estates, in order to enable him to support his dignity. The title is derived from the French Duc.

Another writer says―

The first hereditary duke created in England was the Black Prince, by his father Edward III., in A.D. 1337. The Duchy of Cornwall, then bestowed upon him, thenceforward became attached to the king's eldest son, who is considered to be dux natus. The Duchy of Lancaster was soon after conferred on his third son, John of Gaunt, and thence arose the especial privileges which these two duchies still in part retain. In the following reign, 21 Richard II., Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk, was so created for life. In the reign of Elizabeth, in 1572, the ducal order was extinct, nor was it revived till the creation of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, by James I.

MARQUIS.

This title is derived from the French marquis, and was first conferred in England by Richard II., who, in 1387, created Robert Vere, Earl of Oxford, Marquis of Dublin. It was not, however, till very recent reigns that the title became more general.

EARL.

This is the oldest English title that we have, and is by some supposed to imply the governor of a certain tract of land. Alfred is said to have been created an Earl by his brother after the battle of Basing. After the Conquest, it was used by the English to express the French title of Count. Hence the wife of an Earl is still styled Countess.

EARL MARSHAL.

The head of the Heralds' College of Arms. Camden, in his Discourse on the office of Earl Marshal, alleges that it was first introduced in the reign of Richard II., who conferred it on Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, his predecessors having only been styled Marshals of England.

BARON.

This title is Norman, and coeval with William the Conqueror.

VISCOUNT.

Although this title takes precedence of Baron, it is not of so long standing in England. It is derived from the French viscomte, and was first conferred in this country in 1439.

BARONET.

This title is derived from Baron, and was first instituted in England by James I., in 1611.

BARONETS OF IRELAND.

The Baronets of Ireland were instituted by James I., for the same purpose with the Baronets of England, namely, to raise money for the benefit of the province of Ulster in Ireland.

BARONETS OF NOVA SCOTIA.

Nova Scotia Baronets were first created in 1625, for the encouragement of the planting and settlement of Nova Scotia.

ADMIRAL.

According to Ducange, the Sicilians were the first, and the Genoese the next, who gave the name of Admiral to the commanders of their fleets, deriving it from the Arabic, amir or emir, a designation applicable to any commanding-officer.

ESQUIRE.

The title of Esquire is coeval with the Conqueror, but in its present application it takes its data from Henry V.; some go so far back as Edward III., but this is a mistake, as in that reign an Esquire was only, as it originally implied, an attendant on a knight. Eustace and Mercœur were the esquires or attendants of Edward the Black Prince. The word is derived from the Norman Equiere, from whence is also derived Equerry. Henry V., after his victory at Agincourt, reads from a paper presented by a herald, the names of the principal characters who were slain :Edward the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk,

Sir Richard Ketly, Davy Gam, Esquire:
None else of name; and, of all other men,

But five and twenty.

Nothing can be more absurd than the commonly received notion, that a certain property constitutes a man an Esquire; in the country, however, every village has its 'Squire, and to dub him less would be an affront not easily forgiven. The fact is, none are Esquires, de facto, but the following, viz.:-1st. The eldest sons of Knights, and their eldest sons in perpetual succession. 2nd. The eldest sons of younger sons of Peers, and their elder sons in like perpetual succession. 3rd. Esquires created by the King's Letters Patent, or other investiture, and their eldest sons. 4th. Esquires by virtue of their office, as Justices

of the Peace, and others who bear any office of trust under the Crown. To these may be added the Esquires of Knights of the Bath, each of whom constitutes three at his installation; * and all Foreign, nay, Irish Peers; for not only these, but the eldest sons of Peers of Great Britain, though frequently titular Lords, are only Esquires in the law, and must be so named in all legal proceedings; all officers in the army down to a Captain, and all officers in the navy down to a Lieutenant. These are the only Esquires de facto, however the title or distinction may be assumed, or courteously bestowed. It will even be observed, that a Lieutenant in the Army is not an Esquire, but that a Lieutenant in the Navy is: this statement may be relied on.

The following question relative to the precedency of Esquires by office, is taken literally from the Harleian MSS., 1433, and is written on the first leaf of the Visitation of Surrey. The signatures appear to be original autographs.

Question. Whether an Esquire by office, shall take place of another Esquire by office, who was made Esquire by virtue of the said office six or seven years after, although the latter may be the more ancient gentleman?

Answer. The office being of equal rank and quality, he that is first an Esquire by office, shall take the place of him that is made Esquire afterwards by virtue of the said office, although the latter may be the more ancient gentleman.

(Signed) JOHN BOROUGH, Garter Principal King of Arms.
WILLIAM LE LEVE, Clarencieux.
HENRY St. GEORGE, Norroy.

SIR.

