Casque

“ The French casque, casquet, of the same origin is only used of a helmet, and the sense of “small chest” is not found in languages other than English. Skeat suggests that the word is a corruption of French cassette, diminutive of casse, box, Latin capsa, from capere, to hold, contain, cf. English “case.” History and literature are full of references to the often disconcerting contents of these famous receptacles. The “Casket Letters” (q.v.) are one of the mysteries of history. Harpagnon’s casket plays an important part in Molière’s L’Avare ”

“ She called her maid servant while herself ran to the door to answer the impatient traveler, who, his horse's bridle in hand, continued finding fault, although good-naturedly. The new arrival was about twenty-four years of age; the visor of his somewhat rusty casque, wholly raised, exposed to view a pleasant face, the left cheek of which was furrowed with a deep scar. Thanks to his Herculean build, his heavy cuirass of tarnished iron, but still usable, seemed not to press him any more than a coat of cloth. ”

“ A young man at a window touches with the end of a stick the casque of a young lady at the next window, making it resound, and people turn to look, while the lady blushes and retires. Within a doorway a servant-maid arranges her own casque, using that of a friend, who bends prettily before her, as a looking-lass. ”

“ But they form part of the headpiece itself: they do not surmount it. The helm of Richard the First has a lion, but it is a figure embossed or painted on a part of the casque. The well-known effigy of a Plantagenet (Stothard, Pl. ii.) is an analogous instance. The monument of Le Botiler at St. Bride's, Glamorganshire, (woodcut, No. 74,) affords another example: and in the curious helm of Louis of Savoy (woodcut 71, fig. 11) we have the heraldic eagle forming the visor of the casque, while the crest is composed of the usual fan ornament. ”

“ This animal is remarkable for the development, in the males alone, of a great crest or casque on the head, which is formed by a large inflatable air-sac over the ridge of the nose, and communicating with the nostrils. When fully inflated, it covers the head as far back as the eye. ”

“ God prefers a soul that repents to a corpse that expiates.”
Then the father and the son cut down the dying man, and saw how it was that he still lived. The rope, instead of tightening about the neck of the thief, had tightened at the base of the casque so effectually that the culprit was suspended but not strangled, and, occupying with his head a kind of vantage-point in the interior of the casque, he was able to breathe and to keep alive up to the time our two companions passed by. ”

“ The casque, which is similarly supposed to be a mark of honourable conflict, is an “ornament” of great frailty, for it is composed of a delicate filigree-work of bone covered with a thin sheath of horn. In like manner, the long plumes which surmount the heads of birds like the Peacock, and many Birds of Paradise, and the wattle which surmounts the beak of the Turkey, are supposed to have had their origin in similar pugilistic encounters in the past. Mr. Cunningham is surely pushing the theory of the transmission of acquired characters a little far. ”

“ So, in modern times, we uncover the head to express the sentiment of esteem and respect. Now, in former days, when there was more violence to be apprehended than now, the casque, or helmet, afforded an ample protection from any sudden blow of an unexpected adversary. ”

“ Not to be applied to persons. The expression sometimes used of an eccentric or vicious person, “He is a case” or “a hard case,” is an objectionable colloquialism.
casket, which is from the French casque, helmet, is frequently now used in the United States as a euphemism for coffin, which is from the Greek kophinos, basket. Such innovations are not to be recommended. They savor of pedantry, or, worse still, of pride. ”

“ DETAILS.
The whole suit (Fig. 37) is freely ornamented with arabesqued foliations on a ground of fine vertical lines, banded in the Italian style, interspersed with human heads, some of them grotesque, and enclosed in medallions; and a series of armed figures, which would richly repay a close examination. The helmet is a remarkable piece of workmanship, and forged in a single piece; it weighs seven pounds. It is an Italian casque of a most graceful and classic form. The repoussé ornamentation on it is banded like the rest of the armour. The comb is very high, and fluted all over the crest. ”

