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diff --git a/40113.txt b/40113.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4765050..0000000 --- a/40113.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7920 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Flags of the World, by F. Edward Hulme - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: The Flags of the World - Their History, Blazonry, and Associations - - -Author: F. Edward Hulme - - - -Release Date: July 1, 2012 [eBook #40113] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD*** - - -E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Keith Edkins, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 40113-h.htm or 40113-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40113/40113-h/40113-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40113/40113-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/flagsofworldthei00hulmiala - - -Transcriber's note: - - A few typographical errors have been corrected; they are - listed at the end of the text. - - To facilitate the use of the index, page numbers have - been included enclosed by curly brackets (example: {5}). - - - - - -THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD: - -Their History, Blazonry, and Associations. - -From the Banner of the Crusader to the Burgee of the Yachtsman; -Flags National, Colonial, Personal; -the Ensigns of Mighty Empires; -the Symbols of Lost Causes. - -by - -F. EDWARD HULME, F.L.S., F.S.A., - -Author of -"Familiar Wild Flowers," "History, Principles and Practice of Heraldry," -"Birth and Development of Ornament," &c., &c. - - - - - - - -London: -Frederick Warne & Co., -and New York -[All rights reserved.] - - - -{iii} - -TABLE OF CONTENTS. - - - -CHAPTER I. - -The necessity of some special Sign to distinguish Individuals, Tribes, and -Nations--the Standards of Antiquity--Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, -and Roman--the Vexillum--the Labarum of Constantine--Invocation of -Religion--the Flags of the Enemy--Early Flags of Religious Character--Flags -of Saints at Funeral Obsequies--Company and Guild Flags of the Mediaeval -Period--Political Colours--Various kinds of Flags--the Banner--Rolls of -Arms--Roll of Karlaverok--The Flag called the Royal Standard is really the -Royal Banner--Main-sail Banners--Trumpet Banners--Ladies embroidering -Banners for the Cause--Knights' Banneret--Form of Investiture--the -Standard--the Percy Badges and Motto--Arctic Sledge-flags--the Rank -governing the size of the Standard--Standards at State Funerals--the -Pennon--Knights' Pennonciers--the Pennoncelle--Mr. Rolt as Chief -Mourner--Lord Mayor's Show--the Pennant--the Streamer--Tudor Badges--Livery -Colours--the Guidon--Bunting--Flag Devising a Branch of Heraldry--Colours -chiefly used in Flags--Flags bearing Inscriptions--Significance of the Red -Flag--of the Yellow--of the White--of the Black--Dipping the Flag--the -Sovereignty of the Sea--Right of Salute insisted on--Political changes -rendering Flags obsolete 1 - -CHAPTER II. - -The Royal Standard--the Three Lions of England--the Lion Rampant of -Scotland--Scottish sensitiveness as to precedence--the Scottish -Tressure--the Harp of Ireland--Early Irish Flags--Brian Boru--the Royal -Standards from Richard I. to Victoria--Claim to the Fleurs-de-lys of -France--Quartering Hanover--the Union Flag--St. George for England--War -Cry--Observance of St. George's Day--the Cross of St. George--Early Naval -Flags--the London Trained Bands--the Cross of St. Andrew--the "Blue -Blanket"--Flags of the Covenanters--Relics of St. Andrew--Union of England -and Scotland--the First Union Flag--Importance of accuracy in -representations of it--the Union Jack--Flags of the Commonwealth and -Protectorate--Union of Great Britain and {iv} Ireland--the Cross of St. -Patrick--Labours of St. Patrick in Ireland--Proclamation of George III. as -to Flags, etc.--the Second Union Flag--Heraldic Difficulties in its -Construction--Suggestions by Critics--Regulations as to Fortress Flags--the -White Ensign of the Royal Navy--Saluting the Flag--the Navy the Safeguard -of Britain--the Blue Ensign--the Royal Naval Reserve--the Red Ensign of the -Mercantile Marine--Value of Flag-lore 29 - -CHAPTER III. - -Army Flags--the Queen's Colour--the Regimental Colour--the Honours and -Devices--the Flag of the 24th Regiment--Facings--Flag of the King's Own -Borderers--What the Flag Symbolises--Colours of the Guards--the Assaye -Flag--Cavalry Flags--Presentation of Colours--Chelsea College Chapel--Flags -of the Buffs in Canterbury Cathedral--Flags of the Scottish Regiments in -St. Giles's Cathedral--Burning of Rebel Flags by the Hangman--Special Flags -for various Official Personages--Special Flags for different Government -Departments--the Lord High Admiral--the Mail Flag--White Ensign of the -Royal Yacht Squadron--Yacht Ensigns and Burgees--House or Company -Flags--How to express Colours with Lines--the Allan Tricolor--Port -Flags--the British Empire--the Colonial Blue Ensign and Pendant--the -Colonial Defence Act--Colonial Mercantile Flag--Admiralty Warrant--Flag of -the Governor of a Colony--the Green Garland--the Arms of the Dominion of -Canada--Badges of the various Colonies--Daniel Webster on the Might of -England--Bacon on the Command of the Ocean 61 - -CHAPTER IV. - -The Flag of Columbus--Early Settlements in North America--the Birth of the -United States--Early Revolutionary and State Flags--the Pine-tree Flag--the -Rattle-snake Flag--the Stars and Stripes--Early Variations of it--the Arms -of Washington--Entry of New States into the Union--the Eagle--the Flag of -the President--Secession of the Southern States--State Flags again--the -Stars and Bars--the Southern Cross--the Birth of the German Empire--the -Influence of War Songs--Flags of the Empire--Flags of the smaller German -States--the Austro-Hungary Monarchy--the Flags of Russia--the Crosses of -St. Andrew and St. George again--the Flags of France--St. Martin--the -Oriflamme--the Fleurs-de-lys--Their Origin--the White Cross--the White Flag -of the Bourbons--the Tricolor--the Red {v} Flag--the Flags of Spain--of -Portugal--the Consummation of Italian Unity--the Arms of Savoy--the Flags -of Italy--of the Temporal Power of the Papacy--the Flag of Denmark--its -Celestial Origin--the Flags of Norway and Sweden--of Switzerland--Cantonal -Colours--the Geneva Convention--the Flags of Holland--of Belgium--of -Greece--the Crescent of Turkey--the Tughra--the Flags of Roumania, Servia, -and Bulgaria--Flags of Mexico, and of the States of Southern and Central -America--of Japan--the Rising Sun--the Chrysanthemum--the Flags of China, -Siam and Corea--of Sarawak--of the Orange Free State, Liberia, Congo State, -and the Transvaal Republic 86 - -CHAPTER V. - -Flags as a Means of Signalling--Army Signalling--the Morse Alphabet--Navy -Signalling--First Attempts at Sea Signals--Old Signal Books in Library of -Royal United Service Institution--"England expects that every man will do -his duty"--Sinking Signal Codes on defeat--Present System of Signalling in -Royal Navy--Pilot Signals--Weather Signalling by Flags--the International -Signal Code--First Published in 1857--Seventy-eight Thousand Different -Signals possible--Why no Vowels used--Lloyd's Signal Stations 127 - -ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO TEXT 141 - -COLOURED PLATES 149 - - - -{1} - -THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD. - -CHAPTER I. - - The necessity of some special Sign to distinguish Individuals, Tribes, - and Nations--the Standards of Antiquity--Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, - Greek, and Roman--the Vexillum--The Labarum of Constantine--Invocation - of Religion--the Flags of the Enemy--Early Flags of Religious - Character--Flags of Saints at Funeral Obsequies--Company and Guild - Flags of the Mediaeval Period--Political Colours--Various kinds of - Flags--the Banner--Rolls of Arms--Roll of Karlaverok--The Flag called - the Royal Standard is really the Royal Banner--Mainsail - Banners--Trumpet Banners--Ladies embroidering Banners for the - Cause--Knights' Banneret--Form of Investiture--the Standard--the Percy - Badges and Motto--Arctic Sledge-flags--the Rank governing the size of - the Standard--Standards at State Funerals--the - Pennon--Knights-Pennonciers--the Pennoncelle--Mr. Rolt as Chief - Mourner--Lord Mayor's Show--the Pennant--the Streamer--Tudor - Badges--Livery Colours--the Guidon--Bunting--Flag Devising a Branch of - Heraldry--Colours chiefly used in Flags--Flags bearing - Inscriptions--Significance of the Red Flag--of the Yellow--of the - White--of the Black--Dipping the Flag--the Sovereignty of the - Sea--Right of Salute insisted on--Political Changes rendering Flags - obsolete. - -So soon as man passes from the lowest stage of barbarism the necessity for -some special sign, distinguishing man from man, tribe from tribe, nation -from nation, makes itself felt; and this prime necessity once met, around -the symbol chosen spirit-stirring memories quickly gather that endear it, -and make it the emblem of the power and dignity of those by whom it is -borne. The painted semblance of grizzly bear, or beaver, or rattlesnake on -the canvas walls of the tepi of the prairie Brave, the special chequering -of colours that compose the tartan[1] of the Highland clansman, are -examples of this; and as we pass from individual or local tribe to mighty -nations, the same influence is still at work, and the distinctive Union -Flag of Britain, the tricolor of France, the gold and scarlet bars of the -flag of Spain, all alike appeal with irresistible force to the patriotism -of those born beneath their folds, and speak to them of the glories and -greatness of the historic past, the duties of the present, and the hopes of -the future--inspiring those who gaze upon their proud blazonry with the -determination to be no unworthy sons of their fathers, but to live, and if -need be to die, for the dear home-land of which these are the symbol. {2} - -The standards used by the nations of antiquity differed in nature from the -flags that in mediaeval and modern days have taken their place. These -earlier symbols were ordinary devices wrought in metal, and carried at the -head of poles or spears. Thus the hosts of Egypt marched to war beneath the -shadow of the various sacred animals that typified their deities, or the -fan-like arrangement of feathers that symbolised the majesty of Pharoah, -while the Assyrian standards, to be readily seen represented on the slabs -from the palaces of Khorsabad and Kyonjik, in the British Museum and -elsewhere, were circular disks of metal containing various distinctive -devices. Both these and the Egyptian standards often have in addition a -small flag-like streamer attached to the staff immediately below the -device. The Greeks in like manner employed the Owl of Athene, and such-like -religious and patriotic symbols of the protection of the deities, though -Homer, it will be remembered, makes Agamemnon use a piece of purple cloth -as a rallying point for his followers. The sculptures of Persepolis show us -that the Persians adopted the figure of the Sun, the eagle, and the like. -In Rome a hand erect, or the figures of the horse, wolf, and other animals -were used, but at a later period the eagle alone was employed. Pliny tells -us that "Caius Marius in his second consulship ordained that the Roman -legions should only have the Eagle for their standard. For before that time -the Eagle marched foremost with four others, wolves, minatours, horses, and -bears--each one in its proper order. Not many years past the Eagle alone -began to be advanced in battle, and the rest were left behind in the camp. -But Marius rejected them altogether, and since this it is observed that -scarcely is there a camp of a Legion wintered at any time without having a -pair of Eagles." The eagle, we need scarcely stay to point out, obtained -this pre-eminence as being the bird of Jove. The Vexillum, or cavalry flag, -was, according to Livy, a square piece of cloth fixed to a cross bar at the -end of a spear; this was often richly fringed, and was either plain or bore -certain devices upon it, and was strictly and properly a flag. The ensigns -which distinguished the allied forces from the legions of the Romans were -also of this character. Examples of these vexilla may be seen on the -sculptured columns of Trajan and Antoninus, the arch of Titus, and upon -various coins and medals of ancient Rome. - -The Imperial Standard or Labarum carried before Constantine and his -successors resembled the cavalry Vexillum.[2] It was of purple silk, richly -embroidered with gold, and though ordinarily {3} suspended from a -horizontal cross-bar, was occasionally displayed in accordance with our -modern usage by attachment by one of its sides to the staff. - -The Roman standards were guarded with religious veneration in the temples -of the metropolis and of the chief cities of the Empire, and modern -practice has followed herein the ancient precedent. As in classic days the -protection of Jove was invoked, so in later days the blessing of Jehovah, -the Lord of Hosts, has been sought. At the presentation of colours to a -regiment a solemn service of prayer and praise is held, and when these -colours return in honour, shot-rent from victorious conflict, they are -reverently placed in stately abbey, venerable cathedral, or parish church, -never more to issue from the peace and rest of the home of God until by -lapse of years they crumble into indistinguishable dust. - -The Israelites carried the sacred standard of the Maccabees, with the -initial letters of the Hebrew text, "Who is like unto Thee, O God, amongst -the gods?" The Emperor Constantine caused the sacred monogram of Christ to -be placed on the Labarum, and when the armies of Christendom went forth to -rescue the Holy Land from the infidel they received their cross-embroidered -standards from the foot of the altar. Pope Alexander II. sent a consecrated -white banner to Duke William previous to his expedition against Harold, and -we read in the "Beehive of the Romish Church," published in 1580, how "the -Spaniardes christen, conjure, and hallow their Ensignes, naming one -Barbara, another Katherine," after the names of saints whose aid they -invoked in the stress of battle. We may see this invocation again very well -in Figs. 147, 148: flags borne by the colonists of Massachusetts when they -arrayed themselves against the mercenaries of King George, and appealed to -the God of Battles in behalf of the freedom and justice denied by those who -bore rule over them. - -This recognition of the King of kings has led also to the captured banners -of the enemy being solemnly suspended in gratitude and thanksgiving in the -house of God. Thus Speed tells us that on the dispersal and defeat of the -Armada, Queen Elizabeth commanded solemn thanksgiving to be celebrated at -the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's, in her chief city of London, which -accordingly was done upon Sunday, the 8th of September, when eleven of the -Spanish ensigns were hung, to the great joy of the beholders, as "psalmes -of praise" for England's deliverance from sore peril. Very appropriately, -too, in the Chapel of the Royal College at Chelsea, the home of the old -soldiers who helped to win them, hang the flags taken at Barrosa, -Martinique, Bhurtpore, Seringapatam, Salamanca, Waterloo, and many another -hard-fought struggle; {4} and thus, in like manner, is the tomb of Napoleon -I., in Paris, surrounded by trophies of captured flags. On March 30th, -1814, the evening before the entry of the Allies into Paris, about 1,500 -flags--the victorious trophies of Napoleon--were burnt in the Court of the -Eglise des Invalides, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. - -Early flags were almost purely of a religious character.[3] The first -notice of banners in England is in Bede's description of the interview -between the heathen King Ethelbert and Augustine, the missionary from Rome, -where the followers of the latter are described as bearing banners on which -were displayed silver crosses; and we need scarcely pause to point out that -in Roman Catholic countries, where the ritual is emotional and sensuous, -banners of this type are still largely employed to add to the pomp of -religious processions. Heraldic and political devices upon flags are of -later date, and even when these came freely into use their presence did not -supplant the ecclesiastical symbols. The national banner of England for -centuries--the ruddy cross of her patron Saint George (Fig. 91)--was a -religious one, and, whatever other banners were carried, this was ever -foremost in the field. The Royal banner of Great Britain and Ireland that -we see in Fig. 44, in its rich blazonry of the lions of England and -Scotland and the Irish harp, is a good example of the heraldic flag, while -our Union flag (Fig. 90), equally symbolizes the three nations of the -United Kingdom, but this time by the allied crosses of the three patron -saints, St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick, and it is therefore a -lineal descendant and exemplar of the religious influence that was once -all-powerful. - -The ecclesiastical flags were often purely pictorial in character, being -actual representations of the Persons of the Trinity, of the Virgin Mother, -or of divers saints. At other times the monasteries and other religious -houses bore banners of heraldic character; as the leading ecclesiastics -were both lords temporal and lords spiritual, taking their places in the -ranks of fighting men and leading on the field the body of dependants and -retainers that they were required to maintain in aid of the national -defence. In such case {5} the distinguishing banner of the contingent -conformed in character to the heraldic cognisances of the other nobles in -the host. Fig. 77, for instance, was the banner of St. Alban's Abbey. In a -poem on the capture of Rouen by the English, in the year 1418, written by -an eye-witness of the scenes described, we read how the English commander-- - - "To the Castelle firste he rode - And sythen the citie all abrode, - Lengthe and brede he it mette - And riche baneres up he sette - Upon the Porte Seint Hillare - A Baner of the Trynyte; - And at Porte Kaux he sette evene - A Baner of the Quene of Heven; - And at Porte Martvile he upplyt - Of Seint George a Baner breight." - -and not until this recognition of Divine and saintly aid was made did - - "He sette upon the Castelle to stonde - The armys of Fraunce and Englond." - -Henry V., at Agincourt, in like manner displayed at his headquarters on the -field not only his own arms, but, in place of special honour and -prominence, the banners of the Trinity, of St. George, and of St. Edward. -These banners of religious significance were often borne from the -monasteries to the field of battle, while monks and priests in attendance -on them invoked the aid of Heaven during the strife. In an old statement of -accounts, still existing, we read that Edward I. made a payment of 8-1/2 d. -a day to a priest of Beverley for carrying throughout one of his campaigns -a banner bearing the figure of St. John. St. Wilfred's banner from Ripon, -together with this banner of St. John from Beverley, were brought on to the -field at Northallerton; the flag of St. Denis was carried in the armies of -St. Louis and of Philip le Bel, and the banner of St. Cuthbert of Durham -was borrowed by the Earl of Surrey in his expedition against Scotland in -the reign of Henry VIII. This banner had the valuable reputation of -securing victory to those who fought under it. It was suspended from a -horizontal bar below a spear head, and was a yard or so in breadth and a -little more than this in depth; the bottom edge had five deep indentations. -The banner was of red velvet sumptuously enriched with gold embroidery, and -in the centre was a piece of white velvet, half a yard square, having a -cross of red velvet upon it. This central portion covered and protected a -relic of the saint. The victory of Neville's Cross, October 17th, 1346, was -held to be largely {6} due to the presence of this sacred banner, and the -triumph at Flodden was also ascribed to it. - -During the prevalence of Roman Catholicism in England, we find that banners -of religious type entered largely into the funeral obsequies of persons of -distinction: thus at the burial of Arthur, Prince of Wales, the eldest son -of Henry VII., we find a banner of the Trinity, another with the cross and -instruments of the Passion depicted upon it; another of the Virgin Mary, -and yet another with a representation of St. George. Such banners, as in -the present instance, were ordinarily four in number, and carried -immediately round the body at the four corners of the bier. Thus we read in -the diary of an old chronicler, Machyn, who lived in the reigns of Edward -VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, that at the burial of the Countess of Arundel, -October 27th, 1557, "cam iiij herroldes in ther cotes of armes, and bare -iiij baners of emages at the iiij corners." Again, on "Aprell xxix, 1554, -was bered my Lady Dudley in Saint Margarett in Westminster, with iiij -baners of emages." Another item deals with the funeral of the Duchess of -Northumberland, and here again "the iiij baners of ymages" again recur. -Anyone having the old records, church inventories, and the like before -them, would find it easy enough, as easy as needless, to multiply -illustrations of this funeral use of pictured banners. These "emages" or -"ymages" of old Machyn are of course not images in the sense of sculptured -or carved things, but are painted and embroidered representations of -various saints. Machyn, as a greatly interested looker-on at all the -spectacles of his day, is most entertaining, but his spelling, according to -the severer notions of the present day, is a little weak, as, for instance, -in the following words that we have culled at random from his -pages:--prossessyon, gaffelyns, fezyssyoun, dysquyet, neckclygens, -gorgyusle, berehyng, wypyd, pelere, artelere, and dyssys of spyssys. The -context ordinarily makes the meaning clear, but as our readers have not -that advantage, we give the same words according to modern -orthography--procession, javelins, physician, disquiet, negligence, -gorgeously, burying, whipped, pillory, artillery, dishes of spices. - -The various companies and guilds of the mediaeval period had their special -flags that came out, as do those of their successors of the present day, on -the various occasions of civic pageantry; and in many cases, as may be seen -in the illuminated MSS. in the British Museum and elsewhere, they were -carried to battle as the insignia of the companies of men provided at the -expense of those corporations. Thus in one example that has come under our -notice we see a banner bearing a chevron between hammer, trowels, and -builder's square; in another between an axe and two pairs of compasses, -while a third on its azure field bears a pair of golden {7} shears. In the -representation of a battle between Philip d'Artevelde and the Flemings -against the French, many of the flags therein introduced bear the most -extraordinary devices, boots and shoes, drinking-vessels, anvils, and the -like, that owe their presence there to the fact that various trade guilds -sent their contingents of men to the fight. In a French work on mediaeval -guilds we find the candle-makers of Bayeux marching beneath a black banner -with three white candles on it, the locksmiths of La Rochelle having a -scarlet flag with four golden keys on it. The lawyers of Loudoun had a flag -with a large eye on it (a single eye to business being, we presume, -understood), while those of Laval had a blue banner with three golden -mouths thereon. In like manner the metal-workers of Laval carried a black -flag with a silver hammer and files depicted on it, those of Niort had a -red flag with a silver cup and a fork and spoon in gold on either side. The -metal-workers of Ypres also carried a red flag, and on this was represented -a golden flagon and two buckles of gold. Should some national stress this -year or next lead our City Companies, the Fishmongers, the Carpenters, the -Vintners, and others to contribute contingents to the defence of the -country, and to send them forth beneath the banners of the guilds, history -would but repeat itself. - -In matters political the two great opposing parties have their distinctive -colours, and these have ordinarily been buff and blue, though the -association of buff with the Liberal party and "true blue" with the -Conservatives has been by no means so entirely a matter of course as -persons who have not looked into the matter might be disposed to imagine. -The local colours are often those that were once the livery colours of the -principal family in the district, and were assumed by its adherents for the -family's sake quite independently of its political creed. The notion of -livery is now an unpleasant one, but in mediaeval days the colours of the -great houses were worn by the whole country-side, and the wearing carried -with it no suggestion either of toadyism or servitude. As this influence -was hereditary and at one time all-powerful, the colour of the Castle, or -Abbey, or Great House, became stereotyped in that district as the symbol of -the party of which these princely establishments were the local centre and -visible evidence, and the colour still often survives locally, though the -political and social system that originated it has passed away in these -days of democratic independence. - -It would clearly be a great political gain if one colour were all over -Great Britain the definite emblem of one side, as many illiterate voters -are greatly influenced by the colours worn by the candidates for their -suffrages, and have sufficient sense of consistency of principle to vote -always for the flag that first claimed {8} their allegiance, though it may -very possibly be that if they move to another county it is the emblem of a -totally distinct party, and typifies opinions to which the voter has always -been opposed. At a late election a Yorkshire Conservative, who had acquired -a vote for Bournemouth, was told that he must "vote pink," but this he very -steadily refused to do. He declared that he would "never vote owt else but -th' old true blue," so the Liberal party secured his vote; and this sort of -thing at a General Election is going on all over the country. The town of -Royston, for instance, stands partly in Hertfordshire and partly in -Cambridgeshire, and in the former county the Conservatives and in the -latter the Liberals are the blue party; hence the significance of the -colour in one street of the little town is entirely different to that it -bears in another. At Horsham in Sussex we have observed that the -Conservative colour is pale pink, while in Richmond in Surrey it is a deep -orange. The orange was adopted by the Whigs out of compliment to William -III., who was Prince of Orange. - -In the old chronicles and ballads reference is made to many forms of flags -now obsolete. The term flag is a generic one, and covers all the specific -kinds. It is suggested that the word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon verb -fleogan, to fly or float in the wind, or from the old German flackern, to -flutter. Ensign is an alternative word formed on the idea of the display of -insignia, badges, or devices, and was formerly much used where we should -now employ the word colours. The company officers in a regiment who were -until late years termed ensigns were at a still earlier period more -correctly termed ensign-bearers. Milton, it will be recalled, describes a -"Bannered host under spread ensigns marching." Sir Walter Scott greatly -enlarges our vocabulary when he writes in "Marmion" of where - - "A thousand streamers flaunted fair, - Various in shape, device, and hue, - Green, sanguine, purple, red, and blue, - Broad, narrow, swallow-tailed, and square, - Scroll, pennon, pensil, bandrol, there - O'er the pavilions flew," - -while Milton again writes of - - "Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced - Standards and gonfalons 'twixt van and rear - Stream in the air, and for distinction serve - Of hierarchies, orders, and degrees." - -We have seen that the pomp of funeral display led to the use of pictorial -flags of religious type, and with these were associated others that dealt -with the mundane rank and position of the {9} deceased. Thus we find -Edmonson, in his book on Heraldry, writing as follows:--"The armorial -ensigns, as fixed by the officers of arms, and through long and continued -usage established as proper to be carried in funeral processions, are -pennons, guidons, cornets, standards, banners, and banner-rolls, having -thereon depicted the arms, quarterings, badges, crests, supporters, and -devices of the defunct: together with all such other trophies of honour as -in his lifetime he was entitled to display, carry, or wear in the field; -banners charged with the armorial ensigns of such dignities, titles, -offices, civil and military, as were possessed or enjoyed by the defunct at -the time of his decease, and banner-rolls of his own matches and lineal -descent both on the paternal and maternal side. In case the defunct was an -Archbishop, banner-rolls of the arms and insignia of the sees to which he -had been elected and translated, and if he was a merchant or eminent trader -pennons of the particular city, corporation, guild, fraternity, craft, or -company whereof he had been a member." However true the beautiful stanza of -Gray-- - - "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, - And all that beauty, all that wealth ere gave, - Await at last the inevitable hour, - The paths of glory lead but to the grave"-- - -the survivors of the deceased most naturally and most justly bore to their -rest those to whom honour was due with the full respect to which their -career on earth entitled them. - -The names bestowed upon the different kinds of flags have varied from time -to time, the various authorities of mediaeval and modern days not being -quite of one mind sometimes, so that while the more salient forms are -easily identifiable, some little element of doubt creeps in when we would -endeavour to bestow with absolute precision a name to a certain less common -form before us, or a definite form to a name that we encounter in some old -writer. Whatever looseness of nomenclature, however, may be encountered on -the fringe of our subject, the bestowal of the leading terms is -sufficiently definite, and it is to these we now turn our attention, -reflecting for our comfort that it is of far greater value to us to know -all about a form that is of frequent recurrence, and to which abundant -reference is made, than to be able to quite satisfactorily decide what -special name some abnormal form should carry, or what special form is meant -by a name that perhaps only occurs once or twice in the whole range of -literature, and even that perhaps by some poet or romance writer who has -thought more of the general effect of his description than of the technical -accuracy of the terms in which he has clothed it. {10} - -The Banner first engages our attention. This was ordinarily, in the earlier -days of chivalry, a square flag, though in later examples it may be found -somewhat greater in length than in depth, and in some early examples it is -considerably greater in depth than in its degree of projection outwards -from the lance. In the technical language of the subject, the part of a -flag nearest the pole is called the hoist, and the outer part the fly. Fig. -37 is a good illustration of this elongated form. It has been suggested -that the shortness of the fly in such cases was in order that the greater -fluttering in the wind that such a form as Fig. 30 would produce might be -prevented, as this constant tugging at the lance-head would be disagreeable -to the holder, while it might, in the rush of the charge, prevent that -accuracy of aim that one would desire to give one's adversary the full -benefit of at such a crisis in his career. Pretty as this may be as a -theory, there is probably not much in it, or the form in those warlike days -of chivalry would have been more generally adopted. According to an ancient -authority the banner of an emperor should be six feet square; of a king, -five; of a prince or duke, four; and of an earl, marquis, viscount, or -baron three feet square. When we consider that the great function of the -banner was to bear upon its surface the coat-of-arms of its owner, and that -this coat was emblazoned upon it and filled up its entire surface in just -the same way that we find these charges represented upon his shield, it is -evident that no form that departed far either in length or breadth from the -square would be suitable for their display. Though heraldically it is -allowable to compress or extend any form from its normal proportions when -the exigencies of space demand it,[4] it is clearly better to escape this -when possible.[5] The arms depicted in Fig. 37 are certainly not the better -for the elongation to which they have been subjected, while _per contra_ -the bearings on any of the banners in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, -or 11, have had no despite done them, the square form being clearly -well-adapted for their due display. - -The Rolls of Arms prepared on various occasions by the mediaeval and later -heralds form an admirable storehouse of examples. Some of these have been -reproduced in facsimile, and are, therefore, more or less readily -accessible. We have before us as we write the roll of the arms of the -Sovereign and of the {11} spiritual and temporal peers who sat in -Parliament in the year 1515, and another excellent example that has been -reproduced is the roll of Karlaverok. This Karlaverok was a fortress on the -north side of Solway Frith, which it was necessary for Edward I. to reduce -on his invasion of Scotland in the year 1300, and this investiture and all -the details of the siege are minutely described by a contemporary writer, -who gives the arms and names of all the nobles there engaged. As soon as -the castle fell into Edward's hands he caused his banner and that of St. -Edmund (Fig. 17), and St. Edward (Fig. 19), to be displayed upon its -battlements. The roll is written in Norman French, of which the following -passage may be given as an example:-- - - "La ont meinte riche garnement - Brode sur cendeaus et samis - Meint beau penon en lance mis - Meint baniere desploie." - -That is to say, there were--in modern English wording--many rich devices -embroidered on silk and satin, many a beautiful pennon fixed on lance, many -a banner displayed. The writer says:--"First, I will tell you of the names -and arms, especially of the banners, if you will listen how." Of these -numerous banners we give some few examples: Fig. 1 belongs to him "who with -a light heart, doing good to all, bore a yellow banner and pennon with a -black saltire engrailed, and is called John Botetourte." Fig. 2 is the -banner of Sire Ralph de Monthermer; Fig. 3 the devices of Touches, "a -knight of good-fame"; while Fig. 4, "the blue with crescents of brilliant -gold," was the flag of William de Ridre. "Sire John de Holderton, who at -all times appears well and promptly in arms," bore No. 6, the fretted -silver on the scarlet field; while Fig. 5 is the cognisance of "Hugh -Bardolph, a man of good appearance, rich, valiant, and courteous." Fig. 7 -is the well-known lion of the Percys, and is here the banner of Henri de -Percy; we meet with it again in Fig. 14. Fig. 8 is "the banner of good Hugh -de Courtenay," while Fig. 9 is that of the valiant Aymer de Valence. Fig. -10 bears the barbels of John de Bar, while the last example we need give -(Fig. 11) is the banner of Sire William de Grandison. Of whom gallant, -courteous Englishmen as they were, we can now but say that "they are dust, -their swords are rust," and deny them not the pious hope "their souls are -with the saints, we trust." - -The well-known flag (Fig. 44), that everyone recognises as the Royal -Standard, is nevertheless misnamed, as it should undoubtedly be called the -Royal Banner, since it bears the arms of the Sovereign in precisely the -same way that any of our preceding {12} examples bear the arms of the -knights with whom they were associated. A standard, as we shall see -presently, is an entirely different kind of flag; nevertheless, the term -Royal Standard is so firmly established that it is hopeless now to think of -altering it, and as it would be but pedantry to ignore it, and substitute -in its place, whenever we have occasion to refer to it, its proper -title--the Royal Banner--we must, having once made our protest, be content -to let the matter stand. Figs. 22, 43, 44, 194, 226, and 245 are all royal -or imperial banners, but popular usage insists that we shall call them -royal or imperial "standards," so, henceforth, rightly or wrongly, through -our pages standards they must be. - -The banners of the Knights of the Garter, richly emblazoned with their -armorial bearings, are suspended over their stalls in St. George's Chapel, -Windsor, while those of the Knights of the Bath are similarly displayed in -the Chapel of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey. - -The whole of the great mainsail of a mediaeval ship was often emblazoned -with arms, and formed one large banner. This usage may be very well seen in -the illuminations, seals, etc., of that period. As early as the year 1247 -we find Otho, Count of Gueldres, represented as bearing on his seal a -square banner charged with his arms, a lion rampant; and in a window in the -Cathedral of Our Lady, at Chartres, is a figure of Simon de Montfort, Earl -of Leicester from 1236 to 1265. He is depicted as bearing in his right hand -a banner of red and white, as shown in Fig. 18. - -References in the old writers to the banner are very numerous. Thus in the -"Story of Thebes" we read of "the fell beastes," that were "wrought and -bete upon their bannres displaied brode" when men went forth to war. -Lydgate, in the "Battle of Agincourt," writes:-- - - "By myn baner sleyn will y be - Or y will turne my backe or me yelde." - -The same writer declares that at the siege of Harfleur by Henry V., in -September, 1415, the king-- - - "Mustred his meyne faire before the town, - And many other lordes, I dar will say, - With baners bryghte and many penoun." - -The trumpeters of the Life Guards and Horse Guards have the Royal Banner -attached to their instruments, a survival that recalls the lines of -Chaucer:-- - - "On every trump hanging a brode bannere - Of fine tartarium, full richly bete." - -{13} - -An interesting reference is found in a letter of Queen Katharine of Arragon -to Thomas Wolsey, dated Richmond, August 13th, 1513, while King Henry VIII. -was in France. Speaking of war with the Scots, her Majesty says: "My hert -is veray good to it, and I am horrible besy with making standards, banners, -and bagies."[6] - -While the men are buckling on their armour for the coming strife, wives, -sisters, sweethearts, daughters, with proud hearts, give their aid, and -with busy fingers--despite the tear that will sometimes blur the vision of -the gay embroidery--swiftly and deftly labour with loving care on the -devices that will nerve the warriors to living steel in the shock of -battle. The Queen of England, so zealously busy in her task of love, is but -a type and exemplar of thousands of her sex before and since. The raven -standard of the Danish invaders of Northumbria was worked by the daughters -of Regnar Lodbrok, and in the great rebellion in the West of England many a -gentlewoman suffered sorely in the foul and Bloody Assize for her zealous -share in providing the insurgents with the standards around which they -rallied. The Covenanters of Scotland, the soldiers of Garibaldi freeing -Italy from the Bourbons, the levies of Kossuth in Hungary, the Poles in the -deadly grip of Russia, the armies of the Confederate States in America, the -Volunteers who would fain free Greece from the yoke of the Turk,[7] all -fought to the death beneath the banners that fair sympathisers with them, -and with their cause, placed in their hands. When two great nations, such -as France and Germany, fall to blows, the whole armament, weapons, flags, -and whatever else may be necessary, is supplied from the government stores -according to regulation pattern, but in the case of insurgents against -authority struggling--rightly or wrongly--to be free, the weapons may be -scythe blades or whatever else comes first to hand, while the standards -borne to the field will bear the most extraordinary devices upon them, -devices that appeal powerfully at the time to those fighting beneath their -folds, but which give a shudder to the purist in heraldic blazonry, as for -instance, to quote but one example, the rattle-snake flag with its motto -"Beware how you tread on me," adopted by the North American colonists in -their struggle against the troops of George III. - -When a knight had performed on the field of battle some especially valiant -or meritorious act, it was open to the Sovereign to {14} mark his sense of -it by making him a knight-banneret. Thus, in the reign of Edward III., John -de Copeland was made a banneret for his service in taking prisoner David -Bruce, the King of Scotland, at the battle of Durham; Colonel John Smith, -having rescued the royal banner from the Parliamentarians at Edgehill, was -in like manner made a knight-banneret by Charles I. The title does not seem -to have been in existence before the reign of Edward I., and after this -bestowal by Charles I. we hear no more of it till 1743, when the title was -conferred upon several English officers by the king, George II., upon the -field of Dettingen. It was an essential condition that the rank should be -bestowed by the Sovereign on the actual field of battle and beneath the -royal banner. General Sir William Erskine was given this rank by George -III. on his return from the Continent in 1764, after the battle of -Emsdorff; but as the investiture took place beneath the standard of the -15th Light Dragoons and in Hyde Park, it was deemed hopelessly irregular, -and, the royal will and action notwithstanding, his rank was not generally -recognised. - -The ceremony of investiture was in the earlier days a very simple one. The -flag of the ordinary knight was of the form known as the pennon--a small, -swallow-tailed flag like that borne by our lancer regiments, of which Fig. -30 is an illustration. On being summoned to the royal presence, the king -took from him his lance, and either cut or tore away the points of his -flag, until he had reduced it roughly to banner form, and then returned it -to him with such words of commendation as the occasion called for. What the -ceremony employed at so late a period as Dettingen was we have not been -able to trace. As the officers there honoured were lanceless and -pennonless, it is evident that the formula which served in the Middle Ages -was quite inapplicable, but it is equally evident that in the thronging -duties and responsibilities of the field of battle the ceremony must always -have been a very short and simple one. - -The term Standard is appropriately applied to any flag of noble size that -answers in the main to the following conditions--that it should always have -the Cross of St. George placed next to the staff, that the rest of the flag -should be divided horizontally into two or more stripes of colours, these -being the prevailing colours in the arms of the bearers or their livery -colours, the edge of the standard richly fringed or bordered, the motto and -badges of the owner introduced, the length considerably in excess of the -breadth, the ends split and rounded off. We find such standards in use -chiefly during the fifteenth century, though some characteristic examples -of both earlier and later dates may be encountered. Figs. 14 and 15 are -very good typical illustrations. The {15} first of these (Fig. 14) is the -Percy standard. The blue lion, the crescent, and the fetterlock there seen -are all badges of the family, while the silver key betokens matrimonial -alliance with the Poynings,[8] the bugle-horn with the Bryans,[9] and the -falchion with the family of Fitzpayne. The ancient badge of the Percys was -the white lion statant. Our readers will doubtless be familiar with the -lines-- - - "Who, in field or foray slack, - Saw the blanch lion e'er give back?" - -but Henry Percy, the fifth earl, 1489 to 1577, turned it into a blue one. -The silver crescent is the only badge of the family that has remained in -active and continuous use, and we find frequent references to it in the old -ballads--so full of interesting heraldic allusions--as, for instance, in -"The Rising of the North"-- - - "Erle Percy there his ancyent spred, - The halfe-moon shining all soe faire," - -and in Claxton's "Lament"-- - - "Now the Percy's crescent is set in blood." - -The motto is ordinarily a very important part of the standard, though it is -occasionally missing. Its less or greater length or its possible repetition -may cut up the surface of the flag into a varying number of spaces. The -first space after the cross is always occupied by the most important badge, -and in a few cases the spaces beyond are empty. - -The motto of the Percys is of great historic interest. It is referred to by -Shakespeare, "Now Esperance! Percy! and set on," and we find in Drayton the -line, "As still the people cried, A Percy, Esperance!" In the "Mirror for -Magistrates" (1574) we read, "Add therefore this to Esperance, my word, who -causeth bloodshed shall not 'scape the sword." It was originally the -war-cry of the Percys, but it has undergone several modifications, and -these of a rather curious and interesting nature, since we see in the -sequence a steady advance from blatant egotism to an admission of a higher -power even than that of Percy. The war-cry of the first Earl was -originally, "Percy! Percy!" but he later substituted for it, "Esperance, -Percy." The second and third Earls took merely "Esperance," the fourth took -"Esperance, ma comfort," and, {16} later on, "Esperance en Dieu ma -comfort," and the fifth and succeeding Earls took the "Esperance en -Dieu."[10] - -Fig. 15 is the standard of Sir Thomas de Swynnerton. The swine is an -example of the punning allusion to the bearer's name that is so often seen -in the charges of mediaeval heraldry. - -Figs. 14 and 15 are typical standards, having the cross of St. George, the -striping of colours, the oblique lines of motto, the elongated tapering -form, and all the other features that we have already quoted as belonging -to the ideal standard, though one or two of these may at times be absent. -Thus, though exceptions are rare, a standard is not necessarily -particoloured for example, and, as we have seen, the motto in other -examples may be missing. The Harleian MS. No. 2,358 lays down the rule that -"every Standard or guydhome is to hang in the Chiefe the Crosse of St. -George, to be slitte at the ende, and to conteyne the crest or supporter, -with the poesy, worde, and devise of the owner." That the Cross of St. -George, the national badge, must always be present and in the most -honourable position is full of significance, as it means that whatever else -of rank or family the bearer might be, he was first and foremost an -Englishman. - -Figs. 13 and 16 are interesting modern examples of the Standard. They are -from a series of sledge-flags used during the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6, -the devices upon them being those of the officers in charge of each -detachment. - -When in earlier days a man raised a regiment for national defence, he not -only commanded it, but its flag often bore his arms or device. Thus the -standard of the dragoons raised by Henry, Lord Cardross, in 1689 was of red -silk, on which was represented the Colonel's crest, a hand holding a -dagger, and the motto "Fortitudine," while in the upper corner next the -staff was the thistle of Scotland, surmounted by the crown. - -Our readers should now have no difficulty in sketching out for themselves -as an exercise the following: The standard of Henry V., white and blue, a -white antelope standing between four red roses; the motto "Dieu et mon -droit," and in the interspaces more red {17} roses. The standard of Richard -II., white and green, a white hart couchant between four golden suns, the -motto "Dieu et mon droit," in the next space two golden suns, and in the -next, four. As further exercises, we may give the standard of Sir John -Awdeley, of gold and scarlet, having a Moor's head and three white -butterflies, the motto "Je le tiens," then two butterflies, then four; and -the standard of Frogmorton, of four stripes of red and white, having an -elephant's head in black, surrounded by golden crescents. While no one, -either monarch or noble, could have more than one banner, since this was -composed of his heraldic arms, a thing fixed and unchangeable, the same -individual might have two or three standards, since these were mainly made -up of badges that he could multiply at discretion, and a motto or poesy -that he might change every day if he chose. Hence, for instance, the -standards of Henry VII. were mostly green and white, since these were the -Tudor livery colours; but in one was "a red firye dragon," and in another -"was peinted a donne kowe," while yet another had a silver greyhound -between red roses. Stowe and other authorities tell us that the two first -of these were borne at Bosworth Field, and that after his victory there -over Richard III. these were borne by him in solemn state to St. Paul's -Cathedral, and there deposited on his triumphal entry into the metropolis. - -The difference between the standard and the banner is very clearly seen in -the description of the flags borne at the funeral obsequies of Queen -Elizabeth--"the great embroidered banner of England" (Fig. 22), the banners -of Wales, Ireland, Chester, and Cornwall, and the standards of the dragon, -greyhound, and falcon. In like manner Stowe tells us that when King Henry -VII. took the field in 1513, he had with him the standard with the red -dragon and the banner of the arms of England, and Machyn tells that at the -funeral of Edward VI., "furst of all whent a grett company of chylderyn in -ther surples and clarkes syngyng and then ij harolds, and then a standard -with a dragon, and then a grett nombur of ye servants in blake, and then -anoder standard with a whyt greyhound." Later on in the procession came "ye -grett baner of armes in brodery and with dyvers odere baners." - -Standards varied in size according to the rank of the person entitled to -them. A MS. of the time of Henry VII. gives the following dimensions:--For -that of the king, a length of eight yards; for a duke, seven; for an earl, -six; a marquis, six and a half; a viscount, five and a half; a baron, five; -a knight banneret, four and a half; and for a knight, four yards. In view -of these figures one can easily realise the derivation of the word -standard--a thing that is meant to stand; to be rather fastened in the -ground as a rallying point than carried, like a banner, about the field of -action. {18} - -At the funeral of Nelson we find his banner of arms and standard borne in -the procession, while around his coffin are the bannerolls, square -banner-like flags bearing the various arms of his family lineage. We see -these latter again in an old print of the funeral procession of General -Monk, in 1670, and in a still older print of the burial of Sir Philip -Sydney, four of his near kindred carrying by the coffin these indications -of his descent. At the funeral of Queen Elizabeth we find six bannerolls of -alliances on the paternal side and six on the maternal. The standard of -Nelson bears his motto, "_Palmam qui meruit ferat_," but instead of the -Cross of St. George it has the union of the crosses of St. George, St. -Andrew, and St. Patrick, since in 1806, the year of his funeral, the -England of mediaeval days had expanded into the Kingdom of Great Britain and -Ireland. In the imposing funeral procession of the great Duke of Wellington -we find again amongst the flags not only the national flag, regimental -colours, and other insignia, but the ten bannerolls of the Duke's pedigree -and descent, and his personal banner and standard. - -Richard, Earl of Salisbury, in the year 1458, ordered that at his interment -"there be banners, standards, and other accoutrements, according as was -usual for a person of his degree" and what was then held fitting, remains, -in the case of State funerals, equally so at the present day. - -The Pennon is a small, narrow flag, forked or swallow-tailed at its -extremity. This was carried on the lance. Our readers will recall the -knight in "Marmion," who - - "On high his forky pennon bore, - Like swallow's tail in shape and hue." - -We read in the Roll of Karlaverok, as early as the year 1300, of - - "Many a beautiful pennon fixed to a lance, - And many a banner displayed;" - -and of the knight in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," we hear that - - "By hys bannere borne is hys pennon - Of golde full riche." - -The pennon bore the arms of the knight, and they were in the earlier days -of chivalry so emblazoned upon it as to appear in their proper position not -when the lance was held erect but when held horizontally for the charge. -The earliest brass now extant, that of Sir John Daubernoun, at Stoke -d'Abernon Church, in Surrey, represents the knight as bearing a lance with -pennon. Its date is 1277, and the device is a golden chevron on a field of -azure. In {19} this example the pennon, instead of being forked, comes to a -single point. - -The pennon was the ensign of those knights who were not bannerets, and the -bearers of it were therefore sometimes called pennonciers; the term is -derived from the Latin word for a feather, _penna_, from the narrow, -elongated form. The pennons of our lancer regiments (Fig. 30) give one a -good idea of the form, size, and general effect of the ancient knightly -pennon, though they do not bear distinctive charges upon them, and thus -fail in one notable essential to recall to our minds the brilliant blazonry -and variety of device that must have been so marked and effective a feature -when the knights of old took the field. In a drawing of the year 1813, of -the Royal Horse Artillery, we find the men armed with lances, and these -with pennons of blue and white, as we see in Fig. 31.[11] - -Of the thirty-seven pennons borne on lances by various knights represented -in the Bayeux tapestry, twenty-eight have triple points, while others have -two, four, or five. The devices upon these pennons are very various and -distinctive, though the date is before the period of the definite -establishment of heraldry. Examples of these may be seen in Figs. 39, 40, -41, 42. - -The pennoncelle, or pencel, is a diminutive of the pennon, small as that -itself is. Such flags were often supplied in large quantities at any -special time of rejoicing or of mourning. At the burial in the year 1554 of -"the nobull Duke of Norffok," we note amongst other items "a dosen of -banerolles of ys progene," a standard, a "baner of damaske, and xij dosen -penselles." At the burial of Sir William Goring we find "ther was viij -dosen of penselles," while at the Lord Mayor's procession in 1555 we read -that there were "ij goodly pennes [State barges] deckt with flages and -stremers and a m penselles." This "m," or thousand, we can perhaps scarcely -take literally, though in another instance we find "the cordes were hanged -with innumerable pencelles."[12] - -The statement of the cost of the funeral of Oliver Cromwell is interesting, -as we see therein the divers kinds of flags that graced the ceremony. The -total cost of the affair was over L28,000, and the unhappy undertaker, a -Mr. Rolt, was paid very little, if any, of his bill. The items include "six -gret banners wrought on rich taffaty in oil, and gilt with fine gold," at -L6 each. Five large standards, similarly wrought, at a cost of L10 each; -six dozen {20} pennons, a yard long, at a sovereign each; forty trumpet -banners, at forty shillings apiece; thirty dozen of pennoncelles, a foot -long, at twenty shillings a dozen; and twenty dozen ditto at twelve -shillings the dozen. Poor Rolt! - -In "the accompte and reckonyng" for the Lord Mayor's Show of 1617 we find -"payde to Jacob Challoner, painter, for a greate square banner, the -Prince's Armes, the somme of seven pounds." We also find, "More to him for -the new payntyng and guyldyng of ten trumpet banners, for payntyng and -guyldyng of two long pennons of the Lord Maior's armes on callicoe," and -many other items that we need not set down, the total cost of the flag -department being L67 15s. 10d., while for the Lord Mayor's Show of the year -1685 we find that the charge for this item was the handsome sum of L140. - -The Pennant, or pendant, is a long narrow flag with pointed end, and -derives its name from the Latin word signifying to hang. Examples of it may -be seen in Figs. 20, 21, 23, 24, 36, 38, 100, 101, 102, and 103, and some -of the flags employed in ship-signalling are also of pennant form. It was -in Tudor times called the streamer. Though such a flag may at times be -found pressed into the service of city pageantry, it is more especially -adapted for use at sea, since the lofty mast, the open space far removed -from telegraph-wires, chimney-pots, and such-like hindrances to its free -course, and the crisp sea-breeze to boldly extend it to its full length, -are all essential to its due display. When we once begin to extend in -length, it is evident that almost anything is possible: the pendant of a -modern man-of-war is some twenty yards long, while its breadth is barely -six inches, and it is evident that such a flag as that would scarcely get a -fair chance in the general "survival of the fittest" in Cheapside. It is -charged at the head with the Cross of St. George. Figs. 26, 27, 74 are -Tudor examples of such pendants, while Fig. 140 is a portion at least of -the pendant flown by colonial vessels on war service, while under the same -necessarily abbreviated conditions may be seen in Fig. 151 the pendant of -the United States Navy, in 157 that of Chili, and in 173 that of Brazil. - -In mediaeval days many devices were introduced, the streamer being made of -sufficient width to allow of their display. Thus Dugdale gives an account -of the fitting up of the ship in which Beauchamp, fifth Earl of Warwick, -during the reign of Henry VI., went over to France. The original bill -between this nobleman and William Seburgh, "citizen and payntour of -London," is still extant, and we see from it that amongst other things -provided was "the grete stremour for the shippe xl yardes in length and -viij yardes in brede." These noble dimensions gave ample room for {21} -display of the badge of the Warwicks,[13] so we find it at the head adorned -with "a grete bere holding a ragged staffe," and the rest of its length -"powdrid full of raggid staves," - - "A stately ship, - With all her bravery on, and tackle trim, - Sails filled, and streamers waving." - -Machyn tells us in his diary for August 3rd, 1553, how "The Queen came -riding to London, and so on to the Tower, makyng her entry at Aldgate, and -a grett nombur of stremars hanging about the sayd gate, and all the strett -unto Leydenhalle and unto the Tower were layd with graffel, and all the -crafts of London stood with their banars and stremars hangyd over their -heds." In the picture by Volpe in the collection at Hampton Court of the -Embarkation of Henry VIII. from Dover in the year 1520, to meet Francis I. -at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, we find, very naturally, a great variety -and display of flags of all kinds. Figs. 20, 21, 23 are streamers therein -depicted, the portcullis, Tudor rose, and fleur-de-lys being devices of the -English king, while the particular ground upon which they are displayed is -in each case made up of green and white, the Tudor livery colours. We may -see these again in Fig. 71, where the national flag of the Cross of St. -George has its white field barred with the Tudor green. In the year 1554 -even the naval uniform of England was white and green, both for officers -and mariners, and the City trained bands had white coats welted with green. -Queen Elizabeth, though of the Tudor race, took scarlet and black as her -livery colours; the House of Plantaganet white and red; of York, murrey and -blue; of Lancaster, white and blue; of Stuart, red and yellow. The great -nobles each also had their special liveries; thus in a grand review of -troops on Blackheath, on May 16th, 1552, we find that "the Yerle of -Pembroke and ys men of armes" had "cotes blake bordered with whyt," while -the retainers of the Lord Chamberlain were in red and white, those of the -Earl of Huntingdon in blue, and so forth. - -In the description of one of the City pageants in honour of Henry VII. we -find among the "baggs" (_i.e._, badges), "a rede rose and a wyght in his -mydell, golde floures de luces, and portcullis also in golde," the "wallys" -of the Pavilion whereon these were displayed being "chekkyrs of whyte and -grene." - -The only other flag form to which we need make any very definite reference -is the Guidon. The word is derived from the {22} French _guide-homme_, but -in the lax spelling of mediaeval days it undergoes many perversions, such as -guydhome, guydon, gytton, geton, and such-like more or less barbarous -renderings. Guidon is the regulation name now applied to the small -standards borne by the squadrons of some of our cavalry regiments. The -Queen's guidon is borne by the first squadron; this is always of crimson -silk; the others are the colour of the regimental facings. The modern -cavalry guidon is square in form, and richly embroidered, fringed, and -tasselled. A mediaeval writer on the subject lays down the law that "a -guydhome must be two and a half yardes or three yardes longe, and therein -shall be no armes putt, but only the man's crest, cognizance, and device, -and from that, from his standard or streamer a man may flee; but not from -his banner or pennon bearinge his armes." The guidon is largely employed at -State or ceremonious funeral processions; we see it borne, for instance, in -the illustrations of the funeral of Monk in 1670, of Nelson in 1806, of -Wellington in 1852. In all these cases it is rounded in form, as in Fig. -28. Like the standard, the guidon bears motto and device, but it is -smaller, and has not the elongated form, nor does it bear the Cross of St. -George. - -In divers countries and periods very diverse forms may be encountered, and -to these various names have been assigned, but it is needless to pursue -their investigation at any length, as in some cases the forms are quite -obsolete; in other cases, while its form is known to us its name is lost, -while in yet other instances we have various old names of flags mentioned -by the chroniclers and poets to which we are unable now to assign any very -definite notion of their form. In some cases, again, the form we encounter -may be of some eccentric individuality that no man ever saw before, or ever -wants to see again, or, as in Fig. 33, so slightly divergent from ordinary -type as to scarcely need a distinctive name. One of the flags represented -in the Bayeux tapestry is semi-circular. Fig. 32 defies classification, -unless we regard it as a pennon that, by snipping, has travelled -three-quarters of the way towards being a banner. Fig. 35, sketched from a -MS. of the early part of the fourteenth century, in the British Museum, is -of somewhat curious and abnormal form. It is of religious type, and bears -the Agnus Dei. The original is in a letter of Philippe de Mezieres, -pleading for peace and friendship between Charles VI. of France and Richard -II. of England. - -Flags are nowadays ordinarily made of bunting, a woollen fabric which, from -the nature of its texture and its great toughness and durability, is -particularly fitted to stand wear and tear. It comes from the Yorkshire -mills in pieces of forty yards in length, while the width varies from four -to thirty-six inches. Flags are {23} only printed when of small size, and -when a sufficient number will be required to justify the expense of cutting -the blocks. Silk is also used, but only for special purposes. - -Flag-devising is really a branch of heraldry, and should be in accordance -with its laws, both in the forms and the colours introduced. Yellow in -blazonry is the equivalent of gold, and white of silver, and it is one of -the requirements of heraldry that colour should not be placed upon colour, -nor metal on metal. Hence the red and blue in the French tricolour (Fig. -191) are separated by white; the black and red of Belgium (Fig. 236) by -yellow. Such unfortunate combinations as the yellow, blue, red, of -Venezuela (Fig. 170); the yellow, red, green of Bolivia (Fig. 171); the red -and blue of Hayti (Fig. 178); the white and yellow of Guatemala (Fig. 162), -are violations of the rule in countries far removed from the influence of -heraldic law. This latter instance is a peculiarly interesting one; it is -the flag of Guatemala in 1851, while in 1858 this was changed to that -represented in Fig. 163. In the first case the red and the blue are in -contact, and the white and the yellow; while in the second the same colours -are introduced, but with due regard to heraldic law, and certainly with far -more pleasing effect. - -One sees the same obedience to this rule in the special flags used for -signalling, where great clearness of definition at considerable distances -is an essential. Such combinations as blue and black, red and blue, yellow -and white, carry their own condemnation with them, as anyone may test by -actual experiment; stripes of red and blue, for instance, at a little -distance blending into purple, while white and yellow are too much alike in -strength, and when the yellow has become a little faded and the white a -little dingy they appear almost identical. We have this latter combination -in Fig. 198, the flag of the now vanished Papal States. It is a very -uncommon juxtaposition, and only occurs in this case from a special -religious symbolism into which we need not here enter. The alternate red -and green stripes in Fig. 63 are another violation of the rule, and have a -very confusing effect.[14] - -The colours of by far the greatest frequency of occurrence are red, white, -and blue; yellow also is not uncommon; orange is only found once, in Fig. -249, where it has a special significance, since this is the flag of the -Orange Free State. Green occurs sparingly. Italy (Fig. 197) is perhaps the -best known example. We also find it in the Brazilian flag (Fig. 169), the -Mexican (Fig. 172), in the Hungarian tricolor (Fig. 214), and in Figs. 199, -201, 209, the flags {24} of smaller German States, but it is more -especially associated with Mohammedan States, as in Figs. 58, 63, 64, 235. -Black is found but seldom, but as heraldic requirements necessitate that it -should be combined either with white or yellow, it is, when seen, -exceptionally brilliant and effective. We see it, for example, in the Royal -Standard of Spain, (Fig. 194), in Figs. 207 and 208, flags of the German -Empire, in Fig. 226, the Imperial Standard of Russia, and in Fig. 236, the -brilliant tricolor of the Belgians.[15] - -In orthodox flags anything of the nature of an inscription is very seldom -seen. We find a reference to order and progress on the Brazilian flag (Fig. -169), while the Turkish Imperial Standard (Fig. 238) bears on its scarlet -folds the monogram of the Sultan; but these exceptions are rare.[16] We -have seen that, on the contrary, on the flags of insurgents and malcontents -the inscription often counts for much. On the alteration of the style in -the year 1752 this necessary change was made the subject of much ignorant -reproach of the government of the day, and was used as a weapon of party -warfare. An amusing instance of this feeling occurs in the first plate of -Hogarth's election series, where a malcontent, or perhaps only a man -anxious to earn a shilling, carries a big flag inscribed, "Give us back our -eleven days." The flags of the Covenanters often bore mottoes or texts. -Fig. 34 is a curious example: the flag hoisted by the crew of H.M.S. -_Niger_ when they opposed the mutineers in 1797 at Sheerness. It is -preserved in the Royal United Service Museum. It is, as we have seen, -ordinarily the insubordinate and rebellious who break out into inscriptions -of more or less piety or pungency, but we may conclude that the loyal -sailors fighting under the royal flag adopted this device in addition as -one means the more of fighting the rebels with their own weapons. - -During the Civil War between the Royalists and Parliamentarians, we find a -great use made of flags inscribed with mottoes. Thus, on one we see five -hands stretching at a crown defended by an armed hand issuing from a cloud, -and the motto, "Reddite Caesari." In another we see an angel with a flaming -sword treading a dragon underfoot, and the motto, "Quis ut Deus," while yet -another is inscribed, "Courage pour la Cause." On a fourth we find an -ermine, and the motto, "Malo mori quam foedari"--"It is better to die than -{25} to be sullied," in allusion to the old belief that the ermine would -die rather than soil its fur. Hence it is the emblem of purity and -stainless honour. - -The blood-red flag is the symbol of mutiny and of revolution. As a sign of -disaffection it was twice, at the end of last century, displayed in the -Royal Navy. A mutiny broke out at Portsmouth in April, 1797, for an advance -of pay; an Act of Parliament was passed to sanction the increase of -expenditure, and all who were concerned in it received the royal pardon, -but in June of the same year, at Sheerness, the spirit of disaffection -broke out afresh, and on its suppression the ringleaders were executed. It -is characteristic that, aggrieved as these seamen were against the -authorities, when the King's birthday came round, on June 4th, though the -mutiny was then at its height, the red flags were lowered, the vessels -gaily dressed in the regulation bunting, and a royal salute was fired. -Having thus demonstrated their real loyalty to their sovereign, the red -flags were re-hoisted, and the dispute with the Admiralty resumed in all -its bitterness. - -The white flag is the symbol of amity and of good will; of truce amidst -strife, and of surrender when the cause is lost. The yellow flag betokens -infectious illness, and is displayed when there is cholera, yellow fever, -or such like dangerous malady on board ship, and it is also hoisted on -quarantine stations. The black flag signifies mourning and death; one of -its best known uses in these later days is to serve as an indication after -an execution that the requirements of the law have been duly carried out. - -Honour and respect are expressed by "dipping" the flag. At any parade of -troops before the sovereign the regimental flags are lowered as they pass -the saluting point, and at sea the colours are dipped by hauling them -smartly down from the mast-head and then promptly replacing them. They must -not be suffered to remain at all stationary when lowered, as a flag flying -half-mast high is a sign of mourning for death, for defeat, or for some -other national loss, and it is scarcely a mark of honour or respect to -imply that the arrival of the distinguished person is a cause of grief or -matter for regret. - -In time of peace it is an insult to hoist the flag of one friendly nation -above another, so that each flag must be flown from its own staff. - -Even as early as the reign of Alfred England claimed the sovereignty of the -seas. Edward III. is more identified with our early naval glories than any -other English king; he was styled "King of the Seas," a name of which he -appears to have been very proud, and in his coinage of gold nobles he -represented himself with shield and sword, and standing in a ship "full -royally {26} apparelled." He fought on the seas under many disadvantages of -numbers and ships: in one instance until his ship sank under him, and at -all times as a gallant Englishman. - -If any commander of an English vessel met the ship of a foreigner, and the -latter refused to salute the English flag, it was enacted that such ship, -if taken, was the lawful prize of the captain. A very notable example of -this punctilious insistance on the respect to the flag arose in May, 1554, -when a Spanish fleet of one hundred and sixty sail, escorting the King on -his way to England to his marriage with Queen Mary, fell in with the -English fleet under the command of Lord Howard, Lord High Admiral. Philip -would have passed the English fleet without paying the customary honours, -but the signal was at once made by Howard for his twenty-eight ships to -prepare for action, and a round shot crashed into the side of the vessel of -the Spanish Admiral. The hint was promptly taken, and the whole Spanish -fleet struck their colours as homage to the English flag. - -In the year 1635 the combined fleets of France and Holland determined to -dispute this claim of Great Britain, but on announcing their intention of -doing so an English fleet was at once dispatched, whereupon they returned -to their ports and decided that discretion was preferable even to valour. -In 1654, on the conclusion of peace between England and Holland, the Dutch -consented to acknowledge the English supremacy of the seas, the article in -the treaty declaring that "the ships of the Dutch--as well ships of war as -others--meeting any of the ships of war of the English, in the British -seas, shall strike their flags and lower their topsails in such manner as -hath ever been at any time heretofore practised." After another period of -conflict it was again formally yielded by the Dutch in 1673. - -Political changes are responsible for many variations in flags, and the -wear and tear of Time soon renders many of the devices obsolete. On -turning, for instance, to Nories' "Maritime Flags of all Nations," a little -book published in 1848, many of the flags are at once seen to be now out of -date. The particular year was one of exceptional political agitation, and -the author evidently felt that his work was almost old-fashioned even on -its issue. "The accompanying illustrations," he says, "having been -completed prior to the recent revolutionary movements on the Continent of -Europe, it has been deemed expedient to issue the plate in its present -state, rather than adopt the various tri-coloured flags, which cannot be -regarded as permanently established in the present unsettled state of -political affairs." The Russian American Company's flag, Fig. 59, that of -the States of the Church, of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Turkish Imperial -Standard, Fig. 64, and many others {27} that he gives, are all now -superseded. For Venice he gives two flags, that for war and that for the -merchant service. In each case the flag is scarlet, having a broad band of -blue, which we may take to typify the sea, near its lower edge. From this -rises in gold the winged lion of St. Mark, having in the war ensign a sword -in his right paw, and in the peaceful colours of commerce a cross. Of -thirty-five "flags of all nations," given as a supplement to the -_Illustrated London News_ in 1858, we note that eleven are now obsolete: -the East India Company, for instance, being now extinct, the Ionian Islands -ceded to Greece, Tuscany and Naples absorbed into Italy, and so forth. - -In Figs. 52 and 53 we have examples of early Spanish flags, and in 54 and -55 of Portuguese, each and all being taken from a very quaint map of the -year 1502. This map may be said to be practically the countries lying round -the Atlantic Ocean, giving a good slice of Africa, a portion of the -Mediterranean basin, the British Isles, most of South America, a little of -North America, the West Indies,[17] etc., the object of the map being to -show the division that Pope Alexander VI. kindly made between those -faithful daughters of the Church--Spain and Portugal--of all the unclaimed -portions of the world. Figs. 52 and 53 are types of flags flying on various -Spanish possessions, while Figs. 54 and 55 are placed at different points -on the map where Portugal held sway. On one place in Africa we see that No. -54 is surmounted by a white flag bearing the Cross of St. George, so we may -conclude that--Pope Alexander notwithstanding--England captured it from the -Portuguese. At one African town we see the black men dancing round the -Portuguese flag, while a little way off three of their brethren are hanging -on a gallows, showing that civilization had set in with considerable -severity there. The next illustration on this plate (Fig. 56) is taken from -a sheet of flags published in 1735; it represents the "Guiny Company's -Ensign," a trading company, like the East India, Fig. 57, now no longer in -existence. Fig. 62 is the flag of Savoy, an ancient sovereignty that, -within the memory of many of our readers, has expanded into the kingdom of -Italy. The break up of the Napoleonic _regime_ in France, the crushing out -of the Confederate States in North America, the dismissal from the throne -of the Emperor of Brazil, have all, within comparatively recent years, led -to the superannuation and disestablishment of a goodly number of flags and -their final disappearance. - -We propose now to deal with the flags of the various nationalities, -commencing, naturally, with those of our own country. {28} We were told by -a government official that the Universal Code of signals issued by England -had led to a good deal of heartburning, as it is prefaced by a plate of the -various national flags, the Union Flag of Great Britain and Ireland being -placed first. But until some means can be devised by which each nationality -can head the list, some sort of precedence seems inevitable. At first sight -it seems as though susceptibilities might be saved by adopting an -alphabetical arrangement, but this is soon found to be a mistake, as it -places such powerful States as Russia and the United States nearly at the -bottom of the list. A writer, Von Rosenfeld, who published a book on flags -in Vienna in 1853, very naturally adopted this arrangement, but the calls -of patriotism would not even then allow him to be quite consistent, since -he places his material as follows:--Austria, Annam, Argentine, Belgium, -Bolivia, and so forth, where it is evident Annam should lead the world and -Austria be content to come in third. Apart from the difficulty of asking -Spain, for instance, to admit that Bulgaria was so much in front of her, or -to expect Japan to allow China so great a precedence as the alphabetical -arrangement favours, a second obstacle is found in the fact that the names -of these various States as we Englishmen know them are not in many cases -those by which they know themselves or are known by others. Thus a -Frenchman would be quite content with the alphabetical arrangement that in -English places his beloved country before Germany, but the Teuton would at -once claim precedence, declaring that Deutschland must come before "la -belle France," and the Espagnol would not see why he should be banished to -the back row just because we choose to call him a Spaniard. - -In the meantime, pending the Millenium, the flag that more than three -hundred millions of people, the wide world over, look up to as the symbol -of justice and liberty, will serve very well as a starting point, and then -the great Daughter across the Western Ocean, that sprung from the Old Home, -shall claim a worthy place next in our regard. The Continent of Europe must -clearly come next, and such American nationalities as lie outside the -United States, together with Asia and Africa, will bring up the rear. - - * * * * * - -{29} - -CHAPTER II. - - The Royal Standard--the Three Lions of England--the Lion Rampant of - Scotland--Scottish sensitiveness as to precedence--the Scottish - Tressure--the Harp of Ireland--Early Irish Flags--Brian Boru--the Royal - Standards from Richard I. to Victoria--Claim to the Fleurs-de-Lys of - France--Quartering Hanover--the Union Flag--St. George for England--War - Cry--Observance of St. George's Day--the Cross of St. George--Early - Naval Flags--the London Trained Bands--the Cross of St. Andrew--the - "Blue Blanket"--Flags of the Covenanters--Relics of St. Andrew--Union - of England and Scotland--the First Union Flag--Importance of accuracy - in representations of it--the Union Jack--Flags of the Commonwealth and - Protectorate--Union of Great Britain and Ireland--the Cross of St. - Patrick--Labours of St. Patrick in Ireland--Proclamation of George III. - as to Flags, etc.--the Second Union Flag--Heraldic Difficulties in its - Construction--Suggestions by Critics--Regulations as to Fortress - Flags--the White Ensign of the Royal Navy--Saluting the Flag--the Navy - the Safeguard of Britain--the Blue Ensign--the Royal Naval Reserve--the - Red Ensign of the Mercantile Marine--Value of Flag-lore. - -Foremost amongst the flags of the British Empire the Royal Standard takes -its position as the symbol of the tie that unites all into one great State. -Its glowing blazonry of blue and scarlet and gold is brought before us in -Fig. 44. The three golden lions on the scarlet ground are the device of -England, the golden harp on the azure field is the device of Ireland, while -the ruddy lion rampant on the field of gold[18] stands for Scotland. It may -perhaps appear to some of our readers that the standard of the Empire -should not be confined to such narrow limits; that the great Dominion of -Canada, India, Australia, the ever-growing South Africa, might justly claim -a place. Precedent, too, might be urged, since in previous reigns, Nassau, -Hanover, and other States have found a resting-place in its folds, and -there is much to be said in favour of a wider representation of the greater -component parts of our world-wide Empire; but two great practical -difficulties arise: the first is that the grand simplicity of the flag -would be lost if eight or ten different devices were substituted for the -three; and secondly, it would very possibly give rise to a good deal of -jealousy and ill-feeling, since it would be impossible to introduce all. As -it at present stands, it represents the central home of the Empire, the -little historic seed-plot from whence all else has sprung, and to which all -turn their eyes as the {30} centre of the national life. All equally agree -to venerate the dear mother land, but it is perhaps a little too much to -expect that the people of Jamaica or Hong Kong would feel the same -veneration for the beaver and maple-leaves of Canada, the golden Sun of -India, or the Southern Cross of Australasia. As it must clearly be all or -none, it seems that only one solution of the problem, the present one, is -possible. In the same way the Union flag (Fig. 90) is literally but the -symbol of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but far and away outside its -primary significance, it floats on every sea the emblem of that Greater -Britain in which all its sons have equal pride, and where all share equal -honour as brethren of one family. - -The earliest Royal Standard bore but the three lions of England, and we -shall see presently that in different reigns various modifications of its -blazonry arose, either the result of conquest or of dynastic possessions. -Thus Figs. 43 and 44, though they bear a superficial likeness, tell a very -different story; the first of these, that of George III., laying claim in -its fourth quartering to lordship over Hanover and other German States, and -in its second quarter to the entirely shadowy and obsolete claim over -France, as typified by the golden fleurs-de-lys on the field of azure. - -How the three lions of England arose is by no means clear. Two lions were -assigned as the arms of William the Conqueror, but there is no real -evidence that he bore them. Heraldry had not then become a definite -science, and when it did a custom sprang up of assigning to those who lived -and died before its birth certain arms, the kindly theory being that such -persons, had they been then living, would undoubtedly have borne arms, and -that it was hard, therefore, that the mere accident of being born a hundred -years too soon should debar them from possessing such recognition of their -rank. Even so late as Henry II. the bearing is still traditional, and it is -said that on his marriage with Alianore, eldest daughter of William, Duke -of Aquitaine and Guienne, he incorporated with his own two lions the single -lion that (it is asserted) was the device of his father-in-law. All this, -however, is theory and surmise, and we do not really find ourselves on the -solid ground of fact until we come to the reign of Richard Coeur-de-Lion. -Upon his second Great Seal we have the three lions just as they are -represented in Figs. 22, 43, 44, and as they have been borne for centuries -by successive sovereigns on their arms, standards, and coinage, and as our -readers may see them this day on the Royal Standard and on much of the -money they may take out of their pockets. The date of this Great Seal of -King Richard is 1195 A.D., so we have, at all events, a period of over -seven hundred years, waiving a break during the Commonwealth, in which the -three golden lions on their scarlet field have typified the might of -England. {31} - -The rampant lion within the tressure, the device of Scotland--seen in the -second quarter of our Royal Standard, Fig. 44--is first seen on the Great -Seal of King Alexander II., about A.D. 1230, and the same device, without -any modification of colour or form[19] was borne by all the Sovereigns of -Scotland, and on the accession of James to the throne of the United -Kingdom, in the year 1603, the ruddy lion ramping on the field of gold -became an integral part of the Standard. - -The Scotch took considerable umbrage at their lion being placed in the -second place, while the lions of England were placed first, as they -asserted that Scotland was a more ancient kingdom than England, and that in -any case, on the death of Queen Elizabeth of England, the Scottish monarch -virtually annexed the Southern Kingdom to his own, and kindly undertook to -get the Southerners out of a dynastic difficulty by looking after the -interests of England as well as ruling Scotland. This feeling of jealousy -was so bitter and so potent that for many years after the Union, on all -seals peculiar to Scottish business and on the flags displayed north of the -Tweed, the arms of Scotland were placed in the first quarter. It was also -made a subject of complaint that in the Union Flag the cross of St. George -is placed over that of St. Andrew (see Figs. 90, 91, 92), and that the lion -of England acted as the dexter support of the royal shield instead of -giving place to the Scottish Unicorn. One can only be thankful that Irish -patriots have been too sensible or too indifferent to insist upon yet -another modification, requiring that whensoever and wheresoever the Royal -Standard be hoisted in the Emerald Isle the Irish harp should be placed in -the first quarter. While it is clearly impossible to place the device of -each nationality first, it is very desirable and, in fact, essential, that -the National Arms and the Royal Standard should be identical in arrangement -in all parts of the kingdom. The notion of unity would be very inadequately -carried out if we had a London version for Buckingham Palace, an Edinburgh -version for Holyrood, and presently found the Isle of Saints and "gallant -little Wales" insisting on two other variants, and the Isle of Man in -insurrection because it was not allowed precedence of all four. - -Even so lately as the year 1853, on the issue of the florin, the old -jealousy blazed up again. A statement was drawn up and presented to Lord -Lyon, King of Arms, setting forth anew the old grievances of the lions in -the Standard and the crosses in the Flag of the Union, and adding that "the -new two-shilling {32} piece, called a florin, which has lately been issued, -bears upon the reverse four crowned shields, the first or uppermost being -the three lions passant of England; the second, or right hand proper, the -harp of Ireland; the third, or left hand proper, the lion rampant of -Scotland; the fourth, or lower, the three lions of England repeated. Your -petitioners beg to direct your Lordship's attention to the position -occupied by the arms of Scotland upon this coin, which are placed in the -third shield instead of the second, a preference being given to the arms of -Ireland over those of this kingdom." It is curious that this document -tacitly drops claim to the first place. Probably most of our -readers--Scotch, Irish, or English--feel but little sense of grievance in -the matter, and are quite willing, if the coin be an insult, to pocket it. - -The border surrounding the lion is heraldically known as the tressure. The -date and the cause of its introduction are lost in antiquity. The mythical -story is that it was added by Achaius, King of Scotland, in the year 792, -in token of alliance with Charlemagne, but in all probability these princes -scarcely knew of the existence of each other. The French and the Scotch -have often been in alliance, and there can be little doubt but that the -fleurs-de-lys that adorn the tressure point to some such early association -of the two peoples; an ancient writer, Nisbet, takes the same view, as he -affirms that "the Tressure fleurie encompasses the lyon of Scotland to show -that he should defend the Flower-de-luses, and these to continue a defence -to the lyon." The first authentic illustration of the tressure in the arms -of Scotland dates from the year 1260. In the reign of James III., in the -year 1471 it was "ordaint that in tyme to cum thar suld be na double tresor -about his armys, but that he suld ber armys of the lyoun, without ony mur." -If this ever took effect it must have been for a very short time. We have -seen no example of it. - -Ireland joined England and Scotland in political union on January 1st, -1801, but its device--the harp--was placed on the standard centuries before -by right of conquest. The first known suggestion for a real union on equal -terms was made in the year 1642 in a pamphlet entitled "The Generall Junto, -or the Councell of Union; chosen equally out of England, Scotland, and -Ireland for the better compacting of these nations into one monarchy. By H. -P." This H. P. was one Henry Parker. Fifty copies only of this tract were -issued, and those entirely for private circulation. "To persuade to union -and commend the benefit of it"--says the author--"will be unnecessary. -_Divide et impera_ (divide and rule) is a fit saying for one who aims at -the dissipation and perdition of his country. Honest counsellors have ever -given contrary advice. England and Ireland are inseparably knit; no -severance is possible {33} but such as shall be violent and injurious. -Ireland is an integral member of the Kingdom of England: both kingdoms are -coinvested and connexed, not more undivided than Wales or Cornwall." - -The conquest of Ireland was entered upon in the year 1172, in the reign of -Henry II., but was scarcely completed until the surrender of Limerick in -1691. Until 1542 it was styled not the Kingdom but the Lordship of Ireland. - -An early standard of Ireland has three golden crowns on a blue field, and -arranged over each other as we see the English lions placed; and a -commission appointed in the reign of Edward IV., to enquire what really -were the arms of Ireland, reported in favour of the three crowns. The early -Irish coinage bears these three crowns upon it, as on the coins of Henry V. -and his successors. Henry VIII. substituted the harp on the coins, but -neither crowns nor harps nor any other device for Ireland appear in the -Royal Standard until the year 1603, after which date the harp has remained -in continuous use till the present day. - -In the Harleian MS., No. 304 in the British Museum, we find the statement -that "the armes of Irland is Gules iij old harpes gold, stringed argent" -(as in Fig. 87), and on the silver coinage for Ireland of Queen Elizabeth -the shield bears these three harps. At her funeral Ireland was represented -by a blue flag having a crowned harp of gold upon it, and James I. adopted -this, but without the crown, as a quartering in his standard: its first -appearance on the Royal Standard of England. - -Why Henry VIII. substituted the harp for the three crowns is not really -known. Some would have us believe that the king was apprehensive that the -three crowns might be taken as symbolising the triple crown of the Pope; -while others suggest that Henry, being presented by the Pope with the -supposed harp of Brian Boru, was induced to change the arms of Ireland by -placing on her coins the representation of this relic of her most -celebrated native king. The Earl of Northampton, writing in the reign of -James I., suggests yet a third explanation. "The best reason," saith he, -"that I can observe for the bearing thereof is, it resembles that country -in being such an instrument that it requires more cost to keep it in tune -than it is worth."[20] {34} - -The Royal Standard should only be hoisted when the Sovereign or some member -of the royal family is actually within the palace or castle, or at the -saluting point, or on board the vessel where we see it flying, though this -rule is by no means observed in practice. The only exception really -permitted to this is that on certain royal anniversaries it is hoisted at -some few fortresses at home and abroad that are specified in the Queen's -Regulations. - -The Royal Standard of England was, we have seen, in its earliest form a -scarlet flag, having three golden lions upon it, and it was so borne by -Richard I., John, Henry III., Edward I., and Edward II. Edward III. also -bore it for the first thirteen years of his reign, so that this simple but -beautiful flag was the royal banner for over one hundred and fifty years. -Edward III., on his claim in the year 1340 to be King of France as well as -of England, quartered the golden fleurs-de-lys of that kingdom with the -lions of England.[21] This remained the Royal Standard throughout the rest -of his long reign. Throughout the reign of Richard II. (1377 to 1399) the -royal banner was divided in half by an upright line, all on the outer half -being like that of Edward III., while the half next the staff was the -golden cross and martlets on the blue ground, assigned to Edward the -Confessor, his patron saint, as shown in Fig. 19. On the accession of Henry -IV. to the throne, the cross and martlets disappeared, and he reverted to -the simple quartering of France and England. - -Originally the fleurs-de-lys were scattered freely over the field, _semee_ -or sown, as it is termed heraldically, so that besides several in the -centre that showed their complete form, others at the margin were more or -less imperfect. On turning to Fig. 188, an early French flag, we see this -disposition of them very clearly. Charles V. of France in the year 1365 -reduced the number to three, as in Fig. 184, whereupon Henry IV. of England -followed suit; his Royal Standard is shown in Fig. 22. This remained the -Royal Standard throughout the reigns of Henry V., Henry VI., Edward IV., -Edward V., Richard III., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary and -Elizabeth--a period of two hundred years. - -On the accession of the House of Stuart, the flag was rearranged. Its first -and fourth quarters were themselves quartered again, these small -quarterings being the French fleur-de-lys and the English lions; while the -second quarter was the lion of Scotland, and the third the Irish harp; the -first appearance of either of these latter kingdoms in the Royal Standard. -This form remained in use throughout the reigns of James I., Charles I., -Charles II., and James II. The last semblance of dominion in France had -long {35} since passed away, but it will be seen that alike on coinage, -arms, and Standard the fiction was preserved, and Londoners may see at -Whitehall the statue still standing of James II., bearing on its pedestal -the inscription--"_Jacobus secundus Dei Gratia Angliae, Scotiae, Franciae et -Hiberniae Rex_." - -During the Protectorate, both the Union Flag and the Standard underwent -several modifications, but the form that the personal Standard of Cromwell -finally assumed may be seen in Fig. 83, where the Cross of St. George for -England, St. Andrew for Scotland, and the harp for Ireland, symbolise the -three kingdoms, while over all, on a shield, are placed the personal arms -of the Protector--a silver lion rampant on a sable field. - -William III., on his landing in England, displayed a standard which varied -in many respects from those of his royal predecessors, since it contained -not only the arms themselves, but these were represented as displayed on an -escutcheon, surmounted by the crown, and supported on either side by the -lion and unicorn. Above all this was the inscription "For the Protestant -Religion and the Liberties of England,"[22] while beneath it was "je -maintiendray." The arms on the shield are too complex for adequate -description without the aid of a diagram; suffice it to say that in -addition to the insignia of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, were -eight others dealing with the devices of smaller Continental possessions -appertaining to the new monarch. When matters had settled down and his -throne was assured, the aggressive inscription, etc., disappeared, and the -Royal Standard of William and his Consort Mary, the daughter of King James, -reverted to the form used by the Stuart Sovereigns, plus in the centre a -small escutcheon bearing the arms of Nassau, these being a golden lion -rampant, surrounded by golden billets, upon a shield of azure. - -The Royal Standard of Queen Anne bore the devices of England, Scotland, -Ireland, and France. On the accession of George I. the arms of Hanover were -added, and from 1714 to 1801 the flag was as shown in Fig. 43. The flag of -Anne was very similar to this, only instead of Hanover in the fourth -quarter, the arms of England and Scotland, as we see them in the first -quarter, were simply repeated in the fourth. - -The Hanoverian quarter, Fig. 43, was made up as follows:--The two lions on -the red field are the device of Brunswick; the blue lion rampant, -surrounded by the red hearts, is the device of Lunenburg; the galloping -white horse is for Saxony; and over all is the golden crown of Charlemagne -as an indication of the claim set up of being the successor of that potent -Sovereign. The horse {36} of Saxony is said to have been borne sable by the -early kings, previous to the conversion to Christianity of Witekind, A.D. -785. Verstigan, however, tells us that the ensign of Hengist at the time of -the invasion of England by the Saxons was a leaping white horse on a red -ground. The white horse is still the county badge for Kent. The flag, as we -see it in Fig. 43, was that of George I. and George II., and remained in -use until the forty-second year of the reign of George III. - -On January 2nd, 1801, the Fleurs-de-lys of France were at length removed, -and the flag had its four quarters as follows:--First and fourth England, -second Scotland, and third Ireland; the arms of Hanover being placed on a -shield in the centre of the flag. This remained the Royal Standard during -the rest of the reign of George III., and throughout the reigns of George -IV. and William IV. On the accession of Victoria the operation of the -Salique law severed the connexion of Hanover with England, and the present -Royal Standard is as shown in Fig. 44, being in its arrangement similar to -that of George IV. and William IV., except that the small central shield, -bearing the arms of Hanover, is now removed.[23] - -We turn now to the National Flag. As the feudal constitution of the -fighting force passed away, the use of private banners disappeared, and -men, instead of coming to the field as the retainers of some great nobleman -and fighting under his leadership and beneath his flag, were welded into a -national army under the direct command of the king and such leaders as he -might appoint. The days when a great noble could change the fortunes of the -day by withdrawing his vassals or transferring himself and them, on the eve -of the fight, to the opposing party, were over, and men fought no longer in -the interests of Warwick or of Percy, but in the cause of England and -beneath the banner of St. George, the national Patron Saint. - - "Thou, amongst those saints whom thou dost see, - Shall be a saint, and thine own nation's frend - And patron: thou Saint George shalt called bee, - Saint George of Mery England, the sign of victoree."[24] - -{37} - -At the siege of Antioch, according to Robertus Monachus, a Benedictine of -Rheims who flourished about the year 1120, and wrote a history of the -Crusade, "Our Souldiers being wearied with the long continuance of the -Battaile, and seeing that the number of enemies decreased not, began to -faint; when suddenly an infinite number of Heavenly Souldiers all in white -descended from the Mountains, the Standard-bearer and leaders of them being -Saint George, Saint Maurice, and Saint Demetrius, which when the Bishop of -Le Puy first beheld he cryed aloud unto his troopes, 'There are they (saith -he) the succours which in the name of God I promised to you.' The issue of -the miracle was this, that presently the enemies did turne their backs and -lost the field: these being slaine, 100,000 horse, beside foot innumerable, -and in their trenches such infinite store of victuals and munition found -that served not only to refresh the wearied Christians, but to confound the -enemy." This great victory at Antioch led to the recovery of Jerusalem. At -the Crusades England, Arragon, and Portugal all assumed St. George as their -patron saint. - -Throughout the Middle Ages the war-cry of the English was the name of this -patron saint. "The blyssed and holy Martyr Saynt George is patron of this -realme of Englande, and the crye of men of warre," we read in the "Golden -Legend," and readers of Shakespeare will readily recall illustrations. Thus -in "King Richard II." we read:-- - - "Sound drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully, - God and St. George! Richard and victory." - -or again in "King Henry V." where the king at the siege of Harfleur cries, - - "The game's afoot, - Follow your spirit, and upon this charge - Cry, God for Harry, England, and St. George!" - -while in "King Henry VI." we find the line, - - "Then strike up, drums--God and St. George for us!"[25] - -At the battle of Poitiers, September 19th, 1356, upon the advance of the -English, the Constable of France threw himself, Lingard tells us, across -their path with the battle shout, "Mountjoy, St. Denis," which was at once -answered by "St. George, St. George," and in the onrush of the English the -Duke and the greater part of his {38} followers were swept away, and in a -few minutes slain. In an interesting old poem on the siege of Rouen in -1418, written by an eye-witness, we read that on the surrender of the city, - - "Whanne the gate was openyd there - And thay weren ready in to fare, - Trumpis blew ther bemys of bras, - Pipis and clarionys forsoothe ther was. - And as they entrid thay gaf a schowte - With ther voyce that was full stowte, - Seint George! Seint George! thay criden on height - And seide, Welcome oure kynges righte!" - -We have before us, as we write, "The story of that most blessed Saint and -Souldier of Christ Jesus, St. George of Cappadocia," as detailed by Peter -Heylyn, and published in 1633, and the temptation to quote at length from -it is great, as it is full of most interesting matter, but into the history -of St. George space forbids us to go at any length. The author of the -"Seven Champions of Christendom" makes St. George to be born of English -parentage at Coventry, but for this there is no authority whatever, and all -other writers make Cappadocia his birthplace. The history of St. George is -more obscure than that of any name of equal eminence in the Calendar. -According to the "Acta Sanctorum" he was the son of noble parents, became -famous as a soldier, and, embracing Christianity, was tortured to death at -Nicomedia in the year 303. - - "The hero won his well-earned place, - Amid the Saints, in death's dread hour; - And still the peasant seeks his grave, - And, next to God, reveres his power. - In many a Church his form is seen, - With sword, and shield, and helmet sheen; - Ye know him by his shield of pride, - And by the dragon at his side." - -As Patron Saint, the dragon vanquisher is still seen on our crowns and -sovereigns, and reference to such a book as Ruding's history of our coinage -will show that it has for centuries been a popular device. - -In 1245, on St. George's Day, Frederic of Austria instituted an order of -knighthood and placed it under the guardianship of the soldier-saint, and -its white banner, bearing the ruddy cross, floated in battle alongside that -of the Empire. In like manner on St. George's Day, in the year 1350, Edward -III. of England instituted the order of the Garter with great solemnity. -{39} - -St. George's Day, April 23rd, has too long been suffered to pass almost -unregarded. The annual festivals of St. Andrew, St. Patrick, and St. David -are never overlooked by the members of the various nationalities, and it -seems distinctly a thing to be regretted that the Englishman should allow -the name day of his Patron Saint to pass unnoticed.[26] Whatever conduces -to the recognition of national life is valuable, and anything that reminds -Englishmen of their common ties and common duties--and reminds them, too, -of their glorious heritage in the past--should scarcely be allowed to fall -into disuse. Butler, in his "Lives of the Fathers and Martyrs," tell us -that at the great National Council, held at Oxford in 1222, it was -commanded that the Feast of St. George should be kept. In the year 1415, by -the Constitutions of Archbishop Chichely, St. George's Day was made one of -the greater feasts and ordered to be observed the same as Christmas Day. In -1545 a special collect, epistle, and gospel were prepared, and at the -Reformation, when many of the Saints' Days were swept away, this was -preserved with all honour, and it was not till the sixth year of the reign -of Edward VI., when another revision was made, that in "The Catalogue of -such Festivals as are to be Observed" St. George's day was omitted. - -The Cross of St. George was worn as a badge,[27] over the armour, by every -English soldier in the fourteenth and subsequent centuries, even if the -custom did not prevail at a much earlier period. The following extract from -the ordinances made for the government of the army with which Richard II. -invaded Scotland in 1386, is a good illustration of this, wherein it is -ordered "that everi man of what estate, condicion, or nation thei be of, so -that he be of owre partie, here a signe of the armes of Saint George, -large, bothe before and behynde, upon parell that yf he be slayne or -wounded to deth, he that hath so doon to hym shall not be putte to deth for -defaulte of the cross that he lacketh. And that non enemy do bere the same -token or crosse of Saint George, notwithstandyng if he be prisoner, upon -payne of deth." It was the flag of battle, and we see it represented in the -old prints and illuminations that deal with military operations both on -land and sea. Ordinarily it is the Cross of St. George, pure and simple, as -shown in Fig. 91, while at {40} other times, as in Figs. 66, 67, 68, it -forms a portion only of the flag. The red cross on the white field was the -flag under which the great seamen of Elizabeth's reign traded, explored, or -fought; the flag that Drake bore round the world--that Frobisher unfolded -amidst the Arctic solitudes--that gallant Englishmen, the wide world over, -bore at the call of duty and died beneath, if need be, for the honour of -the old home land; and to this day the flag of the English Admiral is the -same simple and beautiful device, and the white ensign of the British Navy, -Fig. 95, is similar, except that it bears, in addition, the Union; while -the Union flag itself, Fig. 90, bears conspicuously the ruddy cross of the -warrior Saint. - -Figs. 26, 27, 74 and 140 are all sea-pennants bearing the Cross of St. -George. The first of these is from a painting of H.M.S. _Tiger_, painted by -Van de Velde, while Fig. 27 is flying from one of the ships represented in -the picture by Volpe of the embarkation of Henry VIII. from Dover on his -way to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Fig. 74 is from a picture of H.M.S. -_Lion_, engaging the French ship _Elisabethe_, on July 9th, 1745, the -latter being fitted out to escort the Young Pretender to Scotland. Though -the red, white, and blue stripes suggest the French tricolor, their -employment in the pennant has, of course, no reference to France. The -_Lion_ had at the foremast the plain red streamer seen at Fig. 25. Fig. 140 -is the pennant flown at the present day by all Colonial armed vessels, -while the pennant of the Royal Navy is purely white, with the exception of -the Cross of St. George. In a picture by Van de Velde, the property of the -Queen, representing a sea fight on August 11th, 1673, between the English, -French, and Dutch, we see some of the vessels with streamers similar to -Fig. 140, thus ante-dating the Colonial flag by over two hundred years. - -As we have at the present time the white ensign, Fig. 95, the special flag -of the Royal Navy; the blue ensign, Fig. 96, the distinguishing flag of the -Royal Naval Reserve; and the red ensign, Fig. 97, the flag of the Merchant -Service, each with the Union in the upper corner next the mast, so in -earlier days we find the white flag, Fig. 65, the red flag, Fig. 66, and -the blue, each having in the upper corner the Cross of St. George. Fig. 69 -becomes, by the addition of the blue, a curious modification of Fig. 66. It -is from a sea piece of the sixteenth century. It was displayed at the poop -of a vessel, while Fig. 79 is the Jack on the bowsprit. - -A hundred years ago or so, we may see that there was a considerable variety -in the flags borne by our men-o'-war. Such galleries as those at Hampton -Court or Greenwich afford many examples of this in the pictures there -displayed. In a picture of a battle off Dominica, on April 12th, 1782, we -find, one of the English {41} ships has two great square flags on the -foremast, the upper one being plain red, and the lower one half blue and -half white in horizontal stripes, while the main mast is surmounted by the -Cross of St. George, and below it a tricolor of red, white, and blue in -horizontal stripes. Other ships show equally curious variations, though we -need not stop to detail them, except that in one case both fore and mizen -masts are surmounted by plain red flags. In a picture of Rodney's Action -off Cape St. Vincent, on January 16th, 1780, we meet with all these flags -again. In the representation of an action between an English and French -fleet on May 3rd, 1747, off Cape Finisterre, we notice that the English -ships have a blue ensign at the poop, and one of them has a great plain -blue flag at the foremast, and a great plain red flag at the main-mast -head. In a picture of the taking of Portobello, November 21st, 1739, we -notice the same thing again. These plain surfaces of blue or red are very -curious. It will naturally occur to the reader that these are signal flags, -but anyone seeing the pictures would scarcely continue to hold that view, -as their large size precludes the idea. In the picture of H.M.S. _Tiger_ -that we have already referred to, the flag with five red stripes that we -have represented in Fig. 70 is at the poop, while from the bow is hoisted a -flag of four stripes, and from the three mastheads are flags, having three -red stripes. These striped red and white flags may often be seen. - -Perhaps the most extraordinary grouping of flags may be seen in a picture -of a naval review in the reign of George I. It was on exhibition at the -Great Naval Exhibition at Chelsea, and is in private ownership. All the -vessels are dressed in immense flags, and these are of the most varied -description. It must be borne in mind that these are government bunting, -not the irresponsible vagaries of private eccentricity. Besides the -reasonable and orthodox flags, such as those represented in Figs. 65, 66, -and others of equal propriety, we find one striped all over in red, white, -blue, red, white, blue, in six horizontal stripes. Another, with a yellow -cross on a white ground; a third, a white eagle on a blue field; another, a -red flag inscribed--"For the Protestant Religion and the Liberty of -England"; while another is like Fig. 65, only instead of having a red cross -on white, it has a blue one instead. An altogether strange assortment. - -Figs. 67, 68, 72, and 78 are flags of the London Trained Bands of the year -1643. The different regiments were known by the colour of their flags, thus -Fig. 67 is the flag of the blue regiment, Fig. 68 of the yellow, Fig. 72 of -the green, and Fig. 78 of the yellow regiment auxiliaries. Other flags were -as follows:--white, with red lozenges; green, with golden wavy rays; -orange, with white trefoils; in each case the Cross of St. George being in -the canton. {42} In a list before us of the Edinburgh Trained Bands for -1685 we find that the different bodies are similarly distinguished by -colours.[28] - -On the union of the two crowns at the accession of James VI. of Scotland -and I. of England to the English throne, the Cross of St. Andrew, Fig. 92, -was combined with that of St. George. - -The Cross of St. Andrew has been held in the same high esteem north of the -Tweed that the Southrons have bestowed on the ensign of St. George. It will -be seen that it is shaped like the letter X. Tradition hath it that the -Saint, deeming it far too great an honour to be crucified as was his Lord, -gained from his persecutors the concession of this variation. It is -legendarily asserted that this form of cross appeared in the sky to -Achaius, King of the Scots, the night before a great battle with -Athelstane, and, being victorious, he went barefoot to the church of St. -Andrew, and vowed to adopt his cross as the national device. The sacred -monogram that replaced the Roman eagles under Constantine, the cross on the -flag of Denmark, the visions of Joan of Arc, and many other suchlike -illustrations, readily occur to one's mind as indicative of the natural -desire to see the potent aid of Heaven visibly manifested in justification -of earthly ambitions, or a celestial support and encouragement in time of -national discomfiture. - -Figs. 75 and 76 are examples of the Scottish red and blue ensigns. The -first of these is from a picture at Hampton Court, where a large Scottish -warship is represented as having a flag of this character at the main, and -smaller but similar colours at the other mastheads and on the bowsprit. - -The famous banner, the historic "blue blanket," borne by the Scots in the -Crusades, was on its return deposited over the altar of St. Eloi in St. -Giles' Church, Edinburgh, and the queen of James II., we read, painted on -its field of azure the white Cross of St. Andrew, the crown, and the -thistle. St. Eloi was the patron saint of blacksmiths, and this craft was -made the guardian of the flag, and it became the symbol of the associated -trades of ancient Edinburgh. King James VI., when venting his indignation -against his too independent subjects, exclaimed, "The craftsmen think we -should be contented with their work, and if in anything they be controlled, -then up goes the blue blanket." The craftsmen were as independent and -difficult to manage as the London Trained Bands often proved, but King -James VI. found it expedient to confirm them in {43} all their privileges, -and ordered that the flag should at all times be known as the Standard of -the Crafts, and later Sovereigns found it impossible to take away these -privileges when they had once been granted. This flag was borne at Flodden -Field. Beside the cross, crown, and thistle it bore on a scroll on the -upper part of the flag the inscription, "Fear God and honor the king with a -long lyffe and prosperous reigne," and on the lower portion the words, "And -we that is trades shall ever pray to be faithfull for the defence of his -Sacred Majesties' persone till deathe," an inscription that scarcely seems -to harmonise with the turbulent spirit that scandalised this sovereign so -greatly. - -The flags borne by the Covenanters in their struggle for liberty varied -much in their details, but in the great majority of cases bore upon them -the Cross of St. Andrew, often accompanied by the thistle, and in most -cases by some form of inscription. Several of these are still extant. In -one that was borne at Bothwell Brig, and now preserved in the Museum of the -Society of Antiquaries, Edinburgh, the four blue triangles (see Fig. 92 for -these) are filled with the words, "For Religion----Couenants----King----and -Kingdomes." The Avondale flag was a white one, having the cross, white on -blue, as in Fig. 75, in the corner. On the field of the flag was the -inscription, "Avondale for Religion, Covenant, and King,"[29] and beneath -this a thistle worked in the national green and crimson. A very interesting -Exhibition of Scottish national memorials was held at Glasgow in 1888, and -many of these old Covenant flags were there displayed. At the great -Heraldic Exhibition held in Edinburgh in 1891, one of the most interesting -things shown was the Cavers Standard. This is of sage green silk, twelve -feet by three. It bears the Cross of St. Andrew next the staff, and divers -other devices are scattered over the rest of the flag. It is in excellent -preservation, and its special interest lies in the fact that it is said to -have been the standard of James, second Earl of Douglas and Mar, and borne -by his son at the battle of Otterburn in the year 1388. If this be so it is -one of the oldest flags in existence. - -On the signet-ring of Mary Queen of Scots the white Cross of St. Andrew is -not shown on its usual blue ground, but on a ground striped blue and -yellow, the royal colours; in the same way that the St. George's Cross is -shown in Fig. 71, not on a {44} white ground, but on a ground striped white -and green, the Tudor colours. - -Why St. Andrew was selected to be the Patron Saint of Scotland has never -been satisfactorily settled.[30] Some uncharitable enquirer has hazarded -the explanation that it was because it was this Apostle who discovered the -lad who had the loaves and fishes. Others tell us that one Hungus, a -Pictish prince, dreamt that the Saint was to be his champion in a fight -just then pending with the men of Northumbria, and that a cross--the symbol -of the crucifixion of this Apostle--appeared in the sky, the celestial omen -strengthening the hearts and arms of the men of Hungus to such effect that -the Northumbrians were completely routed. Should neither of these -explanations appear sufficiently explanatory, we can offer yet a third. On -the martyrdom of St. Andrew, in the year 69, at Patrae, in Achaia, his -remains were carefully preserved as relics, but in the year 370, Regulus, -one of the Greek monks who had them in their keeping, was warned in a -vision that the Emperor Constantine was proposing to translate these -remains to Constantinople, and that he must at once visit the shrine and -remove thence an arm bone, three fingers of the right hand, and a tooth, -and carry them away over sea to the west. Regulus was much troubled at the -vision, but hastened to obey it, so putting the relics into a chest he set -sail with some half-dozen other ecclesiastics, to whom he confided the -celestial instructions that he had received. After a stormy voyage the -vessel was at last dashed upon a rock, and Regulus and his companions -landed on an unknown shore, and found themselves in a dense and gloomy -forest. Here they were presently discovered by the aborigines, whose leader -listened to their story and gave them land on which to build a church for -the glory of God and the enshrining of the relics. This inhospitable shore -proved to be that of "Caledonia, stern and wild," and the little forest -church and hamlet that sprang up around it were the nucleus that thence and -to the present day have been known as St. Andrews, a thriving, busy town in -Fife, and for centuries the seat of a bishopric. On July 5th, 1318, Robert -the Bruce repaired hither and testified his gratitude to God for the -victory vouchsafed to the Scots at Bannockburn by the intercession of St. -Andrew, guardian of the realm, when thirty thousand Scots defeated one -hundred thousand Englishmen. What St. George could have been doing to allow -this, seems a very legitimate question, but we can scarcely wonder that the -Scots should very gladly appoint so potent a protector their patron, and -look to him for succour in all their national difficulties. - -On the blending of the two kingdoms into one under the {45} sovereignty of -King James,[31] it became necessary to devise a new flag that should typify -this union and blend together the emblems of the puissant St. George and -the no less honoured St. Andrew, and the flag represented in Fig. 73 was -the result--the flag of the United Kingdoms of England and Scotland, -henceforth to be known as Great Britain. - -The Royal Ordinance[32] ran as follows:--"Whereas some difference hath -arisen between our subjects of South and North Britain, travelling by seas, -about the bearing of their flags,--for the avoiding of all such contentions -hereafter we have, with the advice of our Council, ordered that from -henceforth all our subjects of this isle and kingdom of Greater Britain, -and the members thereof, shall bear in their maintop the Red Cross, -commonly called St. George's Cross, and the White Cross, commonly called -St. Andrew's Cross, joined together, according to a form made by our -Heralds, and sent by us to our Admiral to be published to our said -subjects: and in their fore-top our subjects of South Britain shall wear -the Red Cross only, as they were wont, and our subjects of North Britain in -their fore-top the White Cross only, as they were accustomed. Wherefore we -will and command all our subjects to be comparable and obedient to this our -order, and that from henceforth they do not use or bear their flags in any -other sort, as they will answer the contrary at their peril." - -Such a proclamation was sorely needed, as there was much ill-will and -jealousy between the sailors and others of the two nationalities, and the -Union flag itself, when "our heralds" produced it, did not by any means -please the North, and the right to carry in fore-top the St. Andrew's Cross -pure and simple was a concession that failed to conciliate them. The great -grievance was that, as we see in Fig. 73, the Cross of St. George was -placed in front of that of St. Andrew, and the Scottish Privy Council, in a -letter dated Edinburgh, August 7th, 1606, thus poured forth their -feelings:--"Most sacred Soverayne, a greate nomber of the maisteris of the -schippis of this your Majesties kingdome hes verie havelie complenit to -your Majesties Counsell, that the forme and patrone of the flagges of -schippis sent down heir and command it to be ressavit and used be the -subjectis of both kingdomes is verie prejudiciall to the fredome and -dignitie of this Estate, and wil gif occasioun of reprotche to this natioun -quhairevir the said flage sal happin to be worne beyond sea, {46} becaus, -as your Sacred Majestie may persave, the Scottis Croce, callit Sanctandrois -Croce, is twyse divydit, and the Inglishe Croce, callit Sanct George, -drawne through the Scottis Croce, which is thereby obscurit, and no token -nor mark to be seene of the Scottis armes. This will breid some heit and -miscontentment betwix your Majesties subjectis, and it is to be feirit that -some inconvenientis sall fall oute betwix thame, for our seyfaring men -cannot be inducit to resave that flage as it is set down. They have drawne -two new drauchtis and patrones as most indifferent for both kingdomes, -whiche they presentid to the Counsell, and craved our approbation of the -same, but we haif reserved that to your Majestie's princelie -determinatioun, as moir particularlie the Erll of Mar, who was present, and -herd their complaynt, and to whom we haif remittit the discourse and -delyverie of that mater, will informe your Majestie and let your Heynes see -the errour of the first patrone and the indifferencie of the two newe -drauchties." These draughts are not to be found, nor does it appear that -any notice was taken of the complaint. - -The Scottish Union flag, as carefully depicted in a scarce little work -published in 1701, and entitled "The Ensigns, Colours, and Flags of the -Ships at Sea, belonging to the several Princes and States in the World," -may be seen in Fig. 88. In it will be noted that the Cross of St. Andrew is -placed in front of that of St. George--anyone comparing Figs. 73 and 88 -will readily see wherein they differ. Though its appearance in a book of -sea-flags would seem to imply that such a flag had been made, we know of no -other instance of it. Fig. 84 was also suggested as a solution of the -problem, but here we get false heraldry, the blue in contact with the red, -and in any case a rather weak-looking arrangement. - -The painful truth is that when two persons ride the same animal they cannot -both be in front, and no amount of heraldic ingenuity will make two devices -on a flag to be of equal value. The position next the staff is accounted -more honourable than that remote from it, and the upper portion of the flag -is more honourable than the lower.[33] At first sight it might appear that -matters are impartially dealt out in Fig. 81, but the position next the -staff is given to St. George, and in the quartered arrangement, Fig. 85, -the same holds true. Both these were suggestions made at the time the -difficulty was felt, but both were discarded in favour of the arrangement -shown in Fig. 73. - -This Union Flag is not very often met with. It occurrs on one of the great -seals of Charles II., and is seen also as a Jack on the {47} bowsprits of -ships in paintings of early naval battles. It may, by good fortune, be seen -also on the two colours of the 82nd regiment that in the year 1783 were -suspended in St. Giles', Edinburgh, and a very good illustration of it may -be seen in the National Gallery, where, in a battle scene by Copley, -representing the death of Major Peirson, at St. Helier, Jersey, on January -6th, 1781, this Union flag is conspicuous in the centre of the picture. We -have it again in Fig 57, the original flag of the East India Company; the -difference between this and the second Union Flag, made on the admission of -Ireland's Cross of St. Patrick, may be very well seen on a comparison of -Figs. 57 and 61. We have it again in Figs. 142 and 143, flags of the -revolting American Colonists before they had thrown off all allegiance to -the Old Country. - -A knowledge of the history of the flag has not only interest, but is of -some little importance. We remember seeing a picture of the sailing of the -_Mayflower_, in which, by a curious lack of a little technical knowledge, -the flag depicted was the Union Flag of to-day, which did not come into -existence until the first year of the present century, whereas the historic -event represented in the picture took place in the year 1620. In a fresco -in the House of Lords, representing Charles II. landing in England,[34] the -artist has introduced a boat bearing the present Union Flag. In each of -these cases it is evident that it should have been the first Union--that of -England and Scotland--that the flag should have testified to. - -Charles I. issued a proclamation on May 5th, 1634, forbidding any but the -Royal ships to carry the Union flag; all merchantmen, according to their -nationality, being required to show either the Cross of St. George or that -of St. Andrew. Queen Anne, on July 28th, 1707, required that merchant -vessels should fly a red flag "with a Union Jack described in a canton at -the upper corner thereof, next the staff," while the Union Flag, as before, -was reserved for the Royal Navy. This merchant flag, if we cut out the -inscription there shown, would be similar to Fig. 142. This is interesting, -because, after many changes, so lately as October 18th, 1864, it was -ordered that the red ensign once again should be the distinguishing flag of -the commercial marine; the present flag is given in Fig. 97. It is further -interesting because this proclamation of Queen Anne's is the first time -that the term Union Jack, so far as we are aware, is officially used. - -Technically, our national banner should be called the Union Flag, though in -ordinary parlance it is always called the Union Jack. {48} The latter flag -is a diminutive of the former, and the term ought in strictness to be -confined to the small Union Flag flown from the Jack-staff on the bowsprit -of a ship. The Union Flag is, besides this, only used as the special -distinguishing flag of an Admiral of the Fleet, when it is hoisted at the -main top-gallant mast-head, and when the Sovereign is on board a vessel, in -which case the Royal Standard is flown at the main and the Union at the -mizen. With a white border round it, as in Fig. 104, it is the signal for a -pilot: hence this is called the Pilot Jack. The sea flags now in use are -the white, red, and blue ensigns, Figs. 95, 96, 97, to be hereafter -described, while the Union flag is devoted especially to land service, -being hoisted on fortresses and government offices, and borne by the -troops. - -Why the flag should be called "Jack" at all has been the subject of much -controversy. It is ordinarily suggested that the derivation is from -Jacques, the French word for James, the Union Jack springing into existence -under his auspices. Why it should be given this French name does not seem -very clear, except that many of the terms used in blazonry are French in -their origin. It never seems to have been suggested that, granting the -reference to King James, the Latin Jacobus would be a more appropriate -explanation, as the Latin names of our kings have for centuries supplanted -the earlier Norman-French on their coins, seals, and documents. Several -other theories have been broached, of varying degrees of improbability; one -of these deriving it from the word "jaque"[35] (hence our modern jacket), -the surcoat worn over the armour in mediaeval days. This, we have seen, had -the Cross of St. George always represented on it; but there is no proof -that the jaque was ever worn with the union of the two crosses upon it, so -that the derivation breaks down just at the critical point. The present -flag came into existence in the reign of King George, but no one ever -dreams on this account, or any other, of calling it the Union George. - -On the death of Charles I., the partnership between England and Scotland -was dissolved, and the Union Flag, Fig. 73, therefore, was disestablished, -and was only restored in the general Restoration, when the Commonwealth and -Protectorate had run their course, and Charles II. ascended the throne of -his forefathers. - -The earliest Commonwealth Flag was a simple reversion to the Cross of St. -George, Fig. 91. At a meeting of the Council of State, held on February -22nd, 1648-49, it was "ordered that the ships at sea in service of the -State shall onely beare the red Crosse {49} in a white flag. That the -engravings upon the Sterne of ye ships shall be the Armes of England and -Ireland in two Scutcheons, as is used in the Seals, and that a warrant be -issued to ye Commissioners of ye Navy to see it put in execution with all -speed." The communication thus ordered to be made to the Commissioners was -in form a letter from the President of the Council as follows:--"To ye -Commissioners of ye Navy.--Gentlemen,--There hath beene a report made to -the Councell by Sir Henry Mildmay of your desire to be informed what is to -be borne in the flaggs of those Ships that are in the Service of the State, -and what to be upon the Sterne in lieu of the Armes formerly thus engraven. -Upon the consideration of the Councell whereof, the Councell have resolved -that they shall beare the Red Crosse only in a white flagg, quite through -the flagg. And that upon the Sterne of the Shipps there shall be the Red -Crosse in one Escotcheon, and the Harpe in one other, being the Armes of -England and Ireland, both Escotcheons joyned according to the pattern -herewith sent unto you. And you are to take care that these Flaggs may be -provided with all expedition for the Shipps for the Summer Guard, and that -these engraveings may also be altered according to this direction with all -possible expedition.--Signed in ye name and by order of ye Councell of -State appointed by Authority of Parliament.--Ol. Cromwell, Derby House, -February 23rd, 1648." - -In a Council meeting held on March 5th, considerably within a month of the -one we have just referred to, it is "ordered that the Flagg that is to be -borne by the Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Rere-Admiral be that now presented, -viz., the Armes of England and Ireland in two severall Escotcheons in a Red -Flagg, within a compartment."[36] This arrangement may be seen in Fig. 82. -A Commonwealth flag that is still preserved at the dockyard, Chatham, -differs slightly from this. The ground of the flag is red, but the shields -are placed directly upon it without any intervening gold border, and around -them is placed a large wreath of palm and laurel in dark green colour. - -In the year 1787 an interesting book called the "Respublica" was published; -the author, Sir John Prestwich, deriving much of his material from MSS. -left by an ancestor of his who lived during the Interregnum. In this the -reader may find full descriptions of many of the flags of the -Parliamentarians. One of these is much like the Chatham example already -referred to, except that the ground of the flag is blue, and that outside -the shields, but within the wreath, is found the inscription--"_Floreat -Respublica._" {50} - -The flag of the Commonwealth was borne to victory at Dunbar, Worcester, and -many another hard-fought field, and under its folds Blake, Monk, and other -gallant leaders gained glorious victories over the Dutch and Spaniards, and -made the English name feared in every sea. - - "Of wind's and water's rage they fearful be, - But much more fearful are your flags to see. - Day, that to those who sail upon the deep, - More wish'd for and more welcome is than sleep, - They dreaded to behold, lest the sun's light - With English streamers should salute their sight."[37] - -It was not until the year 1651 that Scotland was brought under the sway of -the Commonwealth, and the ordinance for its full union with England and -Ireland was not promulgated until April 12th, 1654. Somewhat later an Order -of Council recognised the new necessities of the case, and decreed that the -Standard for the Protectorate be as shown in Fig. 83. England and Scotland -are here represented by their respective crosses, while Ireland, instead of -having the Cross of St. Patrick, is represented by the harp. In Fig. 80 all -three crosses are introduced, but there seems somewhat too much white in -this latter flag for an altogether successful effect, and the blue of the -Irish quarter, balancing the blue of the Scottish, is more pleasing. The -Union Flag underwent yet another modification, and instead of being like -Figs. 82 or 86, the Union Flag of James I., Fig. 73, was reverted to, and -in the centre of the flag was placed a golden harp--"the Armes of England -and Scotland united, according to the anncient form, with the addicion of -the harpe." On the restoration of Charles II. this harp was removed, and -Ireland does not appear again in the Union Flag, Fig. 73, until January -1st, 1801. - -A pattern farthing of this period--preserved in the magnificent numismatic -collection in the British Museum--shows on its reverse a three-masted ship: -at the stern is a large flag divided vertically, like Fig. 86, into two -compartments, the Cross of St. George in one and the harp in the other; the -main and mizen masts are shown with flags containing St. George's Cross -only, as in Fig. 91, while the foremast bears a flag with St. Andrew's -Cross upon it, a flag similar to Fig. 92. - -For nearly fifty years before its rise, and for nearly one hundred and -fifty years after the downfall of the Protectorate, that is to say from -1602 to 1649 and from 1659 to 1801, the Union Flag was as shown in Fig. 73, -but in 1801 the Legislative Union of Ireland with Great Britain was -effected, and a new Union Flag, the one now in {51} use, was devised. This -may be seen in Fig. 90, the noblest flag that flies under heaven. - -Though the National Flag is primarily just so much silk or bunting, its -design and colouring are full of meaning: and though its prime cost may be -but a few shillings, its value is priceless, for the national honour is -enwrapped in its folds, and the history of centuries is figured in the -symbolism of its devices. It represents to us all that patriotism means. It -is the flag of freedom and of the greatest empire that the world has ever -known. Over three hundred millions of people--in quiet English shires, amid -Canadian snows, on the torrid plains of Hindustan, amidst the busy energy -of the great Australian group of colonies, or the tropical luxuriance of -our West Indian possessions--are to-day enjoying liberty and peace beneath -its shelter. Countless thousands have freely given their lives to preserve -its blazonry unstained from dishonour and defeat, and it rests with us now -to keep the glorious record as unsullied as of old; never to unfurl our -Union Flag in needless strife, but, when once given to the breeze, to -emulate the deeds of our forefathers, and to inscribe on its folds fresh -records of duty nobly done. - -How the form known as St. Patrick's Cross, Fig. 93, became associated with -that worthy is not by any means clear. It is not found amongst the emblems -of Saints, and its use is in defiance of all ecclesiastical tradition and -custom, as St. Patrick never in the martyrological sense had a cross at -all, for though he endured much persecution he was not actually called upon -to lay down his life for the Faith. It has been suggested, and with much -appearance of probability, that the X-like form of cross, both of the Irish -and of the Scotch, is derived from the sacred monogram on the Labarum of -Constantine, where the X is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ. -This symbolic meaning of the form might readily be adopted in the early -Irish Church, and thence be carried by missionaries to Scotland. - -A life of St. Patrick was written by Probus, who lived in the seventh -century, and another by Jocelin, a Cistercian monk of the twelfth century, -and this latter quotes freely from four other lives of the Saint that were -written by his disciples. - -St. Patrick was born in Scotland, near where Glasgow now stands. The date -of his birth was somewhere near the close of the fourth century, but as to -the year authorities differ widely--372, 455, 464, and 493 being all given -by various biographers.[38] His father was of good family, and, while the -future saint was still under the paternal roof, God manifested to him by -divers visions that he was {52} destined for the great work of the -conversion of Ireland, at that time plunged in idolatry. Hence he resigned -his birthright and social position, and devoted himself entirely to the -salvation of these barbarians, suffering at their hands and for their sakes -much persecution. He was ordained deacon and priest, and was ultimately -made a bishop. He travelled over the whole of Ireland founding monasteries -and filling the country with churches and schools of piety and learning. -Animated by a spirit of perfect charity and humility, he demonstrated not -only the faith but the spirit of his Master, and the result of his forty -years of labour was to change Ireland from a land of barbarism into a seat -of learning and piety, so that it received the title of the Island of -Saints, and was for centuries a land of mental and spiritual light. - -On the Union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with Ireland in the year 1801, -the following notice was issued by Royal Authority:--"Proclamation, George -R.--Whereas by the First Article of the Articles of Great Britain and -Ireland it was declared: That the said Kingdoms of Great Britain and -Ireland should upon this day, being the First Day of January, in the Year -of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and One, for ever after be united -into One Kingdom, by the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and -Ireland: and that the Royal Style and Titles appertaining to the Imperial -Crown of the said United Kingdom and its Dependencies, and also the Ensigns -Armorial, Flags, and Banners thereof, should be such as We, by our Royal -Proclamation under the Great Seal of the said United Kingdom should -appoint: We have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, -to appoint and declare that our Royal Style and Titles shall henceforth be -accepted, taken, and used as the same set forth in Manner and Form -following: Georgius Tertius, Dei Gratia, Britannarium Rex, Fidei Defensor; -and in the English Tongue by these words: George the Third, by the Grace of -God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of -the Faith; and that the Arms or Ensigns Armorial of the said United Kingdom -shall be Quarterly: first and fourth, England: second, Scotland: third, -Ireland: and it is Our Will and Pleasure that there shall be borne thereon -on an escutcheon of pretence, the Arms of Our Domains in Germany, ensigned -with the Electoral Bonnet:[39] And that the Union Flag shall be Azure, the -Crosses Saltire of St. Andrew and St. Patrick Quarterly, per Saltire -counterchanged Argent and Gules: the latter fimbriated of the second, -surmounted by the Cross of St. George of the third, fimbriated as the -Saltire." {53} - -The heralds who devised the new flag of the extended Union, Fig. 90, have -been subjected to a very considerable amount of adverse criticism,[40] but -no one has really been able to suggest a better plan than theirs. It will -be noted in the illustration and in every Union flag that is made, that the -red Cross of St. Patrick, Fig. 93, is not in the centre of the white Cross, -Fig. 92, of St. Andrew. The scarlet Cross of St. George is equally fringed -on either side by the white border or fimbriation that represents the -original white field, Fig. 91, on which it was placed, and on the addition -of the white cross or saltire of St. Andrew on its field of blue, Fig. 92, -it fitted in very happily. When, however, another X-like cross had to be -provided for, on the admission of Ireland to the Union, a difficulty at -once arose. As the Irish Cross would, according to all rule and fairness, -be of the same width on the joint flag as that of St. Andrew, the result of -placing the second or red X over the first white one would be to entirely -obliterate the latter. Even then the Irish Cross would not be rightly -rendered, as it should be on a white ground, and by this method it would be -on a blue one, while if we placed the Irish Cross on that of St. Andrew, -but left a thin line of white on either side, St. Andrew's Cross would -still be obliterated, as the thin fimbriation of white would be the just -due of St. Patrick, and would not stand for St. Andrew at all. Besides, -Scottish indignation would not unjustly be aroused at the idea that their -noble white cross should become a mere edging to the symbol of St. Patrick. -Hence the somewhat awkward-looking compromise that breaks the continuity of -direction of the arms of the red cross of Ireland by its portions being -thrown out of the centre of the white oblique bands, so that in each -portion the crosses of Ireland and Scotland are clearly distinguished from -each other. This compromise notwithstanding, no more effective or beautiful -flag unfolds itself the round world over than the Union flag of Great -Britain and Ireland. - -The crosses might have been quartered as we see them in Fig. 80, but it is -clearly better to preserve the idea of the unity and blend all three -crosses into one composition. No criticism or objection has ever come from -Ireland as to the Union flag, but even so lately as 1853 the Scotch renewed -their grievance against the Cross of St. Andrew being placed behind that of -St. George, "and having a red stripe run through the arms thereof, for -which there is no precedent in law or heraldry." If ever an Irishman cared -to hunt up a grievance, surely here is one at last--the cross of his patron -saint "a red stripe"! {54} - -When the Union flag is flown, it should always be as we have drawn it in -Fig. 90, with the broad white stripe nearest to the head of the flagstaff. -It would be quite possible, our readers will see, on a little study of the -matter, to turn it with the red stripe uppermost; but this, as we have -indicated, is incorrect; and, trivial as the matter may appear, there is a -right and a wrong in it, and the point must not be overlooked. - -Many suggestions at the time of the Union were made by divers writers in -the public prints, such as the _Gentleman's Magazine_, and the like. One -version preserved the flag of the first Union, Fig. 73, but placed in the -centre a large green circle having within it the golden harp of the Emerald -Isle; but this is objectionable, as it brings green on red, which is -heraldically false, and as Ireland has a cross as well as England and -Scotland, it seems more reasonable to keep the whole arrangement in -harmony. Another version, and by no means a bad one, is shown in Fig. 89, -where each cross is distinct from the two others. This appeared in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ for March 20th, 1803, and, like all the other -suggestions, good, bad, and indifferent, suffered from the fatal objection -that it saw the light when the whole matter was already settled and any -alteration scarcely possible. - -In view of the changes from the simple Cross of St. George to its union -later on with that of St. Andrew, and later on still the union of both with -that of St. Patrick, it is sufficiently evident that Campbell's stirring -appeal to the mariners of England to defend the flag that for a thousand -years has braved the battle and the breeze, however excellent in spirit, -does not fit in with the literal facts, though we would not willingly -change it for such a version as - - Ye mariners of England, - That guard our native seas: - Whose flag has braved since eighteen-one, - The battle and the breeze. - -The "Queen's Regulations" are very precise as to the hoisting of the flag -at the various home and foreign stations and fortresses. Some few of these -have the Royal Standard for use on Royal Anniversaries and State occasions -only, and these flags are issued in two sizes--either twenty-four by twelve -feet, or twelve by six feet--according to the importance of the position; -thus Dover, Plymouth, and the Tower of London, for example, have the larger -size. In like manner the Union Flag is of two sizes: twelve by six feet, or -six by three feet. These flags at the various stations are either hoisted -on anniversaries only, or on Sundays in addition, or else daily; thus -Dover, besides its Standard, has a Union flag, twelve by six, for special -occasions, and another, six by three, {55} which is hoisted daily. Our -foreign stations, Bermuda, Cape of Good Hope, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, -Halifax, St. Helena, and so forth, are all equally rigidly provided for in -Regulations. There is no option anywhere in the matter. A particular -fortress has to fly a particular flag of a particular size on a particular -day. - -The white ensign, Fig. 95, is the distinguishing flag of the Royal Navy. It -is hoisted at the peak of all vessels in commission, or in such other -conspicuous position of honour as their rig or (as in the case of some -ironclads) absence of rig will permit. It is a large white flag, having -upon it the Cross of St. George, the portion of the flag nearest the -mast-head being occupied by the Union.[41] - -Until 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into the white, the blue, and the red -squadrons, distinguished by the flags shown in Figs. 95, 96, and 97, but -this arrangement, though it had lasted for over two hundred years,[42] was -found to have many inconveniences. It was very puzzling to foreigners, and -it was necessary that each vessel should have three sets of colours, so as -to be able to hoist the orthodox flag for the squadron in which, for the -time being, it might be placed. It was also a difficulty that peaceful -merchantmen were carrying a red ensign, Fig. 97, exactly similar to the war -flag of the vessels of the red squadron. It was inconvenient in action, -too; hence, Nelson at Trafalgar ordered the whole of his fleet to hoist the -white ensign. An Order of Council, dated October 18th, 1864, put an end to -this use of differing flags, declaring that henceforth the white ensign -alone should be the flag of the Royal Navy. In the old days the red was the -highest, the white the intermediate, and the blue the third in rank and -dignity. - -Her Majesty's ships, when at anchor in home ports and roads, hoist their -colours at 8 o'clock in the morning from March 25th to September 20th, and -the rest of the year an hour later; and on foreign stations, at either of -these hours as the commanding officer shall direct; and either abroad or at -home they remain flying throughout the day until sunset.[43] When at sea, -on passing, meeting, {56} joining or parting from any other of Her -Majesty's ships or on falling in with any other ship the flag is hoisted, -and also when in sight of land, and especially when passing any fort, -battery, lighthouse, or town. - -When salutes are fired on the occasion of a foreign national festival, such -as the birthday of the sovereign, the flag of the nation in question is -hoisted at the main during the salute and for such further time as the war -ships of such nation are be-flagged, but if none are present, then their -flag remains up till sunset. Should a British war vessel arrive at any -foreign fortified port, the flag of the foreign nation is hoisted at the -main during the exchange of salutes. - -It is a rank offence for any vessel to fly any ensign or pendant similar to -those used in the Royal Navy. It will at once be boarded by any officer of -Her Majesty's Service, the offending colours seized, and the vessel -reported. The penalty for the offence is a very heavy one. - -The admiral has as a flag the white flag with the Cross of St. George -thereon, Fig. 91, and this must be displayed at the main top-gallant -mast-head, since both the vice and rear-admirals are entitled to fly a -similar flag, but the former of these displays his from the fore, and the -latter from the mizen top-gallant mast-head; it being not the flag alone -but the position of it that is distinctive of rank. The commodore's broad -pendant is a very similar flag, but it tapers slightly, and is -swallow-tailed. - -The "Naval Discipline Act," better known as "The Articles of War," -commences with the true and noble words--"It is on the Navy, under the Good -Providence of God, that our Wealth, Prosperity, and Peace depend," and we -may trust that the glorious traditions of this great service may be -maintained to the full as effectually under the White Ensign as in any -former period for the defence of - - "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, - This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, - This other Eden, demi-paradise; - This fortress built by nature for herself, - Against infection, and the hand of war; - This happy breed of men, this little world; - This precious stone set in the silver sea, - Which serves it in the office of a wall, - Or as a moat defensive to a house, - Against the envy of less happier lands; - This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." - -The blue ensign, Fig. 96, is the flag of the Royal Naval Reserve, and may -be flown by any merchant vessels that comply with the {57} Admiralty -conditions respecting that service. Such vessels must be commanded by -officers of the Reserve, and at least one-third of their crew must belong -to it: they then, the structural conditions being satisfactory, receive a -Government subvention and an Admiralty Warrant to fly the blue ensign. -Officers commanding Her Majesty's ships, meeting with ships carrying the -blue ensign, are authorised to go on board them at any convenient -opportunity and see that these conditions are strictly carried out, -provided that they are of superior rank to the officers of the Royal Naval -Reserve. The men of the Reserve receive an annual retainer and drill pay. -The number of men in the Reserve, at the time we write these lines, is -10,600 in the first class and 10,800 in the second. The first class Reserve -is composed of the men on the long voyage ships, the second being the -fishermen and coasting crews. In addition to this there are some 3,000 -engineers and stokers, and some 1,500 or so of officers, all equally -prepared to rally to the pennant and to take their place in the national -defence. - -This utilisation of the faster vessels of the Mercantile Marine as cruisers -in war time has seriously engaged the attention of the Admiralty. The -Government gives an annual subsidy, and then claims the right to the vessel -at a fixed charge in case of emergency. Such vessels would be of immense -service in time of war in many ways: for scouting, for transporting troops, -and for engaging such of the enemy as she felt fairly a match for. When, -some few years ago, it seemed as though war with Russia was imminent, the -_Massilia_ and the _Rosetta_ of the Peninsula and Oriental Company's fleet -were put in commission by telegraph at Sydney and Hong Kong respectively. -These vessels were provided at once with warlike stores, and were at gun -practice off the ports referred to a few hours after the receipt of -instructions, and ready to go anywhere. This Company, during the Crimean -War, carried over sixty thousand men to the scene of operations, and during -the Indian Mutiny, the war in the Soudan, and all other possible occasions, -has rendered the greatest aid to the State. The _Teutonic_ and the -_Majestic_, of the White Star Line, each carry twelve Armstrong guns, and -could either of them land two thousand infantry at Halifax in five days, or -at Bombay in fourteen days, or at Hong Kong in twenty-one; and many other -armed cruisers of the Mercantile Marine, that we need not stay to -particularise, could do as much, and as effectively, flying the Blue Ensign -as worthily as those we have named. - - "Little England! Great in story! - Mother of immortal men! - Great in courage! Great in glory! - Dear to Freedom's tongue and pen! - {58} - If the world combine to brave thee, - English hearts will dare the fight, - English hands will glow to save thee, - Strong for England and the right!"[44] - -The Red Ensign, represented in Fig. 97, is the special flag of the ordinary -merchantman. "The Red Ensign"--lays down the "Merchant Shipping (Colours) -Act"--"usually worn by merchant ships, without any defacement or -modification whatsoever, is hereby declared to be the proper national -colour of all ships and boats belonging to any subject of Her Majesty, -except in the case of Her Majesty's ships or boats, or in the case of any -other ship or boat for the time being allowed to wear any other national -colours, in pursuant of a Warrant from Her Majesty or from the Admiralty." - -This Act goes on to say that any ship belonging to any subject of the Queen -shall, on a signal being made to her by one of Her Majesty's ships, or on -entering or leaving any foreign port, hoist the red ensign, and if of fifty -tons gross tonnage or upwards, on entering or leaving any British port -also, or incur a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds. A merchantman -may also fly the Union Jack from the bowsprit, but if so the flag, as in -Fig. 104, must have a broad white border. - -The earliest form of red ensign is seen in Fig. 66. In a picture at Hampton -Court, representing the embarkation of William of Orange for England, in -the year 1688, his ship is shown as wearing two flags, one a red one with -St. George's Cross in the canton, as in Fig. 66, while the other, also red, -has the Union Flag in the canton. We get, therefore, a regular sequence of -red ensigns: that with St. George's Cross alone in the corner next the -masthead; that with the Union of St. George and St. Andrew--this picture at -Hampton Court being the earliest example known of its use; and, thirdly, -that of to-day with the crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick. - -Some little degree of flag-lore is valuable not only to the soldier, the -seaman, or the traveller, but to everyone. For want of this knowledge, -ludicrous and serious mistakes are often made. Discussing these matters -with a man of good general knowledge, we found that he had a notion that -there were two kinds of "Union Jack," one, that had most red in it, being -the Army flag; while the other, in which blue preponderated, was the flag -of the Navy! Outside a large provincial theatre we saw a conspicuous notice -indicating that the piece then running was entitled "The Old Flag." To -emphasise this was a picture of a square of British linesmen surrounded by -{59} Zulus, while in the centre of the square rose the Royal Standard! As a -set-off to this we saw, not far off, a public house called the "Royal -Standard," flying from its roof the white Ensign! A friend of ours brought -home for his son a really capital toy model of an ironclad, with turrets, -ram, fighting tops, etc., and yet flying the red ensign of the harmless -merchantman! - -At a church we occasionally pass, the living being in the gift of the -Queen, the Royal Standard is hoisted on such Church festivals as Christmas -Day, while at other times, for no apparent reason, the white Ensign is -substituted--the special flag of the War Navy. Anyone venturing to point -out to the authorities thereof that, as the old church could scarcely take -up its position as a unit in our fighting fleet--having, in fact, quite -another mission in the world--the special flag of the Royal Navy was not -the most appropriate, would probably derive from the interview the -impression that, after all, to the churchwardens a flag was a flag, and -that it was quite possible to make a mountain out of a molehill. - -To one who knows anything about it, the eruption of silk bunting, and baser -fabrics innumerable that comes to the fore on any occasion of national -rejoicing, is a thing of horror, not merely in the festal disfigurements of -the patchwork counterpane or cotton pockethandkerchief type, seeing that to -some people any coloured piece of stuff that will blow out in the wind is a -valid decoration, but in the painful ignorance shown in the treatment of -recognised ensigns. Some little time ago, for instance, we found ourselves -in a town gaily beflagged and radiant in bunting on the occasion of a great -popular rejoicing. The Royal Standard, betokening the presence in the house -of some member of the Royal Family, was flying with a profusion that made -it impossible to believe that all the people displaying it could be -entertaining such distinguished guests. As a set-off, others were decking -their houses with red flags, the symbols of revolution and bloodshed, or -with yellow ones, leaving us to infer that such houses were to be avoided -as nests of yellow fever or such-like deadly infection. The Stars and -Stripes of the United States were, in almost every case, upside down, as -indeed were many others; a thing that, except for the ignorance that was -its excuse, might be considered as an insult to the various Foreign Powers, -while the repeated reversal of the red ensign implied a signal of distress. -The good folks really meant no harm to anybody, and they were quite happy -to believe, as they strolled in their thousands up the leading streets of -the town, that their decorations were a great success. At the same time, a -little more knowledge would have done them no harm. As it is an insult to -hoist one national flag below another, it is a rigid law that in all -official decorations national flags may not be so placed, but {60} -enthusiastic and irresponsible burgesses, in the depth of their ignorance, -ignore all such considerations of international courtesy, and in the length -of a short street commit sufficient indiscretion to give umbrage to all -mankind. It may be said that - - "Happiness too swiftly flies, - Thought would destroy their Paradise"-- - -that "he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow," that - - "From ignorance our comfort flows, - The only wretched are the wise"-- - -but despite all this philosophy, that "where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly -to be wise," no one is the worse for knowing something about the matter -with which he is dealing; and if proverbial philosophy is to count for -anything in the matter, a not inappropriate moral may be quoted as to the -rushing in of fools where their betters feel a judicious modesty. The -confidence of knowledge is better than the confidence of ignorance, and -would certainly, in street flagging, produce a more satisfactory result. - -We have in Plate VI. some few examples of these vagaries from sketches that -we made at the time. Fig. 45, if it had not got the Union in the canton, -would nearly be the Danish flag, Fig. 225, but the addition of the canton -makes it sheer foolishness. Fig. 46 is a good example of the notion that -anything will do if it be only bright enough: it is a mere piece of -patchwork, not by any means the only one in evidence. Figs. 47 and 50 -explain themselves; it is evident that in one case the decorator started -with a white ensign and in the other with a blue one, and then, feeling -that they were a little small and insignificant looking, tacked on a goodly -amount of red material to bring them up to their notion of what would be -sufficiently conspicuous in size. Fig. 48 is very quaint: there is a notion -of the white ensign hovering about it, but the Royal Standard employed as a -canton in one quarter is outside all the proprieties, and in any case all -the arm of the cross that one would expect to see below the canton is -absorbed by it. The addition of the two red tails to the Royal Standard in -Fig. 49 is not by any means legitimate, while in Fig. 51 the Royal Standard -is made the canton of a red ensign, and, as if this were not bad enough in -itself, the whole thing is flown upside down. Many of the so-called flags -had no semblance to anything, some were strange and abnormal tricolors; -others, chequers: one, we remember, was deep crimson, with a broad -bordering round three of its edges of light blue. Whatever opportunity of -going wrong seemed to be at all feasible appeared to be eagerly seized by -some well-meaning burgess, so that the result was a perfect museum of -examples of how not to do it, and therefore of immense interest. - - * * * * * - -{61} - -CHAPTER III. - - Army Flags--the Queen's Colour--the Regimental Colour--the Honours and - Devices--the Flag of the 24th Regiment--Facings--Flag of the King's Own - Borderers--What the Flag Symbolises--Colours of the Guards--the Assaye - Flag--Cavalry Flags--Presentation of Colours--Chelsea College - Chapel--Flags of the Buffs in Canterbury Cathedral--Flags of the - Scottish Regiments in St. Giles's Cathedral--Burning of Rebel Flags by - the Hangman--Special Flags for various Official Personages--Special - Flags for different Government Departments--The Lord High Admiral--The - Mail Flag--White Ensign of the Royal Yacht Squadron--Yacht Ensigns and - Burgees--House or Company Flags--How to express Colours with Lines--the - Allan Tricolor--Port Flags--the British Empire--the Colonial Blue - Ensign and Pendant--the Colonial Defence Act--Colonial Mercantile - Flag--Admiralty Warrant--Flag of the Governor of a Colony--the Green - Garland--the Arms of the Dominion of Canada--Badges of the various - Colonies--Daniel Webster on the Might of England--Bacon on the Command - of the Ocean. - -Having now dealt with the Union Flag and the Red and Blue Ensigns, we -proceed to see how these are modified by the addition of various devices -upon them. - -The flags of the army claim the first place in our regard. Each infantry -regiment has two "colours," one being called the "Queen's Colour," and the -other the "Regimental Colour." On turning to Barret's "Theorike and -Practike of Modern Warres," a book published in the year 1598, we find the -following passage:--"We Englishmen do call them of late colours, by reason -of the variety of colours they be made of, whereby they be the better noted -and known." This we may doubtless accept as a sufficient explanation of the -word, and the passage is interesting, too, as approximately fixing a date -for the introduction of the term, and showing that it has been in use for -at least three hundred years. - -The Queen's Colour in every regiment of the line is the flag of the Union, -Fig. 90, bearing in its centre the Imperial crown and the number of the -regiment beneath it in Roman figures worked in gold, and its territorial -designation. - -The regimental Colour is of the colour of the facings of the regiment, -except when these are white, in which case the body of the flag is not -plain white all over, but bears upon it the Cross of St. George. Whatever -the colour, it bears in its upper corner the Union, and in the centre of -the flag the crown and title of {62} the regiment, and around it whatever -devices, or badges, or other distinctions have been specially conferred -upon it, together with the names of the actions in which the regiment has -taken part, the records of its gallant service in many a hard-fought -struggle in the Peninsula, on the sultry plains of India, beneath the -burning sun of Africa, or wherever else the call of honour and of duty has -added to its laurels. Thus the regimental flag of the 1st regiment of the -line bears the proud record--St. Lucia, Egmont-op-Zee, Egypt, Corunna, -Busaco, Salamanca, Vittoria, St. Sebastian, Nive, Peninsula, Niagara, -Waterloo, Nagpore, Maheidpore, Ava, Alma, Inkermann, Sebastopol, and -several other records of struggles in which they bore gallant share; and -many another regiment could show as fine a record of service. - -In Fig. 94 we have a representation of the regimental colour of the 24th -Regiment. As the facings of this distinguished corps are green,[45] the -body of the flag is of that colour. Beneath its territorial designation -will be seen its special badge, the Sphinx, bestowed upon it for -distinguished service in Egypt, and around are grouped the names of famous -victories which it contributed to win. - -The 24th Regiment, now in the territorial arrangement in vogue known as the -2nd Warwickshire, was first formed in the year 1689. In 1776 it embarked -for Canada and greatly distinguished itself in the American struggle. In -1801 we find it in Egypt, where by its gallantry it won the right to bear -the Sphinx.