PROPERTY OF EMITTING "N" RAYS 51 



The emission of " N " rays by tempered 

 steel seems to last indefinitely. Some lathe- 

 tools and a stamp for leather of the i8th 

 century, which have been preserved in my 

 family, and have certainly not been rehardened 

 since the date of their manufacture, emit " N " 

 rays like freshly tempered steel. A knife, 

 found in a Gallo-Roman tomb, situated in 

 the district of Craincourt (Lorraine), and 

 dating from the Merovingian epoch, as is 

 attested by the objects found there (glass 

 and earthenware jars, fibulae, belt-buckles, 

 swords of the kind called scramasax, etc.), 

 emits " N " rays just like a modern knife. 

 These rays originate exclusively from the blade ; 

 a test with a file showed that the blade alone is 

 tempered, and that the tailpiece intended to be 

 fixed in a handle is not tempered. l 



The emission of " N " rays by this steel 

 blade has thus persisted for more than twelve 

 centuries, and does not appear to have abated. 



1 The primitive Gauls do not appear to have known steel, for, 

 from Polybius' account, their iron swords did not stab, and bent 

 in combat at the very first blows. The knife alluded to here 

 is of Gallo-Roman origin, and the Gallo-Romans had doubtless 

 learnt from the Romans the art of making and tempering steel. 



