Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-08-29
The Daily Short Story I;
The Joneses' Goat of Arms.
BY Edward 3. Clark.


is a man of some means and a good
deal of common sense. Mr.. Jones new
er knew exactly how it was that at
baptism his parents had dubbed him
De Courcey. He suffered under the
name because spiteful people intimated
| that, since he had made n little money,
he was trying to put on airs and that
his right name was John. One morning
at the breakfast table Mrs. Jones, after
fortifying herself with a cup of coffee
stronger than usual, said sweetly,
"Courcey, dear, want 500 for some
thing particular"
De Courcey smiled indulgently. He
always did. Every well, my dear, I'll
try to fix Il. What do you want it
for?"
Mrs. Jones nibbled at the corner OF
French roll. 81 know you'll laugh,
Courcey,' she said presently, "but L
want to get coat of arms, so we can
have it hanging over our mantel and
painted on the door of our carriage
when we get one. There was the incest
man, an Italian, called here yesterday,
and he said all the best families in
town were using coats of arms now
and that he made a speciality of looking
them up and having them drawn and
emblazoned for people. He had a great
book filed with the most beautiful
arms and crests that you ever saw. 1t
represented the work that he had al
ready done for the best families.
ut was just lovely, and all our swell
neighbors were in it. There were the
Burkes, the Smileys. the Stonehams,
the Cottrels, the Cutters and a lot
more, and don't see why we shouldn't
have ours. The man had a lot about
their families too. Nearly all of them
are descended from Charlemagne or
Alfred the Great or somebody else. He
said the Cutters got their name be-
cause one of their ancestors cut off the
heads of a hundred Turks and saved
the life of Richard the Lion Hearted,
and, De Courcey, you know a coat OF
arms makes one so distinguished"
Il know Cutter, Melinda" said Mr..
Jones. His grandfather was a most
estimable tailor, who used to make my
fathers clothes down in the little town
in the Chenango valley where 1 was
born. Burke l know too. His ances-
plant that used to smell to heaven and
beyond. 1 think of old man Burke's
place every hot night now when the
wind blows from the stockyards. There
are lots of tomfoolery about this coat of
arms business, my dear, and, as for the
Joneses, we never had a coat of arms,
and 1 don't believe your italian friend
can dig one up for us"
In a nj m
that the name Jones was originally
John and that there wasn't the slight
est doubt in the world but that the
family is directly descended from John
the Baptist"
De Courcey smiled bit grimly. MY
recollection is. Melinda, that the Bap-
fist was a bachelor. However, that's
4 minor matter. Get your coat of arms |
if you want to, but don't expect me |
either to sport it or glory in it," Then |
Mr. Jones filed out check for 500 |
and gave it to his wife. 1t was week |
before he asked about the progress of |
tie coat of arms.
1.-THE man brought drawing of it to- |
day," said Mrs. Jones. cit shows a |
bent reed CThe wind is blowing. the |
man said, a bit of honeycomb and a |
He said it was authentic |
and I'd find it i'm the Scriptures, which |
takes us back much further than any |
of the others whose coats he has looked |
up"
You're in great luck, Melinda" said
De Courcey. that you got in n little
late on the deal. Have you seen the
paper? No? Well. then, lis
ten to this:
"'The current number of The Swell
Set contains six pages of reproductions
Of the coats of arms of well known
The pictures were taken from
a series of colored prints prepared by
Giuseppe Macaroni, an Italian. Per
mission to reproduce the coats Of arms
was not obtained because the editor of
The Swell Set did not think that any
person could copyright another persons
coat of arms. Mr.. Macaroni threatened
suits for infringement of copyright,
and the editor of The Swell Set settled
with the Italian yesterday for $1,000.
II seems that one person cannot copy
right another persons coat of arms, but
these particular coats of arms were Mr..
own private property. He
invented them, drew them and copy
righted them, and it is understood that
he was paid 500 each for the use of
them by many of our best families. |
who had only such claims to them as
the Italian chose to allow
Melinda" said Mr.. Jones, "here is n
list of the families whose coats of arms
appeared in The Swell Set. Are you
not sorry that the reed shaken by the
wind is not emblazoned alongside of
The sword OF Saracen Staying Cutter"
Melinda was in tears.
my dear" said De Courcey, "never
mind the hundred dollars. AS I was
coming home tonight overheard Burke
alling to his coachman- James, he
,aid take &he carrfare round To |