San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-02-04
ENGLISH NOBILITY.
SHADES IN THE RANKS OF THE
pEERAGE OF GREAT BRITAIN.
How Titles Are Conferred and What They
signify-Lords and Honorables by Cour-
tesy-what the Wives and Daughters
Are CaIIed-Some of the Notables.

Sigrify-Lords and HOnorables by Cour-
tesy-what the Wives and Daughters
Are CaIied-Some of the NotabIes.
In no country in the world is so great a
social and political influence welded by so
small a number of persons as the British
peers. In this peerage are five grades
dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons.
The highest title, that Of duke, is held by six
royal princes and by twenty-one others. 1t
is derived from the Latin dux, a leader, and
is found on the continent Of Europe as well
as in England. The Oldest dukedom is that
of Norfolk, which was created in 1888. As
a duke has passed through the lower grades
of the peerage he holds all the lower
titles as we'll The eldest son Of a duke is
called by the second title of his father, and
is thus usually marquis, but this is only a
courtesy" and not a real title, as the cour-
tesy title confers no substantive rank on its
possessor To take examples: The head Of
the Cavendish family is the Duke Of Devon
shire and sits under this title in the house of
lords His eldest son is Mr.. CavenGish, COM
monty called by courtesy by his fathers Sec
ond title, the Marquis Of Harrington, but he
is in the eye of the law only a private gen
tleman, and accordingly sits in the house Of
commons, which he could not do if he were
actually peer. The other sons of the duke
are called by the family maine, as Lord
Arthur Cavendsh, while the daughters are
called the Lady Mary Cavendish, the Lady
Gwendolen Cavendish, and SO on. The fam
lily name Of the Duke of Marlborough is
Spencer Churchill and the eldest son Is the
courtesy Marquis of Blandford, while a
younger son is Lord Randolph Churchill,
who is also member of the lower house.
HISTORY OF SOME TITLES.
The corouet of the duke, which on great
occasions is carried on a cushion in front of
him, is surrounded by strawberry leaves,
and hence a man who is laundering after a
dukedom is said to be wanting the straw
berry leaves" The next title, that Of mar
quis; or marques, is derived from the word
marches" and meant a noble whose duty it
was to protect with his retainers the marches
or frontiers of England and Wales, or Eng
land and Scotland, from enemies. The ED
est son of a marquis takes his fathers second
title by courtesy, while the younger sons are
called Lord Henry -, or Lord John -.
The daughters are called Lady Caroline -,
ETC. The title is held by fewer persons than
any other in the peerage, there being only
is that Of Winchester, created in 1851.
The title earl is derived from the old Saxon
word ''eorl," meaning elder, root which
survives also in alderman. The eldest son of
an earl takes by courtesy his fathers second
title, while the younger sons are called the
Hon Edgar -, etc. All the daughters are
called Lady Anne, Lady Augusta, etc. There
are III earlS of the United Kingdom, the old
est creation being the earldom Of Derby,
which bears date 1885. The eldest son Of
Earl Nelson is called from his ancestors IA
nous victory Viscount Trafalgar. The Latin
equivalent of earl is ''comes," companion
or count, but though there are no counts in
England an earrs wife is called a countess.
The heirs to the earldoms of Albemarle and
. Amherst are already peers in thier own
right under the titles of Viseount Bury and
and ViScount Holmesdale. On succeeding
to the earldoms the lower title will merge in
the higher, but will still be borne by the
eldest SON Several earls' sons are members
of Parliament, but on succeeding to the peer
age they will have to leave the lower house
and ascend to the dull responsibility of that
of the lords. The viscount is the welcomes,
or one in the place of a count or earl His
sons and daughters are called the "Hon.
James -" 1.-The Hon. Kathleen =" ETC.
Between the viscounts and the barons come
the bishops, who sit in the house of lords as
spiritual peers, all the others being temporal
peers, except the two archbishops Of Canter-
bury and York, who rank at the head Of the
dukes. There are twenty-four spiritual peers,
but alas for human vanity! the wife of a
bishop has no precedence at all; her husband
is 1.-THE Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of -"
but she is plain MRS. -" and her sons
and daughters are not honorables.
EMINENT NAMES TO BE FOUND.
The lowest title in the peerage is baron, a
title of Saxon origin. OF bsrons there are
200, the wives of whom are ladies and the
sons and daughters honorableS. Among the
viScountS, of whom there are twenty-six, the
oldest creation is the viScounty of Hereford,
dated 1850 BY far the Oldest existing titles
in England are the Baron De Ross and the
Baroness LIE De Spencer, which both bear the
date 1854 But some of those now bearing
higher titles in the peerage have had older
patents which have become merged in newer
earldons marquisates, dukedoms, g. g.: the
earldom of Arundel, now merged in the
dukedom of Norfolk, bears the date 1880.
Among the barons are to be found several
names of eminent lawyers Baron st. Leon
ards, whose family name is Sugden; Baron
Westbury, family name Bethel; and Baron
Thurlow, a descendant of Lord Chancellor
Thurlow. The lord chancellor is always
created a baron, and sometimes an earl
Such peers are called Flaw lords" and hear
the cases which come before the house of
lords as the final appellate court The holders
of the more ancient dignities sometimes af-
feet certain contempt for these newer Gre
atoms, for among British peers hereditary
titles are esteemed more honorable than
on rnad n1,nr