[46] From 1805 to 1810 it was fighting its way along at the Cape -of Good Hope, and then went on to India. In 1829 we find it sent off to -Canada again to suppress rebellion, and it did not return to England till -1841. In 1846 we see it in the thick of the Punjaub struggle, taking its -part right well in the brilliant engagements of Chillianwallah and -Goojerat, and in 1857 it is in the thick of the sanguinary Mutiny in India; -and, after fifteen years in India, lands in 1861 in England once more. In -1874 we find it again at the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1877-78 engaged in -the Kaffir war, and in all times and in all places taking a gallant share -in upholding the national cause. - -In 1804 a second battalion was added to the regiment. This only existed ten -years, but in that time it earned by its distinguished {63} bravery the -names of the Peninsula battles for the flag,[47] and at the conclusion of -the struggle it was so weak in numbers that it was disembodied. In 1858 a -new second battalion was formed, and did good service in Burmah, South -Africa, etc. Both battalions were in Zululand in 1879, and with the -exception of one hundred men detailed for special duty, the regiment, save -nine men, was wiped out of existence in the fatal field of Isandhlwana. -Lieutenants Melville and Coghill tore the colours from their staffs and -wrapped them around their bodies, and after the fight was over and the -enemy had retired they were recovered. On the arrival of the colours in -England they were taken by Royal Command to Osborne, where the Queen -fastened to each a wreath of immortelles, and bestowed on the two dead -heroes the Victoria Cross as the highest acknowledgment then possible to -her of her deep appreciation of the sacrifice that these young gallant -officers had made for her, for England, and for the honour of the flag. The -colours, therefore, that we have represented in Fig. 94, in all their broad -blazon of gallant service, even in the hour of defeat never fell into the -hands of the enemy, to be hung in triumph in some Zulu kraal, but were -brought back in honour and proud rejoicing, since defeat so valiantly met -was no disgrace, and the honour of the flag and of the gallant 24th was -without stain. - -As one more illustration of regimental colours we may instance those of the -25th Regiment, the King's Own Borderers. Here the groundwork of the flag is -blue, with, of course, the Union in the upper corner next the staff. In the -centre of the flag is a representation of Edinburgh Castle, and within a -band the words, "King's Own Borderers." Outside this we have a wreath of -rose, shamrock, and thistle, surmounted by the crown. Below this is a -sphinx for service in Egypt, and below this again the word "Martinique." On -either side is inscribed "Minden" and "Egmont op Zee," and above all, -"Afghanistan." In the upper outer angle of the flag is the lion on the -crown and the motto "_In veritate religionis confido_," and in the lower -outer angle the white horse of Hanover and the motto "_Nec aspera -terrent_."[48] This was originally known as the Edinburgh Regiment, as it -was raised in four hours in 1689 to defend that city; but George III., for -some reason more or less {64} satisfactory to himself, changed the name to -the one it has ever since borne--the King's Own Borderers. - -In the year 1811 the Prince Regent, on behalf of the King, issued an order -to regulate the colours of the Army, and, amongst other things, sanctioned -the custom that had sprung up of inscribing the names of victories on the -flags. The custom of inscribing these honours, the names of the actions -fought, did not begin till the battle of Minden, so that the victories of -Marlborough and all other glorious achievements prior to the year 1759 -would have gone unrecorded; but in July, 1881, sanction was given for the -Grenadiers and the 1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 24th, -26th, and 27th Regiments of the Line to add Blenheim and Ramilies to their -colours. Oudenarde, Malplaquet, and Dettingen[49] were also added to the -colours of those regiments that were there engaged. - -By the "Queen's Regulations" these colours are required to be of silk, and -to be three feet nine inches in length and three feet in breadth; the cords -and tassels are to be of mixed crimson and gold; the staff is to be eight -feet seven inches long, and surmounted by a golden crown on which stands a -lion. They are to be carried on parade by the two junior lieutenants, and -guarded by two sergeants and two privates. These form what is called "the -colour party." The distinguishing badge of the colour-sergeant consists of -crossed colours, embroidered on the sleeve above the chevrons of his rank. - -It has taken something like a thousand years of time to build up the -British Empire, while the lavish outlay of toil and forethought of -statesmen, the ceaseless spending of blood and treasure, the brilliant -strategy by land and sea of a long line of distinguished commanders have -all contributed to its birth and proud maintenance; and of all this -devotion in the past and the determination to uphold it in the future, the -flag is the living concrete symbol. It is the flag beneath whose folds -Nelson and Wellington and countless heroes more were carried to their rest; -it waved in triumph on the Heights of Abraham, and its honour was safe with -Elliot at Gibraltar; it was unfurled on many a battlefield in the -Peninsula, and nerved the arms of those who scaled the heights of the Alma -and stood unconquerable in the stubborn fight of Inkerman; and it waved -triumphant in the breeze at Sebastopol. The sight of it was strength, -comfort, and hope in the dark days of Lucknow and Cawnpore. It floated, a -symbol of duty, over the heroes of the burning _Birkenhead_, and to Ross, -Parry, Franklin and McClure, in the icy wastes of the far North it was an -incentive to renewed {65} effort and a symbol of home. It was the flag of -Speke and Livingstone in savage Africa, of Burke and Wills in their -explorations in Australia; and for the honour of England that it symbolises -men have thought no sacrifice too great. - -The Queen's Colour is a pledge of loyalty to the Sovereign, an emblem of -the unity of all, while the second colour deals with the honour that -specially appertains to each regiment--a subject of legitimate pride in the -past and an incentive to prove not unworthy in the future of those who -gained it such distinction. - -For some recondite reason the Guards reverse the arrangement that holds in -the Line regiments, as with them the Queen's Colour is crimson and bears -the regimental devices and honours, while the Union Flag is the Regimental -Colour. William IV., in 1832, gave the Grenadier Guards a special flag of -crimson silk, bearing in its centre the royal cypher W.R., interlaced in -gold, and having grouped together in the four corners the rose, thistle, -and shamrock. - -The Governor-General in India issued in the year 1803 a general order that -all the regiments engaged in Wellington's greatest Indian -victory--Assaye--should be entitled to the special distinction of a third -flag, and the Royal authority confirmed the honour. This flag, borne by the -74th Highlanders, the 78th or Ross-shire Buffs, and other distinguished -regiments, was of white silk, having in its centre an elephant, beneath -this the regimental number, and around it a wreath. On blue bands above and -below were inscribed in gold the words Assaye and Seringapatam. In the year -1830 the general use on parade of these flags was discontinued by order, -and they were reserved for very special occasions. - -The number of colours borne by the different regiments was formerly very -irregular: sometimes it was one to a company, sometimes only one to a whole -regiment, now it is two to each battalion. During the eighteenth century -several regiments carried three colours, and the 5th, or Northumberland -Fusiliers, continued to do so until 1833. By an unfortunate accident these -were then all burnt, and when the question of granting new colours came -forward, the right to carry the third was objected to, and the claim had to -be surrendered. King Charles's Royal Regiment of Foot Guards lost eleven -out of thirteen colours at Edgehill. - -The Standards carried by the Life Guards, Horse Guards, and Dragoon Guards -are of crimson silk, thirty inches by twenty-seven; and the guidons of the -dragoon regiments are forty-one inches by twenty-seven, are slit in the fly -and have the outer corners rounded off. The tassels and cords are of -crimson silk and gold, and each flag bears the Royal or other title of the -regiment in letters of gold in a circle, and beneath it the number of the -regiment, all being surmounted by the crown, surrounded by a {66} wreath of -rose, shamrock, and thistle, and the honours. Where a regiment has a -particular badge, such device will be placed in the centre, and the -territorial and numerical position placed outside; thus the Scots Greys -(the 2nd Royal Dragoons) bear as their badge the Imperial Eagle of France, -because at Waterloo this distinguished regiment captured the eagle of the -French 45th Regiment, on which were inscribed the words Jena, Austerlitz, -Wagram, Eylau, and Friedland.[50] The 3rd Dragoons have as their badge the -white horse of Hanover, and, as record of good service, Salamanca, -Vittoria, Toulouse, Peninsula, Cabool, Moodkee, Sobraon, Ferozeshah, -Punjaub, Chillianwallah, Goojerat. The Lancers and Hussars, like the Royal -Engineers, the Royal Artillery, and the Rifle Brigade, have no colours, and -therefore bear their badges, devices, etc., on their appointments. Thus, -for instance, King George II. ordered the 17th Light Dragoons (now the 17th -Lancers) to wear the device of the skull and cross-bones, and beneath it -the words "or glory" on the front of their caps and on the left breast. -This device the "Death or Glory Boys" still retain, like the famous -Pomeranian Horse and the Black Brunswickers, continental corps from whom -the Anglo-Hanoverian monarch doubtless derived the idea.[51] - -The presentation of colours to a regiment is always an imposing ceremony, -as with prayer of consecration, martial music, and stirring address they -are delivered into its custody, but the bestowal of the old colours in some -honoured place of safe keeping is yet more impressive. In the one case -there are the hopes and dangers of the future, while in the other the hopes -have all been abundantly realised, the dangers triumphantly passed, as the -tattered colours--storm tossed, torn by shot and shell--are borne in honour -to their last resting place, where, strife for ever over, they rest in -peace in the Sanctuary of God, a memorial to all men, until their last -shreds fall to decay, of duty nobly and fully done. - -Visitors to Canterbury Cathedral will scarcely fail to have noticed the -flags therein suspended. The colours of the 1st Battalion of the Buffs (the -East Kent Regiment) there find fitting resting place, and the last of these -were added so lately as October, 1892.[52] On their entrance, with imposing -military ceremony, into the {67} Cathedral, they were met by the clergy and -choir, and a hymn of thanksgiving for victory and of safe return from war -was sung, commencing-- - - "Grateful, we bring from lands afar, - Torn, shattered, but unstained, - Banners that Thy servant blessed - Ere the stern conflict came; - Lord, let their fragments ever rest - Where dwells Thy Holy name." - -After a short service of prayer and praise the Dean of Canterbury addressed -the great congregation. It might be asked, he said, why they, who were the -Ministers of the Prince of Peace, should take such interest in these -military proceedings. It was because they recognised in them the greatest -force for peace that there was in our land, for it was through them that -this country of ours had not been trampled for centuries under the feet of -any foreign foe, it was through them that the _Pax Britannica_ prevailed, -and that everywhere where the British Flag was present it carried with it -peace, and tranquillity, and justice. It was through the help of the army -that the peaceful people of this country could carry on their avocations -and serve God and do His work in peace; and therefore the clergy gratefully -acknowledged their services, and hoped and prayed that everywhere the -colours of each regiment might still be not only unstained, but covered -with laurels in struggling for right and for justice. - -Colonel Hobson then addressed the vast audience, reminding the younger -soldiers present that the regiment to which they had the honour to belong -was formed more than three hundred years ago, and was, therefore, the -oldest in the Army. It had won honour and renown in every part of the -world, and the colours which they were that day appropriately laying to -rest in the Warriors' Chapel of Canterbury Cathedral represented as -glorious a record as that of any regiment in the British Army. The earliest -existence of the regiment dated from the movement set on foot in this -country in the latter half of the sixteenth century, to assist the cause of -civil and religious liberty in the Netherlands. The dragon, which is on the -colours, was the crest of the City of London, from whose Trained Bands the -regiment was formed in 1572; and the regimental march, so familiar to them -all, was given them by Queen Elizabeth. After enumerating some few of the -services that the regiment had rendered, he concluded by saying:--"The few -words I have still to say I want you young soldiers especially to listen to -and to take to heart. The colours of a regiment are symbolical of what -ought to be the watchword of an army--duty; the Queen's Colours--duty to -{68} your Sovereign and to your country; the Regimental Colours--duty -towards the regiment. In these days the material side of the profession of -arms is much insisted upon, but I tell you that an army without something -higher than that, however well cared for in other respects, is a bad army, -and that when thoughtfulness and care for the good name of a regiment is -sacrificed for selfish, individual advancement, the regiment, as a whole, -will suffer. The spirit which animated the regiments of the British -Army--who placed those names, of which we are so proud to-day, on those -colours--was, duty first, self afterwards; and it will be a bad day for the -British Army if that spirit is ever allowed to depart from it. There was no -position in the army, however humble, in which men could not sustain the -credit and honour of their regiment and thus contribute to their country's -welfare." - -The Dean thereupon solemnly accepted the care of the colours and pronounced -the Benediction, and the whole audience then joined heart and voice, with -thrilling effect, in singing the National Anthem. - -It seems so natural to write of England and of Englishmen, so stilted to -put Great Britain and Ireland, that one may possibly forget that, -comprehensive as we intend the terms to be, we may, perhaps, wound the -susceptibilities of our fellow subjects and brother Britons across the -Tweed. Let us then turn to a companion picture, and see how, with equal -honour and devotion, the flags of our gallant Highlanders are borne to -their rest. - -A movement was, some time ago, set on foot to gather in the old flags from -the various Scottish regiments and to place them all in the Cathedral -Church of Edinburgh. This was effected, and the perspective effect of -these, as they line the nave on either side, is very fine. The oldest -colours there are those of the 82nd, the Duke of Hamilton's regiment, -presented in the year 1782, and still in excellent preservation. - -When on November 14th, 1883, the old colours borne by the various Scottish -regiments were deposited in St. Giles' Cathedral, they were escorted in all -honour and military pomp from the Castle; and says one who was there: "When -the colours came in sight, the multitude raised a shout and cheered, but -the impulse was but momentary, for at sight of the array of shattered rags -the noise of the tumult died away, and a half-suppressed sound was heard as -through the hearts of the people there flashed a thrill of mingled pride -and pain. Those who saw it will never forget the scene. In the centre the -tattered silk of the Colours, and on the fringe and in the background a -wonder-stricken crowd, as past uncovered heads, past dimmed eyes and -quivering lips, the old flags were carried." - -When the flags had been received with service of prayer and {69} praise, -the meaning of it all was summed up in burning words of love, devotion, and -pride. "We have gathered to-day," said the speaker, "for a noble -purpose--to receive with all honour into this national church these flags, -which have been borne by our soldiers through many a hard fight and in many -a distant land. 'In the name of the Lord,' said the inspired Psalmist long -ago, 'we will set up our banners.' In the spirit in which he spoke, these -banners were first unfurled; and in that great Name they were blessed by -God's ministers ere they were committed to those who were to carry them, as -a testimony that, as a nation, we believe in God, and desire that He should -guide our destinies alike in war and in peace; and now, after the lapse of -years, they are brought back to rest in God's house as a testimony to the -same truth, that we acknowledge Him as the supreme source of all our -national success and greatness. 'Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the -power, and the victory, and the majesty! Both riches and honour come of -Thee, and in Thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all.' -It is in this spirit that we place these emblems in Scotland's great -historic church. The associations that gather around these faded banners -are of the tenderest and most touching kind. They are such as cause the -heart to swell and the tear to come to the eye. Few, I feel sure, in this -vast assemblage have not felt in some degree their power. There are -soldiers here whom they carry back to old days, and to comrades with whom -they stood shoulder to shoulder in many a perilous hour. The old flag has -for the British soldier a meaning so deep and powerful that it is -impossible to put it into words. It is but a piece of silk, often faded and -tattered, and rent with shot: but it is a symbol, and symbols are amongst -the most sacred things on earth. It means for the soldier his Queen and his -country, and all the honour, loyalty, truth, and heroism they demand of -him. Therefore it is that men will follow their colours down into the -dreadful pit, and would be willing to die twice for them rather than let -them be taken by an enemy; and in the hour of defeat, like the heroes of -Isandlwhana, will fall pierced through with wounds, but with these precious -symbols, still untarnished, wrapped around them. And though to the peaceful -citizen these emblems can never mean all they stand for to those who have -served under them, even to him, as they hang here, they may speak of things -that it is good for him to remember. They may well tell him of the history -of his country, and the wonderful way by which God has led her, and of the -brave men He has raised up to fight for her. Nor can we help specially -remembering that these are the colours of our Scottish regiments. Scotland -is a poor country compared to the great neighbour with whom it is happily -united, but it possesses a distinct national life {70} of its own which all -true Scotchmen would not willingly let die. We are proud of our Scotch -regiments. We feel that they, of the whole army, belong especially to -ourselves; and they too, as they have swept on to battle with the cry, -'Scotland for ever!' feel, we believe, that they belong specially to us. -Providence, said Napoleon sneeringly, is generally on the side of the -strongest battalions. Be it so; but will anyone deny that the character of -the soldier has much to do with the strength of the battalion they form? -And was it not the character of our soldiers--a character fostered by the -traditions of their native land, fostered still more, perhaps, by the -religious teaching of their native church and parish school--that made them -strong on many a memorable day, and never more than on that memorable day -at Waterloo, when the great commander I have named generously exclaimed, as -he saw his own ranks yielding before the onslaught, 'Les braves Ecossais!' -May the sight of these banners inspire every soldier who looks on them, -whether Lowland or Highland, to echo the desire to hand down the name they -bear without a blemish! And should the day ever come when we as a people -are tempted to succumb to sloth and luxury, first to undervalue, and -finally to give up, national power and privileges which are an heritage -from God, and have been dearly purchased by those who went before us--may -these emblems, and the stirring memories that cling to them, help us in -some degree to wake up the last drop of blood left in our hearts, and nerve -us to bear ourselves like the children of our sires. 'We have heard with -our ears, O God, and our fathers have told us, what Thou didst in their -days in the times of old. For they got not the land in possession by their -own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but Thy right hand and -Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour -unto them. Through Thee will we push down our enemies; through Thy name -will we tread them under that rise up against us.'" This impressive and -imposing ceremony closed with the magnificent "Hallelujah Chorus" of -Handel, and the final Benediction. - -That colours do not always perish in honour may be seen by the following -extract from the _Scots' Magazine_ of June, 1746, where the citizens of -Edinburgh assisted at a very different function to the one we have just -described. "Fourteen rebel colours," says the ancient newsman, "taken at -Culloden, were brought into Edinburgh on the 31st May, and lodged in the -castle. On Wednesday, the 4th of June, at noon, they were brought down to -the Cross, the Pretender's own standard carried by the hangman, and the -rest by chimney sweepers. The sheriffs, accompanied by the heralds, -pursuivants, trumpeters, city constables, etc., and escorted by the city -guard, walked to the Cross, where a proclamation was {71} made that the -colours belonging to the rebels were ordered by the Duke of Cumberland to -be burnt by the hands of the common hangman. The Pretender's standard was -then put on a fire that had been prepared, and afterwards all the rest one -by one--a herald always proclaiming to whom each belonged, the trumpets -sounding, and the populace, of which there was a great number assembled, -huzzaing." - -Various government officials have their special flags. The flag of the -Union having been established by "Queen's Regulations" for the naval -service, as the distinguishing flag to be borne by the admiral of the -fleet, great inconvenience arose from the use of the same flag when -military authorities, diplomatic and consular agents were embarking in -boats or other vessels; so it became necessary to make some modification in -the flag. It is therefore now ordered that a general or other officer -commanding a military station shall have, in the centre of the Union, a -blue shield bearing the Royal initials, surmounted by a crown and -surrounded by a garland; those in the diplomatic service shall have, in the -centre of the Union, a white shield bearing the Royal Arms, and surrounded -by a garland; while consuls-general, consuls, or consular agents have the -Blue Ensign as their distinguishing flag, and in the centre thereof the -Royal Arms. The flag of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland is the Union, and in -its centre, as we may see in Fig. 106, a blue shield bearing the golden -harp. - -Different Government Departments have their special flags also. Thus the -Transport Service has the blue ensign with a golden anchor, placed -horizontally, in the fly, while the Victualling Department has the blue -ensign again, but this time as shown in Fig. 98, with two crossed anchors. -On the blue ensign of the Board of Trade is found in the fly a white -circle, and within this a ship in full sail (see Fig. 105). The Ordnance -Department flag, represented in Fig. 108, bears a shield with cannons and -cannon balls upon it, while vessels and boats employed on submarine mining -service are authorized to carry the blue ensign with--as its special -badge--a hand issuing from a mural crown, and grasping a thunderbolt. The -Telegraph branch of the Post-Office has a very striking device: a -representation of Father Time with his hour glass smashed by lightning. The -red ensign is employed by the Custom House and the Excise, in the first -case having, as we see in Fig. 107, a golden crown in the fly, and, in the -second, a crown and star. The flag of the Admiralty is a very striking one -(Fig. 99). This association of the anchor with the Admiralty is a very -natural one; we see it not only in our English flag, but in those of -France, Italy, Germany, Russia, etc. Our Admiralty flag is hoisted on any -ship when the Commissioners {72} of the Admiralty are on board,[53] and it -is also hoisted at the fore top-gallant mast of every ship on which the -Queen may be on board. Vessels carrying Her Majesty's mail fly on the -fore-mast a white burgee, having in its centre a crown, and on one side of -it the word "Royal" and on the other "Mail"; the words Royal Mail and the -crown being in red on the white field of the flag. - -The White Ensign, Fig. 95, the special flag of Her Majesty's Navy, is, by -very exceptional privilege, allowed to be flown by the Royal Yacht -Squadron. This distinction was conferred on that Club in the year 1829, the -Club itself being established in 1812.[54] In the old days, when the Royal -Navy used the red, white, and blue ensigns, the red ensign was of the -highest dignity; and it was this from 1821 to 1829 that the Royal Yacht -Squadron flew, but, as the red ensign was also used by merchant vessels, -they adopted in 1829 the white ensign as being more distinctive. In 1842 -the Admiralty drew up a Minute that no warrant should be issued to any -other yacht club to fly the white ensign, and that those privileged Clubs -that already had it must henceforth forego it. Copies of the minute were -accordingly sent to the Royal Western of England, Royal Thames, Royal -Southern, and some two or three other clubs, but, by some oversight, the -Royal Western of Ireland was overlooked, and that Club continued to use the -white ensign until the mistake was discovered by the Admiralty in the year -1857. Since that date the Royal Yacht Squadron, which has always been under -the special patronage of Royalty, has been alone in its use. Its value is -purely sentimental; it carries no substantial privilege. A rather marked -case arose, in fact, to the contrary in 1883, when Lord Annesley's yacht, -the _Seabird_, was detained by the Turkish authorities at the Dardanelles -in consequence of her bearing the white ensign. No foreign man-of-war is -allowed to pass the Dardanelles without special permission; and the white -{73} ensign of the Royal Navy brought her within that category. On account -of this, all yacht owners were warned that should they wish to pass the -Dardanelles under the white or blue ensign, the latter being also the flag -of the Royal Naval Reserve, they must first obtain an Imperial Irade, -otherwise they were recommended to display the red ensign. Austria-Hungary, -Spain, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Norway, and France have each, in like -manner, given to the leading club of the country the privilege of flying -the naval flag. In America and Russia a special ensign has been accorded to -all yacht clubs, and all take equal rank. Some years ago the Royal Cork -Yacht Club wished to adopt a green ensign, but the Admiralty refused to -sanction a new colour. - -The Blue Ensign is conferred on certain Yacht Clubs by special Admiralty -warrant. The Royal Eastern, Royal Barrow, Royal Clyde, Royal Highland, -Royal Northern, Royal Western of England, Royal Cinque Ports, Royal Albert, -Royal Dorset, etc., fly the Blue Ensign pure and simple; others have a -distinguishing badge on the fly, thus the Royal Irish has a golden harp and -crown, the Royal Ulster a white shield with the red hand, the Royal -Cornwall the Prince of Wales' Feathers, the Royal Harwich a golden rampant -lion, and so forth. The clubs flying the Red Ensign change it slightly from -that flown by the Merchant Service; thus the Royal St. George, Royal -Victoria, and Royal Portsmouth have a golden crown in the centre of the -Union canton, while the Royal Yorkshire has a white rose and gold crown on -the fly, and the Royal Dart a golden dart and crown. Each club has also its -distinguishing burgee, and ordinarily of the same colour as its ensign; -thus, though the Royal Clyde and the Royal Highland both fly the plain blue -ensign, the Royal Clyde burgee has on it the yellow shield and red lion -rampant, while the Royal Highland has the white cross of St. Andrew. Fig. -100 is the burgee of the Ranelagh Club, Fig. 101 of the Yare, Fig. 102 of -the Royal Thames, Fig. 103 of the Dublin Bay Club. - -Besides these club ensigns and burgees, each yacht bears its owner's -individual device, that is supposed to distinguish it from all others, -though one finds, in looking through a series of such flags, that some of -the simpler devices are borne by more than one yacht. Every yacht club has -its special burgee, which is flown by each yacht in the club at her truck, -but when the vessel is racing the individual flag takes its place. Many of -these flags, though simple in character, are very effective and striking. -The lower flags on Plate XII. are good typical examples. Fig. 121 is the -yacht flag of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales--the flag of the -well-known _Britannia_; and Figs. 122 and 123 are those respectively of the -equally-famed _Ailsa_ and _Valkyrie_. {74} - -Merchant vessels are permitted to adopt any House or Company flag on -condition that it does not resemble any national flag. Its great use is -that it should be clearly distinctive; and many of the flags employed are -of strict heraldic propriety, and very attractive, while others are about -as unsatisfactory and bald as they well could be. It would clearly be a -painful and invidious thing to pick out any of these latter, so we can only -suggest that any of our readers who have an opportunity of visiting busy -ports, such as London, Southampton, Bristol, Liverpool, should collect -their own awful examples and paint them in the margin of this page. - -We may point out, by the way, that anyone sketching flags would be greatly -assisted by knowing the symbols for the various colours, as it may well be -that anyone might have only a pencil in his pocket when desiring to make -such a memorandum. White is expressed by simply leaving the paper plain, -yellow by dotting the surface over, red by a series of upright lines, blue -by horizontal lines, green by sloping lines, and black by a series of -upright lines crossed by others at right angles to them. These are the -colours used in books on heraldry, and they are very easily remembered. On -some of our coins the colours of the arms in the shield are thus expressed, -and on heraldic book-plates and the like they may be also seen--wherever, -in fact, colour has to be expressed or notified without the actual use of -it. Our readers will find that if they will sketch out in black and white -some few of our examples they will soon gain a useful facility that may -stand them in good stead whenever for this or any other purpose they want -to make a colour memorandum, and have only a pencil or pen and ink to make -it with. - -In the upper portion of Plate XII. we have several illustrations of Company -flags. Fig. 109 is the well-known ensign of Green's Blackwall Line, while -Fig. 110 is that of the Cunard. The Peninsular and Oriental flag (Fig. 111) -is divided by lines from corner to corner into four triangles, the upper -one white, the lower yellow, the hoist blue, and the fly red. This division -into triangles is a rather favourite one; we see it again in Fig. 112, the -Flag of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company. In the flag of the -Demerara and Berbice Steamship Company the upper and lower portions are -white, and the two side portions red; in the flag of the vessels belonging -to Galbraith, Pembroke and Co., the upper is red, the lower blue, and the -two sides white. In another company, that of Wesencraft of Newcastle, the -colours are the same as the P. and O. flag, though differently placed, the -blue being at the top, the red at the bottom, the yellow at the hoist, and -the white at the fly. Fig. 113 is the flag of the fleet of Devitt and -Moore, an Australian Line. Fig. 114 betokens the vessels of the {75} -Canadian Pacific Company, and Fig. 115 the ships of the Castle Line to -South Africa. Fig. 116 is the Company flag of the Union Steamship Company, -of Southampton, while Fig. 117 is the device of the Mediterranean and New -York Steamship Company. Our remaining illustrations are; Fig. 118, the flag -adopted by Messrs. Houlden Brothers; Fig. 119, that of the popular White -Star Line; and Fig. 120, that of the New Zealand Shipping Company. The -well-known Allan Line has as its house flag the three upright strips of -blue, white, and red that we see in the French tricolor, Fig. 191, plus a -plain red burgee that is always hoisted immediately above it. The Allan is -the largest private ship-owning company in the world; in the course of the -year there are some two hundred arrivals and departures of their vessels at -or from Glasgow, and some fifty thousand people are carried annually to or -from America. During the Crimean War many of the steamers of this line were -chartered by the French Government for the transport of their troops, and -it is in memory of this that the vessels of the Allan fleet adopt the -tricolor as their house flag. - -That we have by no means exhausted this portion of our subject is patent -from the fact that in a book before us that is specially devoted to these -house flags seven hundred and eighty-two examples are given, wherein we -find not only stripes, crosses, and such-like simple arrangements, but -crescents, stars, anchors, lions, stags, thistles, castles, bells, keys, -crowns, tridents, and many other forms. - -In earlier days merchant ships flew rather the flag of their port than of -their nation, so that a vessel was known to be of Plymouth, Marseilles, -Dantzic, or Bremen by the colours displayed. Thus the flag of Marseilles -was blue with a white cross upon it; Texel, a flag divided horizontally -into two equal strips, the upper being green and the lower black; Rotterdam -was indicated by a flag having six horizontal green stripes upon it, the -interspaces being white; Cherbourg, blue, white, blue, white, horizontally -arranged; Riga, a yellow cross on a blue ground. - -The British Empire--the Greater Britain across the seas, some eighty times -larger in area than the home islands of its birth--must now engage our -attention. Its material greatness is amazing, far exceeding that of any -other empire the world has ever seen, and its moral greatness is equal to -its material. Wherever the flag of Britain flies, there is settled law, -property is protected, religion is free; it is no mere symbol of violence -or rapine, or even of conquest. It is what it is because it represents -everywhere peace, and civilization, and commerce. Protected by the _Pax -Britannica_ dwell four hundred millions out of every race under heaven, the -{76} Mother of Nations extending to Jew, Parsee, Arab, Chinese, Blackfoot, -Maori, the liberties that were won at Runnymead and in many another stern -fight for life and freedom. In every school-room in the United States hangs -the flag of their Union, the Stars and Stripes; and devotion to all that it -symbolises is an essential part of the teaching. We in turn might well in -our systems of education give a larger space to the history, laws, and -literature of our great Empire, taking a more comprehensive view than is -now ordinarily the case, studying the growth of the mighty States that have -sprung into existence through British energy, and attaching at least as -much importance to the lives of the men who have built up this goodly -heritage as to the culinary shortcomings of Alfred or the schemes of Perkin -Warbeck. - -As regards the value of our Colonies to the Empire, the following extract -from a speech made by the Prince of Wales at the Royal Colonial Institute -may very aptly be quoted:-- - -"We regard the Colonies as integral parts of the Empire, and our warmest -sympathies are with our brethren beyond the seas, who are no less dear to -us than if they dwelt in Surrey or Kent. Mutual interests, as well as ties -of affection, unite us as one people, and so long as we hold together we -are unassailable from without. From a commercial point of view, the -Colonies and India are among the best customers for home manufacturers, it -being computed that no less than one-third of the total exports are -absorbed by them. They offer happy and prosperous homes to thousands who -are unable to gain a livelihood within the narrow limits of these islands, -owing to the pressure of over-population and consequent over-competition. -In transplanting themselves to our own Colonies, instead of to foreign -lands, they retain their privileges as citizens of this great Empire, and -live under the same flag as subjects of the same Sovereign. As Professor -Seeley remarks in his very interesting work, 'The Expansion of England,' -'Englishmen in all parts of the world remember that they are of one blood -and one religion; that they have one history, and one language and -literature.' We are, in fact, a vast English nation, and we should take -great care not to allow the emigrants who have gone forth from among us to -imagine that they have in the slightest degree ceased to belong to the same -community as ourselves." - -Our statesmen and thinkers have never failed to recognise the brotherhood -of Greater Britain. Of this fact it would be easy enough to reproduce -illustrations by the score. We need, however, here but refer to the -sentiments of the Earl of Rosebery on the expansion of the Empire, where we -find him declaring-- {77} - -"Since 1868 the Empire has been growing by leaps and bounds. That is, -perhaps, not a process which everybody witnesses with unmixed satisfaction. -It is not always viewed with unmixed satisfaction in circles outside these -islands. There are two schools who view with some apprehension the growth -of our Empire. The first is composed of those nations who, coming somewhat -late into the field, find that Great Britain has some of the best plots -already marked out. To those nations I will say that they must remember -that our Colonies were taken--to use a well-known expression--at prairie -value, and that we have made them what they are. We may claim that whatever -lands other nations may have touched and rejected, and we have cultivated -and improved, are fairly parts of our Empire, which we may claim to possess -by an indisputable title. But there is another ground on which the -extension of our Empire is greatly attacked, and the attack comes from a -quarter nearer home. It is said that our Empire is already large enough, -and does not need extension. That would be true enough if the world were -elastic, but, unfortunately, it is not elastic, and we are engaged at the -present moment, in the language of mining, in 'pegging out claims for the -future.' We have to consider not what we want now, but what we shall want -in the future. We have to consider what countries must be developed, either -by ourselves or some other nation, and we have to remember that it is part -of our responsibility and heritage to take care that the world, as far as -it can be moulded by us, shall receive an 'English-speaking' complexion, -and not that of another nation. We have to look forward beyond the chatter -of platforms, and the passions of party, to the future of the race of which -we are at present the trustees, and we should, in my opinion, grossly fail -in the task that has been laid upon us did we shrink from responsibilities, -and decline to take our share in a partition of the world which we have not -forced on, but which has been forced upon us." - -Statistics of area of square miles, population, and so forth, can be -readily found by those who care to seek for them, and we need give them no -place here; but let us at least try and realise just by bare enumeration -something of what this Greater Britain is. In Europe it includes, besides -the home islands, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus. In Asia--the great Indian -Empire, Ceylon, Aden, Hong-Kong, North Borneo, the Straits Settlements, -Perim, Socotra, Labuan. In America--the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, -Trinidad, Guiana, Honduras, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bermudas, Barbadoes, -Falkland Isles, the Leeward and Windward Isles. In Australasia--New South -Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, New Zealand, -Fiji, New Guinea. In Africa--the Cape Colony, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, -Zululand, Natal, {78} Gold Coast, Lagos, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mauritius, -Seychelles, Ascension, St. Helena. Our list is by no means a complete one. - -Newfoundland was the earliest British colony, the settlement being made -about the year 1500. Many of our colonies have been thus created by -peaceful settlement, while others have fallen to us in victorious fights -with France, Holland, Spain, and other Powers, or have been ceded by -treaty. - -The flags of our colonies are those of the Empire, with, in some cases, -special modifications. In all our colonies, for instance, the Royal -Standard, as we see it in England, is displayed on the fortresses on the -anniversaries of the birth and coronation of the Sovereign. - -The Blue Ensign is the flag borne by any vessel maintained by any colony -under the clauses of the Colonial Defence Act, 28 Vic., Cap. 14. The -"Queen's Regulations" state that "Any vessel provided and used, under the -third section of the said Act, shall wear the Blue Ensign, with the seal or -badge of the Colony in the fly thereof, and a blue pendant. All vessels -belonging to, or permanently in the service of, the Colony, but not -commissioned as vessels of war under the Act referred to, shall wear a -similar blue ensign, but not the pendant." In Figs. 127, 128, 130, and 135 -we have the Government Ensigns of four of our great Colonies--Cape Colony, -Queensland, Canada, and Victoria--while in Fig. 140 we have the blue -pendant. - -This Colonial Defence Act of 1865 is so important in its bearings on the -possibilities of Naval defence that it seems well to quote from it some of -its provisions. Its object is to enable the several Colonial possessions of -Her Majesty to make better provision for Naval defence, and, to that end, -to provide and man vessels of war; and also to raise a volunteer force to -form part of the Royal Naval Reserve, to be available for the general -defence of the Colony in case of need. This Act declares that "in any -Colony it shall be lawful for the proper Legislative Authority, with the -Approval of Her Majesty in Council, from Time to Time to make Provision for -effecting at the Expense of the Colony all or any of the Purposes -following: - - "For providing, maintaining, and using a Vessel or Vessels of War, - subject to such Conditions and for such Purposes as Her Majesty in - Council from Time to Time approves. - - "For raising and maintaining Seamen and others entered on the Terms of - being bound to serve as ordered in any such Vessel. {79} - - "For raising and maintaining a Body of Volunteers entered on the Terms - of being bound to general Service in the Royal Navy in Emergency, and, - if in any Case the proper Legislative Authority so directs, on the - further Terms of being bound to serve as ordered in any such Vessel as - aforesaid: - - "For appointing Commissioned, Warrant, and other Officers to train and - command or serve as Officers with any such Men ashore or afloat, on - such Terms and subject to such Regulations as Her Majesty in Council - from Time to Time approves: - - "For obtaining from the Admiralty the Services of Commissioned, - Warrant, and other Officers and of Men of the Royal Navy for the - last-mentioned Purposes: - - "For enforcing good Order and Discipline among the Men and Officers - aforesaid while ashore or afloat within the Limits of the Colony: - - "For making the Men and Officers aforesaid, while ashore or afloat - within the Limits of the Colony or elsewhere, subject to all Enactments - and Regulations for the Time being in force for the Discipline of the - Royal Navy. - -"Volunteers raised as aforesaid in any Colony shall form Part of the Royal -Naval Reserve, in addition to the Volunteers who may be raised under the -Act of 1859, but, except as in this Act expressly provided, shall be -subject exclusively to the Provisions made as aforesaid by the proper -Legislative Authority of the Colony. - -"It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council from Time to Time as -Occasion requires, and on such Conditions as seem fit, to authorize the -Admiralty to issue to any Officer of the Royal Navy volunteering for the -Purpose a Special Commission for Service in accordance with the Provisions -of this Act. - -"It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council from Time to Time as -Occasion requires, and on such Conditions as seem fit, to authorize the -Admiralty to accept any Offer for the Time being made or to be made by the -Government of a Colony, to place at Her Majesty's Disposal any Vessel of -War provided by that Government and the Men and Officers from Time to Time -serving therein; and while any Vessel accepted by the Admiralty under such -Authority is at the Disposal of Her Majesty, such Vessel shall be deemed to -all Intents a Vessel of War of the Royal Navy, and {80} the Men and -Officers from Time to Time serving in such Vessels shall be deemed to all -Intents Men and Officers of the Royal Navy, and shall accordingly be -subject to all Enactments and Regulations for the Time being in force for -the Discipline of the Royal Navy. - -"It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council from Time to Time as -Occasion requires, and on such Conditions as seem fit, to authorize the -Admiralty to accept any Offer for the Time being made or to be made by the -Government of a Colony, to place at Her Majesty's Disposal for general -Service in the Royal Navy the whole or any Part of the Body of Volunteers -with all or any of the Officers raised and appointed by that Government in -accordance with the Provisions of this Act; and when any such Offer is -accepted such of the Provisions of the Act of 1859 as relate to Men of the -Royal Naval Reserve raised in the United Kingdom when in actual Service -shall extend and apply to the Volunteers whose Services are so accepted." - -As the Act winds up by saying that "nothing in this Act shall take away or -abridge any power vested in or exerciseable by the Legislature or -Government of any Colony," it is evident that the whole arrangement is a -purely voluntary one. - -The vessels of the Mercantile Marine registered as belonging to any of the -Colonies, fly the red ensign without any distinguishing badge, so that a -Victorian or Canadian merchantman coming up the Thames or Mersey would -probably fly a flag in all respects similar (Fig. 97) to that of a merchant -vessel owned in the United Kingdom. There is, however, no objection to -colonial merchant vessels carrying distinctive flags with the badge of the -Colony thereon, in addition to the red ensign, provided that the Lords -Commissioners of the Admiralty give their warrant of authorization. The red -ensign differenced may be seen in Fig. 129, the merchant flag of -Canada,[55] and in Fig. 134 that of Victoria, the device on this latter -bearing the five stars, representing the constellation of the Southern -Cross--a simple, appropriate, and beautiful device. {81} - -"Governors of Her Majesty's Dominions in foreign parts, and governors of -all ranks and denominations administering the governments of British -Colonies and Dependencies shall"--as set forth in "Queen's -Regulations"--"fly the Union Jack with the arms or badge of the Colony -emblazoned in the centre thereof." Figs. 139 and 141 are illustrations, the -first being the special flag of the Viceroy of India, and the second that -of the Governor of Western Australia. The Governor-General of Canada has in -the centre of his flag the arms of the Dominion, while the -Lieutenant-Governors of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, -Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward's Island have in the centre -of their flags the arms of their province alone. These arms in each case -are placed on a shield within a white circle, and surrounded by a wreath. -The Admiralty requirements are that the Colonial badge on the governor's -flag should be placed within a "green garland," and this is understood to -be of laurel; but in 1870 Canada received the Imperial sanction to -substitute the leaves of the maple.