pose them to have been 'the invention of the graver only. who in cutting on seals, shields of arms, found it conve nient to fill up the corners with some additional ornament;' but others, and especially Menestrier, the grea French writer on heraldry, trace them back to the time of tournaments, and to the squires and pages fantastically attired as giants, Saracens, mermen, and even animals whose duty it was to guard their lord's shield when sus pended, according to custom, near the lists. This last supposition seems more in accordance with the general spirit of heraldry; but, on the other hand, it must be ob served, that supporters do not seem at first to have been exclusively appropriated by any particular families; and Anstin quotes an instance of a document addressed by various noblemen to the Pope in 1300, in which the seals of twenty-seven of the number are supported by wyverns, and of ten others by lions, while John de Hastings, be sides the two wyverns used as supporters, has one filling up the space above the shield, and Gilbert de Clare three lions similarly placed.

Whatever may have been the origin of these support. ers, Telamones, or Tenans, (as they are called in Latin and French blazonry,) they certainly began ere long to be regarded as badges of distinction, and the right of using them has long been restricted to persons of noble birth -to the sovereign, princes of the blood, peers, peeresses, and knights of the garter. A few commoners, whose ancestors formerly had supporters, still claim a right to e

ploy them; and they have been borne by others in virtue of high offices, as those of Lord High Warden of the Cinque Ports, Comptrollers of the Household, &c. Sir John Gage, Comptroller of the Household to Queen Mary, used two greyhounds as supporters, and his descendants being long afterwards elevated to the peerage by the title of Vi

count, resumed the same supporters.

English baronets, although superior in dignity

as

well

as in antiquity to those of Nova Scotia, are not allowed to carry supporters, a privilege conceded to the latter. A few mercantile companies also bear them, but why they are so privileged it would perhaps be difficult to say, and the supporters they use are generally of comparatively recent date, and not remarkable for good taste or heraldic propriety.

Shields of arms are sometimes supported by a single figure, either natural, supernatural, or imaginary. Angels are not unfrequently employed, but more often animals. The arms of Prussia are borne on the breast of the doubleheaded eagle, and those of several English families are similarly supported. Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother to Henry III., who purchased the Empire of Germany, giving for it, an old chronicler informs us, no less than thirty-two hogsheads of gold, each of which was conveyed in a separate wagon drawn by eight horses, bore his arms upon the eagle, about the only advantage he gained by his purchase; and the Lathams of Latham, and Feildings, Earls of Denbigh, do the same.

The Lord of the Manor of Stoke Lyne, Oxon, supports his shield upon a hawk, a privilege granted him by King Charles the Martyr, on occasion of the memorable Parliament of Oxford. The then Lord of Stoke Lyne rendered some important service to the King, who in return offered him the honour of knighthood. This he gratefully declined, only requesting the royal permission to place his arms in future on the breast of a hawk, which was granted him.

A very singular kind of supporters was in use in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries-a single animal, rampant, or more frequently sejant, grasping the staff of a banner, on which the arms are emblazoned. Sir Roger Fyne, Treasurer of the Household to Henry VI. has his arms thus carved over the great gate of Hurstmonceux Castle, and in this case the supporter is an alaunt, or

wolf-dog. It has, however, been common from the time of Henry VII. downwards, for the supporters of the royal arms to hold banners charged with the badges of the sore reign. Under the Stuarts the lion generally bore either the banner of St. George, or one charged with a rose; and the unicorn, the thistle, or a St. Andrew's cross. Henry III. is the first of our kings to whom the us of supporters is attributed. Henry IV. bore an antelope arg. ducally gorged (that is, with a line attached to his collar,) and attired or. for the earldom of Derby, and a swan arg. for Hereford: both were afterwards badges of Henry V.

The first supporters for which we have any certain authority are those of Henry V. They may be seen in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, in the inner gateway of Eton College, and on some stained glass at Ockwell Berks. where the royal shield is supported above the heads of two animals resembling panthers. The arms of Edward IV. as carved on the front of the Old George Inn at Glastonbury, were supported by a lion rampart arg. (for the earldom of March, and a bull for Clare.) They are thus represented also over the gate of Hertford Castle, but in St. George's Chapel the supporters are `a lion sejant arg. and a white hart, also sejant, attired, unguled, ducally gorged, and chained or.'

