck, which was considerably narrowed, and was also covered with thin plates of iron. The weight of all this additional armour being considerably in excess of the portions removed, and for which it was substituted, seems to have Her armament consisted of twelve guns, so disposed that four or five of them were broadside-guns on each side, and either two or one facing forward and aft in the direction of the keel. The accounts are not quite clear on this point, which is in fact of very little consequence. The broadside guns were 11-inch Dahlgrens; the fore and aft guns seem to have been rifled, though on what system is by no means clear. In addition to these she was fitted with two prongs or rostra, projecting from the bow, it is said, like ploughshares. These were intended to run into and pierce any vessel she might be engaged with; and from the use made of them they appear to have been as much or more depended on by her officers than even the armament detailed above. Thus fitted and equipped, the Merrimac' left her moorings at 11 o'clock on the 8th of March last, and steamed down the James River to Hampton Roads, at the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay. Here she found two frigates belonging to the Federal navy, lying at anchor, the Cumberland,' a sloop of 24 guns and 1726 tons, built in 1842, and the Congress,' by some said to be the old 'Congress' of our war with the United States, by others to have been built in 1841,-at all events bearing 50 guns, though only 1867 tons burthen. Both were sailing vessels, and, as may be supposed from these particulars, neither of the first class, and the guns of the Congress' at least must have been of very small calibre to enable so small a vessel to carry so many of them. On approaching the Federal squadron the Merrimac' seems to have singled out the Cumberland' for her first victim, and, after firing once or twice into her from her bowguns, ran straight at her, and gave her the stem' immediately abreast of the foremast. She then rounded off, firing shell from her broadside-guns into her adversary; and, having gained a sufficient offing, again ran into her right amidships; on both occasions making such holes in her sides below the waterline as to insure her destruction, even without the assistance of the shells, which scem, however, to have spread havoc and destruction wherever they struck the vessel. While thus engaged with the Cumberland,' the 'Merrimac' seems also to have fired occasional shot and shell into the 'Congress;' and having completed the destruction of the former vessel, she turned her serious attention | inches,* its height 9 feet, and it is composed to her consort. A few rounds, however, and of eight thicknesses of one-inch plates of the example of what she had just witnessed, rolled iron. It stands on a turn-table, which convinced the latter that resistance was hope- is moved by steam-power between decks, and less, and she hauled down her flag and sur- is armed with two Dahlgren guns, placed side rendered, not one moment too soon,-as a by side, and firing through two narrow portvery few minutes more would have sufficed holes in the side of the tower. These are for her entire destruction from the shells of further protected by shields and pendulums, the Merrimac,' without the necessity of any intended to prevent the entrance of the ene attempt to run into her. my's projectiles when the guns are withdrawn. 6 Having destroyed these two vessels, the 'Merrimac' seems to have amused herself for some time in playing at long bowls with the shore batteries, and neglected her opportunity of destroying the Minnesota,' which she could easily have done, as the latter had run aground in coming to the assistance of her consorts, and lay at the mercy of the shells of the Merrimac,' though of course out of reach of her prow, which at that time the officers seem to have considered their most powerful weapon of offence. As night approached the 'Merrimac' retired, either to refit or to replenish her ammunition; feeling no doubt perfectly secure, from the experience of the day, that the rest of the Federal squadron would fall an easy prey on the morrow. Most fortunately, however, for the honour of the Federal flag a new competitor had appeared on the scene of action before the day dawned, in the form of the now celebrated Monitor;' which was able not only to check the 'Merrimac's' career of victory, but almost to turn the tables against her. According to the accounts we have received, the Monitor' is a vessel 172 feet long over all, and 41 feet 4 inches in extreme breadth. Internally she is a complete iron vessel, composed of plates of half an inch in thickness. Over this, to the depth of some three feet below the water-level, is a coating of 26 inches of oak, and over this again a five-inch rolled plate of iron. The composition of her sides seems consequently to be almost identical with that of the Warrior,' the weight of iron being nearly the same, though with a slight difference in the mode in which it is disposed, but with eight inches more wood: these, however, seem an unnecessary incumbrance. Her deck is planked with seven inches of timber, over which is one inch of iron, and she floats with her deck only two feet above the water; and may be more appropriately called a raft or a barge than a ship, it being evident that she could hardly live in a sea-way. No sooner had the 'Merrimac' appeared on the scene of action on the following morning than the gallant little Monitor' proceeded to encounter her, and for five hours the combat raged between these two strangelooking antagonists. During the course of it the Merrimac' endeavoured to run down or pierce the sides of the Monitor,' but, so far as we now know, with singularly little success, having injured herself in the attempt much more than she did her enemy. She also tried boarding, but equally in vain. Every opening was closed with iron gratings, and no hole left for the boarders to enter; while the tower could be turned round so as to sweep the deck either way. Towards Foiled in these attempts, the vessels contented themselves with a cannonade, which appears to have been almost as innocuous on either hand as the celebrated fight that caused the surrender of Fort Sumter. evening the action ceased, and both vessels withdrew, each satisfied of the impregnability of the other. During its