The title of "Sir," in former times, was given to all who had taken a degree, or had entered into orders. Thus, Hearne, the antiquary, after he had taken his degree of B. A., was addressed as Sir Hearne (Aubrey's Letters, i. 117); and Waynfleet (afterwards Bishop of Winchester) was called Sir Waynfleet after he had taken the same degree.-Chandler's Life of Waynfleet, p. 54.

CHANCELLOR.

The title of Chancellor originated with the Romans. (See article under the head of Chancery.) It was adopted by the church, and became a half ecclesiastic and half lay office. The Chancellor was intrusted with all public instruments which were authenticated; and when seals came into use, the custody of them was committed to that officer. The mere delivery of the King's Great Seal, or the taking it away, is all the ceremony * A privilege annulled in 1847.

that is used in creating or unmaking a Chancellor, the officer of the greatest weight and power subsisting in the kingdom. The first Chancellor in England was appointed in the reign of William the Conqueror, and, with only one exception, it was enjoyed by ecclesiastics until the time of Elizabeth, when such officers were called Keepers of the Great Seal. From the time of Sir Thomas More's appointment, which took place in the reign of Henry VIII., there is only one instance of a clergyman having been elevated to the office, namely, Dr. Williams, Dean of Westminster, in the time of James I. The Chancellor is a Privy Counsellor by office, and Speaker of the House of Lords by prescription. He takes precedence of every temporal lord except the royal family, and of all others except the Archbishop of Canterbury.

EMPEROR.

Emperor, from Imperateur or Imperator, a General 'or Commander of Legions; this is the actual meaning, although assumed as one implying more consequence.

In 1731, Mr. Whitworth, afterwards Lord Whitworth, Envoy from Queen Anne to the Russian Court, received the title of Ambassador Extraordinary, and on the 5th of January he had a public audience, at which, by order of the queen, his mistress, he employed the title of Emperor in speaking to his Majesty, and in the letter which the ambassador delivered from the queen, the same title was found, instead of the ancient one of the Czar. Charlemagne assumed the title of Emperor after his coronation at Rome; and from his time, the title was claimed exclusively in Western Europe by the rulers of Germany. On the dissolution of the German empire in 1805, the title passed to the Emperor of Austria, and in the same year Napoleon assumed it in France; the Czars of Russia claimed it in the reign of Alexander. It was reassumed in France in 1853, by Napoleon III.

The learned have been divided on the exact meaning of the word Imperator, from which we have derived Emperor; some asserting it merely implied Conqueror, and cite that Cicero was saluted Imperator on his return from his proconsulate. Others affirm it to be only a title of sovereignty. Both are right in their affirmation, and wrong in their negation. Imperator hath both these meanings, as is evident from the inscription on a medal struck during the reign of Augustus-IMP. CÆSAR. DIVI. X. AUGUSTUS IMP. XX. Its precise meaning may also be ascertained by its position in the phrase. When it means sovereignty, it precedes all names and titles, or, in other words, begins the phrase; when, on the contrary, it designates victories obtained, it is placed after the name, and generally after every other title, as in the instance above cited.

BOURBONS AS KINGS OF SPAIN.

The first Bourbon who ascended the throne of Spain was Philip IV., grandson of Louis XIV., in the year 1713. The glorious wars of Queen Anne, as they are called, were in opposition to that succession, and although the Duke of Marlborough did not lose a single battle, yet the French carried their point; the party whose interest the English espoused, viz., the Emperor's son, having died suddenly, which terminated the war. The celebrated peace of Utrecht, in the year 1713, followed the twelve years' war, when the Bourbon succession to the Spanish monarchy was agreed to by this country.

POPE, alias BISHOP OF ROME.

The title of Pope is derived from an Oriental word signifying Father, and in earlier times applied indiscriminately to all bishops, and in the East even to ministers; but for many centuries the term has been confined to the Bishop of Rome, who is also designated by Roman Catholics, as the Holy Father. The Supremacy of the Roman bishop was unknown in the Christian Church for the first six centuries, although a primacy of order in the Western Church was conceded to that see from early times, arising from its apostolical origin, and from the temporal dignity of the city of Rome. Its later prelates, however, have perverted many human institutions into articles of faith; and the pre-eminence assigned to the "Chair of St. Peter," unconnected as it was with any thing except the temporal government of the empire, became the origin and source of the vast dominion which the Popes afterwards assumed over the other churches of Christendom.

KING OF THE ROMANS.

It will be remembered the son of Napoleon was styled King of Rome, and which title originated from that of King of the Romans. The Emperors of Germany, to bring in their sons as their successors, politically got them elected King of the Romans, which was a part of the sovereignty. To get his son elected King of the Romans, the Emperor Charles IV. gave each Elector 100,000 ducats, and was forced to mortgage several cities to raise the money, 1376; the descendants of the mortgages continue still in possession of them.-There were then only seven Electors, they being reduced to that number in 999.

HORATII AND CURIATII.

The Romans and Albans, contesting for superiority, agreed to choose three champions on each side to decide it. The three