zen years ago I have known men
lay out nearly half a million in land and not get two per cent for their
money, in order to obtain a borough influence which might ultimately
obtain them a spick and span coronet; and now you are going to put one
on your head, which will give you precedence over every peer on the
roll, except three (and I made those), and it will not cost you a paltry
twenty or thirty thousand pounds. Why I know men who would give that for
the precedence alone.--Here!" and he rose and took up some papers from
a table: "Here is a case; a man you know, I dare say; an earl, and of a
decent date as earls go: George the First. The first baron was a Dutch
valet of William the Third. Well I am to terminate an abeyance in his
favour through his mother, and give him one of the baronies of the
Herberts. He buys off the other claimant who is already ennobled with
a larger sum than you will expend on your ancient coronet. Nor is that
all. The other claimant is of French descent and name; came over at
the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Well, besides the hush money,
my client is to defray all the expense of attempting to transform
the descendant of the silkweaver of Lyons into the heir of a Norman
conqueror. So you see, Sir Vavasour, I am not unreasonable. Pah! I would
sooner gain five thousand pounds by restoring you to your rights, than
fifty thousand in establishing any of these pretenders in their base
assumptions. I must work in my craft, Sir Vavasour, but I love the old
English blood, and have it in my veins."

"I am satisfied, Mr Hatton." said Sir Vavasour: "let no time be lost.
All I regret is, that you did not mention all this to me before; and
then we might have saved a great deal of trouble and expence."

"You never consulted me," said Mr Hatton. "You gave me your
instructions, and I obeyed them. I was sorry to see you in that mind,
for to speak frankly, and I am sure now you will not be offended, my
lord, for such is your real dignity, there is no title in the world for
which I have such a contempt as that of a baronet."

Sir Vavasour winced, but the future was full of glory and the present of
excitement; and he wished Mr Hatton good morning, with a promise that he
would himself bring the papers on the morrow.

Mr Hatton was buried for a few moments in a reverie, during which he
played with the tail of the Persian cat.

Book 4 Chapter 8

We left Sybil and Egremont just at the moment that Gera