Frederick Edward Hulme

“ In view of these figures one can easily realise the derivation of the word standard—a thing that is meant to stand; to be rather fastened in the ground as a rallying point than carried, like a banner, about the field of action.
At the funeral of Nelson we find his banner of arms and standard borne in the procession, while around his coffin are the bannerolls, square banner-like flags bearing the various arms of his family lineage. ”

“ The old flag has for the British soldier a meaning so deep and powerful that it is impossible to put it into words. It is but a piece of silk, often faded and tattered, and rent with shot: but it is a symbol, and symbols are amongst the most sacred things on earth. It means for the soldier his Queen and his country, and all the honour, loyalty, truth, and heroism they demand of him. Therefore it is that men will follow their colours down into the dreadful pit, and would be willing to die twice for them rather than let them be taken by an enemy ”

“ The days when a great noble could change the fortunes of the day by withdrawing his vassals or transferring himself and them, on the eve of the fight, to the opposing party, were over, and men fought no longer in the interests of Warwick or of Percy, but in the cause of England and beneath the banner of St. George, the national Patron Saint.
"Thou, amongst those saints whom thou dost see, Shall be a saint, and thine own nation's frend And patron: thou Saint George shalt called bee, Saint George of Mery England, the sign of victoree." ”

“ The distinctive mark of all such refuges is a white flag with a red cross on it—the flag of Switzerland reversed in colouring—and all medical stores, carriages, and the like, bear the same device upon them; while the doctors, nurses, and assistants, have a white armlet with the red cross upon it, the sacred badge that proclaims their mission of mercy. In deference to the religious feelings of Turkey a red crescent may be substituted for the cross in campaigns where that country is one of the belligerents. ”

“ At any parade of troops before the sovereign the regimental flags are lowered as they pass the saluting point, and at sea the colours are dipped by hauling them smartly down from the mast-head and then promptly replacing them. They must not be suffered to remain at all stationary when lowered, as a flag flying half-mast high is a sign of mourning for death, for defeat, or for some other national loss, and it is scarcely a mark of honour or respect to imply that the arrival of the distinguished person is a cause of grief or matter for regret. ”

“ Citizens, I will reject even to death this banner of blood, and you should repudiate it still more than myself, for this red flag you offer us has only made the circuit of the Champs de Mars bathed in the blood of the people, while the tricolor has made the circuit of the world, with the name, the glory, and the liberty of your country. ”

“ This may be seen in Fig. 90, the noblest flag that flies under heaven.
Though the National Flag is primarily just so much silk or bunting, its design and colouring are full of meaning: and though its prime cost may be but a few shillings, its value is priceless, for the national honour is enwrapped in its folds, and the history of centuries is figured in the symbolism of its devices. It represents to us all that patriotism means. It is the flag of freedom and of the greatest empire that the world has ever known. ”

“ It seems so natural to write of England and of Englishmen, so stilted to put Great Britain and Ireland, that one may possibly forget that, comprehensive as we intend the terms to be, we may, perhaps, wound the susceptibilities of our fellow subjects and brother Britons across the Tweed. Let us then turn to a companion picture, and see how, with equal honour and devotion, the flags of our gallant Highlanders are borne to their rest. ”

“ A man waving flags on board ship would be a scarcely conspicuous enough object, and intermediate vessels in a squadron would block out all view of him from those farthest off, hence naval communications are ordinarily made by means of flags exhibited from the mast head or other clearly visible position. Instead of one flag being used, our men-of-war have over forty, and these are all conspicuously distinct from each other. The messages are not spelt out, as in land operations, but the flags are used in various combinations, and the meaning of the signal is found by reference to a code-book. ”

“ In another we see an angel with a flaming sword treading a dragon underfoot, and the motto, "Quis ut Deus," while yet another is inscribed, "Courage pour la Cause." On a fourth we find an ermine, and the motto, "Malo mori quam fœdari"—"It is better to die than to be sullied," in allusion to the old belief that the ermine would die rather than soil its fur. Hence it is the emblem of purity and stainless honour.
The blood-red flag is the symbol of mutiny and of revolution. ”

“ A song for our banner! The watchword recall ⁠Which gave the Republic her station; United we stand, divided we fall, ⁠It made, and preserves us, a nation! The union of lakes, the union of lands, ⁠The union of States none can sever; The union of hearts, the union of hands, ⁠And the flag of our Union for ever. ”

“ In the one case there are the hopes and dangers of the future, while in the other the hopes have all been abundantly realised, the dangers triumphantly passed, as the tattered colours—storm tossed, torn by shot and shell—are borne in honour to their last resting place, where, strife for ever over, they rest in peace in the Sanctuary of God, a memorial to all men, until their last shreds fall to decay, of duty nobly and fully done. ”

“ As it is an insult to hoist one national flag below another, it is a rigid law that in all official decorations national flags may not be so placed, but enthusiastic and irresponsible burgesses, in the depth of their ignorance, ignore all such considerations of international courtesy, and in the length of a short street commit sufficient indiscretion to give umbrage to all mankind. ”

“ It would probably, for instance, take some fifty figures or so to give all the distinctive flags of the various government departments, official ranks, etc., of a single Great Power. We trust nevertheless that while our labours have been by no means exhaustive, they have been instrumental in showing that there is much of interest in flag-lore, and that an increased knowledge and appreciation of our subject may be one result of our pleasant labours, and prove full justification for our work. ”

“ The British Empire—the Greater Britain across the seas, some eighty times larger in area than the home islands of its birth—must now engage our attention. Its material greatness is amazing, far exceeding that of any other empire the world has ever seen, and its moral greatness is equal to its material. Wherever the flag of Britain flies, there is settled law, property is protected, religion is free ”

“ Suffice it now to say that this Kingdom of Italy, as we now know it, did not achieve until the year 1870 this full unity under one flag that had been for centuries the dream of patriots who freely shed their blood on the battlefield or the scaffold, or perished in the dungeons of Papal Rome, or Naples, or Austria for this ideal. ”

“ In the meantime, pending the Millenium, the flag that more than three hundred millions of people, the wide world over, look up to as the symbol of justice and liberty, will serve very well as a starting point, and then the great Daughter across the Western Ocean, that sprung from the Old Home, shall claim a worthy place next in our regard. ”

“ And should the day ever come when we as a people are tempted to succumb to sloth and luxury, first to undervalue, and finally to give up, national power and privileges which are an heritage from God, and have been dearly purchased by those who went before us—may these emblems, and the stirring memories that cling to them, help us in some degree to wake up the last drop of blood left in our hearts, and nerve us to bear ourselves like the children of our sires. ”

“ The United States uses flags for its weather signals at the various meteorological stations. A violent storm is prognosticated by a red flag with a black centre. A red pennant signifies "storm approaching station," while a yellow pennant signifies "call at station for special information." A plain white flag betokens fine weather and a plain blue one rain or snow, and there are various combinations of other flags that indicate direction, intensity, velocity and so forth. It is evident that this employment of flags could be made a very valuable one. ”

“ The three golden lions on the scarlet ground are the device of England, the golden harp on the azure field is the device of Ireland, while the ruddy lion rampant on the field of gold [1] stands for Scotland. It may perhaps appear to some of our readers that the standard of the Empire should not be confined to such narrow limits; that the great Dominion of Canada, India, Australia, the ever-growing South Africa, might justly claim a place. ”