JANUAEY 27 



in glass bottles with corks; represent your knights 

 with sword or lance in their left hands ; pour the rays 

 of the setting sun through the eastern apse at vespers ; 

 let the snows of Manchuria whiten the plain in your 

 great picture of the surrender of De Wet and his Boers. 

 Enforce ' art for art ' as the universal canon, and you 

 sound the knell of historic painting and commemo- 

 rative sculpture, thereby stripping the Muse of one of 

 her noblest functions. But don't be surprised if plain 

 folks say unkind things behind your back. 



However, that is all outside my present theme, which 

 is suggested by certain signs of reviving interest in 

 British heraldry. Were the world too busy to take 

 any note of that in which, three hundred years ago, 

 any educated person would have felt ashamed not to be 

 well versed, one might hesitate to stir the dust which 

 has gathered upon it since the days of the Common- 

 wealth. If aU people of means were so well provided 

 with occupation for their redundant leisure as to avoid 

 any recreation which could not be described as contri- 

 buting to the advancement of learning or knowledge, 

 one might be content to allow the romantic craft of 

 heralds to slumber, undisturbed save by antiquaries 

 and scrupulous historians. But whereas, as things are, 

 neither business nor pleasure interferes with the de- 

 votion of a considerable amount of energy and money 

 to pursuits and studies which, even if successful, contri- 

 bute little or nothing to the general welfare. Take, 

 for example, philately — the science of collecting used 

 postage stamps. It is difficult to see how this can 

 contribute grist to the historian's mill ; nor can it offer 



