I must confess that, in the course of my heraldric reading, I have never met with blazon of this singular description, but Ferne assures his reader that it may be his fortune "to light upon such phantasticall termes," and he gives an historical and philosophical account of their origin. So recently as the last century the planets and gems were used in royal and noble armory, but of late good taste has limited blazon to the first-mentioned and most simple set of terms in all cases. [Illustration] The _furs_ are ermine, ermines, erminois, erminites, pean, vair, and potent counter-potent. They are all said to be indicative of dignity. In armorial painting their effect is very rich. ERMINE, which may be taken as the type of the five first mentioned, is represented by three spots placed triangularly, and three hairs in black upon a white ground. It is intended to represent the black tail of a species of weasel fixed upon the white skin of the animal. Guillim[88] gives a coat, containing six _whole ermines_, as represented in the margin. Sir G. Mackenzie informs us that "the first user of this fur in arms was Brutus, the son of Silvius, who having by accident killed his father, left that unhappie ground, and travelling in Bretaigne in France, fell asleep, and when he awoke he found this little beast upon his shield, and from that time wore a shield ermine!" This fur is said to have been introduced into England by Alan, Earl of Richmond, so created by William the Conqueror. The ermine (_mustela erminea_) is found in all the northern regions of the old continent, and as far southward as Persia and China. It was originally brought into western Europe from Armenia, then called _Ermonie_, whence its name. Chaucer employs _ermin_ for the adjective Armenian. VAIRE is composed of miniature shields of blue and white alternately placed. According to Mackenzie it represents the skin of a small quadruped called _varus_, the back of which is of a bluish grey, and the belly white; and Guillim adds that when the head and feet of the animal are cut off from the skin, the latter resembles the figure of vaire used in heraldry. The costly fur so much spoken of by our old poets under the name of _miniver_ is derived by Dallaway from the French _menu vair_, on account of its smallness and delicacy. The old French _vairon_ signifies anything of two colours, and may possibly be the etymon of _vaire_. [Illustration: (Temp Edw. I.) Arms of Sackville.] POTENT-COUNTER-POTENT, literally "crutch-opposite-crutch," resembles the tops of crutches counter-placed. What the origin of this figure may have been does not appear, although the word potent, in the sense of crutch, was common in the days of Chaucer. "When luste of youth wasted be and spent, Then in his hand he takyth a _potent_." And again, "So eld she was that she ne went A foote, but it were by potent." _Romaunt of the Rose._ [Illustration: ("Gules, a bend argent")]