The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-03-06
IEn,sl1ntI'S Duties.


figure to the popular nnayinalon more
especially when he leaps to the full splcn-
dor of his position from Il comparatively
humble estate. The new proprietor of
Wclbcck Abbey, the Duke Of Portland,
will not, indeed. enter into the entire
Kingdom over which his predecessor rcignrd
supreme and invisible, but he will have
enough to make him one Of the six greatest
mobiles III the realm, and to emphasize the
contrast between the two lots which he will
have experienced. Had the unhappy Mar
quis OF Hastings grown to mans estate as
comnl0ner, ii is likely enough that he
would have never gone to stch tragic and
lrrcmcdiablc grief. AS boy he had good
tendencies and fair intelligence But his
life. from childhood upward, was the re-
cord OF the easy victim Of pimps and par
asltcs, fiaitcring knaves and iawning all
venturcrs. 1t is an incstmahlc advantage
Tor the future posscssor Of the purse of
Follunatus, when supplemented by the
highest digntics of the pccragc to have had
the training of Il simple con,moncr. This
has only fallen to the lot of three Dukes of
the United Kingdom. His Grace o, Bed
ford was plain Mr.. Russell; the Duke of
Dcvonshire was unadorncd Mr. CavcadiSh
when he be came second wranglcr at Cam
bridge; and the new Duke OF Portland was
fortnight ago, Lieutenant Cavcndish
Bentinck Of the Coldstrcam Guards. In
each the fortunate individual had some rea-
son to congratulate himself on not being
born actually in the purple The wonder
in this country is, not that SO small, but
tlatso large apcrcentagc of the titled artso-
cracy rise superior to the encrvutng and
mischcvOus conditions of their station.
From tho first dawn Of consciousness, the
heir TO pccragcfs pursued by parasites
and toadics. IL" atmosphere which he
brcathcs is imprcgnatcd with the mean in
ccDsr OF adulation. The Duke Of Richmond,
Lord President Of the council, is strongest
on questions affecting the cattle plague:
yet his cloqucncc even upon that lopic
scarcely suilccs to save the pceragc SO TAR
as its Dukes are concerned, from the charge
OF poverty in regard to the speaking power.
The Duke Of Argyll is an orator OF no mean
order; but somehow his har; ngucs, rarely
serve better purpose than TO recall the
late Lord Dcrby's joke about The bacls-
smith, and in no degree lessen that sins,l-
lar prejudice agains, the McCalum More
which prevails universally, except in West
ern Scotland and around Campdcn Hill.
Unqucstionably, the most able OF our living
Dukes is His Grace of Somerset, though
in these degenerate days he has been left
high and dry by his party, and is known
to The new generation chiefly as Il crotch
ETY. Old fogv, remarkable only for Il make
up which associates the costume of the
Stranger with facial resemblance of the
Martyr King. Shrcwd as he is, the Duke
OF Somerset has fallen under the influence
OF the Earl OF BcacOnsticld whom he de-
Tended some time ago as Il man who 'tonly
wanted to leave an honorable name in his
tory, and was therefore atttlatcd by the
"bcst intentions. DctractOrs of all sorts
were to be silcnccd by the observation the
Premier ''would not be likely to want to
leave a dishOnornblc name to descend,
dants"--an amiable argument advanced bv
the Duke in ignorance of the fact that Ben
jamin Disracli 'has no children" No
more than two Dukes are at present en-
gagged in administering the affairs of the
empire; and the value Of the aid rendered
by the Lord Privy Seal, the Duke of North
cumberland, may be imagined when it is
remembered that, intellectually, he is prob
ably less robust parsonage than Earl
Percy. AS for the Duke of Buckingham,
he may be presumed to have made a re.
spectacle ruler Of a peaceful province, mas
much as nothing has been heard 10 the
contrary. The man would indeed be mad
who should think it worth while to shoot at
the Governor of Madras. The Duke of
Bedford achieved success even greater than
that attained by the Duke of Westminster
as silent member of the House of Com
mons; and in his higher career as Chair
man of the bucolic meetings he continues
to maintain silence, if not in seven langu-
ages, at least with dignity. With regard
to the Dukes of Devonshire and of Abcr-
corn, they may be said to have no title to
fame, except as fathers of unusually prom
ising children, though tho former may
claim to be n more thorough educator of
youth than the latter. The Duke of Ru,-
land completes with Mr.. MacIvcr for the
glorious post of Champion of Reciprocity;
tho Duke Of Cleveland cxccls in prosincss
OF speech. The Duke of Suthcrland's fancy
Tor firc-engincs is not nearly so strong as
the Duke Of Wcllington's preference for
tho more ancient four-whecl cabs to be OBJ
tanned in the metropolis. The Duke of
Marlborough has done the State some SER
vicc-pcrhaps most by his retirement into
seclusion--and SO has the Duke Of St. Al
bans; but both have faded into obscurity,
and the latter is only remembered as con-
ncction Of an eminent Baron Of tho Ex-
chequcr. OF the rest nothing is known in
society. 1t is fitting that the dllcal cxis-
tcnce should be placid and serene; that
Dukes may be ovcr-chiflident and modest,
however, is evident from the life of the
late Dnke of Portland; and from the ten
dency of him, in whom centre tho honors
of Richmond and of Gordon. to speak of
himself simply as 81, for one," lest poor
humanity should faint under tho weight of
too great authority.
Jcrusa1omt What u CatI