the young man who had fallen into the town ditch was standing in the midst of a strange collection of battered things laid on the ground , some of which i had no doubt seen at his house : old copper pots with rivets mending holes , short lengths of rusty chain , knives with blackened wooden handles and half the blades honed away , odd china plates and cups , various carpenters tools , baskets , ornamentsthere seemed no end to the variety .