“ The Helms of kings have a crown encircling them, as seen in the seals of Henry III. and Edward I. of England (woodcuts, No. 79, 81 and 85) ; but on the capelline of King John is no such ornament. See also our engraving, No. 72. The crown is occasionally placed on the coif of chain-mail: as on folio 7 of the Lives of the Offas (woodcut, No. 80) , and in the pictures of the Painted Chamber.
No. 75.
Of the smaller casque—helmet, or chapel-de-fer—we have already observed that some were worn beneath the coif-de-mailles. ”

“ Their tufted casques, their polished and brilliant cuirasses and greaves glittered in the sun. Their spirited horses pranced under their rich caparisons. The streamers at the head of their lances fluttered on the breeze, while their painted and gilded bucklers dangled from the pommels of their saddles. ”

“ In some rare instances, a sort of peak is used instead of the nasal, not descending below the eyebrows. See Plate 65 of Hefner's "Costumes;" and compare the figure on folio 9 of Cotton. MS., Tiber., C. vi., an example of Anglo-Saxon times. To the nasal helmet, cheek-pieces and a neck-defence were occasionally added. These pieces are also found on Greek examples, and appear, too, in modern Eastern armour; as may be seen in [Pg 140] the helmet of Tippoo Saib, preserved in the India House Museum. The casque with neck-piece appears in the Bayeux tapestry (see Plate ix.) ”

“ I bear about with me, wherever I wander, a certain steel casket. I received this casket, with its contents, from a man whose memory I hold in profound veneration. Should I live to find a person whom, after minute and intimate trial of his character, I should deem worthy of such confidence, it is my intention to communicate to him the secret how to prepare and how to use such of the powders and essences stored within that casket as I myself have ventured to employ. ”

“ Across the fruit lay a small case-knife, the handle studded with precious stones, and the diamond blade wearing a keen edge.
"'This casket contains four wishes, from which you may choose. They are the gifts of the Wind Sisters,' said a water spirit; then sank in a circle of foam bubbles.
"In the sky appeared a ring of blended colors, which descended rapidly, taking the form of four globes,—one rose pink, one gold, one green, and the last pale blue. The radiance of these globes of light spread far over the ocean. ”

“ The caskets were of gold, silver, and lead. The gold one bore this inscription:—"Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire"; the silver one had this:—"Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves"; while on the lead one were these words:—"Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath." The Prince of Morocco, as brave as he was black, was among the first to submit to this test. He chose the gold casket, for he said neither base lead nor silver could contain her picture. So he chose the gold casket, and found inside the likeness of what many men desire—death. ”

“ I know that there was a spot—a bead—of blood there, which I wiped away with a handkerchief, and that in wiping the spot I was certain that I could detect, by a pressure of my finger, the presence of the end of the needle under the skin.”
“And yet you also know that the casket in which the needle was kept by you was locked and that the [Pg 47] only key that exists within your knowledge which will open it was in your pocket—by the way, were your keys in your trousers or in your waistcoat?” ”

“ My eye fell upon two large oak logs, which young Severs had brought for the fireplace, and I said,
"Why not weight the casket with these logs and screw the lid down? No doubt they will carry it out without opening it, and when they are well on their way we can place my uncle in your car and be out of reach before they discover the substitution."
"A capital idea," said the professor. "We will wrap the logs well so they will not rattle, and, as the casket is an especially heavy one, they will be non the wiser until it is opened at the grave." ”

“ In one of the inside compartments of my desk I keep a small metallic casket in which I store a few treasured keepsakes. Among the things I kept in that casket was the needle I have already described. It had been fastened into a cork handle, like the handle of a brad-awl. ”

“ Job and Leo bent forward in breathless silence. The key turned, and I flung back the lid, and uttered an exclamation, and no wonder, for inside the ebony case was a magnificent silver casket, about twelve inches square by eight high. It appeared to be of Egyptian workmanship, and the four legs were formed of Sphinxes, and the dome- shaped cover was also surmounted by a Sphinx. The casket was of course much tarnished and dinted with age, but otherwise in fairly sound condition. ”

