great baronies of the earlier Norman kings. It has for a long period been in dispute whether the possession of one of these ancient baronies entitled the owner to a writ of summons to the House of Lords. The question was frequently raised, but never decided until two years ago, when Sir Maurice Berkeley claimed a summons as proprietor of Berkeley Castle, and it was then declared that baronies by tenure had long ceased to exist in England.

Baronies by writ of summons followed the tenure baronies. These were created by a writ of summons issued under the great seal to certain individuals to attend Parliament. Some persons were summoned regularly, others only occasionally, or even only once. The custom varied, also, as to the heirs. of a first baron. But if a person summoned actually sat in Parliament, he acquired a barony in fee, which descended like real estate at common law, the males taking in succession, and the females together. In the latter case the barony falls into abeyance, and so continues until all the heirs but one are extinct, or until called out of abeyance, in favor of one of the co-heirs, by the sovereign. Most of the older baronies now giving seats in the House of Lords have been derived in this manner, as those of De Ros, De Clifford, Clinton, Hastings, Camoys, Willoughby d'Eresby, and Willoughby de Broke, the peers of these names being descendants in the female line of the original grantees.

But for a long time baronies, as well as all peerages, have been created by patent, and the honor descends according to the limitation contained in the patent, which in England commonly restricts the succession to the male descendants of the first peer, though occasionally it is extended to collateral and female heirs. In Scotland peerages were generally granted to the heirs general, so that it is morally impossible for some of them ever to become extinct.

The foreign title of Viscount, which ranks next above that of Baron, was introduced in the fourteenth century. It has never been very popular, and was very little conferred until the reign of George III. The Viscounty of Hereford, conferred in 1550 upon the Devereux family, is the oldest one giving a seat in the House of Lords. Next, at a long interval,

comes that of Bolingbroke, conferred by Queen Anne on the celebrated statesman.

The title of Earl is the oldest in the peerage, and was, as we have stated, an official name for the governor of a county or province, though not since the Conquest. It has long been the favorite title in England, and in Scotland the earls outnumber all the other peers together. The oldest earldom is that of Shrewsbury, conferred on the Talbots in 1442.

The title of Marquess, next above that of Earl, was seldom conferred until the reign of George III. The oldest marquessate is that of Winchester, enjoyed by the Paulets, upon whom it was conferred in 1551. Next in the English peerage is Lansdowne, created in 1784. In the Scotch peerage there are four marquessates; in Ireland, they are more numerous. The title of Duke was introduced into England by Edward III., who created his son, the Black Prince, Duke of Cornwall,

a title which descends to all his successors, and gives the Princes of Wales a seat in the House of Lords. The dukedom of Norfolk, created in 1483, is the oldest after Cornwall. That of Somerset dates from 1546. This great title was rarely conferred, except upon princes of the blood, until the reign of Charles II. He and some of his immediate successors were very liberal in bestowing it. Of late, again, it has been bestowed charily, and the number of peers bearing it has actually decreased. The last created were those of Sutherland and Cleveland in 1833. It is understood that it was offered to the late Marquess of Lansdowne and the Earl Fitz-William, but declined by those eminent men.

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The House of Lords did not contain more than fifty or sixty persons in the time of the Tudors, and was comparatively small until the accession of Mr. Pitt as Prime Minister in 1783. That statesman recommended a great number for the honors of the peerage, his peers included the wealthy county families of Lowther, Vernon, Bagot, and Lascelles, and many Scotch and Irish lords; and his successors in office have also generally been liberal in titles. The House of Lords, however, has not kept pace in increase with the population and wealth of the country. The country gentlemen have furnished most of the new creations. Next in numbers probably

comes the bar, and then those distinguished in political and military life. Many families have owed their foundation to trade and commerce; but the number of persons actually engaged in commercial pursuits who have been raised to the peerage has been small. It includes Lords Carrington, Ashburton, Overstone, and Belper. Literature has one very great name, the late Lord Macaulay. The House of Lords now contains three royal princes, the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, the King of Hanover, as Duke of Cumberland, and the Duke of Cambridge, — twenty other dukes, nineteen marquesses, one hundred and ten earls, twenty-two viscounts, and two hundred and ten barons. This list includes all the hereditary members. There are also sixteen representatives of the peers of Scotland, twenty-eight representative peers from Ireland, and thirty-two bishops, in all, four hundred and sixty members. The Irish representative peers are chosen for life; those of Scotland, for a single Parliament. While the Scotch and Irish peers are entitled only to select a certain number of their order to represent them, many, and, indeed, all the more influential among them, sit in the House of Lords by virtue of English titles conferred upon them. Thus, the Duke of Hamilton in Scotland sits and votes as Duke of Brandon; the Duke of Buccleuch, as Earl of Doncaster; the Duke of Leinster in Ireland, as Viscount Leinster; and the Marquess of Ormond, as Baron Ormond. The peerages of the three kingdoms number about six hundred and fifty persons, including twenty-seven dukes. While a large number of peers are peers of two out of three kingdoms, only three persons are peers of all, the Marquesses of Abercorn and Hastings and the Earl of Verulam. An Irish peer, when not entitled to a seat in the House of Lords, may sit in the House of Commons for any constituency out of Ireland. The second Marquess of Londonderry (better known as Lord Castlereagh) and the present Viscount Palmerston are distinguished instances. It has been supposed that this privilege does not extend to Scotch peers; but the question has never been tested.

