“The fondness of Richard for this badge appears from his wardrobe accounts for the year 1483, one of which contains a charge ‘for 8,000 bores made and wrought upon fustian,’ and 5,000 more are mentioned shortly afterwards. He also established a herald of arms called ‘Blanc Sanglier,’ and it was this trusty squire who carried his master’s mangled body from Bosworth battle-field to Leicester.... After Richard’s defeat and death the White Boars were changed into Blue Boars, this being the easiest and cheapest way of changing the sign; and so the [White] Boar of Richard, now painted ‘true blue,’ passed for the [Blue] Boar of the Earl of Oxford, who had largely contributed to place Henry VII. on the throne.”

Shakespeare in Richard III. (act v., scene 3) alludes to the dead king and his badge as follows:—

“The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar
That spoiled your summer fields and fruitful vines;
... This foul swine ... lies now ...
Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn.”

It is related that in this king’s reign one William Collingbourne was executed for composing the following couplet:—

“The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our Dog,
Rule all Englonde under an Hogge.”

The king and his ministers, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir William Catesby, and Lord Lovell, were, of course, thus referred to. At Earls Colne, as already stated (p. 63), there is a Lion and Boar. Here, in all probability, we have again represented the boar of the De Veres, Colne Priory having been another seat of the family, some members of which lie buried there. Other signs, which have, in all probability, been derived (partly, at least) from other badges of the De Veres, will be noticed hereafter.

The sign of the Flitch of Bacon is most conveniently described in connection with the boar. The authors just quoted say (p. 420), “The Flitch of Dunmow is a common sign in Essex, and is sometimes seen in other counties;” but it does not appear that we have had more than one in the county for forty years past, that one being, of course, the well-known inn at *Little Dunmow. How the sign originated is too well known to need any explanation here. A similar custom has occasioned a similar sign at Wichnor, near Lichfield (Gent’s Mag., 1819). A beer-shop, about thirty years old, in the market-place at Romford, is known by the appropriate name of the Pig in the Pound. A Pig and Whistle is in existence at Thames Haven, and there are beer-shops of the same name in Broomfield and Writtle parishes. The origin of this sign appears not to have come down to us out of the mists of antiquity. Very many and very learned are the explanations which have, of late, been proposed as the solution of it. Half the European languages have been ransacked for its derivation, but so far without any satisfactory results. Larwood and Hotten dismiss it as “simply a freak of the mediæval artist.” Possibly it may represent, in a corrupted form, the peg said to have been placed in the wassail-bowl by King Edgar, who, in order to discourage drunkenness, imposed a penalty upon any one who drank so deeply as to leave it uncovered. There is, however, a by-no-means-unlikely origin for the sign, and one which the author believes has never before been suggested. In Mr. Elliot’s interesting paper just quoted (p. 70) it is stated that, in addition to the blue boar, the De Veres, among several other devices, made use of a Whistle and Chain as a household badge. Thus, among the devices of this one family, are found the two objects—a pig (or boar) and a whistle—which, when combined, constitute this most perplexing sign. It is very difficult—perhaps impossible—to prove now that the sign was actually derived from these two badges of the De Veres, but, remembering the enormous past importance of the family, it must be admitted that the sign was in no way unlikely to have been so derived. Mr. Elliot himself writes that he considers this suggestion not unlikely to be the correct one. Very probably this description of the Earl’s badges was a derisive one, applied to them by the Yorkist party during the Wars of the Roses. A whistle, like that adopted by the De Veres, was formerly worn by sea-captains, even of high rank; and Mr. Elliot is of opinion that it was assumed by the De Veres as a symbol of the office of Lord High Admiral, an appointment held by John, the thirteenth Earl, who was very active on behalf of the Lancastrian party.

Forty-six inns in Essex exhibit signs which are more or less canine. A few of these may have had their origin in Heraldry; but there can be no doubt that, in the great majority of cases, the signs have originated in the modern use of the dog, whether for sporting or other purposes. At Wethersfield and Halstead the Dog appears alone; at East Horndon there is an Old Dog; a Pointer exists at Alresford; and at Colchester, East Mersey, and Tolleshunt Knights the Dog and Pheasant appears; while at Stifford and Great Leighs (beer-house) the Dog and Partridge is used, as it was also at *Halstead sixty years ago. The sign of the Spotted Dog, although it is not mentioned by Hotten, occurs four times, namely at Witham, Barking, Chelmsford, and West Ham, and there is a beer-house of the same name at Braintree. The sole use of the Spotted, or Dalmatian, Dog in this country, says a writer in the Gentleman’s Magazine, “is to contribute, by the beauty of its appearance, to the splendour of the stable establishment, constantly attending the horses and carriage to which he belongs.” On October 22, 1804, a disastrous and fatal fire took place at the Spotted Dog, *Chelmsford. The details are given in a scarce pamphlet, reprinted in Hughson’s London (vol. vi. p. 246). It seems that about 120 Hanoverian soldiers marched into Chelmsford on the day in question, and about 70 of them took up their lodgings in the stables of this inn. While most of them were asleep it was discovered that the straw upon which they lay had caught fire. All were, of course, at once aroused, but being unused to the fastening of the door, they were unable to open it. When at last it was opened and the inmates liberated, many of them were sorely burned, and others had their clothing on fire. The flames were got under after a time, but not until they had extended to other stables and burned several horses. On clearing away the rubbish, the bodies of no less than thirteen of the Hanoverian soldiers who had perished in the flames were found. They were afterwards buried with military honours in the church. At Hordon-on-the-Hill there is a Black Dog (beer-house). The Shepherd and Dog is a device which