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See them haunting the scenes of their former splendor, in hopes of a restitution of estates, like ghosts haunting the vicinity of buried treasure; while around them you see the Young France, that have grown up in the fighting school of Napoleon; all equipped en militaire; tall, hardy, frank, vigorous, sunburned, fierce-whiskered; with tramping boots, towering crests, and glittering breast-plates.
We are also told that Cyprus furnished the iron breast-plates worn by Demetrius Poliorcetes; and in pre-Homeric times it was a Phoenician Cinyras who gave to Agamemnon his breast-plate of steel, gold, and tin. That more remains of iron arms and implements have not been found on Phoenician sites is probably owing to the rapid oxydisation of the metal, which consequently decays and disappears.
The warlike splendour of the men was characteristically picturesque, their chief decorations being breast-plates of gold and magnificent plumes for the head. They, too, employed as weapons darts, bows and arrows, clubs, lances, and slings. The fate of the Chibchas was, of course, the same as that of the Incas.
And king Yudhishthira caused to be placed in every pavilion large quantities, high as hills, of bow-strings and bows and coats of mail and weapons, honey and clarified butter, pounded lac, water, fodder of cattle, chaff and coals, heavy machines, long shafts, lances, battleaxes, bow-staffs, breast-plates, scimitars and quivers.
This genial furnace warmed the staircase and passages, and cast a fiery glow out on the carriage, and glorified the steep helmets and breast-plates of the dead Rabys on the wall, and the sparkling eyes of the two beautiful women who now stood opposite it in the pride of their youth, and were warmed to the heart by its crackle and glow. "Oh! what a glorious fire, this bitter night.
The rest were to wear helmets and breast-plates only. The horses were also to be protected as far as possible by breast-plates, either of iron, or of leather thick and tough enough to prevent an arrow from penetrating. When the troops thus called for appeared at the place of rendezvous appointed for them, Genghis Khan found, as is said, that he had an army of seven hundred thousand men!
The beautifully embossed ornaments on their breast-plates and shirts of mail, and on the belt of the short sword, showed that they grudged no expense; in fact, they thought only of enjoyment, and it was merely for the honor of it that they were serving for a few years in the imperial guard.
It was not easy getting back inside the lines, as the moon was shining, but we got by the guards, and then my friends suggested that we take our breast-plates off and put them on behind us, as the guards, if they shot at all, would be firing in our rear.
" Who will want breast-plates now? cried the chief breast-plate maker. "'Or helmets? exclaimed one who made armour for the head. "'I would not have taken fifty bezants for that shield, and what good is it now? said the head of the shield trade. "'My swords will be of less account, said a swordsmith. "'My arrows of none, lamented an arrow-maker. "''Tis villainy, cried one.
Scarce had they fastened, than a torrent of men in breast-plates and morions poured over her side, to alight upon the prow of the galeasse, and not even the fear of the lantern held above the powder barrel could now restrain the corsairs from giving these hardy boarders the reception they reserved for all infidels.
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