rock, and where it has not made its passage, within the space of time necessary for the sides to unite, like the veins called by stone-masons water veins, and in the larger cavities, where it has made a lodgment, the sides are full of soapy crystals; which, if not hexagonal prisms, and truncated, like those of the calcareous rock, yet shooting out with blunted points, are sufficient to shew, that both substances were once soft, and derive their transparent and variegated arrangements from the same causes, and the shape of their crystals only altered from the difference of some of the constituent parts of the matter of which they are composed. A. B. HERALDRY, ILLUSTRATIVE OF ANCESTRY AND GENTILITY. HAVING delineated the various parts of the armorial shield in our last lecture (No. 16,|| of LA BELLE ASSEMBLEE), it remains for us briefly to notice its various divisions. When the shield, therefore, is divided perpendicularly in the centre, it is said to be divided per pale; when it is divided by a line horizontally in the centre, it is then per fesse; if both together, it is called quartered; a line from the dexter chief to the sinister base, is per bend dexter, and a line from the opposite, is per bend sinister; should both these lines exist at the same time, then it is called per saltire. When the shield is divided by a number of perpendicular lines, it is called paly of six or of eight, according to the num ber; if by horizontal lines, it is called barry; if by diagonal lines from one side, it is bendy; when divided by perpendicular and horizontal lines, it is checky; and if by diagonal lines froin both sides, it is lozenge. The first of the simple ordinaries is the pale, which is a broad stripe perpendicular in the centre, and always of a different colour from the body of the shield; when this is narrower than onethird of the breadth of the shield, it is a pallet; a broad stripe across the centre of the shield, is a fesse; if narrower, it is a bar; and if very narrow, a barrulet; diagonal stripes are bends and bendlets: all of which are supposed to have originated from the parti-coloured scarfs of the ancient Kuights. It is unnecessary to describe the crosses, whether plain, saltine, or otherwise, as these, together with the cheveron, &c. &c. may be more easily understood from a simple heraldric plate, with which all the common Peerages are supplied; nor would it accord with our limits to state all the various significations which different writers have given to these ordinaries. It will not be irrelevant, however, to mention some of them, together with the symbolical meaning of the various animals, as well as of the different significations of their heraldic postures. The plain cross is evidently taken from the custom of bearing the cross on the upper garment, by the crusaders; the saltire is considered as an achievement of gallantry for scal ing the enemy's walls, as that was the ancient instrument used for that purpose; so that their bearers were esteemed worthy both in war and in devotion. The bend also signified those who were the first to mount the enemy's walls; the pale; taken from the feuces which surrounded the field of tournament, denoted its bearer to be one that stood upright in the service of his prince and native country, also as one that bounded himself within the pale of reason for the benefit of society. The fesse is the symbol of moderation and temperance; and the bar, which is never borne simple, points out one who is never alone so long as he is engaged in divine contemplation; it also marked one who resisted evil temptations, signifying thus-a bar of conscience and relia gion against vicious habits, a bar of honour against revenge, and a bar of reason against pride. The cheveron has been said to resemble the rafter of a house, but it is nothing more than a species of barricado used by the sappers and miners in the ancient system of warfare. The lozenge is that shape in which the arms of spinsters and widows are borne; when borne on the shield, it was the emblem of peace and splendor; when pierced in the centre, it was called a mascle, and denoted blessings and nobleness, being taken from the ornaments of the ladies' girdles. With respect to the borders, or bordures, they were merely adopted as augmentations or differences, either as denoting particular honourable exploits, or marking connections by blood or marriage, where the laws of heraldry did not allow the coats to be quartered. The lion when couchant, signified an illustrious hero reposing from his labours; when rampant, be pointed out the bearer to be a person of great courage and vigour; if passant, he shewed the resolute ambassador; if rampant guardant, the noble baron; if passant guardant, the prudent judge; and if saliant, the skilful and valiant general; if seiant, the lion pointed out the thoughtful counsellor ; if regardant he marked circumspection; aud when double-headed, was said to be a fit emblem of the politic lawyer; when ́exhibited with a forked tail, he pointed out the learned physician: but these last two emblems must have originated with the wits of ancient times. Sometimes his tail is in a knot, which shews a person able to suppress his own irascible temper, for when angry he always lashes his tail. It would be endless to enumerate all the fanciful significations of the other beasts, we shall therefore proceed to the birds, and of them shall merely specify the eagle, which, generally taken, is the emblem of fortitude and magnanimity. If displayed, he marks protection and also destruction; the one by his wings, the other by his talons. The cock also is emblematical of courage; the swan of sincerity; the dove of forgiveness of injuries; the pelican of instruction and good example; the raven of cleverness and cunning; the Cornish chough of readiness at warlike stratagems; and the swallow of the bearer of good tidings. Fishes are of less esteem in coat-armour than beasts or birds; but a fertile imagination may point out a variety of symbols marked by them. Trees and vegetables also had their significations. The palm-tree denoted victory, justice, and peace; the olive peace, concord, and obedience; the laurel triumph and victory; and the oak virtue, strength both of mind and body, and long life; the rose, the lily, and other flowers worn in chaplets, or borne in coat-armour, require no explanation; but the trefoil was the emblem of perpetuity; the quatrefoil of good luck, being the primrose, or earliest flower of spring; and the cinquefoil, being the symbol of the five senses, pointed out him who nobly regulated all his passions and affections.