224 THE BRONZE AXE. 



widened out sideways, so as to form an elegant and 

 gracefully carved outline for the whole implement. 

 Next come the flanged axes, with projecting ledges on 

 either side ; and then the palstaves with loops and ribs, 

 each marking some new improvement in the character of 

 the weapon, which th.3 inventor would no doubt have 

 patented but for the unfortunate fact that patents were 

 as yet wholly unknown to Bronze Age humanity. Later 

 still come the socketed hatchets of many patterns, with 

 endless ingenious little devices for securing some small 

 advantage to the special manufacturer. I can fancy the 

 Bronze Age smith showing them off with pride to his 

 interested customers : ' These are our own patterns the 

 newest thing out in bronze axes ; observe the advantage 

 you gain from the ribs and pellets, and the peculiar 

 character which the octagonal socket gives to the 

 hafting ! ' Indeed, in this single department of bronze 

 celts alone, Mr. Evans in his great monumental work 

 figures over a hundred and eighty distinct specimens (out of 

 thousands known), each one presenting some well-marked 

 advance in type upon its predecessor. There is almost 

 a Yankee ingenuity of design in many of the dodges thus 

 registered for our inspection. 



Many of the celts, I may add, are most beautifully 

 decorated with geometrical patterns, some of which 

 belong to a very high order of ornamental art. This is 

 still more the case with the daggers, swbrds, and defen- 

 sive armour, often intended for the use of great chieftains, 

 and executed with an amount of taste and feeling long 

 since dead among the degenerate workmen of our iron 

 age. 



