Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-02-17


tales of swords. as that of Perseus US
ing the celestial weapon of Cronos 10
cut off the Gorgeous head. When
leaving home. the father OF Fheseus
charged the mother of the boy to keep
him by her side until he could move
a certain stone of great weight. Years
passed and the boy grew stronger
and stronger, until he lifted the stone
one day, and found beneath II Won
| derful sword, with hilt OF 1lne work
manship. Armed with TINS fapied
| weapon, he set out upon his journey
| through the world. Staying the Mlno-
| taur. and working many miracles
| while the sword remained trusty
| friend throughout his adventurous life.
The Homeric writings abound with
sn;rited illusions to the sword. al
| though 1t is probably the sword of
| Homer's own time that is described.
rather than the actual weapon of the
| Trojan war.
| Among the ancient Britons two
| kinds of bronze swords We're used, one
| the leaf-blade. the other resembling
the rapier. An old custom among
these primitive people was the placing
of the food of young child upon the
blade of its fathers sword. while the
mother conveyed it safely TO the
child's mouth. praying, at the same
time. that her son might die amid the
clash of arms.
The Awhurian Legends tell of "A
wonderful sword. EXcalibur. owned by
King Arthur of the Round Table. ana
given to him by the Lady of the Lake:
..t,Iothed in white Samite, mystic, won
derful, ,,
She gave the King his huge, cross-hii'eo
sword
The poet goes on to describe 'he
sword as follows:
''The blade so bright
That men are blinded by it-on one sac,
Craven in the oldest tongue Oh All t'iiS
| world, -, 500,
shall see, ~
| And written in the speech se spe"N s""'
self.
| Cast me away.
After the Round Table had fallen.
| and as the King himself lay dying of
his wounds he bade his knight. Sir
Bedivere, take the sword Excalibur
and fling it far away into the lake
from which it came. And the arm
clothed in white samite. mystic.
WONDERFUL" caught the weapon by its
hilt. ablaZe with diamonds. brandished
it three times aloft, and drew it UNI
der in tha mere"
Almost as celebrated as the cid
himself are the two swords. Colada
and Tizon, welded by the Spanish
! hero in so many conflicts with the
| Moors The great Colada blade
was won in battle. and valued at a
thousand marks of silver. and is SAID
to be preserved today in the Armenia
at Madrid. Upon the marriage of his
daughters to the Counts of Corrion,the
Cid Campeador gave the two great
swords to his sons-in-law. When the
| Infantes of Corrion proved faithless
| husbands and towards. the swords
| came back again into the hands Of the
Cid. and were used in the ensuing
combat to avenge the deserted wives.
Today in Spain the manufacture of
| the sword is still fourishing. and the
| Toledo blade is noted throughout the
| world for it's excellence. The great
| factory. just out of Toledo. employs
six hundred workmen. men and boys.
| and infinite pains are taken to perfect
! the blades. Each sword is we'll tested
| by being thrown against shield. and
| if the point does not turn hair 5
| breadth it is pronounced good and
| marked with the royal sign and the
word "Artilleria,' which tells its make
| to the connoisseur Weeks. even
months are spent upon the, designs for
| these blades and handles. which are,
| perhaps, used after completion in the
| bull-hghts of the Spanish holidays.
| In French history we read Of the
| famous sword carried in battle by
| Joan of Arc. Early in her short career
| the voices told her of an ancient
sword which she would find at Fier-
| bois. concealed behind the altar of st
| GATHERINGS church. The priests knew
nothing of the weapon, but Joan sent
| officers to search for it, and it was
| discovered buried in the earth. at the
spot described. The sword. when UNI
! earthed, was rusty and without a
| sheath, but the Maid would not
have it sharpened. as she said she
would never use it, but carry it as a
| weapon befitting her position BY
| some. this ancient sword is said tC
have belonged to Charlemagne. but OF
this statement no substantial proof is
| to be found.
How closely woven about the sword
| is the drama of The Nibelunger
Ring" Hurled by the strong arm OF
Walse into the old ash tree. that
the hilt alone projected. only Sieg-
| mund his son. was possessed OF
strength enough to draw it out again
Nothing" he named the sWor'. anG
fought bravely with it in the deadly
combat with Hunding. in which his
| life ended. Broken and rusted, /,
comes into the hands of Siegfried. ir
the second part of the WaSneriar
drama and there is no scene in the
Tetralogy more effective than that ir
which the hero FORCES anew the famous
weapon of his ancestors He sings as
he works, and the sword motive runs
through the opera. an inseparable parl
of it.
The poetry and romance of all coun-
tries of the old world are filed with
illusions to the sword The practice
of arms and that of literature have al
ways gone hand in hand. Sadi, the
great Persian poet. wrote:
1.-Two persons, oh. conquering King, pa
troniZe
The man who has strength and the MAJ
who is wise;
|