[56] - -Though the provinces that together make the Dominion of Canada are seven in -number, the Canadian shield only shows the arms of four--Ontario, Quebec, -Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick--an arrangement that can be scarcely -palatable to the other three. - - - -The Queen's Warrant, published in the _Canadian Gazette_ of November 25th, -1869, is as follows:-- - -"VICTORIA, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and -Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, &c. - -"To Our Right Trusty and well-beloved Councillor, Edward George Fitzalan -Howard (commonly called Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard), Deputy to Our -Right Trusty and Right entirely beloved cousin, Henry Duke of Norfolk, Earl -Marshal and Our Hereditary Marshal of England--greeting:-- - -"WHEREAS, by virtue of, and under the authority of an Act of Parliament, -passed in the Twenty-ninth year of Our Reign, entitled 'An Act for the -Union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Government -thereof," we were empowered to declare after a certain day therein -appointed, that the said Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick -should {82} form one Dominion under the name of Canada. And it was provided -that on and after the day so appointed, Canada should be divided into four -Provinces, named, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; that the -part of the then Province of Canada, which formerly constituted the -Province of Upper Canada, should constitute the Province of Ontario; and -the part which formerly constituted the Province of Lower Canada, should -constitute the Province of Quebec; and that the Provinces of Nova Scotia -and New Brunswick should have the same limits as at the passing of the said -Act. And whereas we did by Our Royal Proclamation, bearing date the -Twenty-second day of May last, declare, ordain, and command that, on and -after the first day of July, 1867, the said Provinces should form and be -one Dominion under the name of Canada accordingly. - -"And forasmuch as it is Our Royal will and pleasure that, for the greater -honour and distinction of the said Provinces, certain Armorial Ensigns -should be assigned to them, - -"KNOW YE, therefore, that We, of our Princely Grace and special favour, -have granted and assigned, and by these presents do grant and assign the -Armorial Ensigns following, that is to say:-- - - "FOR THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO: - -"Vert, a sprig of three Leaves of Maple slipped, or, on a chief Argent the -Cross of St. George. - - "FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC: - -"Or, on a Fess Gules between two Fleurs de Lis in chief Azure, and a Sprig -of three Leaves of Maple slipped vert in base, a Lion passant guardant or. - - "FOR THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA: - -"Or, on a Fess Wavy Azure between three Thistles proper, a Salmon Naiant -Argent. - - "FOR THE PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK: - -Or, on waves a Lymphad, or Ancient Galley, with oars in action, proper, on -a chief Gules a Lion passant guardant or, as the same are severally -depicted in the margin hereof, to be borne for the said respective -Provinces on Seals, Shields, Banners, Flags, or otherwise according to the -Laws of Arms. - -"And We are further pleased to declare that the said United Provinces of -Canada, being one Dominion under the name of {83} Canada, shall, upon all -occasions that may be required, use a common Seal, to be called the 'Great -Seal of Canada,' which said seal shall be composed of the Arms of the said -Four Provinces quarterly, all which armorial bearings are set forth in this -Our Royal Warrant." - -This latter point is a somewhat important one, as owing to the -semi-official endorsement given in many colonial publications, it appears -to be a popular misconception that as many different arms as possible are -to be crowded in. In one example before us five are represented, the -additional one being Manitoba. In a handbook on the history, production, -and natural resources of Canada, prepared by the Minister of Agriculture -for the Colonial Exhibition, held in London in 1886, the arms of the seven -provinces are given separately, grouped around a central shield that -includes them all. The whole arrangement is styled "Arms of the Dominion -and of the Provinces of Canada." - -When the Queen's Warrant was issued in 1869, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, -and New Brunswick were the only members of the Confederation. Manitoba -entered it in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in -1873. - -The Royal Canadian Yacht Club, the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, and -the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club have the privilege of flying the blue ensign. - -Canada, unlike Australia, supplies no contingent towards the Imperial Navy, -but she has spent on public works over forty million pounds sterling. By -her great trans-continental railway a valuable alternative route to the -East is furnished; she provides graving docks at Quebec, Halifax, and -Victoria; trains an annual contingent of forty thousand volunteers, -supports a military college at Kingston, of whose cadets between eighty and -ninety are now officers in the British Army; and in many other ways -contributes to the well-being of the Empire, that Greater Britain, which -has been not unaptly termed "a World-Venice, with the sea for streets." - -The badges of the various Colonies of the Empire, as shown in the official -flag-book of the Admiralty, are very diverse in appearance; some pleasing -and others less charming, perhaps, than fantastic. It is needless to -particularise them all. Some, like those of Mauritius, Jamaica, and of Cape -Colony (Fig. 127) are heraldic in character, while others--as Barbadoes, -where Britannia rides the waves in a chariot drawn by sea-horses, or South -Australia, where Britannia lands on a rocky shore on which a black man is -seated--are symbolical. Queensland has the simple and pleasing device we -see in Fig. 128, the Maltese Cross, having a crown at its centre. -Newfoundland has a crown on a white disc and the {84} Latinised name _Terra -Nova_ beneath, and Fiji (Fig. 137) adopts a like simple device, the crown -and the word Fiji, while New Guinea does not get even so far as this, but -has the crown, and beneath it the letters N. G. The gnu appears as the -device of Natal; the black swan (Fig. 141) as the emblem of West Australia. -An elephant and palm-tree on a yellow ground stand for West Africa, and an -elephant and temple for Ceylon. British North Borneo (Fig. 132), on a -yellow disc has a red lion, and Tasmania (Fig. 133), on a white ground has -the same, though it will be noted that the action of the two royal beasts -is not quite the same. The Straits Settlements have the curious device seen -in Fig. 131. New Zealand (Fig. 136) has a cross of stars on a blue field. -Victoria we have already seen in Figs. 134 and 135, while New South Wales -has upon the white field the Cross of St. George, having in the centre one -of the lions of England, and on each arm a star--an arrangement shown in -Fig. 138. British East Africa has the crown, and beneath it the golden sun -shooting forth its rays, one of the simplest, most appropriate, and most -pleasing of all the Colonial devices; when placed in the centre of the -Governor's flag it is upon a white disc, and the sun has eight principal -rays. When for use on the red or blue ensigns, the sun has twelve principal -rays, and both golden sun and crown are placed directly upon the field of -the flag. St. Helena, Trinidad, Bermuda, British Guiana, Leeward Isles, -Labuan, Bahamas, and Hong Kong all have devices in which ships are a -leading feature--in the Bermuda device associated with the great floating -dock, in the Hong Kong with junks, and in the other cases variously -differentiated from each other, so that all are quite distinct in -character. In the device of the Leeward Isles, designed by Sir Benjamin -Pine, a large pine-apple is growing in the foreground, and three smaller -ones away to the right. It is jocularly assumed that the centre one was Sir -Benjamin himself, and the three subordinate ones his family. - -With Great Britain the command of the ocean is all-important. By our -sea-power our great Empire has been built up, and by it alone can it -endure. "A power to which Rome in the height of her glory is not to be -compared--a power which has dotted over the surface of the whole globe her -possessions and military posts, whose morning drum-beat, following the sun, -and keeping company with the hours, circles the earth with one continuous -and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England." So spoke Daniel -Webster in 1834, and our ever-growing responsibilities have greatly -increased since the more than sixty years when those words were uttered. -Let us in conclusion turn to the "True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates," -written by Bacon, a great and patriotic Englishman, where we may read the -warning words:-- {85} - -"We see the great effects of battles by sea; the Battle of Actium decided -the empire of the world; the Battle of Lepanto arrested the greatness of -the Turk. - -"There be many examples where sea-fights have been final to the war; but -this is when princes or States have set up their rest upon the battles; but -this much is certain, that he who commands the sea is at great liberty, and -may take as much and as little of the war as he will, whereas those that be -strongest by land are many times, nevertheless, in great straits. - -"Surely at this day, with us of Europe, the vantage of strength at sea -(which is one of the dowries of this kingdom of Great Britain) is great; -both because most of the kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, but girt -with the sea most part of their compass, and because the wealth of both -Indies seems, in great part, but an accessory to the command of the seas." - -We are the sons of the men who won us this goodly heritage, and it behoves -us in turn to hand it on to our descendants in undiminished dignity, a -world-wide domain beneath the glorious Union Flag that binds all in one -great brotherhood. - - * * * * * - -{86} - -CHAPTER IV. - - The Flag of Columbus--Early Settlements in North America--the Birth of - the United States--Early Revolutionary and State Flags--the Pine-tree - Flag--the Rattle-snake Flag--the Stars and Stripes--Early Variations of - it--the Arms of Washington--Entry of New States into the Union--the - Eagle--the Flag of the President--Secession of the Southern - States--State Flags again--the Stars and Bars--the Southern Cross--the - Birth of the German Empire--the Influence of War Songs--Flags of the - Empire--Flags of the smaller German States--the Austro-Hungary - Monarchy--The Flags of Russia--The Crosses of St. Andrew and St. George - again--the Flags of France--St. Martin--The Oriflamme--the - Fleurs-de-lys--Their Origin--the White Cross--the White Flag of the - Bourbons--the Tricolor--the Red Flag--the Flags of Spain--of - Portugal--the Consummation of Italian Unity--the Arms of Savoy--the - Flags of Italy--of the Temporal Power of the Papacy--the Flag of - Denmark--its Celestial Origin--the Flags of Norway and Sweden--of - Switzerland--Cantonal Colours--the Geneva Convention--the Flags of - Holland--of Belgium--of Greece--the Crescent of Turkey--the Tughra--the - Flags of Roumania, Servia, and Bulgaria--Flags of Mexico and of the - States of Southern and Central America--of Japan--the Rising Sun--the - Chrysanthemum--the Flags of China, Siam, and Corea--of Sarawak--of the - Orange Free State, Liberia, Congo State, and the Transvaal Republic. - -The well-known Ensign (Fig. 146) of the United States of America is the -outcome of many changes; the last of a long series of National, State, and -local devices. - -The first flag planted on American ground was borne thither by Christopher -Columbus, in the year 1497, and bore on its folds the arms of Leon and -Castile, a flag divided into four and having upon it, each twice repeated, -the lion of Leon and the Castle of Castile: the first red on white, the -second white on red. These arms form a portion of the present Spanish -Standard, and may be seen in the upper staff corner in Fig. 194. In this -same year--1497--Newfoundland was discovered, but the first English -settlement on the mainland was not made until Sir Walter Raleigh took -possession of a tract of country in 1584, naming it Virginia, after -Elizabeth, the Virgin-Queen he served, and hoisting the Standard of Her -Majesty, bearing in its rich blazonry (Fig. 22) the ruddy lions of England -quartered with the golden lilies of France. The Dutch established -themselves, in the year 1614, in what is now the State of New York; the -French, having already founded a colony in Canada in 1534, took possession -of Louisiana, so called after their King Louis, in 1718, while Florida, at -first French, became Spanish, and in 1763 was ceded to England. {87} - -Three ships, bearing the earliest Pilgrim Fathers from England to America, -had already sailed from England in the year 1606, and these were followed -by the historic _Mayflower_ and the _Plymouth Rock_, in 1620. While these -exiles for conscience sake established for themselves a new England in the -west, a colony of Scotchmen in the year 1622 took possession of a tract of -land which they named Nova Scotia. Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New -Jersey, Carolina, Pennsylvania, and other colonies were successively formed -by parties of Englishmen--the final outcome of peaceful settlement, or the -arbitrament of the sword, being that the greater part of the eastern -seaboard, and the country beyond it, came under the sway of the English -Crown, until injudicious taxation and ill-advised repression led at length -to open discontent and disloyalty, and finally to revolution and the birth -of the great Republic of the West. - -So long as the Colonists owed allegiance to the British crown, one would -naturally have taken for granted that they would have been found beneath -the national flag, but this was not altogether the case. In the early days -of New England the Puritans strongly objected to the red cross on the flag: -not from any disloyalty to the old country, but from a conscientious -objection to the use of a symbol which they deemed idolatrous. By the year -1700, though the Cross of St. George was still the leading device, the -different colonies began to employ special devices to distinguish their -vessels from those of England and of each other.[57] This, though it -indicated a certain jealousy and independence amongst the colonies -themselves, was no proof of any desire for separation from the old country, -and even when, later on, the dispute between King and Colonists became -acute, we find them parting from the old flag with great reluctance. Fig. -142 is a very good illustration of this; its date is 1775. - -In the early stages of the Revolution each section adopted a flag of its -own, and it was only later on, when the desirability of union and -uniformity became evident, that the necessity for one common flag was felt. -Thus, the people of Massachusetts ranged themselves beneath banners bearing -pine trees; the men of South Carolina went in for rattle-snakes; the New -Yorkers adopted a white flag with a black beaver thereon; the Rhode -Islanders had a white flag with a blue anchor upon it; and, in like manner, -each contingent adopted its special device. - -In Fig. 144, one of the flags of the insurgents at Bunker's Hill, {88} June -17th, 1775, we see that the Cross of St. George is still preserved, and it -might well fly in company with Fig. 67, a flag of the London Trained Bands, -except that in the corner we see the pine tree. In Fig. 145 the English -emblem has dropped out and the pine tree has become much more conspicuous, -and in Figs. 147 and 148 all suggestion of St. George or of the red or blue -Ensigns has disappeared. This arboreal device was not by any means a new -one to the men of Massachusetts. We find a mint established at Boston as -early as 1651, busily engaged in coining the silver captured from the -Spaniards by the Buccaneers. On one side was the date and value of the -coin, and, on the reverse, a tree in the centre and "In Massachusetts" -around it. It must be remembered that at the time there was no king to -resent this encroachment on the royal prerogative, and no notice was taken -of it by the Parliament or by Cromwell. There was a tacit allowance of it -afterwards, even by Charles II., for more than twenty years. It will be -remembered that on his enquiry into the matter he was told by some courtier -that the device was intended for the Royal Oak, and the question was -allowed to drop. - -South Carolina adopted the rattle-snake flag at the suggestion of one -Gadsden, a delegate to the General Congress of the South Carolina -Convention in 1776. On a yellow ground was placed a rattlesnake, having -thirteen rattles; the reptile was coiled ready to strike, and beneath was -the warning motto, "Don't tread on me." The number thirteen had reference -to the thirteen revolted States, as it was originally proposed that this -flag should be the navy flag for all the States. As an accessory to a -portrait of Commodore Hopkins, "Commander-in-chief of the American fleet," -we see a flag of thirteen alternate red and white stripes. It has no -canton, but undulating diagonally across the stripes is a rattlesnake. The -idea was not altogether a new one, as we find the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, -in commenting twenty-five years previously on the iniquity of the British -Government in sending its convicts to America, suggesting as a set off that -"a cargo of rattlesnakes should be distributed in St. James's Park, Spring -Gardens, and other places of pleasure." At the commencement of any great -struggle by a revolting people there is often a great variety of device, -and it is only after a while that such a multiplicity is found to be a -danger. Hence we find that prior to the yellow rattlesnake flag, South -Carolina had, with equal enthusiasm, adopted the blue flag with the -crescent moon that we have figured in No. 158.[58] {89} - -In the year 1775 a committee was appointed to consider the question of a -single flag for the thirteen States. This ensign, though it went far -towards moulding these different sections into the United States, was a -curious illustration of that reluctance that we have already referred to, -to sever themselves finally from the Old Country, as the Committee -recommended the retention of the Union in the upper corner next the staff, -but substituted for the broad red field of the rest of the flag thirteen -horizontally disposed stripes, alternately red and white, the emblems of -the union into one of the thirteen colonies in their struggle against -oppression. We have this represented in Fig. 57. It was also the flag of -the East India Company. - -On the final declaration of Independence, when the severance from the Old -Country was irrevocable, and the colonists became a nation, the question of -a national flag was one of the points awaiting solution; but it was not -till about a year afterwards that a decision was come to. The vessels -commissioned by Washington flew the flag we have figured in No. 147; this -was approved in April, 1776, and remained in use some little time, as did -also the one represented in Fig. 149. Sometimes we find the cross and -pine-tree removed and the whole flag nothing but the red and white stripes. -This flag composed of stripes alone was not peculiar to the American navy, -as a flag of similar design was for a long time a well-known signal in the -British fleet, being that used for the red division to form up into line of -battle. - -Anyone looking over a collection of the common pottery made from about a -hundred and fifty years ago up to comparatively recent times will find that -stirring contemporary events are very freely introduced--sea-fights, -portraits of leading statesmen, generals, and so forth. These are often -caricatures, as, for example, the hundreds that may be seen in our various -museums and private collections derisive of "Boney," while others are as -historically correct as the potter's knowledge and skill could compass. -Anyone visiting the Corporation Museum at Brighton will find a jug bearing -the head of Zebulon M. Pike, an American general; trophies of flags are -grouped around this, but the only flag with any device upon it is a plain -striped one. Another that bears the head of Commodore Decatur, U.S.N., has -below it a cannon, on the left a trophy of flags and weapons, and on the -right a ship; and a very similar jug may be seen in honour of Commodore -Parry. In each of these cases the flags in the trophies and on the ships -are simply striped. - -On August 14th, 1777, Congress resolved "that the flag of the United States -be thirteen stripes, alternately red and white, and that the Union be -thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing {90} a new -constellation."[59] This was the birth of the national flag, "the stars and -stripes," and it would appear at first sight to be a final settlement of -the device, though in practice the result did not work out at all -uniformly, the number of stripes being unequal. If we commence at the top -with a white one, we shall have seven white and six red, whereas if we -begin with a red stripe we shall get seven red and six white. Each of these -renderings was for some years in use, until it was authoritatively laid -down that the latter was the arrangement to be adopted. It seems a minor -point, but any of our readers who will re-draw Fig. 146 and transpose the -colours of the stripes, so that the upper and lower edges of the flag are -white instead of red, will be surprised to note how so apparently trivial a -change will affect the appearance of the flag.[60] In like manner the stars -were sometimes made with six points, and at others with five. Even so late -as 1779, we find such a striking variation as a flag bearing stars with -eight points, and its stripes alternately red, blue, and white. The coins -issued during the presidency of Washington had five-pointed stars on them, -but later on they had six points. Nobody seems now to know why this change -was made. - -As nothing was said in this resolution of Congress as to the arrangement of -the stars on the blue field, a further opening for variety of treatment was -found. In some of the early flags they were arranged to represent the -letters U.S., in others they were all placed in a circle, in others again -they were dispersed irregularly, so as the better to suggest a -constellation; and it was finally ordered that they should be placed in -parallel horizontal rows, as we now see them. - -Though the stars did not appear in the American flag until 1777, we find in -a poem in the _Massachusetts Spy_ of March 10th, 1774, on the outbreak of -the rebellion, the lines-- - - "The American ensign now sparkles a star - Which shall shortly flame wide through the skies." - -{91} - -This poetic and prophetic flight is the earliest suggestion of the stars in -the national flag of the United States. - -It has been held that the American Eagle and the stars and stripes of the -national flag were suggested by the crest and arms of the Washington -family. This statement has been often made; hence we find an American -patriot writing:--"It is not a little curious that the poor, worn-out rag -of feudalism, as many would count it, should have expanded into the bright -and ample banner that now waves on every sea." But that it should be so -seems by no means an established fact. No reference is made to it in -Washington's correspondence, or in that of any of his contemporaries. The -arms of the Washington family are a white shield having two horizontal red -bars, and above these a row of three red stars; and this certainly bears -some little resemblance to the American flag, but how much is mere -coincidence, and how much is adaptation it is impossible to say. These arms -may be seen on a brass in Solgrave Church, Huntingdonshire, on the tomb of -Laurence Washington, the last lineal ancestor who was buried in England. He -was twice Mayor of Northampton, in 1533 and in 1546, and the first -President of the United States was his great-great-grandson. He was a man -of considerable influence, and on the dissolution of the monasteries Henry -gave him the Priory of St. Andrews, Northampton. In the troublous times -that succeeded, his son John went to America, and lived for some twenty -years on the banks of the Potomac. - -Another theory that has been advanced is that the blue quarter was taken -from the blue banner of the Scotch Covenanters, and was therefore -significant of the Solemn League and Covenant of the United Colonies -against oppression, while the stripes were a blending of the red colours -used in the army with the white flags used in the navy. We give the theory -for what it is worth, which we venture to say is not very much; but as it -was advanced by an American writer, we give it place. - -Should our readers care to consider yet another theory, they may learn that -the genesis of the star-spangled banner was very much less prosaic. Prose -has it that a Committee of Council, accompanied by General Washington, -called on Mrs. Ross, an upholstress of Arch Street, Philadelphia, and -engaged her to make a flag from a rough sketch that they brought with them, -that she in turn suggested one or two practical modifications, and that at -her wish Washington re-drew it there and then, that she at once set to work -on it, and in a few hours the first star-spangled flag was floating in the -breeze; but the poet ignores the services of Mrs. Ross altogether, and -declares that {92} - - "When Freedom from her mountain height - Unfurled her standard to the air, - She tore the azure robe of Night - And set the stars of glory there. - She mingled with its gorgeous dyes - The milky baldric of the skies, - And striped its pure celestial white - With streakings of the morning light: - Then from his mansion in the sun - She called her eagle-bearer down - And gave into his mighty hand - The symbol of her chosen land." - -This view was expressed by another great American in the words:--"As at the -early dawn the stars shine forth even while it grows light, and then, as -the sun advances, that light breaks out into banks and streaming lines of -colour, the glowing red and intense light striving together and ribbing the -horizon with bars effulgent, so on the American flag stars and beams of -light shine out together. Where this flag comes, and men behold it, they -see in its sacred emblazoning no ramping lions, and no fierce eagle, no -embattled castles, or insignia of imperial authority: they see the symbols -of light: it is the banner of dawn; it means Liberty!" - -We have clearly now got a long way from the establishment in Arch Street. -This flag, which, after such glowing passages as the foregoing, we should -almost expect to find too sacred a thing for change or criticism, has -undergone some few modifications in its details, though the original broad -idea has remained untouched. - -As the first conception was that each of the original thirteen States was -represented in the national flag by a star and a stripe, other States, as -they came into the Union, naturally expected the same consideration: hence -on the admission of Vermont in 1791, and Kentucky in 1792, an Act was -passed which increased the number of stars and stripes from thirteen to -fifteen. Later on came Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, and so forth, and the -flag was presently made to consist of twenty stars and stripes, but it was -found to be so objectionable to be thus continually altering it that it was -settled in the year 1818 to go back to the original thirteen stripes, but -to add a star for each new State. Hence the stripes show always the -original number of the States at the birth of the nation, while the stars -show the present number in the Union. - -It is interesting to trace the growth of the country, Illinois being -enrolled in the Union in 1818, Alabama in 1819, Maine in 1820, Missouri in -1821, Arkansas in 1836, Michigan in 1837, and so on; but suffice it now to -say that by 1891 the original thirteen had {93} grown to forty-four, and it -was announced that on and after the 4th of July of that year the national -flag should bear this latter number of stars. As there are still several -territories awaiting promotion to the rank of States, the constellation is -even yet incomplete. - - "A song for our banner! The watchword recall - Which gave the Republic her station; - United we stand, divided we fall, - It made, and preserves us, a nation! - The union of lakes, the union of lands, - The union of States none can sever; - The union of hearts, the union of hands, - And the flag of our Union for ever." - -The most striking modification of the flag is seen in the Revenue Service. -We have still the silver stars on the azure field and the stripes of -alternate red and white, but in this special case the stripes, instead of -being disposed horizontally, are placed vertically, a slight enough -difference apparently, but one which makes a striking alteration in the -appearance of the flag. - -The pendant of the United States Navy is shown in Fig. 151; the stars in -it, it will be seen, are reduced to the original thirteen, while the -narrowness of the flag permits but two of the stripes. - -The American Jack is simply the blue and white portion of the National -flag, Fig. 146, made into a separate flag. - -The Commodore's broad pendant is a swallow-tailed blue flag, with one white -star in the centre. The Admiral's flag, hoisted at the main, is shown in -Fig. 143; the Vice-Admiral's flag, hoisted at the fore, has three white -stars on the blue field; and the Rear-Admiral's flag, hoisted at mizen, has -two arranged vertically over each other. - -While in some nationalities the flag of the war navy differs from that of -the mercantile marine--as in the case of Great Britain, Germany, and -Spain--in others the same flag is used. This is so in the United States, -France, etc. - -The Chief of the State, whether he be called Emperor, King, President, or -Sultan, has his own flag--his personal Standard--and this special and -personal flag, in the case of the President of the United States, has on -its blue field an eagle, bearing on its breast a shield with the stars and -stripes, and beneath it the national motto, "_E pluribus unum_." As it has -been suggested that the employment of the eagle as a symbol of the State -was derived from the crest of Washington, it may not be inopportune to -state that the crest in question was not an eagle at all, but a raven. The -idea of the eagle, together with the word "Senate," and many such similar -{94} things, no doubt arose from their use in ancient Rome, and afforded an -illustration the more of the pseudo-classicalism that was raging in the -eighteenth century in France and elsewhere. - -The eagle appears on many of the early flags of America. Fig. 150 is a -curious example of its use. In an old engraving we see a figure of Liberty -defended by Washington, and above them this flag. In another old print -before us we see Washington leaning on a cannon, and behind him a flag -bearing the stars and stripes, plus an eagle, that with outstretched wings -fills up much of the field, having in his beak a label with the "_E -pluribus unum_" upon it, with one foot grasping the thunderbolts of War, -and the other the olive-branch of Peace. - -Both these eagle-bearing flags, it will be seen, are associated with the -President; but in many of these early examples there seems no necessary -connection. Thus in one instance we see a busy ship-building scene, and -while the ship in the foreground has at stern the stars and stripes, at the -bowsprit it bears a Jack that is identical with the blue and white portion -of Fig. 150. - -In a Presidential Standard proposed in 1818 the flag is quartered. In the -first quarter are twenty white stars on a blue field; in the second quarter -is the eagle and thunderbolt; in the third a sitting figure emblematic of -Liberty; in the fourth, seven red horizontal stripes alternating with six -white ones. We found the flag figured in an old American book, but are -unable to say whether such a flag was ever actually made, proposition and -adoption not being altogether the same thing. - -History repeated itself on the secession from the Union, in the year 1860, -of North and South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, -Louisiana, Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee. There was the same -desire at first for individuality in the different flags adopted by the -seceding States, the same unwillingness to break wholly away from the old -flag, that we have seen as features in the first revolt. - -Louisiana adopted the flag shown in Fig. 156; this was emblematic of the -origin and history of the State, Louisiana having been settled by Louis -Quatorze in 1718, ceded to Spain at the peace of 1763, restored to France -in 1802, sold by France to America in 1803, and admitted as a State of the -Union in 1812. The Spanish Flag, Fig. 192, is red and yellow, hence the -golden star on the ruddy field, while the stripes of red, white and blue -are the colours found in the flags of France and America. - -On the election of President Lincoln in November, 1860, South Carolina, by -vote of Convention, proclaimed her resumption of independence as a -Sovereign State, and on the 17th of the month the new State Flag, having a -green Palmetto palm in the centre of a {95} field of white, was hoisted in -Charleston amidst the ringing of bells, a salute of one hundred guns, and -every possible sign of public rejoicing. In January, 1861, the flag shown -in Fig. 155 was substituted, the old crescent moon of the first rebellion, -1775, reappearing, but in the _Charleston Mercury_, of January 29th, 1861, -we read that "the Legislature last night again altered the design of the -State Flag. It now consists of a blue field with a white Palmetto palm tree -in the middle. The white crescent in the upper flagstaff corner remains as -before, but the horns pointing upwards. This may be regarded as final." -This flag is shown in Fig. 159. Fig. 160 is the flag of Texas--"the lone -star" State. - - "Hurrah for the Lone Star! - Up, up to the mast - With the honoured old bunting, - And nail it there fast. - The ship is in danger, - And Texans will fight - 'Neath the flag of the Lone Star - For God and their right." - -When it became necessary, as it almost immediately did, to adopt one flag -as the common Ensign of all the Confederate States, a special committee was -appointed to consider the matter, and to study the numerous designs -submitted to them. On presenting their report the Chairman said--"A flag -should be simple, readily made, and capable of being made up in bunting; it -should be different from the flag of any other country, place, or people: -it should be significant: it should be readily distinguishable at a -distance: the colours should be well contrasted and durable: and lastly, -and not the least important point, it should be effective and handsome. The -Committee humbly think that the flag which they submit combines these -requirements. It is very easy to make; it is entirely different from any -other national flag. The three colours of which it is composed--red, white, -and blue--are the true Republican Colours; they are emblematic of the three -great virtues--valour, purity, and truth. Naval men assure us that it can -be recognised at a great distance. The colours contrast admirably, and are -lasting. In effect and appearance it must speak for itself." The flag, thus -highly and justly commended, was first hoisted on March 4th, 1861, at -Montgomery. It is represented in Fig. 152, and was quickly known as the -"Stars and Bars."[61] Even the _New York Herald_ admitted that "the design -of this flag is striking, and it has {96} the merit of originality as well -as of durability." The circle of white stars was intended to correspond in -number with the States in the Confederacy, but no great attention seems to -have been paid to this. The flag may be seen engraved on the paper money of -the different Southern States, and on other Government papers. In one -example before us the stars are seven in number, and in another nine are -shown, the number of seceding States being eleven. - -While the "Stars and Bars," Fig. 152, was quite a different flag from Fig. -146, the "Stars and Stripes," it was found that, nevertheless, in the -stress of battle confusion arose; so the battle flag, Fig. 153, known as -the "Southern Cross," became largely adopted, though its use was never -actually legalised. Here, again, we find that though eleven should be the -proper number of the stars, they are in our illustration thirteen, while in -one example we have found seventeen. It would be found in practice very -difficult to make a pleasing arrangement of eleven stars; given a central -one, and two on either side of it in the arms of the cross, and we get nine -as a result, with three on either side it will total to thirteen, and with -four it must take seventeen. In a few instances it may be seen without the -red portions--a white flag with the blue cross and white stars. One great -objection to the Southern Cross was that it was not adapted for sea -service, since being alike in whatever way it was looked at, it could not -be reversed in case of distress. To obviate this difficulty, at a Congress -in Richmond in 1863 the form seen in Fig. 154 was adopted--a plain white -flag having the Southern Cross as its Union; but this, in turn, was -objected to as being too much like a flag of truce, so to meet this, in the -following year, it was ordered that the space between the Union and the -outer edge of the flag should be divided vertically in half, and that the -outer half should be red: an alteration that may have been necessary, but -which greatly spoiled the appearance of what was, before this, a handsome -and striking flag. As the struggle came to an end in the following year, -the "Stars and Bars" and the "Southern Cross" perished in the general -downfall of the Southern cause--the victories of Fredericksburg, -Chancellorsville, Shenandoah Valley, Chattanooga, and many another -hard-fought field, and the brilliant strategy of Lee, Beauregard, -Longstreet, Jackson, Early, Hood, and many another gallant commander, being -all in vain against the unlimited resources of the North. Over six hundred -and fifty thousand human lives, over seven hundred millions of pounds -sterling, were spent in what an American writer delicately calls "the late -unpleasantness." - -The Americans, jealous of the honour of their flag, have sometimes, to our -insular notions, a rather odd way of showing it. Some {97} of our readers -will remember how an American, some time ago, undertook to carry the flag -of his country through England. Whatever visions he or his compatriots may -have had of his defending it gallantly against hostile attack were soon -proved to be baseless. Englishmen, _cela va sans dire_, have no hostility -to the Americans, and the populace--urban, suburban, and rural--everywhere -entered into the humour of the thing, and cheered the gallant sergeant and -his bunting wherever he appeared. All the risk and terror of the exploit -melted away in general acclamation and hearty welcome. An Englishman told -us that in descending a mountain in Norway he met an American carrying -something rolled up; he unfolded it, and displayed the Stars and Stripes, -and said that he had brought it to plant on the summit of the mountain. Why -he should do so is by no means apparent: but still, as it pleased him and -hurt no one else, it would be churlish, indeed, to demur to so innocent a -pastime. Our friend courteously raised his hat to the symbol of the great -daughter nation over the ocean, whereupon the American heartily -reciprocated, saying, "Thanks, stranger; and here's to the Union Jack."[62] - -When the French declared war against Prussia, on July 16th, 1870, they were -entirely unprepared for the enthusiasm and unity with which the various -German States rallied together against the common opponent. It was thought -that the Southern and Catholic States would, at least, be neutral, if they -did not side with France against a Power that, during previous conflict -with Austria, had laid heavy hand on those that had then taken sides -against her. But this, after all, had been but a quarrel amongst -themselves; and the attempt of France to violate German soil was at once -the signal for Germans to stand shoulder to shoulder in one brotherhood -against the common foe. The separate interests and grievances of Bavarians, -Saxons, Hessians, Badeners, Brunswickers, Wurtemburgers, Hanoverians, were -at once put aside, and united Germany, in solid phalanx, rose in -irresistible might. In the great historic Palace of Versailles, in the hall -dedicated "to all the glories of France," the Confederate Princes of -Germany, headed by the King of Bavaria, {98} conferred on the King of -Prussia the title of Emperor of Germany, bestowing on him the duty of -representing all the German States in international questions, and -appointing him and his successors the Commander-in-chief of the German -forces. Thus, on January 17th, 1871, amid the acclamation of the allied -Sovereigns and the deep bass of the cannon in the trenches surrounding the -beleagured capital of the common enemy, the principle of German unity -received its seal and consummation. - -The War Ensign of the Empire is represented in Fig. 207. The colours of -Prussia, black and white, and the Prussian Eagle enter largely into it, and -perhaps it may at first sight appear that these symbols of the Prussian -State are even a little too conspicuous, but it must be borne in mind that -it is to the Sovereign of this State the headship of all is given, and that -the vital interests of Prussia in the matter may be further illustrated by -the fact that while she has a population, in round numbers, of thirty -millions, Bavaria has but five, and Saxony three, while the Wurtemburgers -and Badeners between them make up about another three millions, and no -other State in the Empire comes at all near these figures. Prussia has over -130,000 square miles of territory to fight for, while Bavaria has but -29,292, and the next largest, Wurtemburg, has only an area of 7,531; in -every way, political, commercial, or what not, the interests of Prussia are -overwhelmingly predominant. - -The flag of West Prussia is the black, white, black, shewn in Fig. 211, -while the East Prussian flag is made up of but two horizontal strips, the -upper black and the lower white. Hence the well-known war song, "Ich bin -ein Preussen,"[63] commences, - - "I am a Prussian! Know ye not my banner? - Before me floats my flag of black and white! - My fathers died for freedom, 'twas their manner, - So say those colours floating in your sight." - -{99} - -The black, white, and red canton in the staff-head corner of the flag is -also made into an independent flag, as at Fig. 208, and used as a "Jack" in -the Imperial Navy, while this same flag, Fig. 208, minus the cross, is the -flag of the Mercantile Marine. On the 25th of October, 1867, on the -establishment of the North German Confederacy, at the conclusion of the -Austro-Prussian campaign, the King of Prussia sanctioned a proposal for a -flag common to all. We find in this decree that "the confederate flag -henceforth solely to bear the qualification of the national flag, and as -such to be exclusively on board the merchantmen of the Confederacy, shall -be composed of three equilateral stripes horizontally arranged: the colour -of the top one being black, the middle stripe white, and that of the bottom -stripe red." On the inclusion of the South German States on the formation -of the German Empire, the latter still more potent and august body retained -the Confederacy Flag for its mercantile marine. Up to the year 1867 no -German national flag had ever flown on the ocean, as the various States and -free cities had their special colours of merely local value. - -The responsible Minister of the Crown, in a speech delivered in the Diet in -1867, stated to the members that the combination of colours was emblematic -of a junction of the black-white Prussian flag with the red-white ensign of -the Hanseatic League. This league of the sea-ports of Germany was organised -in 1164 for their mutual defence and for the interchange of commercial -advantages. As its strength and reputation increased, many other cities -sought to be admitted, but international jealousies disintegrated the -League, and by the year 1630 it was reduced from sixty-six cities to -three--Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen. These three Hanse towns still retain -special privileges. The red and the white in the German flag represents the -commercial prosperity of the nation, while the black and white symbolises -the strong arm of the State prepared to protect and foster it. The flags of -these three cities still retain the old colours, Lubeck being half white -and half red, Bremen red and white stripes, and Hamburg a white castle on a -red field. - -The arms of the Hohenzollerns are quarterly arranged. The first and fourth -quarters are themselves quartered, black and white for Zollern, while the -second and third quarters are azure with a golden stag for Sigmaringen. -Friedrich VI., the first of the Hohenzollerns, the Burggraf of Nuernberg, -became Friedrich I., Elector of Brandenburg, in 1417. There were twelve in -all, of these Hohenzollern Electors, and Friedrich III., the last of these, -became in 1701 the first King of Prussia. All the succeeding Sovereigns -have been of the same house, so that the black and {100} white in the flag -of to-day is the black and white that for over five hundred years has been -emblazoned in the arms of the Hohenzollerns. - -The cross on the flag (Figs. 207 and 208)--the "iron cross" so highly -prized as the reward of fine service--is the cross of the Teutonic Order, -and dates from the close of the 12th century. The history of the Teutonic -Order, in its connexion with Prussia, is dealt with very fully in the first -volume of Carlyle's "Frederick the Great." - -The Imperial Standard of Germany has the iron cross, black with white -border, on a yellow field, in the centre of all being a shield bearing the -arms of Prussia, surmounted by a crown and surrounded by the collar of the -Order of the Black Eagle. The yellow groundwork of the flag is diapered -over in each quarter with three black eagles and a crown. The arms of the -cross stretch out to the four edges of the flag. - -The Admiral's flag in the Imperial German Navy is square, and consists of -the black cross on a white ground--the cross, as in the standard, extending -to the edges of the flag. The Vice-Admiral's flag is similar, but has in -the upper staff-space a black ball in addition, while the Rear-Admiral has -the same flag again, but with the addition of a black ball in each of the -quarters nearest the mast. The Chief of the Admiralty has a white flag -again with the cross in the centre, but in this case there is a -considerable margin of white all round, and four red anchors are placed so -that they extend in a sloping direction from the corners of the flag -towards the inner angles of the cross. We get the characteristic black and -white again in the burgee of the Imperial Yacht Club, which is thus -quartered, an upright line meeting a horizontal one in the centre of the -burgee, and thus giving a first and fourth black quarter and a second and -third white one. The signal for a pilot again is a white flag with a broad -border of black; if our readers will take a mourning envelope with a good -deep margin of black to it, they will see the effect exactly. - -German vessels engaged in trade on the East African coast fly the black, -white, red, but in the centre of the white stripe is a blue anchor placed -erect, while the Imperial Governor in East Africa substitutes for the -anchor the black eagle. The German East Africa Company's flag is white cut -into quarters by a narrow and parallel-edged cross and a red canton with -five white stars on it in the quarter nearest the masthead. - -While we find amongst the minor States of Germany Oldenburg, Fig. 204, with -a cross-bearing flag, the greater number are made up of stripes disposed -horizontally, and either two or three in number. Thus Fig. 199 is the -white-green of Saxony, Fig. 200 {101} the black-red-yellow of Waldeck, Fig. -202 the blue-white of Pomerania, Fig. 203 the black-red of Wurtemburg, Fig. -205 the red-yellow-blue of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Fig. 206 the blue-yellow -of Brunswick, Fig. 209 the green-white of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Fig. 210 the -blue-red-white of Schomberg Lippe, Fig. 212 the red-white of Hesse. Others -that we have not figured are the red-yellow of Baden, the white-blue of -Bavaria, the yellow-white of Hanover, the yellow-red of Elsass, the -red-yellow of Lothringen.[64] To these, others might be added: -Sleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Posen, Silesia, etc., all agreeing in the -same general character. - -The Imperial Standard of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy is yellow, and has -in its centre the black double-headed eagle and a bordering all round -composed of equal-sided triangles turning alternately their apices inwards -and outwards; the first of these are alternately yellow and white, the -second alternately scarlet and black. On the displayed wings of the eagle -are the arms of the eleven provinces of the empire. - -The war-ensign of the monarchy in represented in Fig. 213; it is composed -of three equal horizontal bands of red, white, red, and bears in its centre -beneath the Imperial crown a shield similarly divided. This flag originated -in 1786, when the Emperor Joseph II. decreed its introduction. This shield -was the heraldic device of the ancient Dukes of Austria, and is known to -have been in existence in the year 1191, as Duke Leopold Heldenthum bore -these arms at that date during the Crusades. - -The "Oesterreich-Ungarische Monarchie," to give it its official title, is -under the command of one Sovereign, who is both Emperor of Austria and King -of Hungary, but each of these great States has its own Parliament, -Ministry, and Administration. Austria had long held the Hungarians in most -unwilling subjection, and the disastrous outcome for Austria of the war -with Prussia made it absolutely essential to make peace with Hungary, the -Magyars seeing in the humiliation of Austria the opportunity that they had -long been awaiting of becoming once again an independent State. A -compromise was effected in February, 1867, by which the Hungarians were -willing to remain under the rule of the Emperor of Austria, but only on -condition that he submitted to be crowned King of Hungary, and that in the -dual monarchy thus {102} created they should have absolutely the same -rights and freedom as the Austrians. The Austrian flag, as we have seen, is -red-white-red, while the Hungarian is red-white-green, and a commission -being appointed to consider how these two flags could be blended into one, -introduced on March 6th, 1869, as the result of its deliberations, the -Austro-Hungarian national flag that we have represented in Fig. 214. - -The Austrian provinces have chiefly bi- or tri-color flags, the stripes -being arranged horizontally. Thus Bohemia is red-white; Tyrol is white-red; -Dalmatia is blue-yellow; Galicia is blue-red; Croatia is red-white-blue; -Istria yellow-red-blue. - -We are so used in England to the idea that cheering is a spontaneous -product that it seems strange to find that the official welcome by the -Austrian fleet to their Emperor is a salute of twenty-one guns, followed by -fifteen hurrahs. Each rank has its special limit of honour; thus a minister -of State or field-marshal is saluted by nineteen guns and eleven hurrahs; a -general by thirteen and seven, while a commodore drops to eleven and three; -ambassadors, archbishops, consuls, all have their definite share of -gunpowder and such specified amount of shouting as is held to be befitting -to their position. - -The Imperial Standard of the Czar of all the Russias is the brilliant -yellow and black flag represented in Fig. 226. The introduction of the -black two-headed eagle dates back from the year 1472, when Ivan the Great -married Sophia, a niece of Constantine Palaeolagus, and thence assumed the -arms of the Greek Empire. On the breast of the eagle is an escutcheon -bearing on its red field in silver the figure of St. George slaying the -dragon, the whole being surrounded by the collar of the Order of St. -Andrew. On the displayed wings of the eagle are other shields, too small -for representation in our figure, bearing the arms of Kiow, a silver angel -on an azure field; of Novgorod, two black bears on a golden shield; of -Voldermirz, a golden lion rampant on a red shield; of Kasan, a black wyvern -on a silver ground, and so forth. The flag of the Czarina is similar, -except that it has a broad blue bordering to it. - -A new Standard is made for each Czar. It was originally borne before him in -battle, but this custom has fallen into disuse, and it is now deposited -with the rest of the regalia. On the heavy gold brocade is embroidered the -black eagle, and around this the arms of the provinces of the Empire. From -the eagle that surmounts the staff are pendant the blue ribbons of the -Order of St. Andrew, embroidered in gold, with the dates of the foundation -of the Russian State in 862, the baptism by St. Vladimir in 986, the union -of all Russian possessions under the sceptre of John III. in 1497, and the -{103} proclamation of the Empire by Peter the Great. Its dedication is a -great religious function, and its sacred character and its appeal to a -lofty patriotism duly enforced. Thus we find the Imperial Chaplain -addressing the present Czar before the consecration of the standard as -follows:-- - -"Divine Providence has resolved, by the right of succession to the Throne, -to entrust to thee, as Supreme Head and Autocrat of the Peoples of the -Empire of all the Russias, this Sacred Banner, an emblem of its unity and -power. - -"We pray the Heavenly Father for the union of all thy subjects in loyalty -and devotion to their Throne and Country, and in the unselfish fulfilment -of their patriotic duties. - -"May this Banner inspire thy enemies with dread, may it be a sign to thee -of Divine Assistance, and in the name of God, of the Orthodox Faith, of -Right and of Justice; may it help thee, in spite of all obstacles, to lead -thy people to prosperity, greatness, and glory." - -After the Benediction, holy water was sprinkled upon the standard, and the -Czar, as the embodiment of the Nation, was again addressed:-- - -"The Almighty has been pleased, in the course of the law of inheritance, to -enthrone you as the Sovereign Ruler of all the peoples of the Russian -nation; this sacred Standard is a token of unity and power. We pray it may -unite all thy subjects in unquestioning loyalty to the Throne and Country, -and in unselfish fulfilment of each duty of a subject. May it be to thee a -sign, terrible to the foes of Russia, of the help given by the Lord God to -the glory of His Holy Name, that, through Orthodox Faith, notwithstanding -all limitations, thy people may be led to prosperity, greatness, and glory; -so shall all nations know that God is on our side." - -The Russians venerate St. Andrew as their patron Saint, believing that it -was he who carried the doctrines of Christianity into their midst. Origen -asserts that he preached in Scythia. Peter the Great instituted under his -name and protection, in the year 1698, the first and most noble order of -Knighthood of the Russian Empire as a reward for the valour of his officers -in the war against the Ottomans. The badge is the X-like cross of St. -Andrew displayed upon the Imperial Eagle and pendant from a broad blue -ribbon. We have already seen that St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of -Scotland also, but in Scotland the cross, Fig. 92, is white upon a field of -blue, while in Russia, Fig. 217, it is blue upon a field of white. This -flag, Fig. 217, is the war ensign, the flag of the Imperial Navy. - -The creed of the Russian Church extols the worship of Saints, and amongst -the numerous subjects of veneration St. George takes {104} rank next to St. -Andrew himself. Hence we see his presentment on the Standard of the Czar, -and hence Catherine II., in 1762, instituted an order of knighthood in his -honour. The badge is a cross of gold, having in its centre a medallion with -a figure of the saint slaying the dragon; the ribbon being yellow and -black. St. George, we need scarcely remind our readers, is the great -warrior-Saint of England too, but while we place his scarlet cross, Fig. -91, on the field of white, the Russians reverse the arrangement and place -his white cross on scarlet.