# File rexml/quickpath.rb, line 106
  def QuickPath::axe( elements, axe_name, rest )
			matches = []
			matches = filter( elements.dup, rest ) if axe_name =~ /-or-self$/u
			case axe_name
			when /^descendant/u
				elements.each do |element|
					matches |= filter( element.to_a, "descendant-or-self::#{rest}" ) if element.kind_of? Element
				end
			when /^ancestor/u
				elements.each do |element|
					while element.parent
						matches << element.parent
						element = element.parent
					end
				end
				matches = filter( matches, rest )
			when "self"
				matches = filter( elements, rest )
			when "child"
				elements.each do |element|
					matches |= filter( element.to_a, rest ) if element.kind_of? Element
				end
			when "attribute"
				elements.each do |element|
					matches << element.attributes[ rest ] if element.kind_of? Element
				end
			when "parent"
				matches = filter(elements.collect{|element| element.parent}.uniq, rest)
			when "following-sibling"
				matches = filter(elements.collect{|element| element.next_sibling}.uniq,
					rest)
			when "previous-sibling"
				matches = filter(elements.collect{|element| 
					element.previous_sibling}.uniq, rest )
			end
			return matches.uniq
		end