-Things inanimate were first adopted as symbolical of the rank or occupations of the first bearers; sometimes they were rebuses, like the bolt or arrow, and tun, to represent the name of Bolton, &c. We must not omit, however, to notice those bearings called marks of cadency, which, if our heraldic distinctious were well regulated, would shew the relation which every real possessor of a coat of arms bears to the original stock from whence he springs. These marks of cadency are small bearings affixed to any part of the shield, and ought always to be borne by every brauch of a family except him who represents the main stock. If, for instance, a person at the present day standing as the representative of the male line has nine sons, the eldest during his father's life time has a label of three points, signifying the joy of the parents, four points being only allowed to the royal blood; the second ought to bear the crescent, being the double blessing, and the hope on whom the increase of a new branch is founded; the mullet, or spur-rowell, alluded formerly to the third son generally becoming a military retainer of some warlike Baron; the fourth bore the martlet, or swallow, fabled to be without feet, and therefore emblematical of a younger brother likely to go abroad to push his fortune; the fifth bore the annulet, or ring, denoting perpetuity, as a family of five males was not likely to become extinct; whilst the fleur-de-lis, borne by the sixth, was said to allude to the contemplative and literary life generally appropriated to the youngest sous of good families, &c. &c. Thus have we slightly sketched the various objects worthy of notice on the shield; it is therefore necessary to notice those accom. panying heraldic marks, as they often point out the dignity of the wearer in society. The first thing, then, which appears over the shield is the helmet, which borne looking sideways shews that the owner of the carriage, or plate (or funeral escutcheon), is an Esquire, or simply a gentleman bearing coat-armour; when full-faced, and the vizor up, it points out a Knight or Baronet; the latter of which ranks may also be ascertained by a small white canton, or patch, on the shield, charged with a red hand, being the arms of Ulster, in Ireland, for the military defence of which against the rebellious chieftains this order was first established; if the helmet is looking sideways, with bars instead of a close vizor, it points out the various degrees of nobility; but these are more easily distinguished by the coronets, which require no illustration, being within the scope of every one's observation. Above the helmet is the wreath, being a chaplet of silk of the leading colours of the shield; on the wreath stands the crest, which may be changed by permission of the College of Arms, without altering the coat-armour; indeed it is supposed by some that whoever has a right to bear a coat of arms, may change his crest agreeable to his own desire without any he raldic license. It must be observed here, that maids or widows bear no crests nor mottoes, as these were things specifically used in war. The helmet is or ought to be always accompanied by the mantling, which was originally a hood of the same colour as the field of the coat, lined with silk or stuff of the colour of the principal bearing; and when the Knights returned to the camp on horseback after a hard fought day, these hoods, being cut by the swords of the enemy, flew open, and were distinguishing marks of the bearer's having been in the thickest of the fight. Here we must hint to our readers that they ought to pay attention to their herald painters when blazoning their arms, as nothing is more irregular than to have their mantlings of colours different from the coats, or to have the shield and mantling tinted of a fancy coloured purple, or brown, as is often seen in the streets of London. It is also proper to be noticed by those who give liveries to their servants, that the colour of the livery, and of its lining and mantlings, ought to be regulated in the same manner as those of the mantlings and wreath. We have already pointed out the marks of an Esquire, Knight, and Baronet; the other degrees are easily known; a Knight of the Bath has the full-faced helmet, he has supporters also like a nobleman, and the motto of the order is on a ribband encircling the coat of arms. A Knight of the Garter also may be known by the garter of the order surrounding the coat in addition to his other heraldic distinctions. Some Baronets, indeed, have supporters, but then they have no ribband surrounding their arms, or ought not to have, although it was the fashion lately to paint the arms even of Esquires with the family motto on a surrounding garter, an infringement which ought | always to be avoided. We shall now conclude this lecture with a slight notice of the distinctions of funeral escutcheons; and our next lecture will contain some anecdotes illustrative of heraldry in general, which will finish the course. Any person who notices one of these escutcheons, atchievements, or hatchments, may judge of the dignity of the person by the foregoing remarks. If the shield is of the masculine shape, and the arins not impaled, it is then put up for a bachelor; but if a death's head is in place of a crest, then he was the last of the family. If the shield is the masculine shape, and the arms impaled with another coat, then if the dexter side is black and the sinister is white, the husband is dead, and as they say at Bath-there is a widow to let; but if the black is on the sinister side and the other is white, then the good lady is at rest, and the husband is alive. Should it, however, be black all round, then it marks the death of a widower. If the arms are a single coat in a lozenge, then it is for a maiden; but if the arms in lozenge are impaled, it marks the decease of a widow. Such are the general leading distinctions of every day notoriety; we shall now take our leave until the succeeding month, which will close our heraldic labours. HISTORIC ROMANCES. HISTORY OF DON ZAMBOGA AND SERAPHINA; WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. As to the remainder of my narrative, said Don Zamboga, addressing himself to the friends to whom he was relating it, it is so connected with that of my friend Leontine (pointing to a gentleman present), that I cannot do better than request him to relate it, together with those circumstances of his own life which are connected with it.-Leontine, being thus invited, commenced in the following manner. HISTORY OF LEONTINE. the sole mention of his merits and the honour thus communicated to me as his descendant, that I have thus introduced Albert of A, for it is hence that my present misfortune takes its first source. Albert of A, like most of the German Barous, was possessed of that pride of ancestry which is equally their foible and their virtue, sometimes the motive to the most destructive ambition, as at other times to deeds of the most exalted glory. With this passion, therefore, of illustrious lineage, the only aim of all the efforts of Albert of A, was to My name is Leontine of A. My grand-add something more to his hereditary blazon, father, Albert of A-, of a German family, followed the arms and fortunes of the Emperor Charles V.; and having thus filled a command in his armies in the well-known invasion of Naples, he obtained new honours and settlements for his posterity in the newly acquired dominions. It is not without reason, nor for and fill up those quarters of his arms which the wings of the Imperial eagle still left vacant for his ambition. For this purpose he had early in life solicited and obtained the hand of Ellinor of Bavaria, the only issue of which marriage was my father, Conrade of A. Courade, from his earliest infancy, was thus the boast and affair at length proceeded so far that my sole pleasure of his father, not from any na-earnest of future favour. In one word, the tural affection, for it is the unhappy effect of pride that nature itself is lost in its superior domination, but from the sole suggestions of ambition, which was thus amply gratified in viewing in the young Courade the offspring of the united houses of Bavaria and A. Such were the emotions with which he regarded my father whilst yet in early life; it is not, therefore, difficult to divine to what point he directed his wishes when he saw him advanced to manhood." My son," he would say, displaying his emblazoned shield and coat," you behold these arms; in this quarter you behold the house of Saxony, in that the ensigns of Brunswick, here is the eagle of Austria, and there the red-cross of Malta! These, my son, have been the acquisitions of my illustrious fathers. Nor has my own life been barren, and Bavaria beholds here her transplanted ensign. Something, however, still remains for thee-be it thine to fill this vacant quarter." " Thus would Lisabetta address him, to which he would answer with mingled caresses and reasoning." Aud is it my own happiness or the caprice of my father that I am chiefly to consider? If there be a duty of the son to the father, is there no corresponding obliga Thus would Albert address my father, concluding his harangue by an enumeration of proud heiresses whom he deemed worthy of histion of a father to a son? No, my Lisabetta, alliance, and in whom he considered no other merit than their red, black, or blue eagles. All this, however, was lost upon my father, whose attention was pre-occupied by an object which all the eagles of the united circles would have in vain assailed. In the same house with my father, and under the protection of my grandfather, was a young orphan, the daughter of a Knight, who | in confidence of a long friendship had committed her upon his death-bed to the guardianship of Albert of A. The young Lisabetta had beauty and merit which in any other country than Germany would have made her equal to any alliance however honourable; one thing, however, she wanted,-be had no spread eagle in her arms; of what importance then were her charms or virtue! Conrade, however, was of sentiments somewhat different; when he saw herself he thought little of her fathers. In one word, he listened to the impulses of nature; and as the young Lisabetta was more beautiful than any other object he had ever beheld, he very naturally thought her more deserving of love. He was not long, therefore, before he felt this passion in its full violence; something in his mistress, perhaps, encouraged him to hope, and this hope led him to an effort to realize his prospects by an explicit declaration. Lisabetta, upon her part, had nothing of a German soul; she was sensible of the merit of her lover, accepted his passion, and accompanied her acceptance, perhaps, with some neither the gratitude of the son, nor the reasonable demands of the father, can extend to a sacrifice like this. Must a son obey the father who should command him to take away his own life? but to extort the sacrifice of my love, is not this the same tyranny, and would it not be followed by the same effect? Could I survive the loss of thee! Ah, no, my Lisabetta; I can live without titles, but what could preserve my life if deprived of thee!" she This reasoning, however disputable by a professor, was sufficient for Lisabetta; listened, therefore, and was persuaded. In a word, they were privately married the same evening, the ceremony being performed by the chaplain of the castle. The secret of their love, and still more that of their marriage, was well preserved from the knowledge of my grandfather; and indeed the foible of his character rendered this deception more easy. As he had never himself known what it was to be in love, nor indeed experienced any of the tender passions, having never sighed except for a spread eagle, nor ever adored any charms of a lady except what were comprehended in her coat of arms, he had never indulged any suspicion, and suspecting nothing he had overlooked every thing which had escaped the lovers. It was true, they had some difficulty to repress their mutual affection within the limits of prudence, and their involuntary ardour would not unfre quently attract the regard of the old nobleman. This they chiefly experienced in the first . 66 months of their union, in that season when the novelty of the happiness of wedded love illumined their eyes with the satisfaction and extacy of their hearts. Lisabetta too was here most imprudent; her affection, though more modest and tempered, was at the same time more tender than that of my father's, and thus would break out in a thousand shapes, which as more delicate were more involuntary. | These, as I have said, would often attract the attention of my grandfather, and momentary suspicion would then perhaps dart into his mind, but he no sooner examined it than it vanished. In this manner, therefore, for some months rolled on the first season of their love; each only living for the other, and forgetting every thing, friends, fame, aud fortune, in the sweet oblivion of wedded bliss. Their days glided on either unregarded in their course, or only regarded as adding to their transports, each daily discovering some new source of admiration, some charm of mind or person in the other. As they walked with linked arms through the woods which embosomed in their dark foliage the antique turrets of the castle, and the birds inspired by the genial warmth of the season, raised their songs around them, whilst they thus listened to the general carol of nature, Lisabetta raising her eyes to the face of Conrade:-" These too," she would say, are happy, and perhaps from the same cause as ourselves-they love." And then reclining on the shoulder of her husband, would receive the chastened embrace, which nuptial love can only confer. In this manner, I say, revolved the first months after the secret union, their happiness thus increasing and uninterrupted by any apprehension. At the end of this time, however, a circumstance happened which produced no great perplexity at the moment it occurred, but has been in its effect the cause of my present condition. In a word, their union was followed by the usual consequence, a circumstance which, in any other situation, would have confirmed their happiness, but under their present necessity was only full of embarrassment. It was uecessary, however, to take some resolution; my mother's pregnancy was now six months advanced, and farther concealment, unless from removal, was impossible. There stili remained the same arguments against any dis closure to my grandfather; the weight of these reasons was even increased, for he had at length resolved on an alliance with the family of a neighbouring Baron; but as he was at that time absent, he had hitherto delayed any proposal of the union to my father. My father's knowledge, however, of this circumstance, together with his observation of the increasing pride of my grandfather, for his predominant foible, like all other passions, had only gained new strength from time, rendered him still less w illing to hazard this discovery. Nothing therefore remained but a temporary removal, a thing which appeared as difficult to effect. From this perplexity my father was removed by one of those accidents by which a propi tious fortune sometimes relieves us from au embarrassment when all our efforts to that purpose have been but fruitless, A sister of my grandfather, the Lady Margaret A—, was at this period upon a visit at his castle. As the situation of my father and mother required the greatest secrecy in their visits, my father was in the habit of retiring first to his own chamber, and thence, by the assistance of a young maid-servant, the confidant of her mistress, withdrawing secretly to that of his wife; one night the Lady Margaret, occupied upon some letters of importance, had remained later than usual in her chamber without retiring to her bed; my father, believing all the house at rest, withdrew according to his ordinary custom to the apartment of my mother. They had already fallen asleep in each other's arms, when the door suddenly opened, and the Lady Margaret entered in search of something she required. Throwing her eyes upon Lisabetta her surprise can scarcely be conceived when she thus beheld them locked in mutual embraces. Forgetting every thing but the villainy, as she imagined it, of my father, in thus seducing the orphan whom his family honour bound him to protect, and be holding such a spectacle with so much the more anger, as Lisabetta had long been her most favoured companion; with these emotions, therefore, she hesitated not to awake them, and pour upon them those reproaches which she judged them so well to merit. This, as may be expected, produced an immediate explanation. The conclusion of which was, that the Lady Margaret immediately embraced the trembling and blushing Lisabetta, thus acknowledging her with repeated caresses as her niece. Their embarrassment was now over; the Lady Margaret, upon a pretence of a visit, removed her from the castle to her own house in Cambray, where she soon brought forth a daughter, who in honour of her sponsor and protectress, was christened by the name of Margaret. And it was agreed further between my father and his aunt, that the child should |