“The bow is the most ancient and universal of all weapons, and has been found to obtain amongst the most barbarous and remote nations. In the days of David the practice of the bow would appear to have been so general, that it was not unfrequently made use of as a figure of speech. Israel, when blessing his sons, says of Joseph, ‘the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.’”
“Its earliest application was probably for the purpose of obtaining food,” observed Mr. Seymour.
“Your conjecture has the weight of testimony,” replied the vicar; “when Isaac sent Esau to the forest, he said, ‘Take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison:’[[48]] and it is even a question, whether the Saxon bow was ever used by the Anglo-Saxons and Danes for any other purpose than that of procuring food, or pastime; for the representation of this bow, in an ancient manuscript[[49]] of the tenth century, shows it to have been very differently constructed from what one might expect in a military weapon; in size, too, it was a mere toy, compared with the bow of succeeding ages.”
“There can be no doubt that the bow and arrow were employed for the purpose of killing animals for food from the earliest times; but its principal interest is derived from its military applications; will you, therefore, give us a sketch of its history, and confine yourself to its practice as a warlike instrument in England?”
“And may I also beg of you, my dear sir,” added Mrs. Seymour, “to explain the different terms which are employed to denote its parts and applications; such information will be, just now, highly acceptable to me, as I am reading some romances, in which those terms are constantly occurring.”
“You shall be obeyed, madam,” replied the vicar, with a courteous smile.
“We are, probably, indebted to the Norman conquest for the introduction of the bow and arrow as a hostile weapon; but, before I enter upon that subject, it is necessary to state, that the bows in use in England, have been of two kinds, the common or long bow, and the cross bow. The former does not require any description from me, the latter, or Arbalet, as it was called, (from Arbalesta, i. e. arcu-balista, a bow with a sling,) consists of a steel bow, fastened upon a stock, and is discharged by means of a catch, or trigger, which probably gave rise to the lock upon the modern musket.”
“Excuse the interruption,” said Mrs. Seymour, “but do allow me to ask whether Arquebusade does not derive its name from its having been formerly applied to wounds inflicted by the cross-bow or Arbalet?”
“I thank you, madam; that etymology is entirely new to me, and will explain the medical name, Aqua vulneraria, which has been applied to that spirit.”
The vicar now proceeded without further interruption.