6 NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
A Tale of Heraldry. 
BY REV. LOUIS H. RUGE. 
(COPYRIGHTED, 1910, BY L. H. RUGE.) 
The subject of heraldry is surrounded with volumes of 
technical and tedious literary paraphernalia that is too 
intricate for the casual reader upon the subject. And 
yet it has within it the possibility of great charm. Un- 
less the science can be divested of its technicalities and 
conjectural interpretations and be presented in such a 
way as to attract attention and arouse interest this tale 
will be a failure; for the object is to present it in a 
readable form. Although the literature of Europe and 
America is rich and voluminous upon the subject the 
tale thus far is of comparitively little interest to the 
people of America in general. 
There will be no attempt at a scicatific treatment of 
the subject of heraldry in this tale, for the infinite 
ramifications are such that but few would care to go 
vary far with the writer. Those who may become 
further interested are referred to the works of estab- 
lished authority. 
There will be no studied attempt to either place undue 
importance upon the art or to belittle its importance. 
It is not intended to dwell especially upon family es- 
cutcheons, the study is far more important than this. 
Therefore it is not for the vanity of the few, nor for the 
heart burnings of the many that this tale is written. 
If this results it is unavoidable 
The satirist reaches a climax in the realm of heraldry. 
The jester sharpens his keenest wit on the armorial 
shield. And the radical and revolutionary publicist is 
never so happy as when tearing a coat of arms to shreds 
or in emblazoning one of grim device with which to 
slander a man’s rise from some obscure sphere in life. 
There is a satirical side to the subject of heraldry. 
There is something rediculous in everything. Human 
beings are excruciatingly funny, the more so when seri- 
ous. I do not know that Darwin ever advanced this as 
one of the scientific evidences of evolution, but all the 
aeons of man’s unfolding have failed to eliminate the 
monkey in him. Every blunder he makes is less evil 
than it is laughable. Commercially, politically, socially, 
intellectually and even religiously he is more comic than 
criminal in the drama of life, more a clown than a vil- 
lian. A man has but to study carefully and honestly 
his own experiences and eccentricities to see this. 
What can be more funny than a congressman who 
takes himself seriously in a heated defense of the tariff 
for special interests? What is more rediculous than the 
solemn attitude of a high churchman on apostolic suc- 
cession? There is a reverse side to all reformers and 
ecclesiastics. We all know some truly good men among 
them that if they assumed that attitude of importance 
and solemnity as naturally on the stage they would win 
undying fame as comedians while now they must go 
their solemn way into obscurity unknown, save by the 
few that may chance to see them in their true genius. 
It is true that some serious and sacred things are held 
too lightly, but it is equally true that there are many 
funny things that are held too seriously. 
In this sense there is a ludicrous side in society’s 
solemn boast of precedence based upon the armorial 
attitude of a mythological beast on a shield. Why should 
a lion rampant by any more exalting than an ormorial 
heg rampant? And why should Sir Ferdinand Noodle’s 
ancestors be more exalted than Smith’s ancestors? 
Surely the roots of both family trees lose themselves in 
antiquity and both no doubt have borne good and evil 
fruit. And*what is there so much more desirable in a 
coat of arms than in a monogram if either distinguish 
an individual above the ordinary and they are of equal 
artistic design? 
Industry as well as war has always had its distin- 
guishing marks and labor has had its coat of arms. 
Every order of mutual help and fellowship has it. Thus 
any device signifying the craft by whieh men achieve 
wealth and the path by which they mount to fame will 
dc for armorial bearings. 
An oil derrick, a pick, 
A hog or a big stick— : 
This will be as honorable a device for pasterity ages — 
hence as some of the erude devices that are now flaunted ~ 
in gorgeous colors that distinguished meaner exploits - 
than the simple and honorable toil of the pioneer nation 
builders of an empire—democracy, the peer of any past 
people. 
One of the great hindrances to happiness is that 
people take themselves too seriously. To one with a keen 
sense of humor this alone is amusing, but it is often 
death to the other fellow, because he takes his serious- 
ness as literal and essential and consequences are often 
fatal. Every dispute and quarrel, especially about 
superiority or social distinction has its funny side. 
Dwelling in the interest of personal honor was ever a 
farce, but proved itself a tragedy because the grim 
principles in the farce lacked the faculty of humor. 
Let us be truly thankful for a sense of the rediculous, 
even if it reflects upon ourselves and add a new beat- 
itude to the religion of humanity—blessed are the fun- 
makers for they shall be called the children of the sun- 
shine. 
But aside from all this heraldry is most sensible. The 
satirist may laugh and the philosopher may preach, but 
reason must respect this science. It originated in a 
common sense need and now becomes a social necessity. 
If it does not cheapen its honor we may say that it is no 
more pretentious nor unwarrantable than any distin- 
guishing trade mark. As by it a man’s wares are known 
so by a coat of arms a family and its deeds may be 
known. 
Heraldry is the handmaid of history and chivalry, a 
valuable aid to perpetuity of fame from the records of 
an individual to the annals of a nation. 
By it we interpret literature. Many a masterpiece, as 
in the historical writings of Sir Walter Seott, would be 
robbed of much interest and significance without it. 
Shakespeare is largely a sealed volume without this key, 
as when he puts into Bolingbroke’s anguished exclama- 
tion, upon return to his ruined estate, these words— 
’7You have fed upon my signaries, 
Disparked my parks, and felled my forest woods; 
From my own windows torn my household coat; 
Razed out my impress, leaving me no sign, 
Save men’s opinion, and my living blood, 
To show the world I am a gentleman.’’ 
Milton spiritualizes the thought in the idea of the 
nobler crest of character, the armory of the soul, in the 
lines— 
