The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-03

cOats-of-arms upon their houses. which,
In the absence OF the family, were open
for the entertainment Of travellers We
may suppose that the traveller Of those
days was not only rarer bird than he
is now, but likewise that he possessed
nons Of the relic-hunting proDensities
which have developed in his descend
ants Perhaps he did not appreciate the
situation at all events, he was not
usually UP in the technicalities OF her
aldry and. taking things for what they
seemed. he called a lion gules and a red
lion and a lion azure a blue Hon; and 70
him they signified nothing more that
Good entertainment for all that passes.
Horses. mares. men and asses.
Like coats-of-arms, slgnboards were
hereditary possessions. Joan Wolfe,
making her last will and testament July
!, 1874. bequeathed to her son Robert
the chapel house Orinting Office, the
brazen serpent Che sign thereof and all
the prints. letters and furniture" One
unfortunate in the reign of Edward ",
lost his head for treason for saying he
would make his son heir to the crown. %
meaning neither more nor less than his
signboard representing a crown.
Among the signs that have come down
to US are the colored lights in the drug
gist's window at night; also his mortar
and pestle, the hat of the halter. the UNI
brella striped in two colors Of the TN
brelia maker and the BARRIERS pole.
Or. Franklin used to relate an anec-
dOte Of halter named John Thompson
and his sign bearing his name, John
Tompson, and the words, halter, makes
and sells hats for ready money" IT was
deliberately gotten up and submitted with
considerable flourish to his friends who
being real true friends, criticised it with
unrestrained frankness. Friends enjoyed
greater liberty in DR.. Franklin's time
than we now see fit TO accord them. 1t
was denounced as tautologous, and by the
time three friends had passed judgment,
removing what TO each other appeared su-
perfiuous, there was left but the picture Of
hat, and beneath It., in solitary splendor,
the name of john Thompson.
The umbrella to mend" man, who did
business in London under the invariably
striped umbrella, dubbed his establish
ment AN umbrella hospital" and adver-
tised the following items of cost for the
benefit Of his patrons Restoring broken
rib Cd; setting a dlslocated neck, cd; re-
storing the muscular power. Cd restor-
ing shattered constitution, Is"
The BARRIERS pole of the present is but
a memorial of the days when It had an
actual use. 1t dates from the time when
a barber was also something of a sur
Grafton of phlebotomy. In relieving his
parents Of superiuous blood he obtained
from them such cooperation as they
could give by grasping a pole, whereby a
more ready flow of blood was secured.
AS the pole was in danger of being sprin>
Killed. with blood It was commonly painted
red. To this and TO the practice of twist
ing the white bandages about it when it
was not in use, BARRIERS of a later day
owe their conception of the poles painted
in stripes
Though his symbol has suffered this
much of an evolution, the man is the
same individual. The ripple of his small
talk goes "on and on forever" He gos-
lips as glibly as he did in the days Of
AnaXagoras. whose reply to the barber
how he would have his beard cut. tells
he whole pitiful tale. Ee said: With
out talking"
A French barber of half century ago
more or less, advertised himself in the
following seductive terms:
Il shear quickly and am silent" Until
q century ago the accepted sign of the
silk merchant was q gold ball after the
golden ball of Constantine, which repre-
'ented his imperial sovereignty. 1t was
irst adopted by silk merchants of the
middle ages because, in their time, all
silk was brought from the east, and par
tcularly from Byzantium. The three
balls of the pawnbrokers sign are taken
rom the lower part of the Medici coat
1f-arms. Formerly the balls were blue
whence came the practice of gliding them
not known. From the states of the
Dukes de AIedci came the first of those
wealthy bankers who, from the custom
Of lending money on valuables, gradually
degenerated into pawnbrokers.
on our own side of the water the most
curious signs are found in the Spanish
American countries. In Mexico, for ex-
ample, The Little Boot of Venus" is the
name of a pulque shop; "The Cautious
Love" deslgnates a butchers shop, while
a basket store does business under the
llluring title of "A Dream of Love" In
he days of the first great international
rrenzy which Uncle Toms Cabin" begot,
Europe teemed with subterranean dens
that bore its name.