that it comes from the
S-shaped lever upon the bit of the bridle of the war steed.
To [Greek: Ph].'s question, "Who are the persons now privileged to wear
these collars?" MR. NICHOLS answers, "I believe the reply must be
confined to the judges, the Lord Mayor of London, the Lord Mayor of
Dublin, the kings and heralds of arms." The privilege of wearing a
Collar of SS., so far as the various persons enumerated are concerned,
is a mere official privilege, and can scarcely be cited in reply to
[Greek: Ph].'s interrogative, except upon the principle, "Exceptio
probat regulam." The persons now privileged to wear the ancient golden
Collar of SS. are the _equites aurati_, or knights (chevaliers) in the
British monarchy, a body which includes all the hereditary order of
baronets in England, Scotland, and Ireland, with such of their eldest
sons, being of age, as choose to claim inauguration as knights. It is
presumable too that the Collar of SS. is also an incident of the minor
degree of knight bachelor (bas-chevalier seu miles-bachillarus); whilst
the silver Collar of SS. belongs to every head of a family of ancient
esquirage quality, bearing arms. It is true, the fashion of wearing the
collar, whether gold or silver, may be said to have been in desuetude
for centuries. But rights of blood never prescribe; and there are strong
grounds to believe that there will again be a general revival of the use
of such distinctions.
There are various other points bearing upon the subject of the Collar of
SS.
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