On the Attack and Defense of Fortresses

P R E F A C E.

have the leisure. It is for those well-versed in the Art to decide if this small Treatise measures up to the high reputation of its illustrious Author. He focused less on providing Rules than on reporting Experiences and Tests, although he has not absolutely neglected Theory; having, among other things, provided Tables for the charging of Mines, which may be of great utility. The method that the Author followed in its composition can justify the title that we give to this Collection. So that it could be joined to his Treatise on the Attack and Defense of Fortresses, it has been printed in the same typeface and in the same format as that Work, of which it naturally forms the Supplement. As for the Designs, they have been reduced into Plates with all possible attention: but as one was obliged to make use of several different scales for the Figures of a single Plate, so as not to overload the Work with useless expense; we believed we remedied this slight inconvenience sufficiently, if indeed it is one, by adding the measurement, or the number of feet, to each Figure. After that, one will not be surprised to find some whose dimensions appear larger than those of another which occupies less space, although it is larger in reality; but which would have started a new Plate, and consequently multiplied