atter did not exist, and in siege operations the
former were almost entirely useless.

In this interesting and curious armory are many torn flags, Turkish
robes of military rank, and other trophies of war captured from the
infidels in various conflicts.

A critical eye will observe that most of the armor must have been
designed for men of smaller physical development than the average
soldier of our period. There is one mail suit in the hall, to wear
which, a man must have been at least seven feet in height, and of
corresponding physical development, the helmet alone weighing
thirty-five pounds, which would soon exhaust the strength of an ordinary
man. There are said to be over three hundred suits of armor preserved
and mounted in the collection, though we should not have thought there
were nearly so many. The average weight of these must be considerably
over forty pounds each. Many are constructed of the finest quality of
steel, elaborately engraved, and inlaid with gold and silver. The
author's attention was called to one suit, which was so heavily
ornamented with the precious metal that the original cost must have been
at least a thousand pounds sterling, including the artistic and
mechanical labor involved in its production. This armor, it should be
understood, was only designed to protect the front and side of the
wearer's person. Here and there are seen a breast-plate with indentures
evidently made by an enemy's bullet or spear-thrust, which would
doubtless have proved fatal to the wearer but for this metallic
protection. The armory is also hung with an interesting series of grim
old portraits of the Grand Masters of the Order of St. John, dating back
to the earliest days of the organization. As here represented, they must
have been men of decided character, the traits of decision and firmness
being those most prominently delineated by the artists. One or two were
evidently persons of fine and commanding personality, notably L'Isle
Adam and La Vallette. There is, somehow, a sternness and spirit of
aggression pervading all these counterfeit presentments.

Some of the firearms in the Knights' armory are very curious weapons,
closely resembling the principle of our modern revolvers and
breech-loading guns, although it must be remembered that these specimens
are three or four hundred years old. When one pauses to consider the
matter, this seems to make the late Colonel Colt more of a discoverer
than an inventor. A m