26 BULLETIN OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE. 



General Guild traced the development of the sword 

 from the lirst form, which somewhat resembled an axe, to 

 the sword of the present day. He illustrated the subject 

 by exhibiting a large and rare collection of swords of 

 nearly every kind and period since the weapon was first 

 known. Among numerous others, there were a rapier of 

 the time of Queen Elizabeth, and a clajanore such as is 

 described by Sir Walter Scott in the "Lady of the Lake," 

 — a sword used by General Stark, in the war of the Rev- 

 olution, and two ancient Japanese swords belonging to 

 Prof. E. S. Morse. The swords provided for officers of 

 the American army were simply " dress swords " and not 

 designed to be used like those of cavalry soldiers, the latter 

 being powerful weapons. The sword, he said, has never 

 been used as had the dagger, the revolver or the bludgeon, 

 as the weapon of the murderer, but only as the weapon of 

 the soldier. 



Monday Evening, March 15, 1897. — Regular meeting 

 in the Library room. Mr. Edward A. Silsbee, formerly 

 of Salem, gave a most entertaining talk upon foreign 

 experiences and life, extending over a long residence in 

 Europe and Asia. He called his subject " Internation- 

 alism " and, while applauding the charms and discoursing 

 of the advantages of life in foreign countries, summed 

 up with the verdict that the older he grew the more per- 

 suaded he was that America was the country to live in. 

 This was one of Mr. Silsbee's unique productions : quite 

 impossible to report. He said among other things that he 

 told an Englishman the best thing his country ever did 

 was "to produce us !" Referring to our own country, he 

 thought we must rediscover the imagination, before we 

 could have any great poets. Wealth will not make 

 them. 



