HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORDERS” OF 
Goffredus, bysso retorta ad carnem in- 
duitur, t&c. &c.. Vide Seld. Tit. of Hon. 
Part II. chap. iii. sect. 24, and chap. v. 
sects. 53 and 45. 
Mr. Gibbon; describing the rise of 
_ chivalry, which he considers as having 
taken place between the age of Charle- 
magne and that of the crusades, re- 
marks that superstition mingled at this 
period in eyery public and private action 
of life; “¢ in the holy wars,” says he, “it 
_ sanctified the profession of arms, and the 
_ order of chivalry was assimilated in its 
rights and privileges to the sacred orders 
of priesthood. The bath and white 
garment of the novice, were an inde- 
‘cent copy of the regeneration of baptism: 
KNIGHTHOOD. 6$1 
his sword, whichhe offered on the altar, 
was blessed by the minister of religion; 
his solemn reception was preceded by 
fasts and vigils; and he was created a 
knight in thename of God, of St. George 
and of St. Michael the archangel.” 
Chap. lviii. 
We have dwelt so long on these vo- 
limes, that we must now take our leave 
of them, regretting that a more detailed 
account of the installation of the Knights 
of the Bath, of its rules and orders, &c. 
should not have been given, whilst many 
continental orders are enlarged on which 
are in comparison perfectly insignifi- 
cant. 
Art. II. The principal historical and allusive Arms borne by Families of the United King- 
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, with their Authorities, collected by an Antiquary ; with 
a Representation of the Arms on Copper Plates. 
_ THE jewel of this book is the dedi- 
cation. 
“© To the Ladies of the United Kingdom. 
<<In contemplating the diversified orna- 
ments of the creation, there are none which 
‘impress the mind with so much delight as the 
beautiful forms of our fair countrywomen. 
i The most perfect symmetry, grace, and cle- 
 gance, are comprised in their construction— 
the delicately blended tints of their com- 
plexions, the animated and interesting ex- 
ession of their features, the general com- 
‘ ined effect of tl eir persons, arrest our ad- 
 miration and regard. 
__ ** But when to these personal attractions 
_ are added soft and ingratiating manners, that 
exibility of disposition, which at once 
‘soothes and corrects the rugged and_baiste- 
fous nature of man, that attendant sympa- 
“thy which mitigates his sorrows, or heignt- 
ens his enjoyments; and, above all, that 
seemingly innate tendency to piety, compas- 
sion and benevolence, so conspicuous in the 
far greater proportion of them ; can they be 
considered. otherwise than as the greatest 
‘boon of Providence? . 
Tt is natural therefore, that men should 
be candidates for the estimation and ap- 
roval of those whom they so much venerate; 
“and certain it is, that the applause and par- 
‘tiality shewn by the more amiable sex to the 
adventurous and intrepid, has been, if not a 
ding inducement, yet a concurrent one, to 
‘daring and heroic actions; and, as the fol- 
Towing sheets chiefly consist of a detail of 
h actions, to whom can they be so aptly 
scfibed, as to those who have a powerful 
et influence in producing them, 
By their devoted humble servant, 
THE EDITOR.” 
- We consider this as perfectly original, 
believing that no antiquary, however 
my 
Ato. pp. 552. 
much he may have been the devoted 
humble servant of the ladies, ever ad- 
dressed them so tenderly before, or pre- 
sented so appropriate an offering to them 
as a quarto volume of heraldry. 
The design of the author is to collect 
the histories of all allusive arms. This 
he has executed with sufficient diligence, 
and sometimes with more than sufficient 
credulity, as when, upon the authority of 
family tradition, he believes that a Saxon 
Jandholder defeated a thousand Norman 
soldiers by mounting his men on bulls, 
The following verses, which are the te- 
nure of the lands of Rawdon, he believes 
to have been written in William the Con; 
queror’s reign. 
«T William, King, the thurd yere of my 
reigne, 
Give to thee, Paulyn, Raydon, Hope, and 
Hopetowne, 
Wyth all the bounds both up and downe, 
From Heaven to yerthe, from yerthe to hel, 
For the and thyn, ther to dwel, 
As truly as this kyng-ryke is myn; 
For a cross bowe and an arrow, 
When I sal’ come to hunt on Yirrow ; 
And in token that this thing is sooth, 
I bit the whyt wax with my tooth.” 
This savours as little of the “anti: 
quary”’ as his dedication. \ 
The engravings in this volume are. 
the very worst that ever were published. 
The elephants trunks are shaped like 
trumpets. ‘The lions look like lawyers ¥ 
the eagles like owls, and the owls like 
antiquaries. ‘The common birds are not 
like any in heaven above ; the common 
Uus . 
