A tilting spear was granted as his armorial bearings to William Shakespeare, which he bore as a single charge; a single spear was also borne appropriately by one Knight of Hybern. As a last example of allusive arms, we may quote a comparatively modern example--viz., the coat of arms of the Cunard family. Here we find three anchors charged upon the field, in obvious allusion to Sir Samuel Cunard, the eminent merchant of Philadelphia and the founder of the House of Cunard. CHAPTER II THE SHIELD--ITS FORM, POINTS, AND TINCTURES Nothing is more fascinating in the study of heraldry than the cunning fashion in which it tells the history either of a single individual or of a family, of an institution, or of a city--sometimes even of an empire--all within the space of one small shield, by using the signs which compose its language. It is astounding how much information can be conveyed by the skilful arrangement of these signs to those who can interpret them. For armorial bearings were not originally adopted for ornament, but to give real information, about those who bore them. [Illustration: PLATE 2. THE DUKE OF LEINSTER. _Arms._--Arg: saltire gu: _Crest._--Monkey statant ppr. environed round the loins and chained or. _Supporters._--Two monkeys environed and chained or. _Motto._--Crom a boo. ] Thus every detail of a coat of arms has its own message to deliver, and must not be overlooked. Let us begin with the shield, which is as necessary a part of any heraldic achievement[1] as the canvas of a painting is to the picture portrayed upon it. [Footnote 1: Any complete heraldic composition is described as an _achievement_.] It actually serves as the vehicle for depicting the coat of arms. The word "shield" comes from the Saxon verb _scyldan_, to protect, but the heraldic term "escutcheon," derived from the Greek _skûtos_, a skin, reminds us that in olden days warriors covered their shields with the skins of wild beasts. Early Britons used round, light shields woven of osier twigs, with hides thrown over them, whilst the Scythians and Medes dyed their shields red, so that their comrades in battle might not be discouraged by seeing the blood of the wounded. The Roman Legionary bore a wooden shield covered with leather and strengthened with bars and bosses of metal, whilst the Greek shield was more elaborate, and reached from a man's face to his knee. Homer describes Æneas' shield in the "Iliad" thus: "Five plates of various metal, various mould, Composed the shield, of brass each outward fold, Of tin each inward, and the middle gold." But whether the shield were of basket-work or metal, whether it were borne by a savage hordesman or by a nobly equipped and mounted knight, it has always ranked as its bearer's most precious accoutrement, the loss of which was deemed an irreparable calamity and a deep disgrace to the loser.