Buckler

“ A much smaller buckler, or centre of a buckler, only 91⁄4 inches in diameter (also with two rings of bosses) , presumably found in the Isis, [1330] near Eynsham Bridge, is in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries. It has a slightly conical boss, surrounded by a circle of smaller bosses between two raised ribs. There is also a raised rib round the margin formed by turning over the metal towards the outer face. In the outer ring of bosses two are missing at the places where, no doubt, were formerly the rivets of the buttons or loops. ”

“ The buckler was of an oblong and concave figure, four feet in length, and two and a half in breadth, framed of a light wood, covered with a bull’s hide, and strongly guarded with plates of brass. Besides a lighter spear, the legionary soldier grasped in his right hand the formidable pilum, a ponderous javelin, whose utmost length was about six feet, and which was terminated by a massy triangular point of steel of eighteen inches. ”

“ Buckler," he said, with some show of perplexity, "the quarrel was a private one. Wherein lies your right to meddle with the matter?"
"I was Sir Julian's friend," I replied. "He knew the love I bore him, and laid this errand as his last charge upon it."
"Really, really," said he, "both you and your friend seem strangely ill-versed in the conduct of gentlemen. You say Sir Julian laid this errand upon you. But I have your bare word for that. It is not enough. And even granting it to be true, my quarrel was with Sir Julian, not with you. One does not fight duels by proxy." ”

“ Bucklers went out fifty years ago, "about the twentieth of Queen Elizabeth"; men do not now swash with them, or fight in that way. Iron armor has mostly gone out, except in mere pictures of soldiers; King James said, It was an excellent invention; you could get no harm, and neither could you do any in it. Bucklers, either for horse or foot, are quite gone. Yet old Mr. Stowe, good chronicler, can recollect when every gentleman had his buckler; and at length every serving man and city dandy. ”

“ The whole upper edge of the buckler is always surrounded by a very ornamental semicircular border, sometimes semi-elliptical, of punctures placed in the meshes of a net-work in high relief and arranged close together, in rays, passing perpendicularly from the buckler and forming at the same time when observed transversely, curved lines parallel to its upper rim or edge, excepting at the sides, where they diverge, leaving a space occupied by other lines of dottings, parallel to the former, but speedily terminating on the cheeks of the buckler. ”

“ Ever keep thine eyes upon his eyes until thou knowest whereat he striketh, then, with thy buckler ready, thou mayst intercept the blow, for he be over slow and always his eyes proclaim where his blade will fall. ”

“ I replied. "It is Buckler--Morrice Buckler. Sir Julian's servant came to me in Holland."
"Buckler!" the man repeated, as though he heard it for the first time. "Morrice Buckler! Yes, sir, that may be your name. I have nothing against it beyond that it is unfamiliar in these parts. But a strange name is a poor thing to persuade a man to forego his trust."
I looked at the man. Though elderly and somewhat bent, he was of a large frame, and the sinews stood out in knots upon his bared arms. ”

“ Buckler, that Count Lukstein left Bristol eleven days ago."
"Did he take his servants with him?" I asked; and then, a new thought striking me: "Eleven days ago! That is, Mr. Vincott, the day after Julian's arrest."
"Mr. Buckler," says he, "you appear to me to lack discretion."
"I only re-state your facts," I answered, with some heat.
"The facts themselves are perhaps a trifle indiscreet," he admitted. "I shall certainly have that ceiling copied in my own house." And with that he rose from his chair. "'Tis close on eight by the clock, and we must hit upon some disguise. But, Lord! ”

“ Jonson, in the induction to his play called Bartholomew Fair, speaks of "the sword and buckler age in Smithfield;" and again, in the Two Angry Women of Abbington, a comedy by Henry Porter, printed in 1599, we have the following observation: "Sword and buckler fight begins to grow out of use; I am sorry for it; I shall never see good manhood again; if it be once gone, this poking fight of rapier and dagger will come up; then a tall man, that is, a courageous man, and a good sword and buckler man, will be spitted like a cat or a rabbit." ”

