6. SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL 73 Arms: Arg. on mount vert, representation of the 40 feet reflecting telescope with its apparatus ppr., on a chief az., the astronomical symbol of Uranus irradiated or. Crest: A demi-terrestrial sphere ppr., thereon an eagle, wings elevated or. Motto: C[oe]lis exploratis. 7. THE FLAGS OF GREAT BRITAIN 80 (1) The Union Jack, (2) The Royal Standard. 8. A CRUSADER IN MAIL ARMOUR _on the cover_ _Also fifty-five small black and white illustrations throughout the text._ "... The noble science once The study and delight of every gentleman." "And thus the story Of great deeds was told." PEEPS AT HERALDRY CHAPTER I AN INTRODUCTORY TALK ABOUT HERALDRY What is heraldry? The art of heraldry, or armoury, as the old writers called it, consists in blazoning the arms and telling the descent and history of families by certain pictorial signs. Thus from age to age an authenticated register of genealogies has been kept and handed on from generation to generation. The making and keeping of these records have always been the special duty of a duly appointed herald. Perhaps you think that explanation of heraldry sounds rather dull, but you will soon find out that very much that is interesting and amusing, too, is associated with the study of armorial bearings. For heraldry, which, you know, was reckoned as one of the prime glories of chivalry, is the language that keeps alive the golden deeds done in the world, and that is why those who have once learnt its secrets are always anxious to persuade others to learn them too. "Although," says the old writer, Montague; "our ancestors were little given to study, they held a knowledge of heraldry to be indispensable, because they considered that it was the outward sign of the spirit of chivalry and the index also to a lengthy chronicle of doughty deeds." Now, it is in a language that is all its own that heraldry tells its stories, and it is unlike any other in which history has been written.