It is seldom that a commoner is raised at rank than Viscount, or even than Baron.

once to a higher George III. did

this but twice, in 1766, when William Pitt was created Earl of Chatham, and in 1784, when Sir James Lowther was made Earl of Lonsdale; and her present Majesty has done it but three times, in the cases of Mr. Thomas William Coke of Holkham Hall, the Nestor of the Whig party, created Earl of Leicester in 1837, of Lord Francis Egerton, made Earl of Ellesmere in 1846, and of Lord John Russell, made Earl Russell in 1861.

Certain classes of peers deserve notice. One of these embraces the descendants of illegitimate children of the sovereign. This has never been numerous, but was considerably increased by Charles II. That king, to the great dissatisfaction of the old nobility, created six of his natural sons Dukes of Monmouth, Northumberland, Richmond, Southampton, Grafton, and St. Albans. The Duke of Monmouth forfeited his honors in 1685, and the dukedom has never been restored to his descendant, the Duke of Buccleuch. The dukedoms of Northumberland * and Southampton have become extinct; but the other three still exist, and the families of Lennox, Fitz-Roy, and Beauclerk are among the most influential in England. Charles James Fox, through his mother, Lady Caroline Lennox, was great-great-grandson of Charles II. It was to this pedigree that Burke alluded when he spoke of him as a descendant of Henry IV. of France. James II. created his son by Arabella Churchill, who took the name of Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick. He followed the fortunes of his father, and his honors were therefore forfeited. Entering the service of France, however, he became one of the most skilful captains of the age, and was created Duke of Fitz-James by Louis XIV.,- an honor still enjoyed by his descendants. Another branch is settled in Spain. We remember no other peerage conferred upon the acknowledged natural son of a sovereign till 1831, when the late King Wil liam IV. made his son, Colonel Fitz-Clarence, Earl of Munster. This brave and skilful officer's promotion was cordially approved in England.

William III. was very liberal in peerages. Among others, he

*This title, which became extinct in 1716, must not be confounded with those conferred on the Percys.

conferred five English and two Irish peerages upon his Dutch retainers, which, with accompanying grants, were among the causes of his unpopularity. He made Marshal Schomberg Duke of Schomberg, and his son, Meinhardt Schomberg, Duke of Leinster in Ireland. Both these titles, however, soon became extinct. He also raised Bentinck, Zuleistein, D'Overquerque, and Van Keppel to the earldoms of Portland, Rochford, Grantham, and Albemarle, and General Ginkel to the Irish earldom of Athlone. All these titles are now extinct, except those of Bentinck, Duke of Portland, and Keppel, Earl of Albemarle.

The courtesy titles borne by the children of the nobility often greatly confuse foreigners, and are the subjects of egregious blunders on the part of English writers who should know better. The eldest son of every peer of the rank of an Earl is known, during his father's lifetime, by the second title of the latter. The eldest son of the Duke of Devonshire is called Marquess of Hartington, and the eldest son of the Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley. But these gentlemen are merely commoners, and in official papers are called Spencer Cavendish, Esq., and the Right Hon. Edward Stanley, the latter being a Privy Councillor. The younger sons of dukes and marquesses, and the daughters of dukes, marquesses, and earls, have, in the same manner, the prefix of "Lord" and "Lady" to their names; and the younger sons of earls, and the sons and daughters of viscounts and barons, are styled "Honorable." These latter titles are, of course, not transmissible by descent. The title of Lord is now used almost universally for the fifth order of the peerage, instead of Baron. Marquesses and earls are frequently called simply Lords; and sometimes, but now very rarely, dukes also are thus designated.

The civil wars in England, and the changes in property constantly taking place in a country so densely populated, and where mercantile interests are so influential, have made great havoc with the old families. Of those not peers, we shall speak hereafter. Few peerages, except baronies descended through females, date back earlier than the reign of Elizabeth. "All the English dukedoms," says Sir Bernard Burke, "created from the institution of the order down to the reign of