“ Then, raising her face with a look which was wonderfully timid and shy, she said:
"You are a brave man, Mr. Buckler"; and after another pause, "I do ask you."
With that she crossed the road and mounted upon her horse. I did the same, and the little cavalcade rode out from Innspruck along the highway to Landeck. The Countess pressed on ahead, and thinking that she had no wish to speak with me, I rode some paces behind her. Behind me came Otto and the servants. Otto, I should say, had resumed his old impenetrable air. ”

“ The head may be said to have a helmet, and the shoulders a buckler, composed of several transverse series of plates. Transverse bands, varying in the different species from three to twelve, which are movable, cover the body; the crupper has its buckler similar to that on the shoulders, and the tail is protected by numerous rings. The hairs of the body are few, springing from between the plates; the under parts, which are without armour, have rather more hairs. In a living state, the whole armour is capable of yielding considerably to the motions of the body ”

“ On his arm he bare a gay bracer, and by his side a buckler and sword, and on the other side a gay dagger, well harnessed and sharp as a spear-point. ”

“ Buckler, the whole story of woman might be written in one phrase. 'Tis the continual mistaking of lath for steel."
"And never steel for lath?" I asked.
"At times, no doubt," she answered, recovering herself with an easy laugh. "But we only find that error out when the steel cuts us. So either way are we unfortunate. ”

“ The commander had already withdrawn his blade and was attacking the second as the first fell. He made another feint to the groin and then changed the aim of his point as the warrior tried to cover with his shield. A buckler is fine protection against a man who is trying to hack you to death with a chopper, because a heavy cutting sword and a shield have about the same inertia, and thus the same maneuverability. But the shield isn't worth anything against a light stabbing weapon. ”

“ Fig. 115. Heraldic buckle.
Buckle, Her. The crest of the Pelham family, now represented by the Earls of Chichester. It is a common ornament of ecclesiastical buildings, houses, and other objects in Sussex. (Fig. 115.)
Buckler. (See Clipeus and Scutum.)
Buckram. A cloth stiffened with gum, so called from Bokhara, where it was originally made.
Fig. 116. Bucranium.
Bucranium, R. (βουκράνιον) . An ox’s head from which the flesh has been stripped; an ox-skull employed in the decoration of friezes by Greek and Roman architects. Fig. 116 represents a bucranium in the temple of Vespasian at Rome. ”

“ He hath two Cases hanging by his sides, one holds his Bow, the other his Arrows, both of neat Babylonian Workmanship; and so is his Buckler which he bears on his Left Arm, and is Proof against Arrows, Clubs, or Swords. In his Right Hand, unless he desire to have it free, he carries a light Spear, for the most part painted with Green. His Scimiter is studded with Jewels, and made of steel, and it hangs down from his Saddle. What need so much Armour, say you? ”

“ The Arms that are carried are chiefly for the use of the Horse, called Spahi’s; for the Janizaries do usually fight on Foot with Musquets, at a Distance, and therefore, when an Enemy is near, and a Battle expected, the Armour is produced; but usually such as is of an old Make, and are part of the Spoils obtained from former Fights and Victories: These are distributed among the Horse; their other Armour is but a light Buckler. You may easily think, how odly such Armour will fit on a Man which is given out so hastily. One’s Breast-plate is too narrow; another Man’s Helmet is too loose ”

“ The tribes who dwell in the depth of the forest have no bucklers, but shelter themselves behind trees: those, however, who live in an open country, as on the banks of the Missouri, use bucklers or shields of a circular form, about two feet and a half in diameter, and composed of three or four folds of buffalo’s skin, dried in the sun and hardened. ”

“ I looked around and saw that the newcomers mingled with us must have been a regular armed band; all had bucklers slung at their backs, few lacked a sword at the side. Some had bows, some "staves"—that is, bills, pole-axes, or pikes. ”

“ Don't you move, you! I’ve got you covered. I'll take the money out myself.”
His revolver-muzzle under his companion’s nose, he snapped open the pocket of the belt and extracted the roll of bills. Then, regardless of a possible shot in the back, he swung off his horse and hambled, with the mincing gait of the born horseman, into the lighted doorway of the cabin. ”

