Sebastocrator should be named the second, and Melissenus Cæsar the third.

Czar, in the Russian language, means Cæsar, and it is a title assumed by the great Dukes, or as they are now styled Emperors of Russia. Beckmann makes no doubt but they took this title by corruption from Cæsar-Emperor; and accordingly they bear an eagle as the symbol of their empire, and the word Caesar in their arms; yet they make a distinction between Czar and Cæsar, the first being taken for the King's name, and the other for the Emperor's. The first that bore this title was Basil, the son of Basilides, under whom the Russian power began to appear about

1470.

DAUPHIN OF FRANCE.

In the times of the feudal system, the kingdom of France was divided into many petty sovereignties, as the empire of Germany is at present. Humbert, or Hubert II., the Count of Dauphiny, married in 1332 Mary de Baux, who was allied to the house of France, and by her he had an only son. One day, it is said, being playing with this child at Lyons he let him accidentally fall into the Rhone, in which he was drowned. From that fatal period, he was a prey to all the horrors of grief; and feeling, moreover, a deep resentment for the affronts he had received from the house of Savoy, he resolved to give his dominions to that of France. This cession, made in 1343, to Philip of Valois, was confirmed in 1349, on condition that the eldest sons of the kings of France should bear the title of Dauphin. Philip, in gratitude for a cession which thus united Dauphiny to the Crown, gave the donor 40,000 crown pieces of gold, and a pension of 10,000 livres. Humbert next entered among the Dominicans, and on Christmas day, 1351, received the sacred orders from the hands of Pope Clement VI., who created him patriarch of Alexandria, and gave him the administration of the archbishopric of Rheims. Humbert passed the remainder of his days in tranquillity, and in the exercises of piety, and died at the age of 43, at Clermont, in the province of Auvergne.

DUKE OF CLARENCE.

The origin of this title is possibly but little known. Clarentia, or Clarence, once a country village in Suffolk, has long been celebrated for the great men who have borne the titles of earls, or dukes of it, and possessed formerly a castle of great strength and considerable extent. There was an interregnum in the title from George, Edward the Fourth's brother, who was drowned in the butt of Malmsey, until its revival in the late possessor. The surname of Clarencieux, adopted by the second king at arms, arises also from its having formerly appertained to the dukes of Clarence.

ROYAL TITLES.

The following is the succession in which the royal titles swelled in England; Henry IV. had the title of Grace conferred on him; Henry VI. that of Excellent Grace; Edward IV. that of High and Mighty Prince; Henry VII. Highness; Henry VIII. Majesty (and was the first that was styled Dread Sovereign); and James I. that of Sacred, or Most Excellent Majesty. That of Majesty was first given to Louis XI. of France; before, it was the title only of Emperors. The kings of Arragon, Castile, and Portugal, had the title only of Highness; those of England, Your Grace; those of France, Your Despotism.

BLACK PRINCE.

From this time (Crecy), says a writer,* the French began to call the young Prince of Wales, Le Noir, or the Black; and in a record, 2 Richard II. n. 12, he is called the Black Prince. Yet this title does not appear to have originated, as generally supposed, from his wearing black armour, nor indeed is there any thing to show he ever wore such at all.† When, however, he attended at tournaments in France or England, he appeared in a surcoat with a shield, and his horse in a caparison, all black, with white feathers on them, so that it must have been from the covering of his armour that he was so called. Yet in the field of battle, and on all other occasions, his surcoat or guipon was emblazoned with the arms of England labelled. The terrible effort of his prowess seems to have given another meaning to his epithet; for Froissart having described the battle of Poictiers in 1356, adds "Thus did Edward the Black Prince, now doubly dyed black by the terror of his arms."

ICH DIEN.-"I SERVE."

The motto of the Prince of Wales, which was originally adopted by Edward the Black Prince in proof of his subjection to his Father Edward III., and has been continued without interruption down to the present time. Sir H. Nicolas, in the Archæologia, vol. xxxi. p. 372, expresses his belief that both the Prince of Wales feathers, and the mottoes "Ich Dien" and "Houmont," were derived from the House of Hainault, possibly from the *Quarterly Review.

+ In the painting of him, discovered on the wall of St. Stephen's Chapel, his armour is gilt; and yet Eustace and Mercœur are there represented in black armour. Thus, in the initial letter of this reign, which is taken from the original one of the grant of the Duchy of Acquitaine by Edward III. to the Black Prince, the King appears on a throne of marble, ornamented with a frame of gilt; but both his armour and that of his son are steel, with gilt knee and elbow caps.-Grant is in the Cottonian Library, marked Nero DVII.

L

Comté of Ostrevant, which formed the appanage of the eldest sons of the Counts of that province.

SEMPER EADEM.

Semper Eadem, i. e., " always the same," was first used as the motto of the arms of England, Dec. 13th, 1702.

BISHOP OF OSNABURG.

