308 MOTTOES 



XLIX 



Heraldic mottoes may be reckoned among the trivial- 

 ities of blazonry. The shield and its charges 



Mottoes ■' ° 



are sacrosanct ; no British subject is entitled 



to assume armorial bearings, or alter those which he 

 has inherited or received, without a fresh grant or 

 patent from one of the Kings of Arms — Garter, Lyon, 

 or Ulster. In Scotland, indeed, Lyon King is still 

 legally empowered to seize all goods and furniture 

 whereon arms may be found displayed that have not 

 been duly matriculated, and, in addition, to fine the 

 owner £100 Scots ; though it may be doubted whether 

 any civil court would impose the penalty. But there 

 is no objection, statutory or other, against a man adopt- 

 ing what motto he may fancy, and some amusement 

 may be derived from tracing the play of such fancy 

 in the choice of mottoes that have become hereditary 

 in certain old families. 



Several years ago what was at that time the principal 

 hotel in Princes Street, Edinburgh, was rebuilt and 

 reopened under the auspices of one of 'the clan that 

 is nameless by day.' Over the entrance was carved 

 in bold characters the motto of the said Clan Alpin 

 (Macgregor), ' E'en do and spare nocht ! ' which might 

 be interpreted by thrifty tourists as a warning to seek 

 quarters where they were less likely to be done. 



To modern apprehension nothing short of violence 

 and rapine breathes in the alliterative motto of the 

 Dukes of Atholl, ' Furth, Fortune, and fill the Fetters ! ' 

 The truculence of this sentiment may be condoned 