“ D'ri was stripped of a boot-leg, and I was cut in the chin by a front hoof, going ten feet or so to the upper deck. To the man who was never hit in the chin by a horse's hoof let me say there is no such remedy for a proud spirit. Bullets are much easier to put up with and keep a civil tongue in one's head. ”

“ I called, turning to D'ri, who stood beside me.
The storm of iron hit us. A heavy ball crashed into the after bulwarks, tearing them away and slamming over gun and carriage, that slid a space, grinding the gunners under it. One end of a bowline whipped over us; a jib dropped; a brace fell crawling over my shoulders like a big snake; the foremast went into splinters a few feet above the deck, its top falling over, its canvas sagging in great folds. ”

“ The belt by which his sword-sheath was to be suspended had also a strap to go over his right shoulder, the better to sustain the weight. It had a very good buckle, too, and he wondered why they did not use better buckles on their harness. ”

“ All eyes were turned eagerly that way to see who it might be, and a murmur of surprise ran round the hall; for they saw upon the threshold no stalwart warrior, as they had expected, but a maiden young and beautiful. She was clad in a hunter's tunic, which fell to her knee, and her legs were strapped about with leathern thongs. Crosswise about her body she wore a girdle, from which hung a quiver full of arrows, and with her right hand she leant on a great ashen bow like a staff. ”

“ He made no return to this, but kept capering and jumping about, until one of our men advanced very near to him, with only a shield and a waddie, and then the two went to work in good earnest, blow following blow, until the first had his shield split, so that he had nothing to defend himself with but his waddie. His opponent took advantage of this, and struck him a tremendous blow on one side of the head, and knocked him down; but he was instantly on his legs again, the blood however flowing very freely over his back and shoulders. ”

“ The other meaning is that Buckley never goes into a fight without giving away weight. He seems to dread taking the slightest advantage. That's quite close to foolhardiness when you are dealing with horse-thieves and fence-cutters who would ambush you any night, and shoot you in the back if they could. ”

“ I have never seen a lady's spur of this description, but possibly they are made—if not, they easily could be. They are much the most easy to attach or remove, and there is no chance of a strap being cut in walking or otherwise, or of an over-tight buckle hurting the foot. Their principal advantage, however, is not one of mere convenience, but of safety; the absence of strap and buckle removes one element in a great danger—that of the foot sticking in the stirrup in a fall. ”

“ The large square buckle is the ton of the present day. The ladies also, have adopted the reigning taste: It is difficult to discover their beautiful little feet, covered with an enormous shield of buckle ”

“ Another match scratched and sputtered, and then, with a hoarse cry of triumph, was flung down. Running feet padded across the short grass and Will Arblaster drew up, panting
“Got it!” he gasped. “The old fool! Put it in a tea-canister right on the mantelshelf. Enough to choke a horse! Feel it!”
The lean man, unemotional as ever, reached down and took the roll of money
“Got another match?” he asked. ”

“ His cold blue eyes turned downward, and focused again with piercing attention on the younger man’s upturned face. The bills were stowed in a pocket of the belt right next one of those gold-mounted guns which, earlier in the evening, had covered Willie Arblaster’s heart. For. a moment, the lean man’s hand seemed to hesitate over its butt: then, as Willie smiled and nodded, it moved away. The match burned out.
“Let’s get out of here,” the younger urged; whereupon the hand vows had hovered over the gun-butt grasped Will Arblaster’s shoulder. ”

“ Sometimes you may find it better to lay the loop open on the ground, and let the horse step into it. It is better the buckle should be inside the leg if you mean the horse to fall toward you, because then it is easier to unbuckle when he is on the ground.
In those instances in which you have had no opportunity of previously taming and soothing a colt, it will frequently take you an hour of quiet, patient, silent perseverance before he will allow you to buckle up his leg—if he resists you have nothing for it but patience. ”

“ The elder slipped back into its holster the gold-mounted gun he had drawn, glanced once at the obscured window, and again, piercingly, at the boy whose face now showed white in the light of the rising moon. Then he turned his pony and mounted.
“Come on,” he commanded
FIVE minutes later the two had passed the limits of the town, heading for the low range of hills which encircled it to the south—and Will Arblaster had given the details of his job to the unemotional man at his side
“How do you know the old guy’s got the money?” came a level question. ”