It is in this respect, if in
any, that the mediaeval tone of the work lasts beyond the title page.
In Mr. Cayley's eyes, the proof of the comparative prosperity of
England is that
"Still Queen Victoria sits upon her throne;
Our aristocracy still keep alive,
And, on the whole, may still be said to thrive,--
Tho' now and then with ducal acres groan
The honored tables of the auctioneer.
Nathless, our aristocracy is dear,
Tho' their estates go cheap; and all must own
That they still give society its tone."--p. 16.
He proceeds in these terms:
"Our baronets of late appear to be
Unjustly snubbed and talked and written down;
Partly from follies of Sir Something Brown,
Stickling for badges due to their degree,
And partly that their honor's late editions
Have been much swelled with surgeons and physicians;
For 'honor hath small skill in surgery,'
And skill in surgery small honor."--p. 17.
What "honor" is here meant? and against whom is the taunt
implied?--against the "surgeons and physicians," or against the
depreciation of them. Surely the former can hardly have been
intended. The sentence will bear to be cleared of some ambiguity, or
else to be cleared off altogether.
Our introduction to Sir Reginald Mohun, Lord of Nornyth Place, and of
"an income clear of 20,000 pounds," and to his friends Raymond St.
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