[65] - -Fig. 215 is the Russian Union Jack that combines the crosses of St. Andrew -and St. George. Fig. 73 is the British Union Jack that deals with precisely -the same combination. - -The flag of the Russian merchant service is represented in Fig. 218. This -was originally instead of being white, blue, red, a flag of blue, white, -red. Peter the Great borrowed this from the Dutch, amongst whom he learnt -ship-building. The Dutch flag, Fig. 237, it will be seen is a tricolor of -red, white, blue. Peter simply turned this upside down, and afterwards, for -greater distinction, charged the central white space with a small blue St. -Andrew's Cross, as we see in Fig. 219, which represents this early form of -flag. Later on, for still greater clearness of distinction, the blue and -the white strips changed places, and so we get the modern Russian -mercantile flag, as shown in Fig. 218. It was evidently undesirable that -the flag of the great Empire of Russia should be the same as that of a -reversed Dutch ensign--a signal of distress and disaster. - -Based upon these two simple forms, the government Cross of St. Andrew, Fig. -217, and the commercial tricolor, Fig. 218, we get a great variety of -official flags. Thus Fig. 220 is a very happy blending of the two forms in -the flag of a Consul-General, since he is an official of the State, and at -the same time his duties deal largely with commercial interests; and much -the same ground may be taken as regards the blending of the two flags in -Fig. 221, the flag of a Russian Charge d'Affaires. Fig. 223 is the ensign -of a Russian transport; if of the second division the field of the flag is -blue, and if of the third it is red, in each of these cases the crossed -anchors being white. The Russian signal for a pilot is the Jack shown in -Fig. 215, but with a broad white border to it. {105} - -A Russian Ambassador or Minister Plenipotentiary flies the flag shown in -Fig. 222. In the Imperial Navy we find a considerable variety of flag -types. While the full Admiral flies the Imperial Naval Flag, Fig. 217, that -of the Vice-Admiral has along its bottom edge a horizontal strip of blue, -and that of the Rear-Admiral in the same position a strip of red. The flag -of the Minister of Marine is the official flag, Fig. 217, except that -instead of the four plain white spaces there seen these triangles hold each -of them a golden anchor, the fluke end outwards. There are many other -modifications that we need not here particularise. - -Fig. 216 is the official flag of Poland; the device in the canton in the -upper corner, the white eagle on the scarlet field, is the ancient Polish -flag, when Poland was yet a nation. - -The early history of the French flag is lost in obscurity, and it is not -always easy to trace the various modifications that it has undergone. At -the earliest date of which we have record we find the kings of the Franks -marshalling their forces under the plain blue flag known as the Chape de -St. Martin. Later on the red flag of St. Denis, known as the oriflamme, -came into use, and was held in great popular esteem, until by the tenth -century we find it accepted as the national flag, though the blue flag -still held its ground as a recognised flag. We may, in fact, assume that as -the Russians placed themselves beneath the protection both of St. George -and also of St. Andrew, so the French felt that a double claim on saintly -assistance would be by no means amiss. - -The Chape de St. Martin was originally in the keeping of the monks of the -Abbey of Marmoutiers, and popular belief held it to be a portion of the -actual blue cloak that the legend affirms the Saint divided with the beggar -suppliant. The Counts of Anjou claimed the right to take this blue flag to -battle with them. We find it borne by Clovis in the year 507 against -Alaric, and again by Charlemagne at the battle of Narbonne; and time after -time it led the hosts of France to victory. When the kings of France -transferred the seat of government to Paris, the great local Saint, St. -Denis, was held in high honour, and the scarlet flag of the Abbey Church of -St. Denis gradually ousted the blue flag of St. Martin, and "St. Denis" -became the war-cry of France.[66] Fig. 179 is a representation of the -oriflamme from some ancient stained glass, but the authorities differ -somewhat; thus the "Chronique de Flandre" describes it as having three -points and tassels of green {106} silk attached thereto, while an English -authority says, "The celestial auriflamb, so by the French admired, was but -of one colour, a square redde banner." Du Cange gives no hint of its shape, -but affirms that it was simple, "sans portraiture d'autre affaire." All -therefore that seems quite definite is that it was a plain scarlet flag. -The last time that the sacred ensign was borne to battle was at Agincourt -on October 25th, 1415, when it certainly failed to justify the confidence -of its votaries. - -The precise date when the golden fleurs-de-lys were added to the blue flag -is open to doubt, but we find the form at a very early date, and from the -first recognition of heraldic coats of arms this blazon was the accepted -cognizance of the kings of France. We see this represented in Fig. 184. -Originally the fleurs-de-lys were powdered, as in Fig. 188, over the whole -surface, but in the reign of Charles V., A.D. 1365, the number was reduced -to three.[67] - -The meaning of the fleur-de-lys has given rise to much controversy; some -will tell us that it is a lily flower or an iris, while others affirm that -it is a lance-head. Some authorities see in it an arbitrary floral form -assumed by King Louis,[68] and therefore the fleur-de-Louis; while others -are so hard put to it that they tell us of a river Lys in Flanders that was -so notable for its profusion of yellow iris that the flower became known as -the fleur-de-Lys. The ancient chronicles gravely record that they were -lilies brought from Paradise by an angel to King Clovis in the year 496, on -the eve of a great battle fought near Cologne. Clovis made a vow that if he -were victorious he would embrace the Christian faith, and the angel -visitant and the celestial gift were a proof that his prayers were heard -and his vow accepted. As the belief that France was in an especial degree -under Divine protection was a very flattering one, the lilies were held for -centuries in great favour; and the fleur-de-lys did not finally disappear -from the flag of France until the downfall of Louis Philippe in the year -1848, a date within the recollection, doubtless, of some of our readers. -Finality, indeed, may not even yet have been reached in the matter. As the -bees of Napoleon I. reappeared in the arms of Napoleon III., so the -fleur-de-lys may yet again appear on the ensigns of France. By virtue of a -Napoleonic decree in 1852 against factious or treasonable emblems, it was -forbidden to introduce the fleur-de-lys in jewellery, tapestry, or any -other decorative way, lest its introduction might peril the position of a -{107} sovereign who rose to power by lavish bribery, and the free -outpouring of blood. Napoleon the First, and at least by contrast the -Great, when at Auch enquired the reason why many of the windows of the -cathedral were partially concealed by paper, and he was informed that it -was because it was feared that he would be offended at the sight of certain -ancient emblems there represented. "What!" he exclaimed, "the -fleurs-de-lys? Uncover them this moment. During eight centuries they guided -the French to glory, as my eagles do now, and they must always be dear to -France and held in reverence by her true children." - -The white cross frequently appears on the early French flags. Fig. 188, the -flag of the French Guards in the year 1563, is a good example of this. We -find Favyn, in a book published in Paris in 1620, "Le Theatre d'honneur et -de Chevalerie," writing: "Le grand estendard de satin bleu celeste en riche -broderie de fleurs de lys d'or a une grande croix plein de satin blanc, qui -est la croix de France." Figs. 180 and 181 are taken from a MS. executed in -the time of Louis XII., A.D. 1498, illustrating a battle scene; these two -flags are placed by the side of the fleur-de-lys flag, Fig. 184. When Louis -XI., in 1479, organised the national infantry we find him giving them as -the national ensign a scarlet flag with white cross on it; and some two -hundred years later we find the various provincial levies beneath flags of -various designs and colours, but all agreeing in having the white cross as -the leading feature. Fig. 182, for example, is that of the Soissonois. -Desjardins, in his excellent book on the French flag,[69] gives a great -many illustrations of these. In the Musee d'Artillerie in Paris we find a -very valuable collection of martial equipments from the time of -Charlemagne, and amongst these a fine series (original where possible, or, -failing this copies) of the flags of France from the year 1250. - -The Huguenot party in France adopted the white flag, and when King Henry -III., 1574 to 1589, himself a Protestant, came to the throne, the white -flag became the royal ensign, and was fully adopted in the next reign, that -of Henry IV., the first king of the house of Bourbon, as the national flag. -The whole history of the flag prior to the Great Revolution, is somewhat -confused, and in the year 1669, which we may consider about the middle of -the Bourbon or white flag period,[70] we find the order given by the {108} -Minister of the Marine that "the ensigns are to be blue, powdered with -yellow fleurs-de-lys, with a large white cross in the middle." Merchant -ships were to wear the same flag as the ships of war except that in the -canton corner was to be placed the device of their province or town. Before -the end of the year a new order was issued to the effect that "the ensigns -at the stern are to be in all cases white," while the merchants were to fly -the white flag with the device of the port in the corner. The white flag -was sometimes plain, as in Fig. 183, and at other times provided with -yellow fleurs-de-lys. On the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, after the -Republic, Consulate, and Empire, the white flag was again the flag of the -nation, and remained so until 1830, its last appearance in France, unless -or until the house of Bourbon again arises to the throne, when the -restoration of the _drapeau blanc_ would probably follow. The white flag -has therefore been the national ensign of France for over two hundred -years. - -In a book in the library of the Science and Art Department, South -Kensington, we found the flag represented in Fig. 185 figured as the French -Standard, with Fig. 187 apparently as an alternative, while the National -flag of France is represented as the tricolor with bordering shown in Fig. -189, and the Admiral's flag is given as pure white. The book is entitled "A -Display of Naval Flags of all Nations." It was published in Liverpool; no -date is given, but we can arrive approximately at this, as the British -Standard is represented as including the arms of Hanover; this limits its -publication to between the years 1714 and 1837. - -The well-known tricolor of France, Fig. 191, dates from the era of the -Revolution and came into existence in 1789. It has, with the exception of -the short Bourbon Restoration, been the flag of France for over a century, -and it remains so to this day, though it underwent some few modifications -ere it settled down to the present form. Thus, for instance, on October -24th 1790, it was decreed that the colour next the staff was to be red, the -central strip white and the outer blue, but on February 15th, 1794, it was -ordered that "the flag prescribed by the National Assembly be abolished. -The national flag shall be formed of the three national colours in equal -bands placed vertically, the hoist being blue, the centre white, and the -fly red." On the Revolution of 1848, the provisional government ordered on -March 5th that the colours were to run thus--blue, red, white, but the -opposition to this was so strong that only two days later the order was -cancelled. In 1790 the tricolor was made the Jack, and the ensign was as -shown in Fig. 190. This ensign was to be common to both the men-of-war and -the flags of the merchant navy, but the arrangement was not of long -continuance. The spirit of change that was felt in every department -affected the flags {109} likewise, and some little time elapsed before the -matter was satisfactorily settled. - -The arms of Paris are a white galley on a red ground, and above this are -three golden fleurs-de-lys on a blue band or strip. On July 14th, 1789, it -was determined that a civic guard of forty thousand men should be raised, -and that its colours should be those of the city, the gules and azure of -the groundwork of the escutcheon, to which, on the proposal of Lafayette, -the white of the royal _drapeau blanc_ was added. - -During the first and second Empire the Imperial Standard was still the -tricolor, but it bore in the centre of the white strip the eagle; and all -three strips were richly diapered over with the golden bees of the -Napoleons. The national flag was the tricolor pure and simple, both for the -Imperial and the Commercial Navy. As the flags of the army were borne on -staffs surmounted by a golden eagle, the term "eagle" was often applied to -these colours.[71] - -On the outbreak of the second Republic in 1848, the people immediately on -its proclamation demanded the adoption of the ill-omened red flag. -Lamartine, the leading member of the provisional Government, closed an -impassioned address with the words: "Citizens, I will reject even to death -this banner of blood, and you should repudiate it still more than myself, -for this red flag you offer us has only made the circuit of the Champs de -Mars bathed in the blood of the people, while the tricolor has made the -circuit of the world, with the name, the glory, and the liberty of your -country." Louis Blanc and other members of the Government were in favour of -the red flag, and at last a compromise was effected and the tricolor was -accepted with the addition of a large red rosette. Louis Blanc, not -unreasonably, as a Republican, pointed out that Lafayette had in 1789 -associated the white of the Bourbon flag with the red and blue of the arms -of the City, and that the tricolor flag was therefore the result of a -compromise between the king and the people, but that in 1848 the king -having abdicated, and monarchy done away with, there was no reason why any -suggestion of the kingly power should continue. Doubtless the suppression -of the flag of the barricades, the symbol of civil strife, {110} of anarchy -and bloodshed, and the retaining of the tricolor was the wiser and more -patriotic course, though it required no mean amount of courage and strong -personal influence to effect the change. - -The Imperial Eagle, so long a symbol of victory, has now in these -Republican days[72] disappeared from the national colours. The flag of the -French army is now surmounted by a wreath of laurel traversed by a golden -dart with the letters R.F. and the regimental number, while on one face of -the flag itself is, in the middle, the inscription "Republique Francaise, -Honneur et Patrie," each corner being occupied by a golden wreath enclosing -the number of the regiment. The name of the regiment and its "honours" -occupy the other side. - -The pendant of the French man-of-war is simply, Fig. 186, the tricolor -elongated. The Admiral flies a swallow-tailed tricolor, while the -Rear-Admiral and the Vice-Admiral have flags of the ordinary shape, like -Fig. 191, except that the former officer has two white stars on the blue -strip near the top of it, and the latter three. Maritime prefects have the -three white stars on the blue plus two crossed anchors in blue in the -centre of the white strip. The Governor of a French colony has such a -special and distinctive flag as Fig. 96 would be if, instead of the Union -canton on the blue, we placed in similar place the tricolor. There are -naturally a great many other official flags, but the requirements of our -space forbid our going into any further description of them. - -The war and mercantile flags of Spain have undergone many changes, and -their early history is very difficult to unravel; but on May 28th, 1785, -the flags were adopted that have continued in use ever since. Fig. 192 is -the flag of the Spanish Navy; it consists, as will be seen, of three -stripes--a central yellow one, and a red one, somewhat narrower, above and -below. The original proportion was that the yellow should be equal in width -to the two red ones combined. This central stripe is charged, near the -hoist, with an escutcheon containing the arms of Castile and Leon, and -surmounted by the royal crown. The mercantile flag, Fig. 193, is also red -and yellow. The yellow stripe in the centre is without the escutcheon, and -in width it should be equal to one-third of the entire depth of the flag, -the remaining thirds above and below it being divided into two equal -strips, the one red and the other yellow. This simple striping of the two -colours was doubtless {111} suggested by the arms of Arragon, the vertical -red and yellow bars[73] of which may be seen also in the Spanish Royal -Standard, Fig. 194. Spain, like Italy, has grown into one monarchy by the -aggregation of minor States. In the year 1031 we have the Union of Navarre -and Castile; in 1037 we find Leon and Asturias joining this same growing -kingdom, and in the year 1474 Ferdinand II. of Arragon married Isabella of -Castile, and thus united nearly the whole of the Christian part of Spain -into one monarchy. In 1492 this same prince added to his dominions Moorish -Spain by the conquest of Granada. - -Legend hath it that in the year 873 the Carlovingian Prince Charles the -Bold honoured Geoffrey, Count of Barcelona, by dipping his four fingers in -the blood from the Count's wounds after a battle in which they were allied, -and drawing them down the Count's golden shield, and that these ruddy bars -were then and there incorporated in the blazon. Barcelona was shortly -afterwards merged into the kingdom of Arragon, and its arms were adopted as -those of that kingdom. Its four upright strips of red, the marks of the -royal fingers, are just beyond the upper shield in Fig. 194. - -The pendant of the Spanish Navy bears at its broad end a golden space in -which the arms and crown, as in Fig. 192, are placed; the rest of the -streamer is a broad strip of yellow, bordered, as in Fig. 192, by two -slightly narrower strips of red. - -The Royal Standard of Spain, Fig. 194, is of very elaborate character, and -many of its bearings are as inappropriate to the historic facts of the -present day as the retention in the arms of Great Britain of the French -fleurs-de-lys centuries after all claim to its sovereignty had been lost. -In the upper left hand part of the flag we find quartered the lion of Leon -and the castle of Castile.[74] At the point we have marked "C" are the arms -of Arragon. "D" is the device of Sicily. The red and white stripes at "E" -are the arms of Austria; we have already encountered these in Fig. 213. The -flag of ancient Burgundy, oblique stripes of yellow and blue within a red -border, is placed at "F." The black lion on the golden ground at "G" is the -heraldic bearing of Flanders, while the red eagle "H" is the device of -Antwerp. At "I" we have the {112} golden lion of Brabant, and above it at -"J" the fleurs-de-lys and chequers of ancient Burgundy. The upper small -shield contains the arms of Portugal, and the lower contains the -fleurs-de-lys of France.[75] - -The Portuguese were an independent nation until Philip II. of Spain overran -the country, and annexed it in the year 1580 to his own dominions, but in -the year 1640 they threw off the Spanish yoke, which had grown intolerable, -and raised John, Duke of Braganza, to the throne. The regal power has ever -since remained in this family. - -The Royal Standard bears on its scarlet field the arms of Portugal, -surmounted by the regal crown. These arms were originally only the white -shield with the five smaller escutcheons that we see in the centre of the -present blazon. Would the scale of our illustration (Fig. 195) permit it, -each of these small escutcheons should bear upon its surface five white -circular spots. Portugal was invaded by the Moors in the year 713, and the -greater part of the country was held by them for over three centuries. In -the year 1139 Alphonso I. defeated an alliance of five great Moorish -princes at the Battle of Ourique, and the five escutcheons in the shield -represents the five-fold victory, while the five circles placed on each -escutcheon symbolise the five wounds of the Saviour in whose strength he -defeated the infidels. The scarlet border with its castles was added by -Alphonso III., after his marriage in 1252 with the daughter of Alphonso the -Wise, King of Castile, the arms of which province, as we have already seen -in discussing the Spanish Standard, are a golden castle on a red field. - -In an English poem, written by an eye-witness of the Siege of Rouen in the -year 1418, we find an interesting reference to the arms of Portugal, where -we read of - - "The Kyngis herandis and pursiuantis, - In cotis of armys arryauntis. - The Englishe a beste, the Frensshe a floure - Of Portyugale bothe castelle and toure, - And other cotis of diversitie - As lordis beren in ther degre."[76] - -The Portuguese ensign for her vessels of war and also for the merchant -service bears the shield and crown, but instead of the {113} scarlet field -we find the groundwork of the flag half blue, and half white, as shown in -Fig. 196. The choice of these special colours, no doubt, arose from the -arms on the original shield, the five blue escutcheons on the white ground. -The Portuguese Jack has the national arms and royal crown in the centre of -a white field, the whole being surrounded by the broad border of blue. - -Italy, for centuries a geographical expression, is now one and indivisible. -Within the recollection of many of our readers the peninsula was composed -of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies, the Pontifical States, the Grand Duchy -of Tuscany, the Duchies of Parma and Modena. There was also in the north -the Kingdom of Sardinia, while Lombardy and Venetia were in the grip of -Austria. It is somewhat beside our present purpose to go into the wonderful -story of how Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, aided by Cavour, Garibaldi, and many -another noble patriot, by diplomacy, by lives freely laid down on the -Tchernaya, on the fields of Magenta and Solferino, by the disaster at -Sedan, by bold audacity at one time, by patient waiting at another, was -finally installed in Rome, the Capital of United Italy, as king of a great -and free nation of over thirty millions of people. Suffice it now to say -that this Kingdom of Italy, as we now know it, did not achieve until the -year 1870 this full unity under one flag that had been for centuries the -dream of patriots who freely shed their blood on the battlefield or the -scaffold, or perished in the dungeons of Papal Rome, or Naples, or Austria -for this ideal. - -On the downfall in 1861 of the Bourbon Government in the Kingdom of the two -Sicilies before the onslaught of the Volunteers of Garibaldi, the first -National Parliament met in Turin, and proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of -Italy. The title was at once acknowledged by Great Britain, and, later on, -by the other Powers, and the capital of the rising State was transferred to -Florence. The Papal States were still under the protection of France, "the -eldest Son of the Church"; and the young Kingdom, unable to wrest Rome from -the French, had to wait with such patience as it could command for the -consummation of its hopes. The long-looked-for day at last arrived, when -amidst the tremendous defeats inflicted in 1870 by Germany on France, the -French garrison in Rome was withdrawn, and the Italians, after a short, -sharp conflict with the Papal troops, entered into possession of the -Eternal City, and at once made it the Capital of a State at last free -throughout its length and breadth--no longer a geographical expression, but -a potent factor to be reckoned with and fully recognised. - -Napoleon I. formed Italy into one kingdom in the year 1805, but it was -ruled by himself and the Viceroy, Eugene Beauharnois, he appointed; and on -his overthrow this, like the various other political {114} arrangements he -devised, came to nought. The flag he bestowed was a tricolor of green, -white, and red, his idea being that, while giving the new Kingdom a flag of -its own, it should indicate by its near resemblance to that of France the -source to which it owed its existence. In 1848, the great revolutionary -period, this flag, which had passed out of existence on the downfall of -Napoleon, was reassumed by the Nationalists of the Peninsula, and accepted -by the King of Sardinia as the ensign of his own kingdom, and charged by -him with the arms of Savoy. This tricolor, so charged (see Fig. 197) was -the flag to which the eyes of all Italian patriots turned, and it is to-day -the flag of all Italy. The flag we have represented is the ensign of the -Merchant Service; the flag of the armed forces military and naval, is -similar, save that the shield in the centre is surmounted by the Royal -Crown. The Royal Standard, the personal flag of the King, has the arms of -Savoy in the centre, on a white ground, the whole having a broad bordering -of blue. - -This shield of Savoy, the white cross on the red field, was the device of -the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, an order semi-religious, -semi-military, that owed its origin to the Crusades. In the year 1310 the -Knights captured Rhodes from the Saracens, but being hard pressed by the -infidels, Duke Amadeus IV., of Savoy, came to the rescue, and the Grand -Master of the Order conferred upon him the cross that has ever since been -borne in the arms of Savoy. The Jack or bowsprit flag of the Italian -man-of-war, Fig. 234, is simply this shield of the Knights of St. John -squared into suitable flag-like form. - -The Minister of Marine has the tricolor, but on the green portion is placed -erect a golden anchor. The vessels carrying the Royal Mail fly a burgee of -green, white, red, having a large white "P" on the green; and there are -many other official flags, the insignia of various authorities or different -departments, but lack of space forbids our dwelling at greater length upon -them. - -The war flag of the defunct temporal power of the Pope was white, and in -its centre stood figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, and above them the -cross keys and tiara. Fig. 198 was the flag of the merchant ships owned by -the subjects of the States of the Church. The combination of yellow and -white is very curious. In the banner borne by Godfrey, the Crusader King of -Jerusalem, the only tinctures introduced were the two metals, gold and -silver, five golden crosses being placed upon a silver field. This was done -of deliberate intention that it might be unlike all other devices, as it is -in all other cases deemed false heraldry to place metal on metal. The -theory that these metals were selected because of the reference in the -Psalms to the Holy City, may also be a very possible one--"Though ye have -lien amongst the pots, yet shall ye {115} be as the wings of a dove covered -with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." However this may be, the -yellow and white of the arms of Jerusalem was adopted by the Papal -Government. - -The Danish flag is the oldest now in existence. In the year 1219, King -Waldemar of Denmark in a critical moment in his stormy career, saw, or -thought he saw, or said he saw, a cross in the sky. He was then leading his -troops to battle against the Livonian pagans, and he gladly welcomed this -answer to his prayers for Divine succour, this assurance of celestial aid. -This sign from Heaven he forthwith adopted as the flag of his country, and -called it the Dannebrog, _i.e._, the strength of Denmark. As a definite -chronological fact, apart from all legend, this flag dates from the -thirteenth century. There was also an Order of Dannebrog instituted in -1219, in further commemoration and honour of the miracle; and the name is a -very popular one in the Danish Royal Navy, one man-of-war after another -succeeding to the appellation. One of these Dannebrogs was blown up by the -fire of Nelson's fleet in 1801. - -The Danish Man-of-War Ensign is shown in Fig. 224. The Royal Standard, like -the Ensign, is swallow-tailed, but in the centre of the cross is placed a -white square, indicated in our illustration, Fig. 224, by dots. This -central, square space contains the Royal Arms, surrounded by the Collars of -the Orders of the Elephant and of the Dannebrog. The merchant flag, Fig. -225, is rectangular. - -In the year 1397, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all formed one kingdom under -the rule of the latter, but in 1414 the Swedes waged with more or less -success an arduous struggle for liberty, and their independence was -definitely acknowledged in the year 1523. The flag of Sweden is the yellow -cross on the blue ground shown in Fig. 231. The blue and yellow are the -colours of the Swedish arms,[77] and they were then doubtless chosen for -the flag as the colours of freedom and independence. - -Norway had no separate political existence until the year 1814, but in that -year the Norwegians seceded from Denmark, and declared their independence. -Their first flag was still a red flag with a white cross on it, and the -arms of Norway in the upper corner next the flagstaff, but this being found -to too closely resemble the Danish flag, they substituted for it the device -seen in Fig. 230, which it will be noted is still the Danish flag, plus the -blue cross on the white one. The administration of Norway is entirely -distinct from Sweden, and it retains its own laws, but in 1814 the two -Kingdoms were united under one Sovereign. As a sign of the union there is -carried in the upper square, next to the flagstaff in the flags of both -countries, a union device, a combination of the Swedish {116} and Norwegian -National colours. After considerable dispute, the Union Jack shown in Fig. -229 was accepted as the symbol of the political relationship of the two -nations. It is a very neat arrangement, for if we look at the upper and -lower portions we see the flag (Fig. 230) of Norway, if we study the two -lateral portions we find they are the flag (Fig. 231) of Sweden. Both the -Swedish and Norwegian war flags are swallow-tailed, and have the outer limb -of the cross projecting; we may see this very clearly in Fig. 228, where -the main body of the flag is Norwegian. The merchant flag is with each -nationality rectangular; in Fig. 227 we have the flag of a Swedish merchant -vessel. Both in the Norwegian and Swedish flags, as we may note in Figs. -227 and 228, it will be noticed that the Union device is conspicuously -present. The Norwegian man-of-war flag, Fig. 228, would be that of a -Norwegian merchant if we cut off the points in the fly; the Swedish -merchant flag, Fig. 227, would be that of a Swedish man-of-war if instead -of the straight end we made it swallow-tailed. As Sovereign of Sweden, the -King places his arms in the centre of the large yellow cross; as Sovereign -of Norway, in the centre of the large blue cross; hence we get the Swedish -and Norwegian Royal Standards, the one for use in the one country, and the -other for service in the other, the Union device being present in the upper -corner in each case, and the outer portion of the flags swallow-tailed. The -Standard is, in fact, the war flag plus the royal arms. The Post Service -has in the centre of the flag a white square, with a golden horn and crown -in it; the Customs flag has a similar white square at the junction of the -arms of the cross, and in its centre is placed a crowned "T." - -Fig. 232, on the same sheet as the flags of Norway and Sweden, is the -simple and beautiful flag of Switzerland. Like the crosses of St. George, -St. Andrew, St. Patrick, or that on the flag of Denmark, its device has a -religious significance. Gautier tells us that:--"La premiere fois qu'il en -est fait mention dans l'histoire ecrite est dans la Chronique du Bearnois -Justinger. Il dit, apres avoir fait l'enumeration des forces des Suisses -quittant Berne pour marcher contre l'armee des nobles coalises en 1339--'Et -tous etaient marques au signe de la Sainte Croix, une croix blanche dans un -ecusson rouge, par la raison que l'affranchissement de la nation etait pour -eux une cause aussi sacree que la delivrance des lieux saints.'" - -Its twenty-two cantons are united by a Constitution, under one President -and one flag, but each canton has its own cantonal colours. Thus Basel is -half black and half white; St. Gallen, green and white; Geneva, red and -yellow; Aargau, black and blue; Glarus, red, black, and white; Uri, yellow -and black; Berne, black and red; Fribourg, black and white; Lucerne, blue -and white; {117} Tessin, red and blue; and so forth. In each case the -stripes of colour are disposed horizontally, and the one we have each time -mentioned first is the upper colour. - -Within the walls of the City of Geneva was held, in 1863, an International -Conference, to consider how far the horrors of war could be mitigated by -aid to the sick and wounded. This Conference proposed that in time of war -the neutrality should be fully admitted of field and stationary hospitals, -and also recognised in the most complete manner by the belligerent Powers -in the case of all officials employed in sanitary work, volunteer nurses, -the inhabitants of the country who shall assist the wounded, and the -wounded themselves--that an identical distinctive sign should be adopted -for the medical corps of all armies, and that an identical flag should be -used for all hospitals and ambulances, and for all houses containing -wounded men. The distinctive mark of all such refuges is a white flag with -a red cross on it--the flag of Switzerland reversed in colouring--and all -medical stores, carriages, and the like, bear the same device upon them; -while the doctors, nurses, and assistants, have a white armlet with the red -cross upon it, the sacred badge that proclaims their mission of mercy. In -deference to the religious feelings of Turkey a red crescent may be -substituted for the cross in campaigns where that country is one of the -belligerents. These valuable proposals were confirmed by a treaty in -August, 1864, signed by the representatives of twelve Powers, and known as -the Geneva Convention. Since then all the civilised Powers in the world, -with the exception of the United States, have given in their adhesion to -it. In 1867 an International Conference was held at Paris for still further -developing and carrying out in a practical manner the principles of the -Geneva Conference, and another at Berlin in 1869 for the same object. One -notable feature of these two Conferences was the extension of the -principles accepted for land conflict to naval warfare. - -Holland, as an Independent State, came into existence in the year 1579. -From 1299 we find the country under the rule of the Courts of Hainault, and -in 1436 it came into the hands of the Dukes of Burgundy, who in turn were -subjugated by the Spaniards. The tyranny and religious persecution to which -the Netherlanders were exposed by the Spaniards led to numerous revolts, -which at last developed into a War of Independence, under William, Prince -of Orange. The Hollanders adopted as their flag the colours of the House of -Orange--orange, white, and blue. At first there was great latitude of -treatment, the number of the bars of each colour and their order being very -variable, but in 1599 it was definitely fixed that the flag of the -Netherlands was to be orange, white, blue, in three horizontal stripes of -equal width. How the orange became {118} changed to red is very doubtful; -Fournier, writing in 1643, we see refers to the Dutch flag as a tricolor of -red, white, blue. - -Fig. 237 represents the Royal Standard of Holland; the army and navy and -commercial flags are similar, except that the Royal Arms are not -introduced. - -During the general effervescence caused by the French Revolution, the naval -flag of Holland had in the upper staff-corner a white canton, charged with -a figure of Liberty, but the innovation was not at all popular, as the -sailors preferred the old tricolor under which the great victories of -Reuter and Van Tromp were gained, and in 1806 it was deemed expedient to -revert to it. - -The brilliant scarlet, yellow, and black tricolor represented in Fig. 236 -is the flag of Belgium. The Standard has, in addition, the Royal Arms -placed in the centre of the yellow strip. The black, yellow, and red, are -the colours of the Duchy of Brabant, and these were adopted as the national -flag in 1831. - -From 1477 onwards we find Belgium under Austrian domination, and in 1566 it -fell into the hands of Spain. In 1795, and for some years following, it was -held by France, and in 1814 was handed over to the Prince of Orange, but in -1830 the Belgians rose against the Hollanders, and before the end of the -year their independence was acknowledged by the Great Powers, and Leopold -of Coburg, in the following year, became first King of Belgium. Within a -month of his accession to the throne, the Dutch recommenced the struggle, -and it was only in 1839 that a final treaty of peace was signed in London -between Belgium and Holland, and its claims to independence frankly -recognised by the Dutch. - -Greece, originally invaded by the Turks in the year 1350, remained for -nearly five hundred years under their oppressive yoke, rising from time to -time against their masters, only to expose their country, on the failure of -their attempts, to the greater tyranny and the most dreadful excesses. Over -ten thousand Greeks were slaughtered in Cyprus in 1821, while the -bombardment of Scio in 1822, and the horrible massacre on its capture, -stand out in lurid colours as one of the most atrocious deeds the world has -ever known: over forty thousand men, women, and children fell by the sword. -Seven thousand who had fled to the mountains were induced to surrender by a -promise of amnesty, and these, too, were murdered. The towns and villages -were fired, and the unfortunate inhabitants, hemmed in by the Turks, -perished in the flames or fell beneath the swords of their relentless foes -if they attempted to escape. Small wonder, then, that the heart of Europe -was stirred, and that Lord Byron and thousands more took up the cause of -Greek independence, by contributions of arms and money, by fiery -denunciation, and with strong right hand. Missolonghi, Navarino, {119} and -many another scene of struggle we cannot here dwell upon, suffice it to say -that at last the victory was won and Greece emerged, after a tremendous -struggle, from the bondage of the Turks, and took its place in Europe as a -free and independent nation, the Porte acknowledging the inexorable logic -of the _fait accompli_ on April 25th, 1830. After a short Presidency under -one of the Greek nobles, Otho of Bavaria was elected King of Greece in -1833, and the new Kingdom was fairly launched. - -The Greeks adopted the blue and white, the colours of Bavaria, as a -delicate compliment to the Prince who accepted their invitation to ascend -the throne of Greece. The merchant flag of Greece is shown in Fig. 233. It -will be seen that it consists of nine stripes, alternately blue and white, -the canton being blue, with a white cross in it. The navy flag is similar, -except that in addition there is placed a golden crown in the centre of the -cross. The Royal Standard is blue with a white cross; the arms of the cross -are not, as in Fig. 233, of equal length, but the one next the staff is -shorter, as in the Danish flag, Fig. 225. In the open space at the crossing -of the arms is placed the Royal Arms. - -The Turkish Empire has undergone many changes and vicissitudes, and has in -these latter days shrunk considerably. European Turkey now consists of -about seventy thousand square miles, while Turkey in Asia, Syria, Asia -Minor, Palestine, Armenia, etc., is over seven hundred thousand.[78] - -The crescent moon and star, Figs. 239 and 240, were adopted by the Turks as -their device on the capture of Constantinople by Mahomet II., in 1453. They -were originally the symbol of Diana, the Patroness of Byzantium, and were -adopted by the Ottomans as a badge of triumph. Prior to that event, the -crescent was a very common charge in the armorial bearings of English -Knights, but it fell into considerable disuse when it became the special -device of the Mohamedans, though even so late as the year 1464 we find -Rene, Duke of Anjou, founding an Order of Knighthood having as its badge -the crescent moon, encircled by a motto signifying "praise by increasing." -Though the crescent was, as we have seen, originally a Pagan symbol, it -remained throughout the rise and development of the Greek Church the -special mark of Constantinople, and even now in Moscow and other Russian -cities the {120} crescent and the cross may be seen combined on the -churches, the object being to indicate the Byzantine origin of the Russian -Church. - -The crescent may be seen on the coins and medals of Augustus, Trajan, and -other Emperors. The origin of the symbol was as follows: Philip, the father -of Alexander the Great, meeting with many unforeseen difficulties in -carrying on the siege of the city, set the soldiers to work one dark night -to undermine the walls, but the crescent moon appearing the design was -discovered and the scheme miscarried; and in acknowledgment the Byzantines -erected a statue to Diana, and made the crescent moon--the attribute of the -Goddess--the symbol of their city. - -The War Flag of Turkey is the crescent and star on the scarlet field, as -shown in Fig. 239. The flag of the Merchant Service seems less definitely -fixed. In the Official Flag Book[79] of the English Admiralty, Fig. 239 is -given as both the man-of-war flag and the merchant flag for Turkey, Egypt, -and Tripoli, while in an excellent book on the subject, published at Vienna -in 1883, Fig. 235 is given as the flag of the commercial marine; and we -have also seen a plain red flag with a star in the upper corner of the -hoist, and another divided into three horizontal bands, the upper and lower -being red, and the central one green. - -The Military and Naval Service of Tunis has the flag represented in Fig. -240, while the Tunisian commercial flag is simply red, without device of -any kind. - -In a map bearing the date 1502 the Turkish Dominions are marked by a -scarlet flag having three points and bearing three black crescents, while -in a sheet of flags with the comparatively modern date of 1735, "Turk" is -represented by a blue flag with three crescents in white upon it. - -The personal flag of the Sultan, corresponding to our Royal Standard, is -scarlet, and bears in its centre the device of the reigning sovereign: -hence it undergoes a change at each accession to the throne. This device, -known as the Tughra, is placed on the coinage, postal stamps, etc., as well -as on the Royal Flag, and consists of the name of the Sultan, the title -Khan, and the epithet _El muzaffar daima_, signifying the ever-victorious. -The history of the Tughra is curious: When Sultan Murad I. entered into a -treaty of peace with the Ragusans, he was not sufficiently scholarly to be -able to affix {121} his signature to the document, so he wetted his open -hand with ink and pressed it on the paper, the first, second, and third -fingers making smears in fairly close proximity, while the thumb and fourth -finger were apart on either side. Within the mark thus made, the Ottoman -Scribes wrote the name of Murad, his title, and the epithet that bore -testimony to his ever-victorious career. The Tughra remains the symbol of -this, the three upright forms being the three fingers of Murad, the rounded -line to the left the thumb, and the line to the right the little finger; -these leading forms do not vary, but the smaller characters change with the -change of sovereign. This Murad, sometimes called Amurath, ascended the -throne in the year 1362.[80] - -The personal flag of the Khedive of Egypt is green, and has in its centre -the crescent and three white stars. - -By the Treaty of Berlin, July 1878, the provinces of Moldavia and -Wallachia, formerly a portion of the Turkish Empire, and the territory of -the Dobrudscha, were recognised as an independent State, and were formed -into the kingdom of Roumania somewhat later, the sovereign who had -previously held the rank of prince being crowned king in March, 1881. The -flag of Roumania is the brilliant blue, yellow and red tricolor shown in -Fig. 242. - -The flag of Servia, another small kingdom of Eastern Europe, is shown in -Fig. 243; the royal standard is similar, except that the arms are placed in -the centre of the blue stripe. It will be seen that the flag of Servia is -that of Russia, Fig. 218, reversed. By the Berlin Treaty of 1878, Servia -received a large increase of territory, and was created an independent -State, its princely ruler being crowned king in March, 1882. - -The State of Bulgaria is another of the creations of the Berlin Treaty. It -is governed by a prince who is nominally under the suzerainty of Turkey. -Its war flag is shown in Fig. 241; the mercantile flag has no leonine -canton, but is simply a tricolor of white, green, and red. - -Having already dealt with the United States, we propose now to turn our -attention to the other Governments of the New World. The simple and -effective ensign of Chili is represented in Fig. 161. This flag is used -both by the Chilian men-of-war and by the vessels of the mercantile marine. -Fig. 157 is so much of the pendant of a man-of-war as the limits of our -page will permit. The Chilian Jack is the blue canton and white star of -Fig. 161, treated as a distinct {122} flag, and the flags of the various -naval ranks are also blue with a varying number of white stars. - -Fig. 164 is the merchant flag of New Granada; the Government ensign has in -addition the shield of arms in the centre of the blue stripe. It will be -observed that the colours in this tricolor are the same as those of -Roumania, Fig. 242, only differently disposed. New Granada is composed of -nine small States, and in 1863 these bound themselves into a closer -confederation, and changed their collective name from New Granada to that -of the United States of Colombia, and adopted a tricolor of yellow, blue, -and red, only disposed horizontally instead of as in Fig. 164, vertically. -This sounds identical with the flag of Venezuela, but in the centre of the -Colombian flag is placed a different device, and the yellow stripe takes up -half the space, the other two being only half its width. Fig. 165 is the -flag of Uruguay, a State that was formerly a province of Brazil, but -declared its independence in the year 1825. The next flag on our plate, -Fig. 166, is the war ensign of Guatemala: the shield in the centre bears a -scroll with the words "Libertad 15 de Setiembre, 1821," surmounted by a -parrot, surrounded by a wreath, and having behind it crossed rifles and -swords. The merchant flag is the plain blue, white, blue, without the -shield. In the year 1525 the country was conquered by Don Pedro de -Alvarado, one of the companions of Cortes, and it remained subject to Spain -until 1821, when it gained its independence, the "Libertad" of the scroll. -It then went in vigorously for several years of civil war, and the outcome -of this was that the country known under Spanish rule as Guatemala, a -country embracing all Central America, split up in 1839 into five -Republics, all absolutely independent of each other, viz., Guatemala, San -Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. - -The next flag, Fig. 167, is the ensign of Costa Rica: the one represented -is that of the Merchant Service. The war ensign differs from it in having -in the centre the arms of the State, surrounded on either side by a trophy -of three flags, and beneath all a wreath. Fig. 168, the flag of Paraguay, -is very suggestive of the colours of Holland, though the device in the -centre serves to differentiate it. Paraguay is the only State in America -that has no sea-board, and therefore no Mercantile Marine. - -Brazil, discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, remained in their possession -until a revolutionary struggle in the year 1821 ended in favour of the -Brazilians, when an Empire was shortly afterwards established. Compared to -the other States of South America, it has passed through long periods of -rest and prosperity, but of late years its political position has been one -of considerable uncertainty, the Emperor having been dismissed and the -rival {123} ambitions for the Presidentship leading to civil war. These -political changes have necessarily produced modifications in the flag. The -present flag, Fig. 169, is not altogether unlike that of the late Empire, -though in this latter case the yellow diamond on the green ground held a -shield and Imperial crown, flanked by sprays of coffee and tobacco. In the -present flag this yellow diamond has a blue sphere spotted over with stars -and a white band running across it, that bears in blue letters the legend -_Ordem e progresso_.