The times., 1897-11-07
THE ENGLISH ARIsTOCRACY
Various Ranks and Privileges
of the Nobility.
ORIGIN OF BRITISH TITLES
Dukes, Mnrquises, Earls, and Bar.
ons- Their Formal Style and the
Manner in Which They Are For
fraliy Addressed Facts of Inter
est to American Parents.

In these times, when so many Amer
leans travel In Great Britain, and when
the novel OF English "sGuetyn has at
tanned such widespread popularity, the
| derse ignorance OF the majority of peo-
| pie concerning even the simplest facts
about the titled aristocracy, in which
SO many take aniBterest, is remarkable. To
! them the fact tlat a man is duke" or
! sir conveys no further meaning than
| that he is English, titled, and therefore TO
| be worsidped. To tie English themselves
this is not 50, and the people at large
are very we'll informed al to what rank
| each title represents. In society proper
there is an elaborate and weil.undcrStood
order @f precedence" based on esLab-
lished rule, well and fanliliarly known by
| everyone Of standing and Importance.
AT the bead Of the social list stands the
nobility, and il must he clearly understood
| that not everyone bearing a title is, in
the strict sense of the word, mobile"
but only peers. The royal family in
England is ii place quite by itself above
and separate from all of baser clay. They
are not in society they are above it.
The "roysl family or royalties" as
they are familiarly called, take precedence
OF everyone else. To them is yielded not
only the first place, but distinct superior
sphere: 50 that it is really the mobility who
head and lead society, and serve at the
same time 10 act as the accept ed modei-for
! each and all Of IT'S many grades, SO far as
their ways can be made applicable to the
lower ranks. Ia England every lady or
gentleman, whether OF rank or net, is
expected to be familiar with the usaees
OF the nobility; 10 know how TO speak 20
and OF them, tow to address them, verb
ally or in writing, informally or formally
There are in the united kingdom of Great
Britain ard Ireland five degrees Of nobil-
ity, al! Of which are hereditary. Highest III
RANK is the title OF duke, the word coming
from the Latin duX, ducis, meaning a
leader or general. Though so ancient in
origin, the title was introduced into England
only about500 years ago, Edward, the Black
Prince, who " as created Duke of Cornwall,
being ats first bearer. 4 bis inyestiture he
was gtrt with a sword, but at present all
Ceremony is omitted, and the title is CON
fcTTed ay letters pateut under the great
seal IL heraidic documents a duke is
styled the High Puissant and Most Noble
Prince lie is referred to by the SoyeI-
eign IL all public instruments as, "0ur Right
Trusty," and ght Entirely Beloved
Cousin His general style is, His Grace
and Most Noble Ia speaking Of him for
maIly he would be referred To as, Ills
Grace, the Duke of - and ia this fGrm
his letters would be addressed. In forrna
Conversations be should be addressed as
My Lord Duke and Your Grace" this
latter being the usual form.
The eldest son Cf a duke has by law ONLY
therank of esquire-meaninG without title
but by &C urtcsy he takes his fathers sec
0nd title. The second title means the next
title Uf lower degree which a peer may
bear. peers of the higher ranks have. as a
rule, reached their place by successive
steps of what would be in humber life
called promotion. That is the first crea-
tion may have been viscount, the next an
earl, then q marquis, IN which case she sec
ond title. that Of marquis, wo Id by courtesy
be assumed by the eldest son As an ex-
ample, the eldest son OF the Duke Of Ar
gyleis by law styled, John George Edward
Henry douglas Sutherland Campbell com
monty called Marquis of LOrne.' The
younger sons and daughters Of a duke are
by Courtesy called LORD and Lady be-
fore their Christian and sumames The
surname" is the family name, and may or
may net be the same as the title--ls in the
case of the Duke of Manchester, whose
family name is Montague. Thus, for exam
pie, younger son Of tie Duke Of Manches-
ter would be called Lord John Montague"
or younger daughter, Lady Mary Monta-
gue.''
Next in rank below duke comes a
marquis. he title OF marquis is derived
from the frontier provinces or marches;
it is somewhat older than that OF duke.
The first marquis was Robert de We're.
created Marquis OF Dublin in the fourteenth
century The first and all early creations
were attended with ceremony similar to
those at the creation of an EARL but now,
like the creation OF all other peerages,
it is done by patent under the great seal.
BY the sovereign q marquis is styled '.Our
Right Trasty and Entirely Beloved Cousin
in speakin" OF him formally he is called
The Marquis of -" and Informally,
Lord -" IN writing he is addressed as
My Lord Marquis;n in speaking to him,
My Lord and Your Lordship.'' At
the present time, however, this is dropped
between equals servants and tradespeople
Still address him, however, as Your Lord
Ship The eldest Son Of a marquis takes
By courtesy his fathers second title, US
uslly, III this case, that Of Earl" 1t may,
however, be viscount or baron, if either
of these is the next highest title borne by
the father.
After aarqaises, and third IN rank, come
earls This is the Oldest order of nobility,
and until The time of Edward III, the
highest; when dukes and marquiSes Were
created, and given precedency over earls.
An earl was in far-back times called
comes, and waited on the King for coun
I'll. The French title OF count is its equiva-
lent. The sovereign addresses an earl
as .'our Right, Trusty and Well-beioved
Cousin ne is spoken Of as THE Earl Of
- or Lord -" and addressed rs
''My Lord" and Your Lordshp." An
earl's eldest son takes, as with the other
orders, Tie second title Of his father, and
all daughters the title of Lady" but,
oddly enough, tie younger sons of an earl
are not called Lords but only Hon
orable.' Thus a daughter is called Lady
Alice -" and a younger son simply
The Hon. Henry -"
Tie next in rank after an earl is Wis
count. Anifently, viscount was the name
OF hiIr who held the chief office under
an earl; Tut in the year 1440 Henry VI
created John Baron Beaumont the first
viscount, thus establishing it as an
/ hereditary degree of honor, and
ranking it above the barons. A viscouut
is addressed by the sovereign as ''Our
! Right, Jrusty, and Well-beloved Cousin
lie IS spoken OF formally as "Viscount,'
Informally as Lord A t the head of a
letter he is addressed as MY Lord, and
in speaking to him as MY Lord, and
Your lordshiD." All the Children of n