alled "quarterings," in one of which you will observe two lions and a
horse. Attached to the whole is the motto, _Dieu et mon droit_,--French
words, whose meaning is, "God and my right."

If you inquire, you will be told that this device is the "coat-of-arms"
of Great Britain,--as the eagle, shield and olive branch is that of the
United States,--and that all articles thus marked are of British
manufacture.

In old times the national symbol of England was the rose, of Scotland
the thistle, of Ireland the shamrock, or clover. When England claimed
Ireland and Scotland, these three were united on the British royal
shield, as we find them in the time of Queen Elizabeth. On a victory
over France, the symbol of France, a unicorn, was also added, the
unicorn wearing a chain, to denote the subjection of France to England.
This explains the nursery rhyme which you have no doubt often heard--

"The lion and the unicorn fighting for the crown;
The lion whipped the unicorn all around the town."

The sovereignty of Great Britain is by law hereditary, but sometimes
there are disputes and wars for possession of the crown, and it passes
into a new family. Thus some of the kings and queens of Great Britain
have belonged to the family of Plantagenet, others to that of Tudor, and
still others to the Stuarts. George the First of England was of a family
named Guelph, and all the sovereigns of Great Britain succeeding him,
down to Queen Victoria, have been of this family and name.

When a new sovereign succeeds to the crown, he has a right to place his
own family coat-of-arms on the royal shield of Great Britain. George the
First did this. The two lions and the white horse, which you see on one
of the quarterings, is the coat-of-arms of the Guelphs, who were dukes
of Brunswick and Hanover in Germany. It is therefore called the arms of
the House of Brunswick, and it is about this that I now design to tell
you.

In order to begin at the beginning, we must go far back into past
ages--almost to the time when our Savior was upon earth. At that period
the whole northern portion of Europe was inhabited by wild and barbarous
tribes who had never heard of Christ, but were Pagans and worshiped
imaginary gods, of whom Woden was chief. Among these races were the
Saxons, a fair-haired, fair-complexioned people, of great size and
strength, who inhabited that portion of country now known as north
Germany. They have never been permanently drive