[81] Fig. 173 is the upper portion of the man-of-war -pendant, a blue ground with white stars. Fig. 169 is the ensign, both of -the War and Merchant Navy of Brazil. - -The yellow, blue, and red tricolor, Fig. 170, is the merchant ensign of -Venezuela; the war flag has the same stripes, and in addition the shield of -the arms of the State is placed on the yellow band at the staff corner. -When the Spaniards arrived off the coast in the year 1499, they found on -landing that some of the native Indians were living in huts built on piles, -hence they called the country Venezuela, or little Venice. - -Bolivia, formerly comprised in the Spanish Vice-Royalty of Colombia, -derives its present name from Simon Bolivar, the leader of the revolution -that gained it its freedom. Its commercial flag is shown in Fig. 171; the -war flag only differs in having the arms of the State placed in the centre -of the red strip. - -The familiar green, white, red of Italy is repeated in the flag of Mexico, -but instead of the cross of Savoy, we have the eagle and serpent. The -Mexican merchant ensign is the plain tricolor of green, white, red, the -central device we see in Fig. 172 marking it as the war flag. Mexico was -discovered in 1518, and conquered, with infamous cruelties, by Cortes. -After a lengthened revolutionary struggle, the yoke of Spain was finally -thrown off in 1829, and the independence of Mexico was recognised by all -the great European Powers. - -Peru was discovered by the Spaniards in 1513, and was soon afterwards, -under the command of Pizarro, added to the dominions of the King of Spain. -Peru remained in subjection to the Spaniards (who murdered the Incas and -all their descendants, and committed the most frightful cruelties) until -1826, when the independence of the country, after a prolonged struggle, was -completely achieved. The Peruvian war ensign is given in Fig. 174, the -merchant flag being the plain red, white, red. - -San Salvador, the smallest of the Central American Republics, {124} -established itself in 1839, on the break-up of the Spanish State of -Guatemala. Its flag is shown in Fig. 175. - -The country now held by the Argentine Republic was discovered in 1517, and -settled by the Spaniards in 1553. The war ensign is represented in Fig. -176; the merchant ensign has the three stripes, but the golden sun is -missing. - -The Government of Ecuador has Fig. 177 as its war flag, the merchant ensign -being without the ring of white stars. The last flag on the sheet (Fig. -178) is the merchant flag of Haiti; the Government flag has the blue and -red reduced to a broad border, the central portion of the flag being white. -In the centre of this white portion stands a palm tree, and below it a -trophy of arms and flags, flanked on either side by a cannon. - -The flag of the Cuban national forces in conflict with Spain has at the -hoist a triangular portion of blue, one side of this triangle being the -depth of the flag itself, and on this blue field is a white, five-pointed -star. The rest of the flag is made up of the following horizontal and equal -stripes--red, white, red, white, red. - -Japan--known to the Japanese as Niphon, derived from _Nitsu_, Sun, and -_Phon_, the rising--the Land of the Rising Sun,[82] has adopted this rising -sun as its emblem. Japan claims to possess a written history of over 2,500 -years, but the fairly authentic portion begins with the year 660 B.C., when -the present hereditary succession of rulers commenced. English merchants -visited Japan in 1612, and the Portuguese almost a century before. By 1587 -the converts of the Portuguese Jesuit Missions numbered some six hundred -thousand. At this time some Spanish Franciscans appeared on the scene, and -political and religious discord soon followed. The Japanese ruler took -alarm at the Papal claim to universal sovereignty, and the Buddhist -Priesthood and the English and Dutch Protestant traders fanned the flame of -suspicion and jealousy. This was done so effectually that the Japanese -Government banished all foreigners, and closed the country against them. -This state of things lasted for over two centuries, and it was only in the -year 1853 that Japan was re-opened to the outside world. The flag of Japan, -the rising sun, is represented in Fig. 244. The red ball without the rays -is used as a Jack, in which case it is placed in the centre of the white -field. Fig. 245 is the Standard of the Emperor. The chrysanthemum is the -emblem of Japan, and its golden flower, somewhat conventionally rendered it -must be admitted, is the form we see introduced in Fig. 245.[83] Figs. 246 -and 248 are the transport flag and the guard flag respectively of the -Japanese war marine. {125} - -The Imperial Standard of China is yellow with a blue dragon. The official -flag book of the Admiralty gives the flag of a Chinese Admiral as made up -of the following horizontal stripes: yellow, white, black, green, red, a -blue dragon on a white ground being the canton in the staff-head corner. -The merchant ensign is shown in Fig. 247. Amongst the Chinese flags -captured in 1841, and preserved in the Royal United Service Institution, is -one with a blue centre with an inscription in white upon it, and with a -broad notched border of white; another has its centre of a pale blue and a -darker blue dragon upon it, the whole being surrounded by a broad and -deeply-notched border of red. - -The flag of Siam is scarlet with a white elephant thereon. Before Xacca, -the founder of the nation, was born his mother dreamt that she brought -forth a white elephant, and the Brahmins affirm that Xacca, after a -metempsychosis of eighty thousand changes, concluded his very varied -experiences as this white elephant, and thence was received into the -company of the Celestial Deities. On this account the white elephant is -held a sacred beast, and the Siamese rejoice to place themselves beneath so -potent a protector. The flag of Korea bears the tiger. In the -thickly-wooded glens of the interior, the royal tiger is found in -formidable numbers. - -The flag of Sarawak, a territory of some forty thousand square miles, on -the north-west of Borneo, is shown in Fig. 252. The Government was obtained -in 1842 from the Sultan of Borneo by an Englishman, Sir James Brooke, and -it is still ruled by one of the family, a nephew of the first Rajah. - -In Africa, the only flags that we need particularize are those of the -Orange Free State, Liberia, the Congo State, and the South African -Republic. - -The Orange Free State was founded by Dutch emigrants from the Cape of Good -Hope. It was proclaimed British territory in 1848, but by a Convention -entered into in 1854, the inhabitants were declared to be "to all intents -and purposes, a free and independent people, and their Government to be -treated thenceforth as a free and independent Government." The flag, Fig. -249, is the only one that has orange in it, clearly in allusion to the name -of the State, while the canton of red, white, and blue, equally shows the -pride of the people in their Dutch origin. - -The flag of the Independent Negro Republic of Liberia, is shown in Fig. -250. The population largely consists of freed slaves, emigrants from -America and their descendants, plus the aborigines. The flag, it will be -seen, even to the thirteen stripes, is largely based on that of the United -States, though one would have thought that that would have been about the -last thing they would have selected. {126} - -The Congo Free State in Central Africa was established in 1885 by the King -of the Belgians; its flag is the golden star on the blue ground that we see -in Fig. 251, a device at once simple, expressive and pleasing. - -In 1840, a number of Dutch Boers, dissatisfied with the Government of Cape -Colony, established themselves in Natal, where their treatment of the -natives was so unjustifiable that a general rising was imminent, and the -British Government was compelled to interfere, and itself take charge of -the district. This the Boers resented, so they crossed the Vaal and -established themselves afresh in the wilderness. In 1854, the British -Government recognised the Transvaal or South African Republic, and in 1881 -a fresh Convention was agreed to by which the Boers were confirmed in full -possession of the land, subject to the recognition of the British -suzerainty. The flag of the Transvaal Government is shown in Fig. 253. - -Now have we journeyed the whole world over and found in every land the -emblems of nationality and patriotism. Unfamiliar as many of these may -appear to us, they each represent a symbol endeared to thousands or -hundreds of thousands of hearts, and thus are they full of warm human -interest. For these various strips of gaily-coloured bunting, men have -given without hesitation their lives, have poured out blood and treasure -without stint or count of cost, and wherever they encounter them the wide -world over, the wanderers forget for a while the alien shore or waste of -ocean as their thoughts turn to the dear homeland. - - * * * * * - -{127} - -CHAPTER V. - - Flags as a Means of Signalling--Army Signalling--the Morse - Alphabet--Navy Signalling--First Attempts at Sea Signals--Old Signal - Books in Library of Royal United Service Institution--"England expects - that every man will do his duty"--Sinking Signal Codes on - defeat--Present System of Signalling in Royal Navy--Pilot - Signals--Weather Signalling by Flags--the International Signal - Code--First Published in 1857--Seventy-eight Thousand different Signals - possible--Why no Vowels used--Lloyd's Signal Stations. - -We propose in this, our final chapter, to deal with the use of flags as a -means of signalling; a branch of the subject by no means wanting either in -interest or in practical value. - -The flags used for army signalling are only two in number if we consider -their design, though, as each of these is made in two sizes, the actual -outfit consists of four flags. The large size is three feet square, and the -smaller is two feet square; the larger sizes are clearly more visible, but -on the other hand the smaller save weight and consequently labour; and with -good manipulation and clear weather their messages can be followed by -observers, with ordinary service telescopes, up to a distance of twelve -miles or so. The poles are respectively five feet six inches long and three -feet six inches, and the flags themselves are either white with a blue -horizontal stripe across the centre, or wholly blue. Only one flag is used -at a time, the first being used when the background is dark and the second -when light, so as to ensure under all circumstances the greatest -visibility. - -The person sending the signals should hold the flag pointing upwards to the -left, and with the pole making an angle of about 25 deg., with an imaginary -vertical line passing down the centre of his body. The signals are based -upon the dot and dash system of Morse. The dot or short stroke is made by -waving the flag from the normal position to the corresponding point on the -right hand, while for the dash or long stroke the flag is waved till the -head of the pole nearly touches the ground. - -The Morse alphabet is so constructed that the letters of most frequent -occurrence are represented by the shortest symbols, and no letter requires -more than four of these for its expression, while figures are all -represented by five signs. {128} - -The letters of the alphabet are thus represented:-- - - A .- - A (ae) .-.- - B -... - C -.-. - D -.. - E . - F ..-. - G --. - H .... - I .. - J .--- - K -.- - L .-.. - M -- - N -. - O --- - O (oe) ---. - P .--. - Q --.- - R .-. - S ... - T - - U ..- - U (ue) ..-- - V ...- - W .-- - X -..- - Y -.-- - Z --.. - Ch ---- - -The following code is adopted to represent figures:-- - - 1 .---- - 2 ..--- - 3 ...-- - 4 ....- - 5 ..... - 6 -.... - 7 --... - 8 ---.. - 9 ----. - 0 ----- - -A space about equal in length to the dash is left between each letter, and -a time interval of about three times the duration between each word. This -alphabet, once learned, it is evident can be utilized in many ways. -Steamers, by means of short and long whistles, can spell out messages to -each other; seamen, across a harbour, can communicate by waving their arms; -prisoners by opening and shutting their hands. It is also utilised in the -light-flashes of the heliograph, in telegraphy again, and in various other -directions. - -Classes are held at the School of Army Signalling at Aldershot, and from -thence the knowledge permeates the Army and the Auxiliary Forces.[84] The -requirements are steadiness, intelligence, quickness of eye-sight and of -action, and the power to spell correctly; and it takes a man from fifteen -to twenty days, at five hours drill a day, to learn the alphabet and the -proper manipulation of the flags. The standard of efficiency is ten words a -minute with the large flag or sixteen with the small. If our readers will -take the trouble to count the letters in the first sixteen words in this -present sentence they {129} will find that they are sixty-nine in number, -and they will further find, if they take the additional trouble to -translate these letters into Morse, that it will take 105 dots and 60 -dashes to do it. Our readers will probably then go on to conclude that as -it takes one hundred and sixty-five motions of the flag, plus sixty-eight -intervals between the letters to signal these sixteen words, a speed of ten -words a minute is a very creditable performance either for the sender to -work off or for the receiver to read. - -Besides the ordinary spelling out of the words, various arbitrary signs are -used, thus a continued succession of dots ...... is used to call attention -to the fact that a message is going to be sent, and a series of dashes ------- means that it is finished. G means "go on," R is a request to "move -more to the right" and L to "shift a little to the left"; B means "use the -blue flag," and W "use the white flag," K.Q is "say when you are ready," -F.I means that figures are coming, and F.F indicates that the figures are -finished. Those who have to receive the message may see that the background -behind the transmitter is not quite satisfactory for the due observation of -the flags, and they may then flash back H or O, meaning either "higher up" -or "lower down," as the case may be, and in case of any misunderstanding, -they will signal I.M.I, which means "please repeat," and as soon as all is -clear, they will signal R.T, meaning "all right." - -As our man-of-war's-men are also instructed in this system of signalling, -communication can be established during an expedition between the ships and -the troops on shore. The signal for communication is a white pendant with -two black X.X on it. Should this special flag not be forthcoming, the X.X --..--..- (see code of letters) is flashed at night or waved by the flag by -day, and as soon as the preparative dots ...... have been acknowledged, the -message is dispatched. When the message is of a general character, nothing -more need be done, but when it is intended for a particular vessel, the -communication is preceded by the special sign apportioned to that vessel. - -Though the Morse system has its place, as we have seen, in the drill of our -blue-jackets, it does not altogether meet naval requirements. A man waving -flags on board ship would be a scarcely conspicuous enough object, and -intermediate vessels in a squadron would block out all view of him from -those farthest off, hence naval communications are ordinarily made by means -of flags exhibited from the mast head or other clearly visible position. -Instead of one flag being used, our men-of-war have over forty, and these -are all conspicuously distinct from each other. The messages are not spelt -out, as in land operations, but the flags are used in various combinations, -and the meaning of the signal is found by reference to a {130} code-book. -These flags, it is arithmetically evident, can be transposed and grouped in -some thousands of different ways, and the code-book contains questions and -answers to meet the very varied requirements of naval service, and the -special signal hoist for each. - -The first real attempt at sea-signalling was made during the reign of -Charles II., when a series of signs of the most arbitrary character was -devised, consisting for the most part of flags hoisted in various parts of -the ship, and altering their significance as their locality was changed. -The system was a very cumbrous one, and in 1780 Kempenfeldt, the Commander -of the ill-fated _Royal George_, improved to some extent upon it, but even -then the result was not very brilliant. Lord Howe, in 1792, could only make -a total of one hundred and eighty-three signals. As yet, however, it had -never struck anybody how much simplicity and advantage would be gained by -employing numbered or lettered flags, and then using them in the thousands -of combinations that such a system rendered possible. It is stated by -various authorities--and even authorities have a way of copying from each -other--that flags were numbered for the first time about the year 1799, but -in the Library of the Royal United Service Institution may be seen "An -Essay on Signals, by an Officer of the British Navy," bearing the date -1788.[85] The flags were numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0, and -they are represented in our illustrations by Figs. 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, -292, 293, 294, 295, and 296. It will be seen that they are all of a very -clear and distinct character. When such a number as 444 was required, it -would appear to be necessary to have three flags like Fig. 290--the No. 4 -of the series--but to avoid this multiplication of identical flags, a red -triangular flag called a decimal, a white triangular called a centenary, -and a blue triangular called a millenary, were used, and these were placed -as required before the unit to be repeated. By this plan 444 would be -expressed by the yellow flag, the No. 4, having below it the red and white -pennants. Sometimes these flags really meant numbers, and then the required -number was hoisted, plus a yellow swallow-tailed flag. Thus in answer to -"How many guns does she carry?" if the response should be fifty, the five -and the nought flags, Figs. 290 and 296, plus the swallowtail or cornet, as -it is technically called, would be hoisted, while the same five-nought -signal, without the cornet, would signify "whole fleet change course four -points to starboard." - -If we want to find the English equivalent of some German word, we turn to -the German-English half of our dictionary, but if we {131} required the -German equivalent of our English word, we should refer to the -English-German part of the book, and signal codes are in like manner -divided into flag-message and message-flag. By the system we are at present -discussing, we should find by referring to the flag-message half of our -book, that the three flags 7, 3, 6, meant, "recall cruisers," while 8, 3, -6, signified "sprung a leak." On the other hand, if we wished ourselves to -send such an order we should turn to the message-flag half of our code -book, and under the heading of "Cruisers," find all the references that -could concern the management of such vessels until we presently found -"Cruisers, recall--7, 3, 6," and then at once proceed to hoist those -particular flags. Only fourteen flags, the ten numerals, the three -pennants, and the cornet, suffice for sending many hundreds of messages, -but the anonymous author adds, "exclusive of this arrangement, I would -propose to have the most current signals in battle made with one flag only, -and these should be used on the day of battle only. A similarity between -these and the flags used as the numerical signals ought as much as possible -to be avoided." Figs. 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, and 286, are -illustrations of some of these. The striking design of the rising sun -signifies "engage the enemy." Fig. 280 is an order for "close action." Fig. -281 is an instruction to "invert the line of battle by tacking," while Fig. -282 is a direction to "force the enemy's line." It is needless to -particularise them all, suffice it to say that each and all are of stirring -significance. Many minds were at work on the urgent problem of an adequate -system of sea-signalling, and numerous plans, therefore, were suggested. It -does not appear that the one we have just referred to as an example of -these endeavours to solve the difficulty was ever adopted. - -The official "Signal Book for the Ships of War," compiled by the Admiralty -in 1799, and afterwards amplified in 1803 by Admiral Sir Hope Popham, is of -immense interest, as it was introduced into the Navy for the first time in -the fleet of Nelson, and it was therefore the code of Trafalgar. In the -copy preserved in the Library of the Royal United Service Museum is -written, "this is a copy of the signal book by means of which the battle of -Trafalgar was fought." All signals are by numbers. In the book in question, -those given have been pasted over others, but some of those underneath are -still visible: thus the flag that once represented one here stands for -five, and the flag that heretofore was three is now seven. "If the -Admiral"--an instruction in the book says--"should have reason to believe -that the enemy has got possession of these signals, he will make the signal -for changing the figures of the flags. The figure, which by the new -arrangement each flag is to represent, is to be immediately entered in -every ship's signal-book," and it is {132} evident that one of these -transpositions has been made here. The ten flags of the code are -represented in Figs. 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, and 278. -It is very difficult to say really how the flags were arranged for the -world-famed "England expects that every man will do his duty," as the -numerical significance of the ten flags was so often changed during the -exigencies of war. The book we have referred to makes Fig. 270 stand for 1, -Fig. 278 for 2, Fig. 275 for 3, Fig. 273 for 4, Fig. 269 for 5, etc.; and -while it declares that it was by this code Trafalgar was fought, we have no -evidence as to who wrote this statement. It may have been the authoritative -statement of some one at the time in full possession of the facts, or a -mere surmise added a dozen years afterwards by some irresponsible -scribbler. On turning to the "Naval History" of James, Vol. IV., p. 34, we -read "there is not, that we are aware of, a single publication which gives -this message precisely as it was delivered. The following is a minute of -the several flags, as noted down on board more than one ship in the fleet." -He then proceeds to give them, and the arrangement that he follows is that -of our illustration, his 1 being Fig. 269; 2, Fig. 270; 3, Fig. 271; 4, -Fig. 272; 5, Fig. 273; 6, Fig. 274; 7, Fig. 275; 8, Fig. 276; 9, Fig. 277; -and 0 Fig. 278. If he may be accepted as a reliable authority, "England" -was expressed by the flags 2, 5, and 3; "expects," by 2, 6, and 9; "that," -by flags 8, 6, and 3; "every," by flags 2, 6, and 1; "man," by 4, 7, and 1; -"will," by 9, 5, and 8; "do," by 2, 2 and 0; and "his," by 3, 7, 0, those -being the code numbers assigned to those words in the vocabulary. This -necessitated eight distinct hoists, one group of flags for each word, but -singularly enough the code contained no signal for "duty," so that it was -necessary to spell this out letter by letter, making four hoists more, flag -4 being for "d"; 2 and 1 for "u"; 1 and 9 for "t"; and 2 and 5 for "y." As -given in one or two French historical works the signal is equally short and -expressive: "L'Angleterre compte que chacun fera son devoir." The story of -Nelson's signal is best told in the words of the _Victory's_ Signal -Lieutenant, Pasco, the officer who received Nelson's orders to make it. -"His Lordship," Lieutenant Pasco says, "came to me on the poop, and, after -ordering certain signals to be made, about a quarter to noon, said, 'Mr. -Pasco, I want to say to the fleet "England confides that every man will do -his duty."' He added, 'You must be quick,[86] for I have one more to add, -which is for "close action."'[87] I replied, 'If your Lordship will permit -me to substitute "expects" for "confides" the signal will soon be {133} -completed, because the word "expects" is in the vocabulary, and "confides" -must be spelt.'[88] His Lordship replied in haste, and with seeming -satisfaction, 'That will do, Pasco, make it directly.' As the last hoist -was hauled down, Nelson turned to Captain Blackwood, who was standing by -him, and said, 'Now I can do no more. We must trust to the Great Disposer -of all events, and the justice of our cause; I thank God for this great -opportunity of doing my duty.'" And Great Britain that day did not call -upon her sons in vain, nor was the appeal to the God of Battles unheard, -though the rejoicing of victory was turned into mourning at the loss of him -who had so nobly done his duty in the nation's service. - -In the Royal Navy of the present day, a special code, requiring forty-five -different flags, is employed. Figs. 254 to 267 inclusive, are examples of -some of these.[89] This code, we need scarcely say, is of a confidential -nature, and is not published anywhere for all the world to study. The -Commercial code of International signals being now recognised by the -principal maritime States of the world, is, by Queen's regulations, made -use of by our men-of-war when communicating with foreign war-ships, or with -merchant vessels whether British or foreign. The signal codes of the Royal -Navy, when not actually in use, are kept in perforated metal cylinders, so -that in case of capture of the vessel they may at once be thrown overboard. -In the Library of the Royal United Service Institution may be seen the -Signal book of the U.S. frigate _Chesapeake_, with bullets attached to it -for the purpose of sinking it. In the confusion incidental to the capture -of the vessel by H.M.S. _Shannon_,[90] it fell into the hands of the -Britisher. Besides these regulation signals of the American Navy, a second -set, supplied to privateers, was also captured, marked "Strictly -confidential. The commanders of private armed vessels are to keep this -paper connected with a piece of lead or other weight, and to throw the -whole overboard before they shall strike their flag, that they may be -sunk." This also, instead of going to the bottom of the Atlantic, may be -seen within half a mile of Charing Cross. - -Landsmen have a notion, remembering possibly that Nelson went into action -with the signal for close action flying, that when a signal is made it is -to be instantly obeyed, but the present system of signalling is on somewhat -different lines. The hoisting of a signal on the flag ship is preparative. -The ships leading the other columns repeat the signal, hoisting their -colours three-quarters of {134} the way up the mast. The other ships each -hoist their "answering pennants" to show that they have seen and understood -the order. Then when the repeating ships notice that all the other vessels -have answered, they hoist the signal right up as an intimation to the -Admiral that this is the case. Then it is that on the Admiral's ship the -signal is hauled down, thus giving the executive order for its purport to -be obeyed, so that the signal is cautionary of what is coming, and the -manoeuvre is only executed when to the eye no instructions at all are to be -seen. The answering pennant has vertical stripes--red, white, red, white, -red. - -Fig. 268 is the flag used by any vessel that wishes to communicate with a -coastguard station, or hoisted when one coastguard station wants to send a -message to another. Thus when Beachy Head has any notification to make to -the neighbouring post away down at Burling Gap, the first thing to be done -is to hoist at the masthead Fig. 268. When the men on duty at Burling Gap -see this they hoist the answering pennant, meaning "all right, talk away," -and then the arms of the Beachy Head semaphore work vigorously, or the gay -signal flags flutter in the breeze and send their message across the downs. - -War vessels signal to each other at night by means of the Morse system of -short and long flashes,[91] and all the large steamship lines have night -signals peculiar to themselves, thus the night signal of the Orient Line is -red and blue lights burnt alternately. Any vessel seeing this, knows that -they are dealing with this special Line and similarly report themselves, -and after this due introduction proceed to dot and dash to their heart's -content. - -The last two rows of flags on plate XXIII. are signals for pilots. These -are either the two flags standing for P. and T. in the International Signal -Code, a system we have yet to deal with, or it may be a single flag, the -special pilot flag of each nation. Fig. 297 is the pilot flag of the -Argentine Republic; Fig. 298, that of Brazil; Fig. 299, that of Ecuador. -Fig. 300 is the pilot flag of Greece; 301, that of Japan; and 304, that of -Spain. France, Mexico and Chili all adopt a flag like Fig. 278, a white -flag with broad blue border, while Great Britain, Fig. 104, Germany, Fig. -302, Belgium, Fig. 303, Denmark, Fig. 305, Holland, Fig. 306, Sweden, -Austria-Hungary, Italy, all fly the national flag of the country with a -broad white border to it. Russia takes the Jack, Fig. 215, for the same -purpose, and places this {135} white band around it, while the United -States of America takes the star-bestrewn azure canton from the national -flag, Fig. 146, and similarly surrounds it with the broad band of white. - -Penalties are recoverable, as they clearly should be, if any ship uses or -displays signals which may be mistaken for either pilot calls or signals of -distress. - -The United States uses flags for its weather signals at the various -meteorological stations. A violent storm is prognosticated by a red flag -with a black centre. A red pennant signifies "storm approaching station," -while a yellow pennant signifies "call at station for special information." -A plain white flag betokens fine weather and a plain blue one rain or snow, -and there are various combinations of other flags that indicate direction, -intensity, velocity and so forth. It is evident that this employment of -flags could be made a very valuable one. - -Another instance of its use with which we are acquainted, is at the London -office in St. Paul's Churchyard of the _Draper's Record_, one of the -largest in circulation of any trade paper in the world. The citizen of -London may see displayed from its roof by private enterprise the whole of -the forecasts issued by the Meteorological Office, viz., the 11 a.m., the -3.30 p.m., and the 8.30 p.m. for the South of England, which officially -includes St. Paul's Churchyard. A white flag is hoisted for clear weather, -a blue one for rain, while local showers are prognosticated by a flag half -blue and half white. Changeable weather is indicated by a flag like Fig. -267, and a coming fog by a yellow flag with black ball in its centre, like -Fig. 258. Snow is foretold by a flag like Fig. 278, and squally weather by -a swallow-tailed flag, having its upper half black, and the lower white. A -plain red triangular flag is used to indicate temperature; when this is -hoisted above other flags, it indicates rising temperature; when placed -below, falling temperature; and when omitted we are to conclude that things -are stationary. Thus the red flag, then below it the white one, and then -the blue hoisted together, would mean that we might expect warmer weather, -at first fair, but succeeded by rain, while the blue flag above the red -would indicate that wet weather was before us, and a fall of temperature. - -At the 1894 meeting of the National Rifle Association at Bisley a system of -this kind was inaugurated, in order to give those in camp an idea of the -weather that might be expected for the ensuing twelve hours, the hoisting -of a blue flag indicating fine weather or moderate wind, a red one -foretelling stormy weather or strong wind; green, pointing to unsettled -weather or gusty wind, and a yellow flag indicating thunder or rain storms. -For shooting purposes a knowledge of the strength of the wind is very -valuable. {136} - -The development of a code of flag signals seems to have exercised a great -fascination on many minds, and the result has been that until the general -adoption of the International code things had got into a somewhat chaotic -state. Some systems had many excellent points in them, while others broke -down under the strain of practical use. In some cases, too, the claims of -patriotism influenced the choice, it being difficult for an Englishman or -an American to believe that the scheme of a Frenchman or German could -possibly be better than the home-grown article. - -The systems best known in this country are the Admiralty codes of 1808, -1816, and 1826, Lynn's in 1818, Squire's in 1820, Raper's in 1828, -Philipps' in 1836, Eardley Wilmot's in 1851, the code of Rogers, the -American, in 1854, the French code of Reynolds in 1855, and the system -devised by Marryat in 1856, all being superseded by that of the Board of -Trade. - -The International code of signals was prepared and first published in -April, 1857, in accordance with the views and recommendations of a -Committee appointed by the Lords of the Privy Council. Three members, -Admiral Beechey, Captain Robert Fitzroy, and Mr. J. H. Brown, the -Registrar-General of Seamen, were named by the Board of Trade; one member, -Admiral Bethune, by the Admiralty; an elder brother, Captain Bax, was -appointed as a member by the Trinity House; Mr. W. C. Hammett and Captain -Halstead were the members named by Lloyds; while the Liverpool Shipowners' -Association, and the General Shipowners' Society, each, by the nomination -of a member, had a voice in the discussion. - -After a deliberation of more than a year, the examination of the thirteen -then existing codes and due attention to any practical suggestion made to -them, a mature and valuable scheme was promulgated. Eighteen flags in all, -viz., one burgee, four pennants, and thirteen square flags, were employed, -and these represented the consonants of the alphabet. These are depicted in -the three upper rows on plate XXIV. Figs. 307 to 324, the letter it stands -for in the code being placed by each flag. These flags are combined in -various ways, either in twos, threes, or fours, and are always read -downwards, thus Fig. 325 must be read B.D.T.F; if we read it the reverse -way, as F.T.D.B, it would have an entirely different significance. - -Of the two-flag signals we have three varieties. Should the burgee, Fig. -307, be uppermost it constitutes what is termed an attention signal; thus -the hoisting of B.D signifies, "What ship is that?" If the upper flag be a -pennant C.D.F. or G it is a compass signal; thus G.F means -west-north-west-half-west. If a square flag be uppermost it is an urgency -signal; thus, N.C signifies "am in distress," or N.J "am driving, no more -anchors to let go." {137} - -Signals made with three flags are not classified according to the upper -flag; they relate to subjects of general inquiry or communication of news. -In the lower portion of Plate XXIV. we have given five examples of these. -Fig. 330, flags B.P.Q, asks "Do you wish to be reported?" while the -hoisting of P.D.S, see Fig. 332, replies, "Report me to Lloyds' Agent." -Fig. 333, H.V.F, asks, "Do you want assistance?" while Fig. 334, G.B.H, -enquires, "Has any accident happened?" Fig. 331, made up of flags V.K.C, -gives the reassuring answer to both enquiries--"All safe." As weather -signals, we find "barometer rising" indicated by G.F.W; "barometer falling" -by G.H.B; and "barometer standing," by G.H.C. Fine weather is -prognosticated by the group H.M.S; a breeze off sea is foretold in the -combination H.S.V; and a breeze off land by H.S.W. - -Signals composed of four flags are divided into different sections again, -according to the form of the uppermost flag employed. If this upper flag be -either of the pennants C.D or F, it indicates that the signal is what is -called vocabulary. If the upper be the burgee--the letter B of the code--it -is a geographical signal; thus, any vessel beating up channel and seeing -Fig. 325, made up of B.D.T.F, hoisted from a lighthouse, would, even if -uncertain before, know their position, as this signal is the one specially -assigned to the Eddystone. Fig. 326, the letters B.D.P.Q, signifies that -the vessel flying it hails from the port of London, while B.F.Q.T. is -Edinburgh, and so on. All names of ships are expressed by four letters, -thus N.V.B.Q is the code signal (Fig. 327) of the steamship _Germanic_; -M.N.D.L (Fig. 328) that of the _Hesperus_; and Fig. 329, made up of -G.R.C.T, is the special grouping assigned to H.M.S. _Devastation_. All -these names are recorded in the Shipping List, so that two vessels passing -each other in mid-ocean are able at once to determine each others' names if -within sighting distance of the flags run up. Should we see a stately liner -coming to port, flying M.T.L.Q, we recognise that it is the _Australia_ of -the great Peninsula and Oriental Line, but if she runs up L.H.T.B then she -is the Orient Company's boat _Orotava_. Some names occur frequently, thus -other _Australias_, belonging to various owners, are distinguished by the -code signals R.L.H.V, J.T.G.K, M.P.F.C, M.Q.N.G, M.T.W.D, W.F.T.N, etc., -etc. Figs. 355, 356, 357, 358, 359 are all code signals of various -_Australias_. While the Peninsular and Oriental Company has also a -_Victoria_, K.M.Q.F., they have no monopoly of the name. There are numerous -other boats of that popular designation, but even when vessels have the -same name no two vessels ever have the same code letters assigned to them. -Other _Victorias_, for example, are differentiated, as W.Q.M.N., L.S.H.R, -K.P.G.Q, M.K.C.H, M.S.P.B, M.Q.C.J, L.D.F.H, T.R.B.N, K.J.H.P, T.D.R.F, -etc., etc. Figs. 350, 351, 352, 353, {138} 354 are all _Victorias_; and -Figs. 360, 361, 362, 363, 364 are the flag-signals of various _Britannias_. -Our readers will see at once how distinctive they are. Figs. 335 to 349 -inclusive are the special flags of well-known steamships of the Peninsular -and Oriental, the Orient Line, and the _Compagnie Generale -Transatlantique_. - -Should the vessel be a yacht, it is the _Aline_ if she shows the flags -P.W.N.D; the _Star of the Sea_ if her signal is T.N.B.H; but if it is the -_Meteor_ we shall be aware of the fact from her hoisting the four flags -L.C.T.P. The flag signal of the _Valkyrie_ is L.F.M.G. - -Applications for the allotment of a code-signal, for the purpose of making -ships' names known at sea, should be made, if of the United Kingdom, to the -Registrar General of Shipping, Custom House, and, if belonging to a Colony, -to the Registrar at the port to which the vessel belongs. If a ship to -which this International Code Signal has been alloted is reported wrecked, -lost, or sold to a foreigner, and her register is in consequence cancelled, -the signal letters allotted to her are also cancelled, so that if the ship -is afterwards recovered or re-purchased from foreigners, either in her -original or some other name, new signal letters will be necessary, and the -owner must make application anew for another allotment, as the signal -letters the vessel originally bore may have been in the interval -re-allotted. - -The flags to be hoisted at one time never exceed four, and it is an -interesting arithmetical fact, that, with these eighteen flags, never using -more than four at a time, over seventy-eight thousand different -combinations can be made. With these flags, only using two at a time, 306 -different arrangements can be made, while by using three at a time we get -4,896 possibilities, and by using four at a time, we can make 73,440 -changes; a total in all of 78,642 variations made from these simple -elements. Marryat's code, prior to the introduction of the International, -being the one most in use, twelve out of its sixteen flags were, to save -expense, incorporated in the new code. Their significance was, however, -entirely changed. Marryat's flags, too, were numerals, while the -International code, as we have seen, has its flags named after the letters -of the alphabet. - -Proposals are in the air to add eight new flags to the code, the X, Y, and -Z, and the five vowels, since it is held that even the great number of -combinations now possible may in time not suffice. The reason for the -absence of the vowels is a somewhat curious one. Directly vowels are -introduced we begin to spell words, and it was found that amongst the -thousands of combinations possible, would be presently included all the -profane, obscene, and otherwise objectionable four-letter words of the -whole world. To hoist D.B.M.N could offend no one's susceptibilities, but -to {139} run up the signal D.A.M.N in response to an enquiry is quite -another matter, and it must be remembered that as this code is used by all -civilised nations, a word that is merely meaningless in one country might -be most offensive in another. An English Captain might hoist as a necessary -signal J.A.L.P. or F.L.U.M. and see no possible objection to it, but "jalp" -or "flum" might to the people of some other nationality carry a most -atrocious significance. - -It is a practical necessity that all connected with the sea should -understand the use of the International code, therefore, the Lords -Commissioners of the Admiralty require that all Royal Naval Reserve men who -act as Masters or Mates of ships should be instructed in its working, and -the Board of Trade makes like requirements from all candidates for Masters' -or Mates' Certificates. Its International character is a most valuable -feature, as by its use two captains, say a Dane and a Greek, or a Russian -and a Spaniard, who, on the quay, could not comprehend a word of each -other's language, can at sea, by this common flag-language, come to a -perfectly clear understanding of each other's need, or impart any -information required. It is the only code used at the signal stations -around our coasts. Lloyds' have thirty-three of these signal stations at -Dover, Beachy Head, Lundy Island, Dungeness, Flamborough Head, St. -Catherine's Point, North Foreland, and other conspicuous points on our line -of ocean traffic, and abroad again at Aden, Ascension, Gibraltar, Bermuda, -Honolulu, Suez, Perim, Malta, Teneriffe, and elsewhere, and here too, the -International is the only code recognised. - -This "Lloyds," that we may see daily referred to in the newspapers, is a -Corporation that, amongst other marine business, distributes shipping -intelligence. A Mr. Edward Lloyd, in the seventeenth century, kept a coffee -house in Tower Street, which in time from the daily gathering there of -merchants, captains, and others interested in marine affairs, became a -centre for shipping and underwriting news and business. In the year 1692 it -was moved to Lombard Street, and in 1774 the coffee supplying part of the -business was abandoned and rooms were taken in the Royal Exchange. During -the wars with Napoleon, the Government was often indebted to the Committee -of Lloyds' for the earliest information of important events all over the -world. Lloyds' has its agents in every port, and by its complete -organisation and the potent aid of the telegraph, the shipping business of -the world is brought day by day before us. Vessels spoken far out on the -ocean are reported by the vessel that spoke them immediately on its arrival -at any port. Thus a sailing-vessel journeying from London to Vancouver may -be five months or more before it touches land, {140} but during that time -it is sighted by other vessels from time to time, and these report having -seen it, and that all was well on board. So the mother knows that her son, -who is parted from her by thousands of miles of ocean, has got thus far in -health and safety; and the owners of the vessel learn that their venture -has so far surmounted the perils of Cape Horn and the other dangers of the -deep. The good ship is drawing nearer at each report to the end of her long -voyage, and on arrival at last off Vancouver, as the land is sighted, the -signal flags run up once more to the masthead, the news of her coming is -flashed across continent and ocean, and the London newspaper of the next -morning contains the brief notification that far exceeds to anxious hearts -all else of interest its broad pages may contain. - -Familiarity, though it may not necessarily breed contempt, dulls the sense -of the wonder of it all, and yet how marvellous it is! We have before us -the _Standard_, that came into our hands about seven o'clock this morning, -and we find from it that yesterday the _Glenshiel_ had arrived at Hong -Kong, that the _Arab_, from Cape Town, had just put in at Lisbon, that the -_Sardinian_, from Quebec, had reached Moville, that the _Circassian_ was -safely at New York, that the _Orizaba_, speeding on to Sydney, had at 2 -a.m. passed the desolate shores of arid Perim, that the _Danube_, from -Southampton, had at 6 a.m. entered the harbour of Rio Janeiro. Of this, and -much else of the same tenor, may we read in a space of a quarter-column or -so of the paper as we sit at breakfast and see pass before us a panorama of -world-wide interest and extent; and to accomplish this result, the flags we -have figured have been a potent factor. - - - -Though we have covered much ground, it must have been patent to all readers -who have thus far companioned us that much detail was necessarily omitted, -unless our book had to grow to the dimensions of an encyclopaedia. It would -probably, for instance, take some fifty figures or so to give all the -distinctive flags of the various government departments, official ranks, -etc., of a single Great Power. We trust nevertheless that while our labours -have been by no means exhaustive, they have been instrumental in showing -that there is much of interest in flag-lore, and that an increased -knowledge and appreciation of our subject may be one result of our pleasant -labours, and prove full justification for our work. - - * * * * * - -{141} - -INDEX. - - A. - Aargau, flag of 116 - "Acta Sanctorum," the 38 - Admiral's flag, R.N. 56 - Admiralty, flag of the 71, 72 - Agincourt, battle of 106 - Agincourt, flags at 5 - Agnus Dei, as device on flag 22 - _Ailsa_, flag of the yacht 73 - Allan Line, flag of the 75 - Allotment of code signals 138 - Ambulance flag 117 - Ancient Irish harp 33 - Anchor as badge 63, 71, 87, 100, 114 - Andrew, cross of St. 4, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 116 - Andrew, St., of Scotland 37, 42, 44 - Andrew, St., of Russia 103, 104 - Andrew, St., order of 102 - Anne, Standard of Queen 35 - Annunciation on flag 4 - Answering pennant 134 - Antelope as a device 16 - Antiquity, standards of 2 - Antwerp, device of city of 111 - Anvil as device on flag 7 - Argentine Republic, flag of 124 - Armada, defeat of the 3 - Arms of Canada 81, 82 - Arms of Washington 91 - Army, flags of the 61 - Army signalling 127, 128, 129 - Arragon, arms of 111 - Articles of War 56 - Assaye, special flag for 65 - Assyrian standards 2 - Athene, owl of 2 - Australian Steam Navigation Company's house flag 74 - Austro-Hungarian flags 101, 102 - Avondale flag 43 - Awdeley, standard of Sir John 17 - - B. - Bacon on sea-power 84, 85 - Baden, flag of 101 - Badge 9, 13, 15, 21, 62, 66, 67, 83, 84, 117 - Bahamas, Badge of the 84 - Balmoral tartan 1 - Banner, its nature 10 - Banneroll, kind of flag 18 - Bannockburn, battle of 44 - Barbadoes, badge of 83 - Barcelona, arms of 111 - Bar, banner of Sir John de 11 - Bardolph, banner of Sir Hugh 11 - Basel, flag of city of 116 - Bavaria, flag of 101, 119 - Bayeux tapestry, flags represented in 19, 22 - Bear as a device 1, 2 - Beau-seant of Knights Templars 24 - Beaver as a device 1, 30 - Bede on flags 4 - "Beehive of the Romish Church" 3 - Bees of the Napoleons 106, 109 - Belgium, flags of 23, 118 - Bermuda, badge of 84 - Berne, flag of 116 - Beverley, flag of 5 - Birkenhead, burning of the 64 - Black and white flag of Prussia 98 - Black as a flag colour 7, 24, 25 - Black Swan, device of the 84 - Blackwall line of shipping 74 - Black Watch, the 62 - Blenheim, battle of 64, 66 - Blue blanket of Edinburgh 42 - Blue ensign 40, 56, 73, 78, 83 - Board of Trade, flag of the 71 - Bohemia, flag of 102 - Bolivia, flag of 23, 123 - Bombardment of Scio 118 - Boots and shoes on a flag 7 - Bordered Jack 48, 58 - Botetourte, banner of Sir John 11 - Bourbon kings, the 107 - {142} - Brabant, lion of 112 - Brass of Sir John Daubernoun 18 - Brazil, flag of 23, 24, 123 - Brazil, pendant of 20 - Bremen, flag of port of 99 - _Britannia_, flag of the yacht 73 - British East Africa, device of, 84 - British Guiana, badge of 84 - British North Borneo, badge of 84 - Broad pendant 56 - Brunswick, arms of 35 - Brunswick, flag of 101 - Buckles as device on flag 7 - Bugle-horn as a device 15 - Builder's square on flag 6 - Bulgaria, flag of 121 - Bunker's Hill, battle of 87 - Bunting as material for flags 22 - Burgee, variety of flag 19, 73 - Burgundy, flag of 111, 112 - Burning of rebel colours 70 - Butler's "Lives of the Fathers" 39 - Butterflies as a flag device 17 - - C. - Campbell on the national flag 54 - Canada, Dominion of 10 - Canada, flags of Dominion of 80 - Canadian Pacific steamship line 75 - Candlemakers' flag, the 7 - Canterbury Cathedral, flags in 66 - Cantonal colours 116 - Cape of St. Martin 105 - Cape St. Vincent, action off 41 - Castle Line, house flag of the 75 - Castle on flag as a device 111, 112 - Cavalry standards 65 - Cavers standard, the 43 - Ceylon, device of the Colony of 84 - Chapel of Royal College, Chelsea, flags in 3, 66 - Chaucer, quotation from 12, 18 - Cheering to order 102 - Cherbourg, flag of port of 75 - Chili, flag of 121 - Chili, pendant of 20 - Chinese flags 125 - Chrysanthemum flag of Japan 124 - Coastguard flag 134 - Codes for flag-signalling 136 - Coffee plant on flag 123 - Coins, devices on 2, 88, 90, 120 - Colombia, flag of United States of 122 - Colonial Defence Act 78, 79, 80 - Colonial flags 20, 40, 78 - Colonies, value of 76, 77 - Colour party 64 - Colours, Queen's 61, 65, 67 - Colours, regimental 61, 65, 67 - Colours used in flags 23 - Columbus, flag flown by 86, 111 - Commodore's broad pendant 56 - Commonwealth flags 48 - Company or house flags 74, 75 - Compasses as a device 6 - Compass signals 136 - Confederate States of America 27, 94, 95 - Congo Free State, flag of 126 - Conquest of Ireland 33 - Consecrated banner 3, 103 - Constantine, Labarum of 2, 3, 51 - Consular flag 71 - Consul-General, Russian, flag of 104 - Cornet, variety of flag 19, 130 - Costa Rica, flag of 122 - Courtenay, banner of Sir Hugh de 11 - Covenanter flags 24, 43, 91 - Crescent as device 11, 15, 88, 95, 119, 120 - Croatia, flag of 102 - Cromwell, arms of 35 - Cromwell, funeral of 19 - Cross of St. Andrew 4, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 116 - Cross of St. George 4, 10, 14, 16, 35, 39, 41, 45, 48, 53, 84, 87, 116 - Cross of St. Patrick 4, 51, 53, 116 - Crown of Charlemagne 35 - Crowns of Ireland 33 - Cuba, flag of 124 - Culloden, battle of 70 - Cunard Line, house flag of 74 - Customs Department, flag of 71 - Czarina, standard of the 102 - Czar, standard of the 102, 103 - - D. - Dalmatia, flag of 102 - Dannebrog, the 115 - Demerara and Berbice Steamship Company 74 - Denis, St., flag of 5 - {143} - Denmark, flags of 115 - Derivation of word flag 8 - Desjardins on French flag 107 - Devitt and Moore house flag 74 - Diana, crescent of 119 - Diplomatic Service, flag of 71 - Dipping the flag 25 - Dragon as a device 17, 125 - Drayton, quotation from 15 - Durham, St. Cuthbert of 5 - - E. - Eagle as a device 41, 91, 93, 94, 98, 101, 102, 105, 109, 110 - Early Spanish flags 27 - East Africa Company, German 100 - East India Company, flag of 47, 89 - East Kent Regiment, flags of 66 - East Prussia, flag of 98 - Ecclesiastical flags often pictorial 4 - Ecuador, flag of 124 - Eddystone Light flag signal 137 - Edinburgh Cathedral, flags in 68 - Edinburgh Trained Bands 42 - Edmonson on flag usage 9 - Edward the Confessor, arms of 34 - Edward III., "King of the Seas" 25 - Edward VI., funeral of 17 - Egypt, ancient, standards of 2 - Egyptian flags, modern 120, 121 - Electoral bonnet 52 - Elephant as a device 65, 84, 125 - Elephant, order of the 115 - Elizabeth, funeral of Queen 17 - Elizabeth, thanksgiving service 3 - Elsass, flag of 101 - Emperor of Germany 98 - Ensign 8 - Ermine as a flag device 24 - Errors in flag-making 58, 59, 60 - Excise, flag of the 71 - Eye as a device on flag 7 - - F. - Facings of the regiment 62 - Falcon as a device 17 - Favyn "Le Theatre d'honneur" 4, 107 - Fiji, badge of colony 84 - Files represented on trade flag 7 - Flag-book of the Admiralty 120 - Flag-lore valuable 58 - Flagons on trade flag 7 - Flag-signalling 127, _et seq._ - Flanders, badge of 111 - Flashing messages at night 134 - Fleur-de-lys 21, 34, 36, 106, 108, 109, 112 - Flodden, battle of 6 - Florida, settlement of 86 - Florin, arms on the 32 - Fly of a flag, the 10 - Fork and spoon on a flag 7 - Four-flag signals 137 - France, flags of 1, 21, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 - Franco-German War of 1870 97 - Fribourg, flag of 116 - Frogmorton, standard of 17 - Funeral obsequies, flags at 6, 17, 18, 19, 22 - - G. - Garter, order of the 38 - Gautier on the Swiss flag 116 - Geneva Convention 117 - Geneva, flag of 116 - Geographical signals 137 - George, St., cross of 4, 10, 14, 16, 35, 39, 41, 45, 48, 53, 84, 87, - 116 - George, St., of England 36, 37, 116 - George, St., of Russia 102, 103 - German Unity 97, 98 - Germany, flags of 99, 100 - Globe on flag 63, 87 - Gnu as a flag device 84 - Golden Legend, the 37 - Gonfalon, kind of flag 8 - Government, departments, flags of 71 - Governor-General of Canada, flag of 81 - Governors of Colonies, flags of 81, 84 - Grandison, banner of Sir William de 11 - Gray, quotation from 9 - Greater Britain 77 - Great Seal of Canada 83 - Great Seal of Richard I. 30 - Greece, flag of 119 - Green and white of the Tudors 21 - Green as a flag colour 23, 43, 113, 123 - Greyhound as a device 17 - {144} - Growth of the Italian State 113 - Guards, flags of the 65 - Guatemala, flag of 23, 122 - Guidon, form of flag 21 - Guild flags 6, 7 - Guinea Company's flag 27 - - H. - Half-mast high, flags at 25 - Hamburg, flag of city of 99 - Hammer represented on flag 6, 7 - Hand as a device 2 - Hanover, arms of 29, 35, 52 - Hanover, flag of 101 - Hanseatic League, flag of 99 - Harfleur, siege of 12 - Harleian MS. on flags 16, 21 - Harp of Ireland 4, 29, 32, 33, 34, 49, 54 - Hayti, flag of 23, 124 - Heavenly succour 37, 42, 44, 106, 115 - Henry V., standard of 16 - Henry VII., flags in chapel of 12 - Heraldic Exhibition, Edinburgh 43 - Heraldic requirements in flag devising 23, 54 - Hesse, flag of 101 - Highland tartans 1 - "History and principles of Heraldry" 10 - Hohenzollerns, arms of the 99 - Hoisting one flag over another 25 - Hoist of the flag, the 10 - Holderton, banner of Sir John de 11 - Holland, flags of 117, 118 - Hong Kong, badge of colony of 84 - Horse as a device 2 - Horsham, political colours at 8 - House flags 24, 74, 75 - House of Orange, flag of 117 - Hungary, flag of 23, 102 - - I. - Idolatrous emblem 87 - Illiterate voters, mistakes of 7, 8 - Imperial Eagle 66, 101, 102 - Inscriptions on flags 3, 4, 13, 15, 16, 24, 35, 41, 43, 49, 66, 88, 90, - 93, 122, 123 - International signal code 133, 136, 137, 138 - Investiture of knight-banneret 14 - Invocation of saints 3 - Ireland joined to Great Britain 32 - Iron cross of Germany 100 - Isandlwana, battle of 63, 69 - Istria, flag of 102 - Italy, flags of 23, 113, 114 - - J. - James II., statue of 35 - Japan, flags of 124 - Jerusalem, arms of city of 114, 115 - Jewish standards 3 - Joan of Arc, standard of 4 - Jove, Eagle of 2 - - K. - Karlaverok, siege of 11, 18 - Kasan, arms of province of 102 - Katharine of Arragon flag-making 13 - Kempenfeldt's signal code 130 - Key as a device on flag 15 - Khorsabad, slabs from 2 - Kingdom of Hungary 101 - King's Own Borderers 63 - Kiow, arms of province of 102 - Knights-banneret 14 - Knights of the Bath, banners of 12 - Knights of the Garter, banners of 12 - Knights Templars, banner of the 24 - Koebel, book on costume and flags 101 - Korea, flag of kingdom of 125 - - L. - Labarum of Constantine 2, 3, 51 - Labuan, badge of colony of 84 - La Haye's book on flags 87 - Lamartine on the red flag 109 - Lancer pennon 14, 19 - Landing of Charles II. 47 - Land of the rising sun 124 - Laurel wreath on flag 49, 81 - Lawyers, flag of the 7 - Leeward