The herald., 1894-07-30
HE MAY BE A LORD.
w. w. Astor Said to Be In Training Fo,
the British Peerage.

| the Brftlsh feeraXe.
England continues to speak of vii
| liam Waldorf Astpr as an American
and America laughs at him as an imi
tation Englishman, but the truth is h,
is SO much an Englishman that he is ac
tually slated for the peerage. This ma,
seem incredible in America, and yet i
is fact
You are probably aware that Mr.
Waldorf Astor has already become {
British subject, and since he natural
lied himself here he has enjoyed prefer
ential election to that select circle o1
England's territorial magnates, that po
litical holiest of the holies, the Carlton
club. A further step in his upward
fight was his nomination for the bench
Of the county of Middlesex, and he will
be forthwith gazetted justice of the
peace That is an honor conferred by the
lord high chancellor. acting for the
crown, on the nomination of the lord
lieutenant of the county. 1t entities the
holder to rank as justice Of the quorum
and is an inevitable preparatory step to
higher rank. So far SO good, but the
half has not yet been told. He has beer
offered a baronetcy, but, not quite con-
tent with that, stipulates for the rank
Of baron at least and will undoubtedly
succeed.
Let me explain the difference in rank
between o baronet and baron. The
former is the lowest order of hereditary
rank and entities the holder to be ad-
dressed as sir and his spouse as lady. 1t
is in point of procedure rank 65 and per-
mits the holder to sit in the house Of
commons, whereas that of baron entities
the holder to the rank, title and dignity
of my lord and seat in the house Of
lords. The style Of address to the spouse
Of the holder Of the title is still my
lady. The rank Of baron is the lowest
Of the five orders Of peers and entities
the family of the holders to be known
and addressed as honorable.
Lord Beaconsfield once said that there
was ga certain moral force in a name
and dignity in double barreled
name. " Mr.. Astor is of the same opin-
ion. He writes and styles himself Wal
dorf Astor So i'll books Of reference look
under W and not under A. Mr.. Wal
dorf Astor, however, is doing well and
is appreciated here. He has always been
in good hands, having from the first
been chaperoned by that fine old English
gentleman, that sturdy old courtier,
Christopher Sykes.
Success in social life in England de-
pends entirely on whose hands one gets
in, and it is not always that the most
written about are the most desirable.
In the case of FIR. Waldorf Astor, his
chaperon is not much known outside,
but Christopher is man Of rare judg-
ment and unsul'ied character, and, what
is more, one of H. r. H. IS set, high in
the favor of Queen Victoria and socially
power behind the throne From the
standpoint of practical politics tho Civ
ing Of social rank to Mr.. Waldorf Astor
is brilliant. twill tend to attract other
multimillionaires, and wheh we get the
Astors Vanderbilts, Havemeyers, Rookie
fellers, Goulds and others our London
season will blossom like q rose, and
when the few remaining coronets of
British aristocrats now in pawn be re-
a-~-,,Ad then tho plebeian government
Of the United States may devise some
means of social demarcation to keep her
millionaires at home. Meanwhile cor
dial welcome awaits them here. Cor.
Philadelphia Times.