men in each army has been put forward by historians as giving the
most accurate idea of their fighting value; and in modern times,
nearly all of these men have been armed with muskets only.

It has been said already that the main reason why the invention
of gunpowder was so important was that it put into the hands of
man a tremendous mechanical power compressed into a very small
space, which man could use or not use at his will. This idea may
be expressed by saying that gunpowder combines power and great
controllability. But it was soon discovered that this gunpowder,
put into a tube with a bullet in front of it, could discharge that
bullet in any given direction. A musket was the result, and it
combined the three requisites of a weapon--mechanical power,
controllability, and directability.

While the loaded gun is perhaps the clearest example of the combination
of the three factors we are speaking of, the moving ship supplies
the next best example. It has very much greater mechanical power;
and in proportion to its mass, almost as much controllability and
directability.

The control and direction of a moving ship are very wonderful things;
but the very ease with which they are exercised makes us overlook
the magnitude of the achievement and the perfection of the means
employed. It may seem absurd to speak of one man controlling and
directing a great ship, but that is pretty nearly what happens
sometimes; for sometimes the man at the wheel is the only man on
board doing anything at all; and he is absolutely directing the
entire ship. At such times (doubtless they are rare and short)
the man at the wheel on board, say the _Vaterland_, is directing