THE CITY SWORD-BEARER 



507 



charters conferred by a long line of sovereigns ; an 

 Elizabethan motto ; a portrait of his sister, presented 

 by Charles the Second ; a Sword of Honour, and an 

 old hat, the gifts of Henry the Seventh in recognition 

 of Exeter's stand ao;ainst Perkin Warbeck in 1497. 

 Against these parchments, this picture, and the 

 miscellaneous items of motto, sword, 

 and old hat, there are centuries of 

 fighting and of spoliation on 

 account of loyalty to be named. 

 It seems a very one-sided affair, 

 even though the old hat be a Cap 

 of Maintenance and heraldically 

 notable. Among the maces and 

 the loving-cups, and all the civic 

 regalia of Exeter, these objects are 

 yet to be seen. Old headgear will 

 wear out, and so the Cap, in its 

 present form, dates back only to the 

 time of James the First. It is by 

 no means a gossamer, weighing, as 

 it does, seven pounds. As may be 

 seen by the accompanying illustra- 

 tion, it is a broad-brimmer of the 

 most pronounced type. 



The crown fixed upon the point of the sword-sheath 

 belongs to the same period, while a guinea of the 

 same reign may be seen let into the metal of the 

 pommel. On occasions of State, at Exeter, this 

 sword is carried before the Mayor and Corporation 

 by their official Sword-Bearer. 



The dignified effect of the affair, however, is 



THE EXETER CITY 

 SWORD-BEARER. 