The supporters used by Richard III. were two white boars. Henry VII. had on the dexter a dragon gu. (for Cadwaladyr,) and on the sinister a greyhound arg. for York. Henry VIII. the same, but sometimes a lion gardant or. instead of the greyhound, in which case the dragon is placed on the sinister. Since the time of James I. the supporters, a lion and unicorn, have been unchanged.

The arms of most of the great officers of state in France were, under the Ancien Régime, supported by ensigns emblematic of their office. The Admiral of France, for

instance, has two anchors; the Vice-admiral, one. The Grand Louvetier (wolf hunter) two wolves' heads, and the Grand Butler two bottles ornamented with the royal

arms.

The French make a distinction between supporters and tenans, and both are curiously combined in the arms of the House of Albret. The lower part of their shield is supported by two lions couchant wearing helmets, and above are two eagles, each standing with one foot on the lion's head, while the other grasps the upper part of the escutcheon.

In English heraldry supporters are so often identical with the badge, that many of them have been incidentally noticed in the previous chapters.

Cris-de-guerre and mottos must be considered together, as in the former we may frequently trace the origin of the latter. These last form a peculiarly interesting branch of modern heraldry, for as the meaning they convey is generally intelligible, even to those who are most ignorant of heraldic science, they often awaken an interest in the coat-of-arms, which, but for the suggestions afforded by the motto, might never have been aroused. Often, indeed, the motto gives a clue to the whole deep meaning of the emblematic ensigns on the shield, and reveals the religious faith, zeal, and love of our ancestors, no less than their courage, loyalty, and thirst for glory.

The preponderance of religious mottos has led some persons to conclude that they must have been derived from the devout ejaculations, such as, 'Jesu, mercy!' 'Lady, helpe,' and 'Drede God,' which occur on ancient tombs; yet it seems more probable, that the words, afterwards adopted as a motto, were originally words of onset -cris-de-guerre, in fact; and if we look back to those first institutions of chivalry with which heraldry is so nearly connected, which our readers may easily do by referring to the first among this series of chapters, now

drawing to a close, we shall find that religion was mdoubtedly the moving spring of both, and although many lower motives unhappily, blended with religious zealthough devotion was made at times but the mask of ambition, and even when most sincere was too often debased by an alloy of ignorance and superstition; still it is inpossible to figure to ourselves whole armies devoutly receiving the Lord's Supper, and prostrating themselves i fervent prayer even on the battle-field, without acknow ledging that such men, rising from their knees to rush into a combat, in which they believed themselves to be verily fighting on behalf of God, would most probab urge on their soldiers by some cry, testifying both to their own courage, and to their faith in Him for whom they fought. Accordingly we find the origin of religious mottos in such ancient war-cries as 'Dieu et mon droit, 'Dieu Ayde,' or 'Dex aie,' 'Dieu aide au premier Chré tien,' used by the house of Montmorency; 'Notre Dame de Bourgoyne,' 'Bourbon Notre Dame,' &c. together with those of the patron saints of nearly every nation and noble family, as 'St. George to the rescue,' 'St. Andrew," 'Monjoye,''St. Denis,'' Santiago,' &c.

Other war-cries are merely incitements to valiant deeds. 'A dextre et a sinistre,' 'Au feu, au feu,''Au guet, au guet,' Esperance, Percy, and set on.'

The cry of the Emperors of Germany is Milan, the valiant!' 'Trappez-fort,' of Wodehouse, and Courage sans peur,' of Gage; we have also 'A la merveille!" and 'Boulogne belle.' Sometimes the name only of the chieftain was used, 'A Home, a Home;' and we find a few curious and barbarous cries, which, like the warwhoop of the Indians, seem to have been intended only to strike terror into the enemy: as, for instance, the Irish aboo, which was generally united with the family name, 'Butler a boo,'' Shanet a boo,' &c.

Mottos also are of various kinds, religious, warlike, and