ayant servi à Jeanne d'Arc.' The author further states that the inscription was composed by a member of the Institute of France. . . . As a matter of fact, as Guilhermy states, the slab was copied from a suit of armour now in the Musée d'Artillerie (G 178) (Fig. 1046)."
Thus is history made even in our own times, and were it not for such observant critics as Mr. ffoulkes, the ridiculous mistake of crediting the suit to the ownership of Jeanne d'Arc might still be accepted by the uninitiated. Let us look at the suit itself. The head-piece is what might even be termed the great bascinet helm, with a large bellows visor allowing ample space within for respiration, a most needful provision, for foot exercise in such a harness must have been "winding" in the extreme. The ample pauldrons are of eleven lames à la façon d'Italie; to them are attached small upright shoulder guards. The taces and culette encircling the loins and gluteal muscles are of very protective character; but, as in the case of the other suit described in the Musée d'Artillerie, and as in that of the Tower suit, it entirely prohibits any really free movement. We make the possible objection that the jambs, sollerets, and even the gauntlets now on this suit were not those originally made for it, but were substituted for the original at a later date.
[It is convenient here to refer to another tradition attaching to two historic suits. The nation is and was justly proud of the possession of two complete harnesses which for 370 years have belonged to Earls of Pembroke. One of the suits bore the tradition that it had been worn by Anne de Montmorenci (1493-1567) when he was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of St. Quentin on the 10th of August 1557, and when the English contingent of the allied army was commanded by William Herbert, the first Earl of Pembroke. The other suit bore the tradition that it had been worn by Louis de Bourbon, Duc de Montpensier (1513-82), who was also taken prisoner in the same battle. Both suits passed to the first Earl of Pembroke as "loot" according to the custom of the time. In 1917 the present Earl decided to part with these possessions, and they were catalogued for sale by auction to be held on the 10th of July 1917. In the July number of the "Burlington Magazine" an article appeared raising the question whether these two suits could have been worn by the two French nobles in 1557. Lord Pembroke answered the criticism in the "Times" of the 10th of July. The opinion of the Baron de Cosson on the matter is printed in "The Wilton Suits—a Controversy," published by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge, in 1918. We print his letter to Lord Pembroke:
