13. The CHEVERON iS an ordinary, formed of twofold lines placed pyramidically, and is resembled to a pair of barge-couples or rafters, such as carpenters use to support the roof of a house. Its diminutives are the ehevronel, which is half the chevron ; and the cozo/c close, which is half the chevronel. See Fig. 23.
14. The FRET is formed of six pieces, two of which compose a saltier, and the other four a mascle, over which the saltier pieces must be interlaced. When the fret is composed or 8 or 10 pieces, we say, or fretty azure, &c. Fig. 24.
15. The PILE is an ordinary, composed of a twofold line, which forms a long wedge, broad at the top, and terminating at the base in an acute angle. See Fig. 25.
16. The GiRox is an ordinary of a triangular or conical form, composed of two lines drawn flout diverse parts of the escutcheon, and meeting in an acute angle in the fess point. This may be borne singly, or in couples, to the number of 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12. When there is only one gy ron in a coat, it is blazoned thus, argent a gyro: sable, with out mentioning the point from which it issues, that always being supposed to be the dexter chief point ; but if it stand elsewhere, it must be expressed. If there be six gyrons . _ in a coat, it is blazoned, gyrony of six, or and sable, and so of any greater number. See Fig. 26.
17. The QUARTER is an ordinary, composed of two straight lines, containing one-fourth part of the shield. See Fig. 27.
18. The CANTON is of a square figure less than the quar ter, containing one-third of the chief. See Fig. 28.
19. The FILE or LABEL, though used as a distinction of houses, is very properly placed among the ordinaries by Holme, by reason that it is variously borne and charged.
Of Charges or Figures not peculiar to Heraldry.
26. Anciently arms were simple and plain, consisting of at most a few figures distinctly set forth on the shield ; the heralds of those days being universally of opinion, that the plainer a coat is the more honourable it should be esteem ed. The arms of the house of France, were simply three fleur-de-lys or in an azure field. The royal arms of Eng land, at most three lions or on a field gules. The arms of \Valdgrave, simply per pale argent and piles. Those of Burgundy ermine alone, without any charge whatever. As coats of arms increased in number, a deviation from this original simplicity soon became unavoidable ; a conspicu ous variation from each other was absolutely requisite ; and this necessity was never more felt than in camps and tour naments. This at first was effected either by a repetition on the same escutcheon, of some one or other of those par ticular figures, which had heretofore been used as charges ; or by placing in the field two or more distinct bearings. It was not long, however, before this mode proved inadequate to the purpose for which it was intended. The continual multiplication of arms had exhausted all the variations of which armories were, as they then stood, susceptible, and called for additional marks of distinction. Wherefore such a multitude of new charges have been from time to time introduced, that it may be truly said, there is scarce any thing either natural or artificial that is not, or has not been, represented in a coat armour.
The embarrassments which, from the multiplicity of coats of arms, and tht. infinity of charges former heralds lay under, in the contriving new armories, so as not to have them clash with others already in use, led them, as might well have been expected, into many absurdities ; but to their praise it must be said, that they not only avoided, with great caution, all improper or indistinct figures, but bla zoned what they did select with so much fulness and nice ty, that none could be at a loss to draw them with accuracy and exactness. Modern heralds, however, have not always followed their good example in this respect ; on the con trary, they have stuffed the newly purchased coats with such a multitude and variety of charges, and introduced such a medley of novel and extraordinary bearings, that these escutcheons are for the most part crowded, confused, and unseemly, and of consequence altogether inadequate to the original purposes of coat armour.
