lofty tone of superiority to the petty interests of party. It may be
conceded that the House of Vipont was less brilliant than the "Times"
newspaper, but eloquence and wit, necessary to the duration of a
newspaper, were not necessary to that of the House of Vipont. Had they
been so, it would have had them.

The head of the House of Vipont rarely condescended to take office. With
a rent-roll loosely estimated at about L170,000 a year, it is beneath a
man to take from the public a paltry five or six thousand a year, and
undergo all the undignified abuse of popular assemblies, and "a ribald
press." But it was a matter of course that the House of Vipont should be
represented in any Cabinet that a constitutional monarch could be advised
to form. Since the time of Walpole, a Vipont was always in the service
of his country, except in those rare instances when the country was
infamously misgoverned. The cadets of the House, or the senior member of
the great commoner's branch of it, sacrificed their ease to fulfil that
duty. The Montfort marquesses in general were contented with situations
of honour in the household, as of Lord Steward, Lord Chamberlain, or
Master of the Horse, etc.,--not onerous dignities; and even these they
only deigned to accept on those special occasions when danger threatened
the star of Brunswick, and the sense of its exalted station forbade the
House of Vipont to leave its country in the dark.

Great Houses like that of Vipont assist the work of civilization by the
law of their existence. They are sure to have a spirited and wealthy
tenantry, to whom, if but for the sake of that popular character which
doubles political influence, they are liberal and kindly landlords.
Under their sway fens and sands become fertile; agricultural experiments
are tested on a large scale; cattle and sheep improve in breed; national
capital augments, and, springing beneath the ploughshare, circulates