LESLIE, Earl of ROTHES.--The Motto of this Family is "Grip (or Gripe) Fast[328]," and seems to contain a double allusion; first to the old Motto "Firmâ Spe," and afterwards to some parts of the additional Armorial Appendages. I call it the old Motto, from the account Mr. Nisbet gives of the original Bearing and its adjuncts; _viz._ "Argent, on a Fess, between two Cross-Croslets Azure, Three Buckles Or." Crest, "A Griphon's (or Griffin's) Head couped Proper, charged with a Cross-Croslet fitched Argent." Motto, "Firmâ Spe."[329] Herein the Cross-Croslets repeated, taken together with the new Motto, admit of a religious allusion, as _holding fast_ the Faith of Christ with _firm Hope_, expressed allegorically by the Head of the Griffin. It may therefore be conceived, that the change of the Motto might take place after the Family, on being ennobled, chose Griffins for Supporters; thereby giving a loose and whimsical translation, if I may call it so, of "Firmâ Spe," by the words "Grip Fast." The ancient Bearings of the Cross-Croslets are now discharged, nothing remaining on the Field but a _Bend_, instead of a _Fess_, charged with Three Buckles; so that the meaning, couched under the Cross-Croslets, the Griffin's Head, and the original words of the Motto, is entirely lost: and at present nothing remains but a quaint allusion to the group of those chimerical Animals. The _Buckles_, borne first on the _Fess_, and afterwards on the _Bend_ (a Change not uncommon as a Difference, in token of Cadency or Cadetship in Scotland), may likewise have regard to that strong metaphorical description of Christian Defence against the Powers of Darkness in the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, or to the First Epistle to the Thessalonians (Chap. v. 21). "Hold fast that which is good;" _viz_. the Faith and Hope in the Cross of Christ. In support of this idea, as being primarily religious, it appears that one subordinate Branch of the Family (_Leslie_ of Talloch) bears for a Crest, not a Griffin's, but "An Eagle's Neck, with Two Heads erased Sable;" with the Motto "Hold Fast:" and another has for its Motto "Keep Fast:"[330] so that _Grip_, or _Gripe Fast_, may be considered as a mere canting Motto, arising from old Heraldic wit. _Leslie_ of Burdsbank, carries the quartered Coat of the Earl of Rothes, with Differences; with the _Crest_, "A Buckle Or," and the Motto "Keep Fast." [328] The traditional Family History of this Motto is, that a Countess of Rothes (then Head of the House in her own right), riding behind a servant through a dangerous ford, had nearly lost her seat from fear; when the man, encouraging her by the words "_Gryp Fast_," the Countess took the advice, was rescued from imminent danger, and her life preserved. This account of the origin of the Motto was given by one of the Family to a Friend of mine; but how far it may gain credit I do not determine. [329] Nisbet's Heraldry, vol. i. p. 96.