Possibly they are desirous of giving good pennyworths, and think that as purchasers now pay much dearer for their arms than they used to do, they arc entitled to a greater number of bearings on that account. The arms granted to one Edward Chambers, of the island of Jamaica, afford a notable instance : " Argent a negro cutting with a bill a su gar cane, all proper: on a chief azure two pineapples oR, leaved of the last. But the escutcheon of an officer lately
returned from the East Indies, viz. lieutenant John Nathan Hitchins, presented still greater absurdities : " Quarterly 1st and 4th vert an elephant and tiger rampant combatant, an officer of the honourable East India Company's dragoons standing by with a musket in his dexter hand, and a dead horse couchant in the sinister point base, all proper. 2d and 3d gules between three pieces of ordnance OR on a chevron argent two oriental tiaras centre embattled proper." The motto, " Auroranz et Gangem pauci dignoscere jzossunt." Another grant runs thus : on a chevron between 2 pistols in chief on, a silver medal with the French king's bust, inscribed Louis XV. par la grace du Dieu Roi de France et .Vavarre,' tied at the top with a ribbon vacs. A laurel chaplet in the centre, a scalp on a staff on the dexter, and tomahawk on the sinister, all proper. For the crest : On a wreath a rock ; over the top a battery in perspective ; there on the French flag hoisted, an officer of the Queen's Royal American Rangers climbing the said rock sword in hand, all proper !" The arms of one Templar are thus blazoned in the grant : "Quarterly azure and gules, the perspective of an antique temple ; on the pinnacle and exterior battlements a cross moline oR. In the first quarter, an eagle displayed. In the second, a fag trippant,regardant of the last." The arms of Mr William Stitlington, teacher of philosophy in Wap ping, are thus : " Azure on the ecliptic circle OR, the sign. LIBRA; in chirf, a terrestrial globe on a stand, all proper ; and in the base, on a mount vert, A MALE CHILD extended in bend sinister proper. Crest, On a wreath, a holy lamb re gardant ermine accolled with a laurel branch vert, holding a banner proper. Motto, Have mercy on us, good Lord." On the ridiculous parts of these armories, and the incomprehen sible jargon in which they are set forth in the grants, it would be absurd to enlarge. The arms are such as no ancient herald, rightly embued with the principles of his art, could understand ; and no painter can properly represent without the help of inspiration, unless he can see the painting on the margin of the grant.* Many other examples of a like sort might be produced ; but, to those already mentioned, we shall only add that of the bearing granted to one Mr Tetlow, which is so extraordina ry, in respect to the coat as well as the crest, that it is not, by any means, to be omitted in this place. In the arms are five music bars ; and the crest is thus set forth : " On a book erect gules clasped and leaved OR, a silver penny ar gent whereon is written the Lord's prayer ; on the top of the book a dove proper, in its beak a crow•quill pen sable ; in commemoration, as is said, of the brother of the grantee having written the Lord's prayer within such a compass.
Neither can any one greatly approve of a grant of arms, wherein we find troubled ocean with Neptune rising therefrom, holding in his sinister hand part of the wreck of the ship Royal George," to indicate, that the uncle of the grantee had suffered shipwreck along with Kempenfelt ; or of a grant, wherein is introduced " a China porter carrying on a yoke two faggots of cinnamon," to indicate that the grantee had once made a voyage to the Dutch islands ; and yet all these absurdities arise from the present or late sys tem of charges adopted in the herald offices.
But to return from this digression, if such it deserves to be called, to notice particularly all those figures which are, even lir the most excellent authors, admitted as proper for the practice of heraldry, would be altogether inconsist ent with the limits of an article such as this. The princi pal only can be noticed ; and, in the first place, it is fit to ob serve, that of charges some arc round in shape, some square. The former are generally called roundles or round lets ; and of these, which differ from each other in name blazon, according to the variations of its tinctures. This charge is called guttes,i. c. dtyps of things liquid, whether, by nature or by art.
according as they are of different tinctures, there arc nine ; seven of them being- perfectly globular, and two of them fiat like a piece of coin.
1. BnzAsrs, when they arc armorial figures, are flat pieces of plain gold, without any stamp or impression upon them. When introduced into heraldry, they had their name from the ancient coin of Constantinople, or Byzantium.