In gold-wrought slippers, knee-caps red, They looked as on an audience day.

Its lower end is broad and irregularly shaped, having two prominences called condyles, separated by a groove, the whole fitted for forming a hinge joint with the bones of the lower leg and the knee-cap.

In front of the knee joint, embedded in a thick, strong tendon, is an irregularly disk-shaped bone, the patella, or knee-cap.

[Illustration: Fig. 23.Patella, or Knee-Cap.] 49.

(Showing its internal structure) A, tendon of the semi-membranosus muscle cut across; B, F, tendon of same muscle; C, internal condyle of femur; D, posterior crucial ligament; E, internal interarticular fibro cartilage; G, bursa under knee-cap; H, ligament of knee-cap; K, fatty mass under knee-cap; L, anterior crucial ligament cut across; P, patella, or knee-cap ]

(Showing its internal structure) A, tendon of the semi-membranosus muscle cut across; B, F, tendon of same muscle; C, internal condyle of femur; D, posterior crucial ligament; E, internal interarticular fibro cartilage; G, bursa under knee-cap; H, ligament of knee-cap; K, fatty mass under knee-cap; L, anterior crucial ligament cut across; P, patella, or knee-cap ]

(Showing its internal structure) A, tendon of the semi-membranosus muscle cut across; B, F, tendon of same muscle; C, internal condyle of femur; D, posterior crucial ligament; E, internal interarticular fibro cartilage; G, bursa under knee-cap; H, ligament of knee-cap; K, fatty mass under knee-cap; L, anterior crucial ligament cut across; P, patella, or knee-cap ]

(Showing its internal structure) A, tendon of the semi-membranosus muscle cut across; B, F, tendon of same muscle; C, internal condyle of femur; D, posterior crucial ligament; E, internal interarticular fibro cartilage; G, bursa under knee-cap; H, ligament of knee-cap; K, fatty mass under knee-cap; L, anterior crucial ligament cut across; P, patella, or knee-cap ]

In front a great, four-headed muscle, quadriceps extensor, unites into a single tendon in which the knee-cap is set, and serves to straighten the knee, or when rising from a sitting posture helps elevate the body.

Even in the thighs the same peculiarity appears; for in neither case was the knee-cap found with the thigh-bone, although it seems to have been searched for.

Now the obvious way to divide the leg is to cut through the patellar ligament, leaving the knee-cap attached to the thigh.

But in this case, the knee-cap appears to have been left attached to the shank.

Anatomically speaking, the knee-cap appertains to the thigh rather than to the shank.

" "You are sure he broke both knee-caps?" "Quite sure.

"The remains which had been assembled formed a complete human skeleton with the exception of the skull, one finger, and the legs from knee to ankle, including both knee-caps.

In all cases the mode of dismemberment was peculiar; for an ordinary person would have divided the knee-joint leaving the knee-cap attached to the thigh, whereas it had evidently been left attached to the shin-bone; and the head would most probably have been removed by cutting through the neck instead of being neatly detached from the spine.

The knee-cap, for instance, which really belongs to the thigh, is attached to it by muscle, but to the shin-bone by a stout ligament.

"If I was wrong, it was possible that some of the undoubtedly genuine bones of John Bellingham might presently be discovered; for instance, the skull, the knee-cap, or the left fibula, by any of which the remains could be positively identified.

The deceased had broken his knee-caps and damaged his ankle, injuries which I assumed would leave some permanent trace.

Van Bibber heard a sharp rapping behind him frequently repeated; he could not turn to see what it was, for one of the remaining men was engaging him in front, and the other was kicking at his knee-cap, and striking at his head from behind.

Seeing this, the second man, who had so far failed to find Van Bibber's knee-cap, backed rapidly away, with his hands in front of him.

It caught him on the knee-cap, and put it out, causing him the most excruciating agony.

His knee was stiff and much swollen; just under the knee-cap was a mass of clotted blood; this I washed away, using all the gentle care at my command, but giving him, nevertheless, great pain.

And whether he meant to kill me, or only to cripple me, I don't know; but the bullet went through my left knee, at the lower edge of the knee-cap, and the next thing I knew I was sprawling on all-fours on the earth, and the nextand it was in the succeeding second, before even I felt a smartI was staring up from that position to see the vengeance that fell on my would-be murderer in the very instant of his attempt on me.

In his fright (the dog had not actually bitten him) he had blundered, and struck his knee-cap violently against a bollard close by the water's edge, and staggering under the anguish of it, had lost his footing and collapsed overboard.