The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-02-25
THE RAGE FOR RAMPANT LIONS.
A Unique Sort of Idiocy That Affilcts
Many Families in New York.
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make prodigious splash and let the world
know you are somebody is to have pedi-
gree and a coat -of-arms. ] lave It on good
authority that the London College Of Her
aids draws large part Of its profits from
Americans.
A few New York families are entitled to
the use of arms, but the mai 'rity who use
| them have adopted them according to fan
cy. fashionable stationer says that @
has engraved the same device for ten differ
ent families. He says thai rampant lions
are very popular, and that he has copied
the Morris at OF arms, which has two
upon 1t, for six persons in no wise related.
This matches the I'D story OF the British
ambassador at Washington, who sent his
| carriage to a factory for repair, and whe
be afterwards visited the place
found his coat of arms emblazoned on every
vehicle IN the shop. But what is to be
done The Four Hundred say it is high
| time American aristocracy had some sign
other than the almighty dollar, and some
foundation less vulgar than the filthyluc Q,
| and that family arms are the proper thing,
besides being. quite English, you know; and
so what are Tom, Dick and Harry to do
but to follow suit and blazon somebody's
heraldic device, II not their own, upon their
trappings.
II you will stand on tho Fifth avenue
| curb any fine afternoon you may observe
that at least two out of every six carriages
bear coats or crests on their door panels.
Thu occupant of a fine turnout Is not as
proud OF her matched bays and their
golden harness as she is OF this little bit
Of blazonry which signifies an aristocratio
descent and distinguishes her carriage
from all the others in the throng If you
are posted in heraldry it Is not necessary
to glance inside to sec who my lady is.
Those elaborately quartered arms yonder,
g. I.A1d H..
stones, and know that the beautiful Miss
Clarice is within taking the air prepara-
tory to another night of dissipation and
| triumph; this carriage bearing the gold
| cross on red field, which marks de-
scent from the crusaders, is the Van
Renselaers. The publishers Appleton
are Of Puritan lineage; their carriage
| bears three apples on a silver shield; Jo IN
| jays has two poppinjays in the device; the
| Morris coat of quartered arms is one of
those most noted, and tde plain but accom-
plshed Miss Morris, whose debut ball last
| season cost her fat er 500 600, is as proud
of her descent as an English 81 would DO
| IL the daughter Of a hundred earls. In the
matter of pedigree these and other New
| York families are able TO look down upon
certain Of the acknowledged leaders Of
| fashion.
The Vanderbilts have searched in vain
| they have been able TO dnd no armorial
| bearings to which they are entitled, and
| a simple monogram adorns their carriage
| doors. Ii is the same with the Astors; in a
| quiet way this family have tried TO trace
| their ancestry back to some distinction,
but beyond the grandfathers of the
Fl st American Astor, who was middle
| class Englishman they a Q not able to 60
| And so where in Other houses the silver
plate is covered with heradic ensigns, in
the Vandorbilts and Astors there are blank
| spaces This is the Achilles tendon of the
mon princes, their one vulnerable point
money will not buy ancestry and conserva-
tive New York still classes them among the
nou1edu richie.
Jay Gould has a coat-of-a arms, but he
makes no display of it and his daughter,
Helen, has not even monogram upon her
carriage. Secretary Bayard on the con-
trary Is very proud of his. He has just had
family memorial window made for a
church in Wilmington, Delaware, the en-
tire deign of which Is family arms. He Is
descended from the famous chevalier.
1t is hardly to be expected tnat all Ameri-
| cans who pretend to follow the fashion are
| up in rules, argents, crests and bars sinis-
| ter, and an occasional mistake, such as IN
| adopting device which does not fit with
the ancestry claimed, is no more than to be
looked for. In this light it is heartless TO
| augh at the position in which a certain
| family Of wealth here, whom could name,
| recently found themselves. They have been
| using a coat-ot-arms which proves to be
| Scotch and claiming, at the same time, a
| Dutch ancestry. Some one posted in her
aldry came along the other day and pointed
out o discrepancy. In the dilem Da the
| family concluded to drop the Dutch alces-
| try, as they could not. without much awk-
wardness, o ase the blazo ry, 50 familiar to
| their acquaintances, from their belongings.
| This Is true story, and IL any one chances
| to meet In Central Park a carriage sporting
| on its pa els a device having a Scotch
| buckle across the shield, and three feathers
| and blue bells in the crest, he may find out
| who the family is TO whom refer.
Some Of the old New York families OF
| Huguenot desceat are In the terrible pre-
| dicament of not knowing what their real
| names are. IL seems that among the
| Hugue lot refugees driven iAto Holland
| were many families OF children whose par
ents had been executed. They were accom-
| panied by some faithful servant. who,
afraid to give the names Of tho children,
| registered them under his own. The
sea ch for pedigrees has revealed TO many
| proud people that they are bearing the
servants name, and have no idea Of what
| their own is.
The men who make It their business to
search for pedigrees are important person.
| ages, for they have the chronological his ory
|
end. One New York antiquarian pos es es
copies Of Dutch registry books that 60 back
to the year 1900, aud has been TO Europe
twenty six times 10 rummage the mouldy
past for brosen links TO ancestral
chains. His den fairly grins with
skeletons OF tie past, de.ks
stuffed full Of pedigrees, and furniture
| which has had the wear Of ages. One OF
! the curious things about the business is the
way heirlooms are traced cut and re-
covered. After family hiss establ he'd its
ancestry and its coat-of-arms II begins 70
banker after heirlooms. and old furniture
once despised, attains new value. The
antiquary threads tho mazes Of the
past, and returns laden with treas-
ure. He knows the inside OF every peas
ants house in Holland, and has located IN
them pieces W ich belonged 70 ancestor' Of
New York famill g. His met cd Of secur-
ing the coveted article, is TO pay SUN OF
money TO the relatives OF the present own
ers aud take mortgage on tho furniture
he wishes TO secure, the heirs 10 deliver the
article when the present owners are Gead.
Thousands OF New York dollars
are thus invested. and Holland
Ia full Of mortgaged heirlooms.
Mrs Hicks-Lord is one OF the persons
| who hes pronted by this means. She dis
plays a coat-of-arms and her house is as Ill
Of qusint old furniture as museum. And