“Likewise, as in the Book of Hawking aforesaid are written and noted the terms of pleasure belonging to gentlemen having delight therein, in the same manner this book following showeth to such gentle persons the manner of Hunting for all manner of beasts, whether they be beasts of Venery, or of Chace, or Rascal. And also it showeth all the terms convenient as well to the hounds as to the beasts aforesaid. And in certain there be many diverse of them as it is declared in the book following.” =Prologue to the Book of Coat Armour.= “Here in this book following is determined the lineage of Coat Armours: and how gentlemen shall be known from ungentle men, and how bondage began first in angel and after succeeded in man kind, as it is here showed in process, both in the childer of Adam and also of Noe, and how Noe divided the world in three parts to his three sons. Also there be showed the nine colours in Arms figured by the nine orders of Angels, and it is showed by the foresaid colours which be worthy and which be royal; and of regalities which be noble and which be excellent. And there be here the vertues of Chivalry, and many other notable and famous things, to the pleasure of noble persons shall be showed, as the works following witnesses, whosoever liketh to see them and read them, which were too long now to rehearse. And after these notable things aforesaid followeth the Blasing of all manner Arms in Latin, French, and English.” So wrote the schoolmaster. Let us now see what kind of book this is typographically. [Illustration: Fleuron] CHAPTER II. =Typography and Bibliography.= Old books must be loved, and their idiosyncrasies carefully studied, before they will yield up _all_ their treasures; that done, the observant lover will obtain possession of both soul and body; he may revel in the intellectual feast provided by the author, or he may study the material and mechanical features of the books as represented by the peculiarities of paper and the habits and customs of the various printers. Then, by grouping these as a botanist does his flowers, according to their organisation into classes, orders, genera, and species, he may extract from his volumes true replies to questions which otherwise would remain hidden for ever. So true is the dictum, “The Mind it is which sees, and not the Eye alone.”