The bishopric of Osnaburg was founded by Charlemagne, and was filled by various princes until 1625, when Cardinal Francis William, Count of Wurtemberg, was elected by the chapter. It was held by the late Duke of York, and is an alternative between the Roman Catholics and Protestants, made so at the treaty of Westphalia, in 1648. On that occasion, the house of Brunswick made some great sacrifices for the sake of a general peace, in consideration of which the See of Osnaburgh was given, to be held alternately by the Brunswick family, and others of the German empire. But, although this bishopric is alternately hereditary in our royal family, it is not so with regard to its Roman Catholic bishops; for they are chosen out of different families by a chapter of 25 canons. When they have a popish bishop, he is a suffragan to the archbishop of Cologne; but the Protestant bishop, who is a temporal prince indeed, has little to demonstrate him an ecclesiastic but the title. The bishopric is 45 miles long, and 25 broad, and is in one of the fruitfulest parts of Westphalia.

DUKE OF CORNWALL.

In a parliament held in 1337, king Edward III. created Prince Edward, his eldest son, Duke of Cornwall, being the first in England that bore the title of duke. He was vested with the dukedom by a wreath on his head, a ring on his finger, and a silver verge in his hand; since which time, the eldest son of the king of England is born duke of Cornwall; the title of prince of Wales being given some days after.

Formerly one of the three degrees of nobility among the Saxons. Athelm was the first, Thane the lowest, and Alderman the same as earl among the Danes, and answering to our earl or count at present. It was also used in the time of king Edgar for a judge or justice; in which sense Alwin is called aldermannus totius Anglia. But now aldermen are associates to the chief civil magistrates of a city, or town corporate. The number of these magistrates is not limited, but more or less according to the

magnitude of the place. Those of London were first appointed in 1242, and are twenty-six in number, each having one of the wards of the city committed to his care. Their office is for life; so that when one of them dies, or resigns, a wardmote is called, who return two persons, one of whom the lord mayor and aldermen choose to supply the vacancy.* By the charter of the city of London, all the aldermen who have been lord mayors, together with the three eldest ones not arrived at that dignity, are justices of the peace.

SHERIFF.

The title sheriff is a corruption from Shire Reeve, from the Saxon, meaning the Reeve or Governor of the Shire. He is the chief civil officer in each county, and is entrusted with the execution of the laws and the preservation of the peace, for which purpose he has at his disposal the whole civil force of the county. He is a kind of superior constable, through whom all writs are issued.

LORD MAYOR.

Mayor, formerly major, i. e., the first or senior Alderman. The Lord Mayor of London, as the chief magistrate is called, is, properly speaking, only Mayor of London and Lord of Finsbury. This latter title was conferred, on the gift of the manor of Finsbury, by Richard II., in consequence of Sir William Walworth (then mayor of London) killing Wat Tyler in Smithfield.

SECRETARY OF STATE.

This office is comparatively modern in point of importance. There was only one until the reign of Henry VIII., who added another. Queen Anne appointed one for Scotch affairs, but this office was not of long duration: one for the American departments was appointed by George III., but abolished in 1782. At present there are three Secretaries of State. 1. The Secretary for the Home Department. 2. The Colonial Secretary. 3. The Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

TELLER OF THE EXCHEQUER.

The mode of keeping accounts by tallies, or cleft pieces of wood, in which the notches are cut upon one piece conformable to the other, one kept by the creditor, and the other with the debtor, is still practised in many places of Britain. A tally continues to be given by the Exchequer to those who pay money there upon loans; hence the origin of the Teller of the Exchequer, one who tells or numbers up the notches, and also of the phrase, to tally, to fit, to suit, or to answer exactly.

*This is not the case now, each ward returning its own Alderman.

POET LAUREATE.

This appendage to the court was formerly called the King's Versifier, and may be traced as far back as 1251, at which period his stipend was 100 shillings per annum. In the History of English Poetry, Mr. Warton observes, that in the reign of Edward IV., the first mention is made of the more dignified appellation of Laureate, which was originally bestowed on John Kay. This ingenious writer is of opinion, the title arose from the degrees taken in the University of Oxford, on which occasion a wreath of laurel was presented to the new graduate, who was styled Poeta Laureatus.

KING'S COCK-CROWER!

This officer, which was formerly about the court, was as useful as the master of the hawks. The cock-crower's business was to go the rounds as a watchman does, and to crow like a cock; but on the accession of George III. the cock ceased to crow, his majesty thinking the custom more honoured in the breach than the observance.

LORD WARDEN OF THE CINQUE PORTS.

The Cinque Ports were originally as follows, viz. :-Dover, Sandwich, Hastings, Hythe, and Romney; but three more were afterwards added, viz., Winchelsea, Rye, and Seaford. The Constable of Dover Castle was created Warden of the Cinque Ports by William the Conqueror. The Lord Warden has the authority of Admiral in the Cinque Ports and their dependencies, with power to hold a Court of Admiralty, and Courts of Law and Equity.

BELLMAN.

This officer was first appointed in London, 1556. They were to ring their bells at night, and cry, "Take care of your fire and candle, be charitable to the poor, and pray for the dead."

JULIAN THE APOSTATE.

The Emperor Julian was denominated the Apostate, from having professed Christianity before he ascended the throne, and afterwards relapsing to Paganism. He died in the 32nd year of his age, in a battle with the Persians.

KNIGHTHOOD.

The order of knighthood in ancient times added a lustre to the highest degree of nobility, and was esteemed even by kings and princes themselves. The ceremony of creating a knight was