They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, Until at last the blanched mate said: "Why, now not even God would know Should I and all my men fall dead. These very winds forget their way, For God from these dread seas is gone. Now speak, brave Adm'r'l, speak and say"-- He said: "Sail on! sail on! and on!" They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: "This mad sea shows his teeth to-night. He curls his lips, he lies in wait, With lifted teeth as if to bite! Brave Adm'r'l, say but one good word: What shall we do when hope is gone?" The word leapt like a leaping sword: "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!" Then, pale and worn he kept his deck And peered through darkness. Ah, that night Of all dark nights! And then a speck-- A light! a light! a light! a light! It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! It grew to be time's burst of dawn. He gained a world; he gave that world Its grandest lesson: "Oh! sail on!" CHAPTER VII WEAPONS AND GUNPOWDER Man's weapons of warfare, offensive and defensive, have been many and curious. David slew Goliath with a stone from a sling. The Scriptures tell us that Samson, the mighty man of the Bible, killed a thousand Philistines at one time with the jaw-bone of an ass. The study of the development of arms makes one of the most significant chapters in the history of civilization. The use of stone weapons seems to have been universally characteristic of the earlier races of mankind, as it still is distinctive of the ruder races. The weapons made from stone were necessarily few and simple. The most common was an ax, made from various kinds of stone and with varying degrees of skill. Spear-points and arrow-heads were made of flint. These show a comparatively high type of workmanship. The highest efforts of the ancient stone-workers culminated in a leaf-shaped dagger or knife of flint, various in form but uniform in type. These flint daggers differed also in size, but seldom exceeded a foot in length. They were never ground or polished, but delicately chipped to a fine, straight edge, and were often beautiful. [Illustration: STATUES SHOWING KNIGHTS IN ARMOR]