m slipping. The arrow was then drawn
till the cold metal head touched the forefinger of the left hand, upon
which the right hand quitted its hold, and the shaft sped on its way. To
save the left arm from being bruised or cut by the bowstring, a guard,
often simply yet effectively ornamented, was placed upon it, at one end
passing round the thumb and at the other round the arm a little above
the elbow. [PLATE CVI., Fig. 2.]

[Illustration: PLATE 106]

The Assyrians had two kinds of spears, one a comparatively short weapon,
varying from five to six feet in length, with which they armed a
portion of their foot soldiers, the other a weapon nine or ten feet
long, which was carried by most of their cavalry. The shaft seems in
both cases to have been of wood, and the head was certainly of metal,
either bronze or iron. [PLATE CVI., Fig. 3.] It was most usually
diamond-shaped, but sometimes the side angles were rounded off, and the
contour became that of an elongated pear. [PLATE CVI., Fig. 4.] In other
instances, the jambs of the spear-head were exceedingly short, and the
point long and tapering. The upper end of the shaft was sometimes
weighted, and it was often carved into some ornamental form, as a
fir-cone or a pomegranate blossom, while in the earlier times it was
further occasionally adorned with streamers. [PLATE CVI., Fig. 4.] The
spear of the Assyrians seems never to have been thrown, like that of the
Greeks, but was only used to thrust with, as a pike.

The common sword of the Assyrians was a short straight weapon, like the
sword of the Egyptians, or the _acinaces_ of the Persians. It was worn
at the left side, generally slung by a belt of its own which was passed
over the right shoulder, but sometimes thrust through the girdle or
(apparently) through the armor. It had a short rounded handle, more or
less ornamented [PLATE CVII.. Fig. 1], but without any cross-bar or
guard, and a short blade which tapered gradually from the handle to the
point. The swordsman commonly thrust with his weapon, but he could cut
with it likewise, for it was with this arm that the Assyrian warrior was
wont to decapitate his fallen enemy. The sheath of the sword was almost
always tastefully designed, and sometimes possessed artistic excellence
of a high order. [PLATE CVII., Fig. 3.] The favorite terminal ornament
consisted of two lions clasping one another, with their heads averted
and their mouths agape. Above this, patterns in excellent