QUILTED ARMOUR. 127 



And he was sat in his judicial elbow-chair — a short, rotund 

 figure, hung round, as it were, with cushions, for such was the 

 appearance of the quilted garments — and with a nose pro- 

 truded from under the silken casque, the size of which, together 

 with the unwieldiness of the whole figure, gave his worship no 

 indifferent resemblance to the sign of the Hog in Armour, which 

 was considerably improved by the defensive garment being of 

 a dusky orange colour, not altogether unlike the hue of those 

 half- wild swine which are to be found in the forests of Hamp- 

 shire." 



Roger Nutt gives as a reason for the security of quilted 

 armour, that it made the wearer look so ridiculous that no 

 one could hit him for laughing. The reader will probably 

 remember that the sign of the Hog in Armour was really a 

 representation of the rhinoceros. 



That such a cuirass is really impervious to ordinary weapons 

 is shown by the following anecdote : — During one of the late 

 Indian wars a trooper discharged his pistol close to the back 

 of a fleeing horseman. The shot produced no apparent effect, 

 and the man rode off. Presently, however, a thin cloud of 

 smoke was seen to rise from his shoulders. The smoke 

 thickened, then burst into flame, and after riding at desperate 

 speed in hopes of overtaking his comrades, the unfortunate 

 man fell from his horse, and was miserably burned to death. 



The fact was that cotton being cheaper than silk, he had 

 wadded his cuirass with cotton fibre. Had he chosen silk, he 



INDIAN RHINOCEROS. QUILTED ARMOUR. 



would have got off in safety. Among the Chinese this cotton 

 mail is largely used. In consequence, many Chinese soldiers 

 were found who had been burned to death in exactly the same 

 way as the Indian warrior. 



Towards the south-western parts of Africa there is a nation 

 called the Begharmis. Their soldiers are mounted, and are all 



