Manchurian Books

Belonging neither to the military nor the aristocracy,
they were not allowed to wear swords, and to obtain this privilege was
one of the objects of their organization. Indeed, each member of the
guild secretly possessed a weapon of the best, although he risked his
neck if ever he carried it abroad with him. Among their number were
three of the most expert sword makers in all Germany.
These three sword makers had been instrumental in introducing to their
order the man who was now its leader. This youth came to one of them
with ideas concerning the proper construction of a sword, and the
balancing of it, so that it hung easily in the hand as though part of
the fore-arm. Usually, the expert has small patience with the theories
of an amateur; but this young fellow, whose ambition it was to invent a
sword, possessed such intimate knowledge of the weapon as it was used,
not only in Germany, but also in France and Italy, that the sword maker
introduced him to fellow-craftsmen at other shops, and they taught him
how to construct a sword.


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