Isles, badge of the 84 - Leon and Castile, arms of 86, 110, 111 - Liberia, flag of 125 - Liberty, figure of 94, 118 - Lion of Scotland 4, 29, 31, 34 - Lions of England 4, 29, 30, 34 - {145} - Livery colours 7, 14, 17, 21 - Livy on Vexillum 2 - Lloyd's signal stations 139 - Locksmiths, flag of the 7 - London, port of, flag signal 137 - London Trained Bands 41, 67 - Lone Star State, flag of the 95 - Lord Cardross, flag of 16 - Lord High Admiral of England 72, 80 - Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, flag of 71 - Lord Mayor's Show, flags at 19, 20 - Loss of colours at Edgehill 65 - Lothringen, flag of 101 - Louisiana, flag of State of 94 - Louisiana, settlement of 86 - Lozenges as a device on flag 41 - Lubeck, flag of city of 99 - Lucerne, flag of 116 - Lunenburg, arms of 35 - Lydgate, the duty of chivalry 12 - - M. - Maccabees, standard of the 3 - Machyn, diary of 6, 17, 21, 39, 111 - Mackay, extract from 57, 58 - Mail service flag 72 - Mainsail emblazoned as banner 12 - Malplaquet, battle of 64 - Man-of-war pendant 20, 78, 93, 110, 111, 121, 129, 135 - Maple-leaf of Canada 30, 81 - Marmion, quotation from 8, 18 - Martin, description of Western Islands 1 - Marseillaise, the 98 - Marseilles, flag of port of 75 - Martlets on flag 34 - Massachusetts, flag of 3, 87 - _Mayflower_, sailing of the 87 - Mecklenburg-Strelitz, flag of 101 - Mediaeval spelling 6, 22 - Mediterranean and New York Company 75 - Merchant flag, red ensign 40, 47, 58, 73, 80 - Merchant Shipping (Colours) Act 58 - Metal-workers, flag of the 7 - Meteorological signals 135 - Mexico, flag of 23, 123 - Milton, quotation from 8 - Minotaur as a device 2 - Minden, battle of 64 - "Mirror for Magistrates," quotation from 15 - Mohammedan flags often green 24 - Monasteries, flags of 5 - Monk, funeral of General 18, 22 - Monogram, sacred, on flag 3, 42, 51 - Monthermer, banner of Sir Ralph 11 - Morse alphabet for signalling 127, 128, 129 - Mottoes on flags 3, 4, 13, 15, 16, 24, 35, 41, 43, 49, 66, 88, 90, 93, - 122, 123 - Mutiny in the Royal Navy 25 - - N. - Napoleon, flags at tomb of 4 - Nassau, arms of 29, 35 - Natal, device of colony of 84 - Naval Discipline Act 56 - Naval Exhibition at Chelsea 41 - Navy signalling 129, _et seq._ - Nelson, funeral of 18, 22 - Neville's Cross, battle of 5 - New Brunswick, arms of province of 82 - Newfoundland, badge of colony of 83 - New Granada, flag of 122 - New Guinea, badge of colony of 84 - New South Wales, badge of colony of 84 - New Zealand, badge of 84 - New Zealand Shipping Company 24, 75 - Night signalling at sea 134 - Nisbet on the tressure 32 - Norie's "Flags of All Nations" 26 - Northallerton, sacred flags at 5 - North German Confederacy 99 - Norway, flag of 115 - Nova Scotia, arms of province of 82 - Nova Scotia, settlement of 87 - Novgorod, arms of province of 102 - - O. - Obsolete flags 8, 22, 26 - Ontario, arms of province of 82 - Orange flag 8 - Orange Free State, flag of 23, 125 - Order of Black Eagle 100 - {146} - Ordnance Department flag 71 - Orient Steam Navigation Company 24, 134 - Oriflamme 105 - Oudenarde, battle of 64 - Owl of Athene 2 - - P. - Palmetto palm on flag 94, 95 - _Pamiot Azof_, flag of the 104 - Papal States, flag of the 23, 114, 115 - Paraguay, flag of 122 - Paris, arms of city of 109 - Passion symbols on flag 6 - Patrick, St., life of 51, 52 - Pendant or pennant, 20, 40, 78, 93, 110, 111, 121, 129, 135 - Peninsular and Oriental Company, flag of 74 - Pennoncelle or pencel 19 - Pennon, nature of the 14, 18, 19 - Pepys, extract from diary of 55 - Percy, banner of Sir Henri de 11 - Percy lion 11, 15 - Percy motto 15, 16 - Percy standard 15 - Persepolis, sculptures of 2 - Peruvian flag 123 - Pictorial flags 4 - Pilgrim Fathers, the 87 - Pilot flag 48, 100, 104, 134 - Pine-apple as a device 84 - Pine-tree flag 87, 88, 89 - Plantagenet livery colours 21 - Pliny on Roman standards 2 - Poland, flag of 105 - Political colours 7 - Political devices on flags 4 - Pomerania, flag of 101 - Popham's signal code 131 - Portcullis as a device 21 - Portobello, capture of 41 - Ports, flags of 75 - Portugal, flags of 112, 113 - Pottery, representation of flags on 89 - Precedence a difficulty 28 - Presentation of colours 3, 66 - President, U.S.A., flag of 93, 94 - Printed flags 23 - Protectorate flag, the 50 - Prussian eagle 98 - - Q. - Quarantine flag, the 25, 59 - Quebec, arms of province of 82 - Queen's colour 61, 65 - Queensland, badge of colony of 83 - Queen's Regulations 54, 55, 64, 71, 78, 81 - - R. - Ramilies, battle of 64 - Rattlesnake flag 1, 13, 87, 88 - Raven of the Danes 13 - Rebel colors burnt 70 - Red ensign 40, 47, 58, 73, 80 - Red flag of revolution 25, 59, 109 - Relics of saints worked into flag 5 - Religious character of early flags 4, 5, 22 - Religious service 3, 103 - Revenue flag, U.S.A. 93 - Rey on the French flag 107 - Rhode Island, flag of 87 - Richard II., standard of 17 - Ridre, standard of Sir William de 11 - Riga, flag of port of 75 - Ripon, St. Wilfrid's banner at 5 - Rolls of arms 10 - Rome, standards of ancient 2, 42 - Roses as a flag device 16, 21 - Rotterdam, flag of port of 75 - Rouen, capture of 5, 38, 112 - Roumania, flag of 121 - Royal Colonial Institute 76 - Royal Horse Artillery of 1813 19 - Royal Marines 63 - Royal Naval Reserve 40, 56, 57, 73, 79, 139 - Royal Navy, flag code of the 133 - Royal Oak on coins 88 - Royal Standard 11, 29, 34, 48, 54, 59, 78 - Royal United Service Museum 24, 125, 130, 131 - Royal Yacht Squadron, flag of the 72 - Royston, political colours at 8 - Russia, flags of 24, 102, 103, 104, 105 - Russian American Company's flag 26 - - S. - Sacred monogram on flag 3 - Salique law, operation of 36 - Salmon as a flag device 82 - Saluting the flag 26, 55, 56 - {147} - San Salvador, flag of 124 - Sarawak, flag of 125 - Sardinia, flag of 26 - Savoy, flag of 27, 113, 123 - Saxe-Coburg Gotha, flag of 101 - Saxony, arms of 35 - Saxony, flag of 100 - Schomburg-Lippe, flag of 101 - School of Army Signalling 128 - "Scotland for ever" 70 - Scots Greys 66 - Scottish grievance as to arms 31, 45, 46, 53 - Scottish variation of Union flag 46 - Scott, quotation from 8, 29 - Servia, flag of 121 - Seven Champions of Christendom, 38 - Seventeenth Lancers 66 - Shakespeare, quotation from 15, 37 - _Shannon_ and _Chesapeake_ duel 90 - Shears as a device on trade flag 7 - Siam, flag of kingdom of 125 - Signal-book of _Chesapeake_ 133 - Signalling by flags 20, 23, 127, _et seq._ - Simon de Montfort, banner of, 12 - Skull and cross-bones device 66 - Sledge flags of Arctic expedition 16 - South Australia, badge of 83 - South Carolina, flag of 87, 88, 94 - Southern Cross 30, 80, 96 - Sovereignty of the seas 25, 26 - Spain, flags of 1, 24, 110, 111, 112 - Spelling, mediaeval liberty of 6, 22 - Spenser, quotation from 36 - Sphinx as a badge 62, 63 - Spoon and fork on trade flag 7 - Standard, nature of the 14 - St. Andrew, cross of 4, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 116 - Stars and bars, C.S.A. 95, 96 - Stars and stripes, U.S.A. 59 - St. Denis, flag of 105 - Stewart on tartans 1 - St. Gallen, flag of 116 - St. George, cross of 4, 10, 14, 16, 35, 39, 41, 45, 48, 53, 84, 87, 116 - St. Helena, badge of colony of 84 - Storm signals by flags 135 - "Story of Thebes," quotation from 12 - St. Patrick, cross of 4, 51, 53, 116 - Straits Settlement, device of 84 - Streamer, variety of flag 20, 21 - Strictly confidential signals 133 - Stuart, livery colours of house of 21 - Sun as a device 2, 17 - Swallow-tail flag 14, 18, 93, 110, 115, 116, 130 - Swan, black, of Western Australia 84 - Sweden, flag of 115 - Switzerland, flag of 116 - Swynnerton, standard of Sir Thomas de 16 - Sydney, Sir Philip, funeral of 18 - Sidney, Sir Philip, on war 19 - Symbols to express colours 74 - - T. - Tartans, Scottish 1 - Tasmania, device of colony of 84 - Telegraph Department, flag of 71 - Tessin, flag of Canton 117 - _Teutonic_, armament of the 57 - Teutonic order, cross of the 100 - Texas, flag of the State of 95 - Texel, flag of the port of 75 - "The late unpleasantness" 96 - "Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres" 61 - Third Dragoons 66 - Thistle as a flag device 42, 82 - Three-flag signals 137 - Tiger of Korea 125 - Titus, the arch of 2 - Tobacco plant on flag 123 - Torpedo practice flag 133 - Trafalgar, Nelson's famous signal 132, 133 - Trajan's column, standards on 2 - Transport service, flag of the 71, 104 - Transvaal, flag of the 126 - Trefoils as a device 41 - Tressure of Scotland, the 31, 32 - Tricolor of France 40, 108 - Trinidad, badge of colony of 84 - Trinity, banner of the 5, 6 - Trowel on guild flag 6 - Trumpet banners 12, 20 - Tudor flags 17 - Tughra device, the 120, 121 - {148} - Tunisian flags 120 - Turkey, flags of 24, 119, 120 - Twenty-fourth regiment 62 - Tyrol, flag of the 102 - - U. - Union between England and Scotland 45 - Union between Great Britain and Ireland 50, 52 - Union flag 1, 4, 45, 47, 50, 54, 61 - Union flag of Sweden and Norway, 116 - Union Jack 47, 48 - Union Steamship Company's flag 75 - United Italy 113 - United States of America, flag of 86, 89, 90, 91 - Universal code for signalling 28 - Urgency flag signals 136 - Uri, flag of Canton of 116 - Uruguay, flag of 122 - Utilisation of liners as cruisers 57 - - V. - Valence, banner of Sir Aymer de 11 - _Valkyrie_, flag of the yacht 73 - Variation in size a sign of rank 17 - Venezuela, flag of 23, 122, 123 - Venice, obsolete flags of 27 - Versailles, palace of 97 - Vessels spoken at sea 139, 140 - Viceroy of India, flag of 65, 81 - Victoria Cross 63 - Victoria, flag of colony of 80 - Victualling Department, flag of 71 - Virginia, settlement of 86 - Virgin Mary on flag 6 - Vocabulary signals 137 - Voldermirz, arms of 102 - Vowel flags objectionable 138, 139 - - W. - Waldeck, flag of 101 - War cries 37 - War songs 95, 98 - Warriors' Chapel at Canterbury 66, 67 - Washington, arms of 91, 93 - "Watch upon the Rhine" 98 - Waterloo, battle of 70 - Weather signals 135, 137 - Wellington, funeral of Duke of 18, 22 - West Africa, device of 84 - Western Australia, device of 84 - Western Australia, governor's flag 81 - West Prussia, flag of 98 - White cross of France 107 - White elephant of Siam 125 - White ensign 40, 55, 59, 72 - White horse of Hanover 63, 66 - White horse of Kent 36 - White Star Line, house flag of 57, 75 - Why called "Jack" 48 - William III., standard of 35 - Wreath on flag 63, 66, 81 - Wolf as a device 2 - Wurtemburg, flag of 101 - - Y. - Yacht flags 100, 138 - Yellow flag, its significance 24, 59 - York, livery colours of house of 21 - - * * * * * - -{149} - -COLOURED PLATES. - -PLATE I. - -1 Banner of Sir John Botetourte. 2 Banner of Sir Ralph de Monthermer. 3 -Banner of Sir Hugh Touches. 4 Banner of Sir William de Ridre. 5 Banner of -Sir Hugh Bardolph. 6 Banner of Sir John de Holderton. 7 Banner of Sir Henri -de Percy. 8 Banner of Sir Hugh de Courtenay. 9 Banner of Sir Aymer de -Valence. 10 Banner of Sir John de Bar. 11 Banner of Sir William de -Grandison. - -PLATE II. - -12 Percy Flag, Crescent Badge. 13 Arctic Sledge-flag, Expedition of -1875-76. 14 The Percy Standard. 15 Standard of Sir Thomas de Swynnerton. 16 -Arctic Sledge-flag, Expedition of 1875-76. 17 Banner of St. Edmund. 18 -Banner of Simon de Montfort. 19 Banner of St. Edward. - -PLATE III. - -20 Streamer, Tudor Fleur-de-Lys Badge, 1520. 21 Streamer, Tudor Portcullis -Badge, 1520. 22 Standard of Henry VIII. 23 Streamer, Tudor Rose Badge, -1520. 24 Streamer, Tudor Red Dragon Badge, 1520. 25 Pendant of H.M.S. -_Lion_. 26 Pendant of H.M.S. _Tiger_. 27 Pendant of Warship of 1520. - -PLATE IV. - -28 Guidon form of Flag. 29 Abnormal form of Pennon. 30 Lancer Pennon of -present day. 31 Pennon, Royal Horse Artillery, 1813. 32 Flag from Early -German Book. 33 Modification of Pennon form. 34 Flag of H.M.S. _Niger_, -1797. 35 Ecclesiastical Flag, MS. British Museum. 36 Burgee, the Ducal -Shipping Line. 37 Early form of Banner, MS. British Museum. 38 Burgee, -McIver's Shipping Line. 39, 40, 41, 42 Examples from Bayeux Tapestry. 4 -illus. - -PLATE V. - -43 The Royal Standard of King George III. 44 The Royal Standard of Queen -Victoria. - -PLATE VI. - -45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 Illustrations of perverted ingenuity and crass -ignorance, taken from street decorations on occasions of general rejoicing. - -PLATE VII. - -52, 53 Flags from early Spanish Map in British Museum, 1502. 54, 55 Early -Portuguese Flags, British Museum. 56 The Guinea Company. 57 East India -Company. 58 Early form of Algerian Flag. 59 Russian-American Company. 60 -Early English War Flag. 61 Heligoland Flag during British Possession. 62 -The Flag of Savoy. 63 Flag of the Grand Seigneur. 64 Turkish Flag. - -PLATE VIII. - -{150} 65 Ship Flag, Reign of George I. 66 Early form of Red Ensign. 67 -London Train Bands: The Blue Regiment, 1643. 68 London Train Bands: The -Yellow Regiment, 1643. 69 Flag of Warship, 16th Century. 70 Flag of H.M.S. -_Tiger_. 71 St. George, and Tudor Livery Colours. 72 London Train Bands: -The Green Regiment, 1643. 73 Flag of Union of England and Scotland. 74 -Pendant of H.M.S. _Lion_, 1745. 75 Scottish Blue Ensign. 76 Scottish Red -Ensign. 77 Banner of St. Alban's Abbey. 78 Jack of Warship of the 16th -Century. 79 Suggested forms for Union Flag, 1801. - -PLATE IX. - -80 Early Union Flag, England and Scotland. 81 Commonwealth Flag, England -and Scotland. 82 Commonwealth Flag, England and Ireland. 83 Standard of -Cromwell. 84 Scotch suggestion for Union Flag, 1801. 85 Flag of -Commonwealth. 86 Commonwealth Flag of England and Ireland. 87 Early Form of -Irish Flag, MS. in British Museum. 88, 89 Suggested Forms for second Union -Jack. - -PLATE X. - -90 Union Flag of Great Britain and Ireland. 91 Cross of St. George of -England. 92 Cross of St. Andrew of Scotland. 93 Cross of St. Patrick of -Ireland. 94 Regimental Colours: 24th of the Line, the 2nd Warwickshire -Regiment. - -PLATE XI. - -95 The White Ensign, Man-of-War. 96 The Blue Ensign, Naval Reserve. 97 The -Red Ensign, Merchant Service. 98 Victualling Service. 99 Admiralty Flag. -100 Ranelagh Yacht Club. 101 Yare Yacht Club. 102 Royal Thames Yacht Club. -103 Dublin Bay Yacht Club. 104 Pilot Jack. 105 Board of Trade Flag. 106 -Flag of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. 107 Customs House Flag. 108 Ordnance -Flag. - -PLATE XII. - -109 Green's Blackwall Line. 110 Cunard Line, Liverpool. 111 Peninsular and -Oriental Company. 112 Australasian Naval Company. 113 Devitt & Moore, -London. 114 Canadian Pacific Company. 115 Donald Currie & Co., London. 116 -Union Steamship Company, Southampton. 117 Mediterranean and New York -Shipping Company. 118 Houlder Brothers & Company, London. 119 White Star -Line, Liverpool. 120 New Zealand Shipping Company. 121 _Britannia_, H.R.H. -the Prince of Wales. 122 _Ailsa_, A. B. Walker, Esq. 123 _Valkyrie_, The -Earl of Dunraven. 124 _Hester_, Major W. H. Gretton. 125 _Dream_, W. H. -Jones, Esq. 126 _Carina_, Admiral Montague. - -PLATE XIII. - -127 Cape Colony, Government. 128 Queensland, Government. 129 Canada, -Commercial. 130 Canada, Government. 131 Badge of Straits Settlements. 132 -Badge of British North Borneo. 133 Badge of Tasmania. 134 Victoria, -Commercial. 135 Victoria, Government. 136 Badge of New Zealand. {151} 137 -Badge of Fiji. 138 Badge of New South Wales. 139 Flag of Viceroy of India. -140 Portion of Pendant, Government Colonial vessels. 141 Governors' Flag, -West Australia. - -PLATE XIV. - -142 American Insurgent Flag, 1775. 143 Admiral's Flag, U.S. Navy. 144 Flag -used at Bunker's Hill. 145 American Pine-tree Flag. 146 The Stars and -Stripes of the United States. 147 New England Navy Flag, 1776. 148 -Massachusetts Flag, 1775. 149 Pine-tree and Stripes. 150 Early American -Flag. 151 Portion of Pendant, U.S.Navy. - -PLATE XV. - -152 Confederate States of America. 153 Confederate, the Southern Cross. 154 -Southern Cross, modified. 155 South Carolina State Flag, 1861. 156 -Louisiana State Flag. 157 Chili, portion of Pendant. 158 South Carolina, -1775. 159 South Carolina State Flag, 1861. 160 Texas State Flag. 161 Chili, -Commercial. 162 Guatemala, Flag of 1851. 163 Guatemala, Flag of 1858. - -PLATE XVI. - -164 Colombia (formerly New Granada), Commercial. 165 Uruguay, General -Service. 166 Guatemala, Government. 167 Costa Rica, Commercial. 168 -Paraguay, Government. 169 Brazil, General Service. 170 Venezuela, -Commercial. 171 Bolivia, Commercial. 172 Mexico, Government. 173 Portion of -Pendant, Brazil. 174 Peru, Government. 175 San Salvador, General Service. -176 Argentine, Government. 177 Ecuador, Government. 178 Hayti, Commercial. - -PLATE XVII. - -179 Oriflamme. 180, 181 Early French forms of Flag. 182 Soissonois Flag. -183 Bourbon Flag. 184 Standard of Charles VI. 185 Standard, French. 186 -Man-of-War Pendant. 187 Standard, French. 188 Flag of French Guards, 1563. -189 Flag of Republic, France. 190 Tricolor of 1790. 191 Modern French -Tricolor. - -PLATE XVIII. - -192 Spain, War. 193 Spain, Commercial. 194 Royal Standard of Spain. 195 -Portugal, Royal Standard. 196 Portugal, General Service. 197 Italy, -Commercial. 198 Papal Merchant (obsolete). - -PLATE XIX. - -199 Saxony. 200 Waldeck. 201 Saxe Weimar. 202 Pomerania. 203 Wurtemburg. -204 Oldenburg. 205 Mecklenburg Strelitz. 206 Brunswick. 207 German Empire, -War Ensign. 208 German Empire, Jack. 209 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 210 Schomberg -Lippe. 211 West Prussia. 212 Hesse. 213 Austria, Government. 214 -Austro-Hungarian, Commercial. 215 Russian Jack. 216 Poland. - -PLATE XX. - -217 Russian Man-of-War. 218 Russia, Commercial. 219 Early Form of Russian -Ensign. 220 Russia, Consul General. 221 Russia, Charge d'Affaires. 222 -Russia, Ambassador or Minister. 223 Russia, Transport Service. 224 Danish -Man-of-War. 225 Danish, Commercial. {152} 226 Russian Imperial Standard. -227 Swedish, Commercial. 228 Norwegian Man-of-War. 229 Union Flag of Sweden -and Norway. 230 Flag of Norway. 231 Flag of Sweden. 232 Switzerland. - -PLATE XXI. - -233 Greece, Commercial Flag. 234 Italian Jack. 235 Turkey, Commercial. 236 -Belgium, Commercial. 237 Holland, Royal Standard. 238 Turkey, Standard. 239 -Turkey, Government. 240 Tunis, Government. - -PLATE XXII. - -241 Bulgaria. 242 Roumania. 243 Servia. 244 Japanese Ensign. 245 Japanese -Imperial Standard. 246 Japanese Transport Flag. 247 Chinese Merchant Flag. -248 Japanese Guard Flag. 249 Orange Free State. 250 Liberia. 251 Congo -State. 252 Rajah of Sarawak. 253 South African Republic. - -PLATE XXIII. - -254 to 267 Fourteen Flags from the Signal Code of the Royal Navy. 268 -Special Flag of the Coast Guard. - -269 to 278 Code of Sir Hope Popham, used by Nelson at Trafalgar, &c. 10 -illus. - -279 to 286 Special Battle Signals, code suggested in 1788. 8 illus. - -287 to 296 Numerical Code. Signal Code of 1788. 10 illus. - -297 to 306 Pilot Signals of various Nationalities. 10 illus. - -PLATE XXIV. - -307 to 324 The Flags of the International Code. 18 illus. 325 The -Signal-hoist for the Eddystone Lighthouse, B.D.T.F. 326 Code-signal for the -Port of London, B.D.P.Q. 327 Code-signal of SS. _Germanic_, N.V.B.Q. 328 -Code-signal of the _Hesperus_, M.N.D.L. 329 Code-signal of H.M.S. -_Devastation_, G.R.C.T. 330 "Do you wish to be reported?" B.P.Q. 331 "All -safe!" V.K.C. 332 "Report me to Lloyd's Agent." P.D.S. 333 "Do you want -assistance?" H.V.F. 334 "Has any accident happened?" B.G.H. - -PLATE XXV. - -335 to 339 Signal Flags of SS. _Australia_, _Arcadia_, _Massilia_, -_Victoria_, _Bengal_. (Are all Vessels in the P. & O.) 340 to 344 Signal -Flags of SS. _Oroya_, _Orient_, _Ophir_, _Orotava_, _Ormuz_. (Are all -Vessels of the Orient Line.) 345 to 349 Signal Flags of SS. _La Touraine_, -_Lafayette_, _Ville-de-Tanger_, _Amerique_, _Saint-Germain_. (Are all -Vessels of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique.) - -PLATE XXVI. - -350 to 354 Flag-signals of some of the numerous _Victorias_ on the Shipping -List. - -355 to 359 Flag-signals of some of the numerous _Australias_ on the -Shipping List. - -360 to 364 Flag-signals of some of the numerous _Britannias_ on the -Shipping List. - -_The Botolph Printing Works, Crosskey Square, Little Britain, E.C._ - - * * * * * - -NOTES - -[1] "Every Isle differs from each other in their Fancy of making Plads, as -to the Stripes in Breadth and Colours. This Humour is as different through -the main Land of the Highlands in so far that they who have seen those -Places are able at the first View of a man's Plad to guess the Place of his -Residence."--Martin's "Description of the Western Islands," 1703. See also -"Old and Rare Scottish Tartans," by Donald Stewart, all illustrated by -actual pieces woven in silk to a reduced scale. The latest tartan, that of -Balmoral, was devised by Prince Albert in the year 1848. - -[2] In mediaeval days the pastoral staff or crook of the bishop often had a -small scarf attached to it. This was known as the vexillum, and was -supposed to be derived from the Labarum, or standard of the first Christian -emperor, Constantine the Great. - -[3] In Favyn's book, "Le Theatre d'honneur et de Chevalerie," published in -Paris some two hundred and fifty years ago, we read of "Le grand estendard -de satin bleu celeste double en riche broderie de fleurs de lys d'or de -Chypre a une grande croix plein de satin blanc, qui est la croix de France. - -"Le grand estendard Saint Michel ange gardien de la France, de satin bleu -celeste de riche broderie d'or de Chypre, seme d'estoiles d'or. - -"Le grand estendard de l'ordre du benoist Saint-Esprit, faict de double -satin verd a une columbe d'argent, rayonne d'or de riche broderie, le rest -seme de flammes d'or." - -Joan of Arc had a white standard powdered over with gold fleurs-de-lys, and -in the centre a figure of Christ sitting on a rainbow, and holding a globe. -On either side an angel in the posture of adoration, and, underneath, the -words "Jhesu, Maria." On another she had the Annunciation, and the words -"Ave Maria." These were painted at Tours "par James Power, Ecossais, -Peintre du Roi." - -[4] Thus the Cross of St. George would be normally represented as in Fig. -91, but we find it much elongated in Figs. 12 and 14, much widened out in -Figs 27 and 56, and yet more so on the shield of the arms of the Dominion -of Canada in Fig. 129. - -[5] We do not pause to explain the meaning of any heraldic terms that we -are obliged to employ. Such terms may be readily found in any technical -book on blazonry, and we have ourselves, in "The History, Principles and -Practice of Heraldry," gone very thoroughly into the meaning and use of the -various forms that enter into the blazonry of shield or banner, and do not, -therefore, repeat these matters here. - -[6] _i.e._, badges. - -[7] "Lord Gordon has arrived at Nauplia. He has brought the Greeks a number -of ensigns, embroidered by Scotch ladies, and sent by them."--_Salisbury -and Winchester Journal_, December 27th, 1824. - -[8] This crowned key may be seen as early as 1359 on the seal of Sir -Michael de Poynings. - -[9] The bugle horn appears as the crest of Sir William de Bryan on his -brass, 1375. - -[10] In an old pedigree of the family is inscribed the lines:-- - - "Esperance en Dieu, - Trust in hym, he is most true. - En Dieu Esperance, - In hym put thyne affiaunce. - Esperance in the worlde? Nay, - The worlde variethe every day. - Esperance in riches? Nay, not so; - Riches slidethe, and some will go. - Esperance in exaltacion of honour? - Nay, it widderethe away, lyke a flowre. - Esperance en Dieu, in hym is all, - Which is above Fortune's fall." - -[11] The modern flag, known as the burgee, largely used in flag signalling, -is like a shortened pennon. It is sometimes also called a cornet. - -[12] "Now the often changing fortune beganne also to channge the law of the -battels. For at the first, though it were terrible, yet Terror was deckt -and broachie with rich furniture, guilt swords, shining armours, pleasant -pensils, that the eye with delight had scarce time to be afraide; but now -all defiled with dust, blood, broken armour, mangled bodies, tooke away the -maske, and set forth Horror in his own horrible manner."--SIR PHILIP -SYDNEY. - -[13] "A streamer shall stand in the toppe of a shippe, or in the -forecastle, and therein be putt no armes, but a man's conceit or device, -and may be of the lengthe of twenty, forty, or sixty yards."--Harleian MS., -No. 2,358, dealing with "the Syze of Banners, Standardes, Pennons, -Guydhomes, Pencels, and Streamers." - -[14] While thus severe in our judgment on misguided foreigners it is only -just to point out that England itself is responsible for a combination as -horrible as any in the green, red, white, of the special flag that she -bestowed on Heligoland, while it was yet a British possession. It may be -seen in Fig. 61. - -[15] The famous banner of the Knights Templars, called the Beau-seant, had -its upper half black and lower white. The black symbolised the terror it -should be to the foe, and the white amity and goodwill to friends. - -[16] The "house-flags" of the various shipping companies make a great use -of letters: thus the flag of the Orient Steam Navigation Company is white -and divided into four portions by a blue cross. In these four portions are -placed in red the letters O.S.N.C. In Fig. 120 we have the flag of the New -Zealand Shipping Company, where the N.Z.S. Co. are equally conspicuous. Any -reference to a good list of house-flags, such as that published by Griffin, -would reveal scores of illustrations of this feature. - -[17] The map is freely embellished with illustrations. In South America, -for instance four immense crimson parrots about fill up Brazil, while in -Africa the parrots are green. Many of these figured details are very -quaint. - -[18] - - "The dazzling field, - Where in proud Scotland's royal shield, - The ruddy lion ramped in gold."--_Scott._ - -[19] With only one exception the Sovereigns of Scotland never quartered the -arms of any other kingdom with their own. The only exception was when Mary -Stuart claimed the arms of England and placed them upon her standard, and -thus gave irreparable provocation to Queen Elizabeth. - -[20] Brian Boru, who was killed in battle with the Danes, did much to -civilise Ireland; and, amongst other things, introduced the harp. The -ancient Irish harp at Trinity College, Dublin, was long claimed as the -identical instrument of Boru, but it has been proved by the ornament upon -it that it cannot be later than the fourteenth century. The most primitive -representation of the harp in Ireland is in a rude sculpture in a church -near Kilkeny. This is known to date from the ninth century. Though the harp -has ever shone in the poetry of the Irish people, they have but little -claim to it. It has been by no means such a national instrument with the -Irish as with the Welsh. It is one of the most ancient of instruments, -figuring in the mural paintings of Egypt centuries before the Christian -era. - -[21] As may be seen beautifully enamelled on his tomb in Westminster Abbey. - -[22] Another flag was a plain scarlet one, having this inscription: "For -the Protestant Religion and the Liberty of England" in white upon it. - -[23] The following summary may be taken as correct in its broad -facts:--From about 1195 to 1340, the Standard had the lions of England -alone on it. From 1340 to 1377, England and France together. 1377 to 1399, -England, France, and the arms of Edward the Confessor. 1399 to 1603, -England and France. 1603 to 1649, England, France, Scotland and Ireland. -1649 to 1659, Interregnum: a period of change and uncertainty, when divers -changes in the Standard were made that are scarcely worth detailing. 1659 -to 1688, England, France, Scotland, and Ireland. 1688 to 1701, England, -France, Scotland, Ireland, and Nassau. 1701 to 1714, England, France, -Scotland, and Ireland. 1714 to 1801, England, France, Scotland, Ireland, -and Hanover. 1801 to 1837, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Hanover. From -1837, England, Scotland, and Ireland. - -[24] Spenser. - -[25] In the same way, we find the Scottish clansmen rushing to the fray to -the cry of "St. Andrew and our Right." In the ballad of Otterbourne we read -that the Scots - - "Uppon Sent Andrewe loude they crye, - And thrysse they showte on hyght." - -[26] One interesting exception to this is that, on St. George's Day, the -5th regiment (Northumberland Fusiliers) holds full-dress parade, all -wearing the rose, the national emblem, in their headgear, and the officers -on their sword-knots also. The colours, too, are festooned with roses. - -[27] "The x day of January hevy news came to London that the French had won -Cales (Calais), the whyche was the hevest tydyngs to England that ever was -herd of. - -"The xj day of January the Cete of London took up a thousand men, and mad -them whytt cotes and red crosses, and every ward of London found men. - -"The xxj day of January came a new commandement to my Lord Mayre that he -shuld make men redy in harnes with whyt cotes weltyd with green, and red -crosses, by the xxiij day of the same moneythe to be at Leydenhalle to go -forward. - -"The xviij day of May there was sent to the shyppes men in whyt cotes and -red crosses, and gones, to the Queen's shyppes."--MACHYN'S DIARY. - -[28] Thus we have the white, the blue, the white and orange, the green and -red, the purple, the blue and white, the orange and green, the red and -yellow, the red and blue, the red and white, and divers others. The orange -company always took the lead. These companies were for a long time in -abeyance, and were superseded in 1798 by the formation of the Royal -Edinburgh Volunteers, but each year the Magistrates and Council still -appoint one of their number to be captain of the orange colours. His duty -is to take charge of the old colours and preserve them as an interesting -relic of a bygone institution. - -[29] It is remarkable that none of the flags extant bear the motto which -the Parliament on July 5th, 1650, ordered "to be upoun haill culloris and -standardis," _i.e._, "For Covenant, Religion, King, and Kingdom." It is -characteristic that each body claimed independence even in this matter. -Thus the Fenwick flag bore "Phinegh for God, Country, and Covenanted work -of Reformations." Another flag has, "For Reformation in Church and State, -according to the Word of God and our Covenant," while yet another bears the -inscription, "For Christ and His truths, no quarters to ye active enemies -of ye Covenant." - -[30] St. Andrew's day is November 30th. - -[31] The question of the Union between England and Scotland was often -mooted. In the year 1291 Edward I., being victorious in the north, declared -the two countries united, but this did not last long. In 1363 Edward III. -opened negotiations for a union of the two crowns if King David of Scotland -died without issue. In the reign of Edward VI. the matter was again to the -fore, but it was left to Queen Elizabeth to take the decisive step. - -[32] April 12th, 1605. - -[33] Thus in the Royal Standard of Spain, Fig. 194, the arms of Leon and -Castile being In the upper corner next the staff take precedence of honour -over Arragon and all the other States therein introduced. - -[34] In a picture in the collection at Hampton Court, representing the -embarkation of Charles II. from Holland, the ship has a large red flag -charged with the Stuart arms in the centre, but so soon as his position in -England was assured he reverted to the royal standard of his Stuart -predecessors and to the original form of the union flag, a form that during -the Protectorate was widely departed from. - -[35] "Jaque, espece de petite casaque militaire qu'on portait au moyen age -sur les armes et sur la cuirasse."--BOUILLET, "Dict. Universel." - -[36] A contemporary representation of this Long Parliament flag may be seen -on the medals bestowed on the victorious naval commanders, where the -principal ship in the sea-fight represented on the reverse of the medal -flies this flag at her masthead. - -[37] Andrew Marvell on the victory of Blake at Santa Cruz. - -[38] As the year of his birth is scarcely known within a century or so, it -is too much to expect the month or the day, but the day that is assigned to -St. Patrick in the calendar is March 17th. - -[39] In the year 1816, in consequence of the Electorate of Hanover being -raised to the rank of a Kingdom, the Hanoverian Royal Crown was substituted -for the Electoral headgear in the royal arms on the shield and standard. - -[40] A writer in the _Retrospective Review_ in the year 1847, thus relieves -his feelings:--"The banner of St. George, argent, and cross gules is still -borne as part of the English flag, though, from the disgraceful manner in -which it has been amalgamated with the Crosses of St. Andrew and St. -Patrick, it has not only lost all its purity, but presents a melancholy -example of the ignorance of heraldry and total want of patriotism and taste -which must have characterised those to whom we unfortunately owe its -arrangement." - -[41] "All Her Majesty's Ships of War in Commission shall bear a white -ensign with the Red St. George Cross, and the Union in the upper Canton, -and when it shall be thought proper to do so, they may display the Union -Jack at the bowsprit end."--_Queen's Regulations._ - -[42] We read, for instance, in the Diary of Pepys that in the expedition of -the Duke of Buckingham, in the year 1627, against the Isle de Rhe that "the -Duke divided his fleet into squadrons. Himself, ye Admirall, and General in -chiefe, went in ye Triumphe, bearing the Standard of England in ye maine -topp, and Admirall particular of the bloody colours. The Earl of Lindsay -was Vice-Admirall to the Fleete in the Rainbowe, bearing the King's usual -colours in his foretopp, and a blew flag in his maine topp, and was -admirall of the blew colours. The Lord Harvey was Rear Admirall in ye -Repulse, bearing the King's usual colours in his mizen, and a white flag in -the main topp, and was Admirall of ye squadron of white colours." - -[43] On the hoisting of the Ensign all work stops, and all ranks muster on -deck, standing with hand raised to the cap in salute, while the ship's band -plays the opening bars of the National Anthem. - -[44] Charles Mackay. - -[45] Other regiments with green facings are the 5th, 11th, 19th, 36th, -39th, 46th, 49th, 73rd, etc. Regiments with blue facings are the 1st, 4th, -6th, 7th, 13th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, etc., while buff is found in the -2nd, 3rd, 14th, 22nd, 27th, 31st, 40th, etc. Amongst the regiments with -yellow facings are the 9th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 20th, 26th, 28th, 29th, -30th, 34th, 37th, 38th, etc. White is met with in the 17th, 32nd, 41st, -43rd, 47th, 59th, 65th. Red is not so common, since the colour is that of -the tunic ordinarily, but we see it in the 33rd, 48th, and 76th. Black is -also less commonly used, but we find it in the facings of the 58th, 64th, -70th, and 89th Regiments. - -[46] The "Black Watch," the gallant 42nd, and other regiments also bear the -Sphinx for their services in Egypt in 1801, where Napoleon received his -first serious check from British troops. - -[47] When a regiment consists of two battalions the distinctions won by -each are common to both, and are, quite justly, the property of the whole -regiment. - -[48] In like manner we find the Royal Marines bearing on their colours an -anchor, first granted to the corps as a badge in the year 1775. The lion -and crown was added to this in 1795. In 1802, in honour of the gallant -share taken by the Marines in the capture of Bellisle, a laurel wreath was -added to the other badges of honour, and in 1827 the motto "_Per Mare per -Terram_" and a globe, surmounted by the word "Gibraltar," was also placed -on their colours, as a testimony to the services of the Marines all over -the world, and notably at the taking of Gibraltar. - -[49] Blenheim, August 2nd, 1704; Ramilies, May 23rd, 1706; Oudenarde, June -30th, 1708; Malplaquet, September 11th, 1709; Dettingen, June 16th, 1743; -Minden, August 1st, 1759. - -[50] This, with many other interesting trophies of war, may be seen in the -Chapel of Chelsea College. The Blenheim Colours are now nearly all consumed -away with age: of one but the staff remains, and many others are now as -tender as tinder. French, Russian, American, Chinese, and many other flags -of former foes may there be seen quietly fading away, as the old national -animosities have likewise done. - -[51] Amongst the various devices seen on the flags of the Parliamentarians, -was one of a skull surrounded by a laurel crown, accompanied by the words -"_Mors vel Victoria_." - -[52] There are the colours of other regiments as well. Those that we -specially refer to above will be found in what is known as the Warriors' -Chapel. We deal with these especially, because, as being the flags of the -territorial regiment, they find, with particular appropriateness, their -resting place in Canterbury Cathedral. - -[53] There is now no Lord High Admiral of Great Britain; his functions are -analogous to those of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army; the last Lord -High Admiral was William IV., who received this appointment when Prince of -Wales. The office is now said to be "in commission"--its functions are -performed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, a board uniting the -dual control which is exercised over the land Forces by the War Office and -the Horse Guards. Commissions of Naval Officers are not signed by the -Queen, they are headed "By the Commissioners for executing the office of -Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom," etc.; and they are signed by two -of the Lords. - -[54] We find the Royal Yacht Club, in 1815, and the Royal Thames Yacht -Club, in 1835, flying what would be a white ensign if it had but the great -Cross of St. George upon it; an entirely white flag having the Union in the -corner next the staff. One may get a fair notion of its effect by looking -at Fig. 154, but imagining the Union in the place of the device there seen. -The Royal Yacht Club burgee at this period was plain white, without any -device whatever. The burgee of the other Club we have named has undergone -many changes. In 1823 it is scarlet, with the letters T.Y.C. in white; in -1831 the prefix Royal has been gained, and the flag, still red, has the -crown and the R.T.Y.C. in white upon it; while in 1834 we still find the -crown and the same letters, but now, not white on red, but red on white. - -[55] "BY THE COMMISSIONERS for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of -the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. - -"WHEREAS, we deem it expedient that Canadian registered vessels shall be -permitted to wear the Red Ensign of Her Majesty's Fleet, with the Canadian -Coat of Arms in the Fly thereof. - -"We do therefore, by virtue of the power and authority vested in us, hereby -warrant and authorize the Red Ensign of Her Majesty's Fleet, with the -Canadian Coat of Arms in the Fly, to be used on board vessels registered in -the Dominion. - -"Given under our hands and the seal of the Office of Admiralty, this second -day of February, 1892." - -[56] The Maple is to Canada what the Rose is to England, or the Shamrock to -Ireland. Hence, we find it on the coinage, etc. In the Canadian Militia -List before us we find it on the accoutrements of many of the regiments, -enwreathing the motto or device; sometimes alone, and often in association -with the rose, thistle, and shamrock. - -[57] Thus in a French book on flags (La Haye's), published in 1737, we see -a "pavillon de Nouvelle Angleterre en Amerique." This is a blue flag, -having on a white canton the Cross of St. George, and in the first quarter -of this canton a globe, in allusion to America, the new world. - -[58] In September, 1775, Moultrie, the heroic defender of the fort which -still bears his name, devised this the first flag of the State of South -Carolina, the uniform of the South Carolina men being blue, and some of the -regiments having a silver crescent in their caps; but why they had the -silver crescent as a badge no record seems to inform us. - -[59] It may be somewhat of an assistance to our readers if we give a few -chronological details: The obnoxious duty on tea and other articles imposed -by the British Parliament, June, 1767. Tea thrown overboard in Boston -harbour by the discontented populace, November, 1773. The Boston Port Bill, -by which that port was to be shut up until compensation made to the East -India Company for the tea destroyed, passed March, 1774. General Congress -of the colonists at Philadelphia, September, 1774. Revolution, first blood -shed at Lexington, April, 1775. Washington appointed Commander-in-Chief of -the American Armies, June, 1775. Thirteen colonies declare themselves -independent, July 4th, 1776. Independence of Colonies recognised by France -in March, 1778, by Holland in April, 1782, and by Great Britain in -September, 1783. John Adams received as ambassador from America by George -III. in June, 1785, and first ambassador sent from Great Britain to the -United States, in 1791. - -[60] In an old print before us of the fight between the _Shannon_ and the -_Chesapeake_, we see that the latter hoists three American flags, all -having the top and bottom stripes white, and at the foremast a white flag -inscribed with the enigmatical motto, "Free Trade and Sailors' rights." - -[61] - - "Forty flags with their silver stars, - Forty flags with their crimson bars." - WHITTIER, "Barbara Frietchie." - -[62] At a banquet at the Mansion House, when many leading Englishmen and -eminent Colonists gathered together to celebrate St. George's Day, the -American Ambassador, an honoured guest, said that he was very conscious -that he was there at a gathering of the clans. "There was a tradition that -the mischievous boy was generally the favourite of the household. His -mother might confess it openly, his father secretly, but the rest of the -family said nothing about it. Now there was a mischievous boy who broke -away from home something more than a century ago, but let them not suppose -that because he left the home he or his descendants ever came back without -a strong feeling that it is the home." He went on to say that he never met -a body of representative Englishmen, British men, speaking the same -language that he did, without a sense of grave joy and pleasure: the sense -that they were his brethren in a great cause, and that he joined with them, -he and his people, in sustaining the best hopes and aspirations of the -world's civilization. Blood is thicker than water, and all right-minded -Englishmen will read his kindly words with pleasure, and give them -heartiest reciprocation. - -[63] To the Germans, in their campaign against France, this and the "Watch -upon the Rhine" were worth many battalions as a spur and stimulus to heroic -deeds. During the American War both Federals and Confederates owed much to -the influence of stirring patriotic songs. There can be no doubt that the -songs of Dibdin contributed not a little to our own naval victories, and -every cause that is worth fighting for evokes like stirring strains. -Perhaps one of the most marked illustrations of this is the birth of that -grand war-song known as the "Marseillaise." Rouget de l'Isle, its author, -was a captain of French Engineers stationed in Strassbourg on the opening -of the campaign against Austria and Prussia in 1792. On the eve of the day -that the contingent from that city was going to join the main army of the -Rhine, a question arose as to what air should be played at their departure. -Several were suggested and rejected, and Rouget de l'Isle left the meeting -and retired to his own quarters, and before the gathering broke up had -written both words and music of "Le Chant de l'Armee du Rhin." On returning -to the meeting, still in consultation on the various details of the morrow, -he sang his composition, and it was at once welcomed with delight. It flew -like wildfire throughout France, and, owing to the Marseillaise troops -singing it on entering Paris, it derived the name by which it has ever -since been known. Its stirring words and the grand roll of the music -aroused the enthusiasm of the country, and at once made it the battle-song -of France, to be at times proscribed, but never forgotten. - -[64] The book on German costume by Koebel, printed at Frankfort-on-the-Main -in 1545, should be referred to, if possible, by the reader. It is, -unfortunately, a very rare book. The first edition of this splendid volume -contains 144 large illustrations of standard-bearers; the figures are -admirably drawn and very varied in attitude, while the flags they carry are -replete with interest, many of course being now quite obsolete, while -others there represented have come down to us through the three centuries -intact. - -[65] The _Pamiot Azof_, one of the most powerful ironclads of the Russian -Navy, flies at her mast-head the Cross of St. George (white on red), in -memory of the gallant service at Navarino in 1527 of her predecessor of -that name. The Czar Nicholas decreed that all future _Pamiot Azofs_ in the -navy should bear this distinguishing mark of honour. Peter the Great built -the first _Pamiot Azof_ as a memorial of the great siege of Azof, and the -name has been handed down ever since. The influence of that piece of -scarlet and white bunting will doubtless be such that no _Pamiot Azof_ will -ever fall short of the highest expectations that this exceptional honour -would suggest. - -[66] "Clisson, assura sa Majeste du gain de la bataille, le roi lui -repondit: 'Connestable, Dieu le veeulte, nous irons donc avant au nom de -Dieu et de Sainct Denis.'"--_Vulson de la Colombiere._ - -[67] In a miniature of Charles II., A.D. 869, in a book of prayers, the -royal sceptre terminates in a fleur-de-lys. The crown of Hugh Capet, A.D. -957, in St. Denis, is formed of fleur-de-lys, as is that of his successor, -Robert le Sage, A.D. 996, Henry I., 1031, and many others. To make the -matter more complicated, we find on the crown of Uffa, first king of the -East Angles, A. D. 575, true fleurs-de-lys. - -[68] One old writer asserts that Louis VII., on setting out in the year -1137 for the Crusade chose the purple iris flower as his emblem. - -[69] "Recherches sur les Drapeaux Francais, Oriflamme, banniere de France, -Marques nationales, Couleurs du roi, drapeaux de l'armee, pavilions de la -Marine."--GUSTAVE DESJARDINS, Paris, 1874. - -Another good book to see is the "Histoire du drapeau de la Monarchie -Francaise," by M. Rey. - -[70] It may be helpful here to append for reference the chronology of the -earlier sovereigns of the House of Bourbon:--Henry IV., "the Great," -ascended the throne in 1589; Louis XIII., "the Just," 1610; Louis XIV., -"the Great," 1643; Louis XV., "the Well-beloved," 1715; Louis XVI., 1774, -guillotined in January, 1793. - -[71] Thus, at a grand military _fete_, on May 10th, 1852, in the Champ de -Mars, on restoring this symbol, we find the Emperor addressing the -troops:--"The Roman eagle, adopted by the Emperor Napoleon at the -commencement of this century, was a brilliant symbol of the grandeur of -France. It disappeared amongst our calamities. It ought to return when -France, raised up again, should no more repudiate her high position. -Soldiers! Take again the eagles which have so often led our fathers to -glory." In 1855, in addressing a detachment of the Imperial Guard prior to -its departure for the Crimea, he exclaimed, "The Imperial Guard, the heroic -representative of military glory and honour, is here before me. Receive -then these eagles, which will lead you on to glory. Soon will you have -planted them on the walls of Sebastopol!" - -[72] First Republic, 1792 to 1799. The Consulate, 1799 to 1804. The first -Empire, 1804 to 1814. The Restoration, Bourbon and Orleanist, 1814 to 1848, -the second Republic, 1848 to 1853, the second Empire, 1853 to 1870, the -third Republic from 1870. - -[73] The diary of Henry Machyn, "Citizen and Merchant Tayler of London," -from which we have already quoted, tells us how the writer saw the "Kyng's -grace and dyvers Spaneards," the said King being Philip of Spain, riding -through the city attired in red and yellow, the colours of Spain. In the -cavalcade, Machyn tells us, were "men with thrumpets in the same colors, -and drumes made of ketylles, and baners in the same colors." - -[74] This quarter of the flag, the arms of Leon and Castile, was the entire -flag of the time of Columbus. Isabella gave the great explorer a personal -flag, a white swallow-tailed ensign having in its centre a green cross and -the letters F.Y. The quartered arms of Leon and Castile are sculptured upon -the monument in Westminster Abbey of Alianore, the daughter of Ferdinand -III., King of Leon and Castile, and the wife of Edward I. of England. The -date of the tomb is 1290. - -[75] The following chronological items may prove of assistance. Crown of -Navarre passes to France, 1276. Ferdinand of Arragon re-conquers Navarre, -1512. Accession of House of Austria to throne of Spain, 1516. Spain annexed -Netherlands, 1556, and, shortly after Philip II., husband of our Queen -Mary, annexed Burgundy. Portugal united to Spain, 1580. Portugal lost, -1640. Philip V. invades Naples, 1714. Charles III., King of the Two -Sicilies, succeeds to Spanish crown, 1759. - -[76] The various heralds and pursuivants in their tabards blazoned with the -lions of England, the fleurs-de-lys of France, or the castles of Portugal. - -[77] Az. three crosses in pale or. - -[78] The Turks, originally an Asiatic people, overran the provinces of the -Eastern, or Greek Empire, about the year 1300, but did not capture -Constantinople until 1453. Thirty years afterwards they obtained a footing -in Italy, and in 1516 Egypt was added to the Empire. The invading hosts -spread terror throughout Europe, and in 1529 and in 1683 we find them -besieging Vienna. Rhodes was captured from the Knights of St. John, Greece -subdued, Cyprus taken from the Venetians: but later on the tide of war -turned against them, and frequent hostilities with England, France, and -Russia led to the gradual weakening of the Turkish power. - -[79] There is such a general impression that officials are so very much -bound up in highly-starched red tape that we gladly take this opportunity -of acknowledging the extreme consideration with which all our enquiries -have been met. The libraries of the Admiralty, the Royal United Service -Museum, the Guildhall, South Kensington, etc., have been placed -unreservedly at our service. The authorities of the Board of Trade, of -Lloyds, of the Royal Chelsea Hospital, of the Royal Naval Exhibition, the -Agents-General of the Colonies, have all most willingly given every -possible information, and we have received from all to whom we have applied -for information the greatest readiness to afford it, and the most courteous -responses. - -[80] The position of Sultan, though one of great dignity, has its serious -drawbacks. This all-conquering Murad was, after all, assassinated; his son -and successor, Bajuzet, died in prison. Isa Belis the next holder of the -throne, Solyman who succeeded him, and Musa, who succeeded Solyman, were -all in turn murdered by their brothers or other relatives. - -[81] "Order and progress." Not a very happily chosen motto, since, as a -Brazilian said to us, such a sentiment might equally be placed on the flags -of all civilized nations, order and progress not being features to take any -special credit for, but to be entirely taken for granted, and as a matter -of course. - -[82] Our English name, Japan, for this land of the Far East, is a -corruption of the Chinese name for it, _Zipangn_, a word of the same -meaning, Land of the Rising Sun. - -[83] There are four Orders of Distinction in Japan; the first is the Order -of the Chrysanthemum, and the second that of the Rising Sun. - -[84] Each spring and summer our Volunteers have long-distance practices. -From the account of one of these now before us, we see that the line -extended from Reculvers on the north coast of Kent, to Aldershot, a -distance of over one hundred miles, messages from one point to the other -being rapidly and accurately transmitted by signalling parties on the -various eminences, such as Beacon Hill, Gravelly Hill, Box Hill, and St. -Martha's Hill, between the two extremities of the line. - -[85] One may see here, too, the signal book of James, Duke of York, dating -about 1665, by means of which most of our sea-fights with the Dutch were -conducted, and also the code introduced by Kempenfeldt. - -[86] The _Victory_ at this time was somewhat less than a mile and a half -from the enemy's line. - -[87] The signal for "close action" was flags 1 and 6. All flag signals are -always read from above downwards; 6 and 1 would mean something entirely -different to 1 and 6. - -[88] "Expects," it will be seen, is expressed by one hoist of flags, while -"confides" would have necessitated the pulling up and hauling down of eight -distinct sets. - -[89] Special hoists are also used for special purposes, thus the display of -the yellow flag, with a black ball on it, is an intimation that torpedo -practice is going on. - -[90] June 1st, 1813. - -[91] This system was introduced by Captain Columb in 1862. On one occasion, -during heavy weather, from a steamer fifteen miles off shore he sent a -message through a station on the Isle of Wight across to Portsmouth, and -received his answer back in thirteen minutes! This was altogether too good -to be gainsaid or shelved, and the system was speedily adopted. - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -The following corrections were made to the printed original: - -Table of Contents, Chapter V:--"England expects" printed as "Englands -expects" in original. - -Page 5:--In "a priest of Beverley for carrying": "carrying" printed as -"carring" in original. - -Page 10:--In "we find these charges represented": "charges" printed as -"changes" in original. - -Page 126:--In "their thoughts turn to the dear homeland": "turn" printed as -"turns" in original. - -Page 136:--In "thirteen then existing codes": "thirteen" printed as -"thirteeen" in original. - -Page 138:--In "Our readers will see": "Our" printed as "Ours" in original. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD*** - - -******* This file should be named 40113.txt or 40113.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/0/1/1/40113 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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