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Crest : out of an open coronet , surrounded by rays of light , a dexter arm issuing , grasping a dagger , and debruising a branch or sprig . Supporters : dexter , a griffin ; sinister , a lion . Motto over the crest : " .. NE Deus u . .. bra " ( Qy . Sine Deus wribra ) . Under the shield , "Hoc solo mode honore . " The whole

ensigned with six banners , charged as follows : —1 . Three pillars . . G ; 2 , A cross crosslet ; 3 . is quite illegible ; & Two swords in saltire , hab above , and three other letters below ; 5 . Two pena in saltire ; 6 . Square and compasses . The book is written throughout with great care , and is in perfect condition . F . B .

Madame De Pompadour At Home.

MADAME DE POMPADOTJK AT HOME .

The lady was at her toilet , which . In our day would signify that she was invisible : then , it was precisely the reverse j the hour of her toilet was the hour for receiving company , and this reception was quite general ; whoever was not a stranger to the lady had a right to see her at that hour ^ and had even a right to bring a friend . The dressing-room of a woman of fashion was a sort of temple , where people went , as Marivaux says , "to burn the incense of wit on the altar of the Graces . "

It was therefore the rendezvous of all who had , or thought they had , some tribute to lay on the altar . Round the divinity of the place , young noblemen , little abbe ' s , and old beaux conversed and rattled pile-mile . Here , then , is the lady , seated before a small pier-glass ^ which is covered with gilding and lace , and supported by two panting Cupids , which Boucher , the great manufacturer of these articles , has imagined he could not make too fat or too chubby . Upon a table , the legs of which are curved , incrusted with ivory , gold , and sometimes even pearls , a perfect repository of mother-of-pearl combs , silky brushes , and perfumes

of all kinds and colours is spread out to view ; but from the large arm-chair down to the most insignificant footstool—from the table down to the smallest box , all is ungraceful from excess of magnificence—all is trifling from the efforts of art . The curtains are so heavy that they might be taken for carved wood ; the carpets so thick that you seem to tread on a lawn . Beclming cbquettishly in her white satin bergere— -her fan in her hand , her spaniel oh her knee- ^ -the lady receives the homage of all who come in , without rising . If she listens , every one is silent to listen to the speaker to whom she vouchsafes this honour ; if she speaks , there is a hush to attend to what she deigns to say . But generally she speaks very little

every one knows that she is witty , and , still better , that she is pretty—that is sufficient . Lively conversation is reserved for the evening ; in the morning , she is motionless as a goddess , or laconic as an oracle . It lasts generally two hours ; for the attendants have orders to protract their task so long as their mistress does not appear fatigued , and has enough of spectators . Let us not forget that all these spectators are men ; no lady of quality would ever be publicly present at the toilet of another , unless it were that of a queen or a princess . It is a homage that only men can render , like every other duty of gallantry , without its being humiliating or derogatory /

However , the more this custom is removed from the manners of our day , the more we should be careful not to exaggerate to ourselves its singularity . The most respectable women complied with it ; habit took from it all that shocks us most severely . Besides , it need scarcely be said , that the public toilet was confined to what could be done without indecency ; and although these voluptuous exhibitions no doubt contributed greatly to foster impure feelings , all was carried on , externally , with the most perfect propriety . An invariable etiquette settled

what might or might not be done : certain scruples were even carried further than in our day ; a lady ' s hair was dressed in the presence of thirty men ., but never by a man ; it would , have been an unprecedented act of boldness and bad taste : in short , any jest , or allusion , or indiscreet glance , would have condemned at once the ignorant or ill-mannered person guilty of it . The more hazardous the situation , the greater was the degree of caution observed . Every one felt , as it were , personally responsible that the modesty which the lady was on the verge of overstepping should not be in the least infringed . —From France before the Revolution .