e Scots came with
swords all broad and thin, of exceeding good temper, and universally so
made to slice that I never saw none so good, so I think it hard to
devise a better." The quality of the steel used for weapons of war was
indeed of no less importance for the effectual defence of a country
then than it is now. The courage of the attacking and defending forces
being equal, the victory would necessarily rest with the party in
possession of the best weapons.

England herself has on more than one occasion been supposed to be in
serious peril because of the decay of her iron manufactures. Before
the Spanish Armada, the production of iron had been greatly discouraged
because of the destruction of timber in the smelting of the ore--the
art of reducing it with pit coal not having yet been invented; and we
were consequently mainly dependent upon foreign countries for our
supplies of the material out of which arms were made. The best iron
came from Spain itself, then the most powerful nation in Europe, and as
celebrated for the excellence of its weapons as for the discipline and
valour of its troops. The Spaniards prided themselves upon the
superiority of their iron, and regarded its scarcity in England as an
important element in their calculations of the conquest of the country
by their famous Armada. "I have heard," says Harrison, "that when one
of the greatest peers of Spain espied our nakedness in this behalf, and
did solemnly utter in no obscure place, that it would be an easy matter
in short time to conquer England because it wanted armour, his words
were not so rashly uttered as politely noted." The vigour of Queen
Elizabeth promptly supplied a remedy by the large importations of iron
which she caused to be made, principally from Sweden, as well as by the
increased activity of the forges in Sussex and the Forest of Dean;
"whereby," adds Harrison, "England obtained rest, that otherwise might
have been sure of sharp and cruel wars. Thus a Spanish word uttered by
one man at one time, overthrew, or at the leastwise hindered sundry
privy practices of many at another." [27] Nor has the subject which
occupied the earnest attention of politicians in Queen Elizabeth's time
ceased to be of interest; for, after the lapse of nearly three hundred
years, we find the smith and the iron manufacturer still uppermost in
public discussions. It has of late years been felt that our
much-prized "hearts of oak" are no more able to