Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/418

 340 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. O t ov., hie, that is, a White fur with Black spots ; not that the skins are naturally so, but from the practice of the furriers beautifying the white furs — designed as collars, capes, cuffs, or linings for the garments of their distinguished cus- tomers — with a few bits of the black tails of those creatures, whose peltries furnished the main portion. Colombiere says, the Latins call the animal, from which the Ermine is taken, a Water Eat, because it lives either on land or in water ; and that he, himself, has seen many of them in Brittany, living generally in forests near the sea, lakes, or rivers. Upton calls this beast, in Latin, Mus- tela ; remarks that it changes its color, and that it is found in Brittany, as above ; but Leigh makes it a native of Armenia. Gibbon, .blazoning in Latin the Coat of Whetnal, which is, Vert, a bend Er- mine, expresses it: Gerentis in clypeo viridi Baltheum humeralem muris Ar- menij vellere impressum. And again, varying from himself, thus : Muris Ar- menij seu Pontici maculis respersum, sive interstinctum. Ermines, or Counter-Ermine — is the reverse of Ermine, that is, the shape and disposition of the spots beino- exactly the same as Ermine. Ermines is composed of a Black fur with White tufts or spots ; all the other particulars be- ing the same with Ermine. Coates ridi- cules the name Ermines, stxy- ing, Whence the English heralds, who so call it, had such a conceit, no man can tell, for our [English] heraldry is from the French, who use no such word ; but call this Black powdered with White, W>: i' 't 1 m • '-■"■ IS $? ill mi <' :'■'.'■ j£: : :'-i m Pi Contre-Erminee, which is very proper, as denoting the Counter or Reverse of Ermine, the latter being White pow- dered with Black. E R M I N O I S — has the same figures, disposed in the same way, with Ermine and Counter- Ermine ; but the fur is Yel- low or Gold, powdered with Black. The French say of such a Field, that it is "D' Or, semee d J Hemiines de Sable," or Gold sprinkled with Ermine spots. Coates confesses his inability to find the origin of the term Erminois, and proceeds to ask the most strenuous of his countrymen, Whether the French method, as it is intelligible, is not preferable to the English ; and also, Whether the English heralds, with their word Erminois could reasonably expect to be understood by armorists using another language, or, in a foreign coun- try, as understood by home blazon ers, adding, that reason looks to the full as well in England as anywhere. Erminite s — is the term applied to a White fur, sprinkled with Black tufts or. spots, ex- actly of the same figures, and in the same manner, as L described for Ermine, Er- -*^i !•**- mines, and Erminois, but every large tuft is repre- sented with a slender tuftlet of Red on each side, making five points to the large tuft, instead of three, as usually given in Ermine. Coates remarks, that the proper sig- nification of Erminites must be little