=Plate mail.=--This consisted of a number of small lamenæ of metal, commonly iron, which were so arranged as to slightly overlap like the scales of a fish. Usually a leather foundation was provided. =Poitrinal.=--The covering for a horse's hindquarters; a guard against sword slashes. =Pot.=--A cabasset or morion. =Rerebrace.=--A protection for the part between the elbows and shoulders. =Rondelle.=--A guard for the inner side of the arm which wields the weapon. =Salade.=--A light casque, sometimes provided with a visor, but without crest. =Sollerets.=--Overlapping plates which formed the shoe of an armed knight. Cf. Chausses. =Tapul.=--The perpendicular ridge down the middle of a breastplate. =Targe.=--A shield. =Tassets.=--A series of flexible plates hooked to the skirt of the cuirass, protecting the thighs. =Visor.=--The movable face-guard of a helmet. [Illustration: THE BARREL OF A GUN ORNAMENTED WITH A TWIN HEAD OF MINERVA.] [Illustration: AN OLD POWDER-FLASK.] CHAPTER VI WEAPONS Buying specimens--Storing them--Hand culverins--The serpentin--The wheel-lock--The flint-lock--The rifle--Swords--The effect of armour on swords--Swords with historical associations--Other weapons Of all the antiques which are to be found in an average bric-à-brac shop there is probably nothing upon which the dealer is so ignorant as the class of military curio which comes under the head of weapons; as a consequence, we find that the ruling prices for these relics of the battlefield are either excessively dear or ridiculously cheap. There is nothing in this state of things to cause the collector of weapons to grumble, for if he be wise he will add to his treasures when a bargain is to be had, but not when specimens are dear. The process makes collecting a somewhat slow business, but it enables us to get together a whole host of interesting things at a very small cost. A few weeks ago the writer spent an afternoon in going round to the antique shops in a certain quarter of London. Here are some of the prices which he was asked, and which he considers were out of reason. For a rifle used by Kruger's men, £5; worth at the most half this sum. For a rifle and bayonet said to have been used at Waterloo, £1. For a sixteenth-century sword, 5s. The sword was so heavy that it would have almost fetched this price as old metal. For an eighteenth-century flint-lock, not in good condition, £20. Needless to add, that while the writer was not impelled to purchase the flint-lock, he snapped up the sword eagerly.