“ There, behind a glass door, stood a huge skull, whose lidless blue eyes, looking out toward the distant city, seemed to pierce every obstacle between itself and the casket of sapphires over which it still kept watch and ward. ”

“ Into the casket he put a fan, and shutting it up carefully he brought it to the messenger and said:
‘Here is a casket. It has no lock nor key, and yet [Pg 124] will open only to the touch of the person who needs its contents—and whoever opens it will obtain patience; but I can’t tell whether it will be quite the kind of patience that is wanted.’ And the servant bowed low, and took the casket; but when he asked what was to be paid, the king would take nothing. So he went away and gave the casket and an account of his adventures to his master. ”

“ I took aside one of my own men in plain clothes and said to him:
'You have seen the American who has bought the necklace?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Very well. Go outside quietly, and station yourself there. He is likely to emerge presently with the jewels in his possession. You are not to lose sight of either the man or the casket. I shall follow him and be close behind him as he emerges, and you are to shadow us. If he parts with the case you must be ready at a sign from me to follow either the man or the jewels. ”

“ Still occupied with keeping my guide in eye, I took stock of the thing with idle fingers; in the blackness my finger-tips were all the eyes I had for so small a thing. It was about the size of a five-pound butter box, I should say; it seemed as it lay in my hand a sort of an old and polished casket, a thing done with an exotic artistry, broad, lacquered surfaces and curves and bits of intricate carving. And I thought it was empty till I shook it and felt the tiny impact of some chambered weight. ”

“ As his eyes fell upon the other two caskets, he crossed the room to look at them, we following. It needed but a glance to see that they were alike in every particular—made of the same kind of wood, with the identical dragons on each corner; and like the first one we had noticed, they were also locked. After he had lifted each one he turned to us.
“I think we had better make an effort to open that box. In a sense we have no right to do so; but I have a keen desire to know what is inside.”
When we returned to the first casket, he found it was not as easy to open as perhaps he had thought. ”

“ But be thou not afraid and still say ever and anon in thy saying:—My casket was the casket of Such-an-one, and I fear him and dare not bespeak him; but you, O company and all ye who are present, I call you to witness of this for me. And if there be with thee more than this saying, say it; and the old woman will assuredly come to thee.” The draper answered with “To hear is to obey” and going forth from the Deputy’s presence, betook himself to his shop and brought out thence the casket and a somewhat making a great display, which he removed to his house. ”

“ The intense light picked out every detail vividly. Neck and shoulders were bare—the gleaming ivory arms were uplifted—the long, slender fingers held aloft a golden casket covered with dim figures, almost indiscernible at that distance. ”

“ As I walked round this stack of casks my foot struck sharply on the edge of a butt, which must have been near empty, and straightway came from it the same hollow, booming sound (only fainter) which had so frightened us in church that Sunday morning. So it was the casks, and not the coffins, that had been knocking one against another ”

“ At the foot of the copper rock is a black chest, in the black chest is a golden casket, and in the golden casket is the soul of the Swan-woman. Seven little birds are the soul of the Swan-woman; if the birds are killed the Swan-woman will die straightway. So the horses ran to the foot of the copper rock, opened the black chest, and brought back the golden casket. Then the piebald horse turned himself into a bald-headed man, opened the golden casket, and cut off the heads of the seven birds. ”

“ Effect.—An egg is produced and wrapped in a handkerchief, which is then placed over a chair back. A glass casket is next shown to be empty and a piece of tape tied round same by a member of the audience. The casket is suspended from a stand and covered with a borrowed handkerchief. A Union Jack flag is produced and changes into an egg. The casket is uncovered, and flag seen within. Handkerchief removed from chair back, opened out, and egg has disappeared. ”

“ This is to form a sort of cushion into which the body will sink a little, and so be prevented from moving from side to side as it is being carried to the grave. When everything is ready for placing the body in the casket, the sons of the dead man wash their hands, or perhaps take a full bath, and then go in and place the body carefully in its final receptacle. The face is covered with a very thin film of cotton batting, and beside the body are placed the finger-nail and toe-nail parings and the teeth which have been already referred to. ”