continuance, howe ver, the Merrimac' had fired occasional shots at the shore batteries, or at the Minnesota.' เ What surprises us most in this, as in every other action of this great war, is the want of dash and energy shown by the commanders on either side. Why did not the Merrimac,' when she found she was invulnerable, and that the Monitor' could do her no damage, turn at once to the Minnesota' or 'St. Lawrence,' and destroy them with her shells? or why did she not at once steam up the Potomac, break down the Long Bridge, throw her shells into the capital on the one hand, and the Federal camp on the other? Such an action might have had some influence on the fate of the war, and here was a golden opportunity that may not soon occur again. Why, on the other hand, did not the invulnerable Monitor' try the same thing at Richmond? Up to the date of the latest accounts neither has attempted anything further; so, while the combatants are reposing The great peculiarity, however, of her structure is the tower or turret, which rises *If only breech-loading guns were used, a much above the deck in the centre. This is de- smaller turret would suffice; but one immense advantage of the Ericsson turret' over the 'Coles scribed as in appearance like a small gaso-shield' is, that it admits of the use of muzzle loadmeter. Its external diameter is 21 feet 6 ing guns, which the other does not. News. The experience gained from this most remarkable encounter may be conveniently examined under four separate heads : on their laurels and recovering their breath, I she failed signally, and did herself more inlet us try what crumbs of information we jury than she did to her adversary. After all, can gather from the late action of Newport however, the question is probably an idle one. We can hardly fancy the circumstances in which a steamer, unless disabled, should allow herself to be run into in this manner. Putting the helm up or down-forging ahead, or backing astern, any manoeuvre would prevent it, so it is scarcely likely to occur as between iron steam-ships in action. As against wooden ships it is useless, for it cannot now be denied that horizontal shell-firing has sealed the doom of wooden ships of war, and our second head of inquiry is thus finally disposed of. 1. As regards the use of iron-plated vessels as rams. 2. As to the effect of horizontal shell-firing against wooden ships. 3. As to the experience gained from an action between two iron-coated men-of-war; and 4. As regards the probable results of an action between an iron-plated vessel and a fort; the latter being the point on which it has been considered as decisive in this country, though, strangely enough, it is the only point of the four in which the action affords us no direct information whatever. With regard to the first branch of the subject, the result, so far as it goes, seems to be adverse to the idea of using iron-plated vessels as rams. It did not require this action to tell us that the bilge is the weakest -the stem the strongest part of any vessel; and that if any ship of 3500 tons caught one less than half her size at anchor, and chose to run full tilt at her side, she would certainly drive it in and sink her. Unfortunately we have already too much. experience of this sort. In our own river Thames, even little penny steamers have an unpleasant knack of running their noses against sailing-vessels twice or three times their size, and with the uniform result of piercing their sides. The only unexpected feature is that the attacking vessel not only receives no injury in her prow, but that neither her engines nor any part of her moving gear are deranged by the shock. It is extremely probable that if any wooden screw line-of-battle ship or frigate ran full tilt against the side of another vessel of equal, or even of superior weight and power, she would sink her. This, however, is a point on which naval men are by no means agreed; but, supposing it granted, it by no means follows that the addition of an iron beak gives to an iron vessel an additional advantage at all in proportion to the immense increase of strength which is certainly gained by the iron-plating and stronger construction of that class of war ships, and it is consequently by no means clear that they will be successful as rams. What the present experiment teaches us,-if it teaches anything,--is that when one iron vessel especially fitted for the purpose tried to run down another of about half her size, Those who have had opportunities of fol lowing the progress made in this branch of artillery practice since the Russian war have long been absolutely convinced that it only required one naval action to settle the question for ever. In the 216th Number of this Journal (October, 1860), an article appeared describing the various means of destruction which had been invented for this purpose, and pointing out the utter impossibility of using wooden vessels for fighting in the present state of naval science. To use the emphatic expression of Sir John Hay, in speaking in his place in Parliament on this subject, 'the man who goes into action in a wooden vessel is a fool, and the man that sends him there a villain.' Although all this was perfectly well known to the initiated long ago, the advantage gained through the American action is incalculable. The public now believe what before was accepted only by men of science. Notwithstanding all that wonderful tenacity of faith in the ancient ways which is characteristic of a British Admiralty, their wooden idols must now at last be abandoned. Although it is reported that the dock-yard authorities have bought and converted more timber during the last financial year than they ever did before, they too must be sacrificed. The public now know that a wooden man-ofwar is a mere box of lucifer matches, and that the first shell fired into it explodes the whole. The question has passed from the region of theory into the domain of fact, and woe to those who refuse to be taught by such experience. But it is needless to reiterate what was said a year and a-half ago as clearly and as strongly as it could now be put. We now come to the third branch of the inquiry, and we feel that we should require to know more than we yet do of the construction of the two vessels engaged, before it would be justifiable to hazard any very positive opinion on the subject. It appears, |