THE APRIL BOMBARDMENT. 135 an assault by the French was substantially rais- chap. ing a bar against any assault at all; and on the '— whole, with our newly gained knowledge of the Imperial devices which thus clogged and ham- pered the action of both the besieging armies, we see, and see in good time (so as thus to escape disappointment) that — because never meant by the Emperor to be firmly spelt out to the end — this merely penultimate measure of a great cannonade will achieve no decisive results. We shall have to observe the performance; but the narrative of its progress and sequel will rather complete our knowledge of General Mel's ' mission ' than bring us perceptibly nearer to any moment- ous crisis. II. In preparing, however, to execute this long- Prepara- L i ait i i ii tion for tin designed cannonade the Allies had expended April can- ° it nonade. great efforts, undertaking to deliver their fire with 501 pieces of ordnance which (except thirty-seven of them) were all of great calibre ; * and for the service of all this artillery, they had accumulated a vast supply of ammunition. Of the 501 pieces only 123 were English, the rest being, all of them, French ; t but, in aggregate weight of metal, the difference was less; for computed in that way the proportion of the
- Niel, pp. 187-190. Table printed in Journal of the Royal
Artillery, or rather in its Appendix, p. 205. f 1 believe that on the first day the English opened with only 101 guns.
