Page:The Ancestor Number 1.djvu/93

 THE ANCESTOR 53 upon it, two above one, and that for the artist's reasons as they fill the shield space best in that position. This is so commonly recognized that only those enamoured of words follow the modern French custom of adding the caution * two and one ' to the blazon. But the same principle can be carried further, as the early folk did carry it to the great simplifying of heraldic speech. A modern herald blazons the arms of the King of England much as Mr. Boutell would do — with ^ gules ^ three lions passant guardanty in pale^ or^ — the lavish and meaningless commas will be noted. But the long passant stripe of the leopard's body could never be accommodated by an artist to the ' two and one.' The three leopards are therefore by a natural movement of the artist placed barwise one under the other, and gules three leopards gold is all the blazon needed if we would follow the example of the ancients, ^ree running grey- hounds would by the same rule naturally place themselves bar- wise and rearrange themselves as ' two and one ' if we drove a chevron between them. Three lions passant will be set bar- wise, but three owls or three eagles ' two and one.' Three swimming salmon will lie barwise also, but three dolphins, a fish which we draw bowed in its leap, cramp themselves unless placed two and one. In pale therefore is another phrase to be rid of. Of the eagle we may say that as he is always borne displayed until we come to some late coats in which he perches with