r,"
asked Rollo; "would that be an aristocracy?"

"Such a thing is impossible in the nature of things," said Mr. George;
"for if any one class gets the control of the government of a country,
they will of course manage it in such a way as to get the wealth and the
honors mainly to themselves. _I_ should do so. _You_ would do so. Every
body would do so. It is human nature. Beings that would not do so would
not be human."

"And do the English aristocracy manage in that way?" asked Rollo.

"Yes," said Mr. George. "The state of the case, as I understand it, is
just this: A number of centuries ago, a certain prince from France--or
rather from Normandy, which is a part of France--came over to England
with an army and conquered the country. His name was William; and on
account of his conquest of England, he received the name of William the
Conqueror. He parcelled out a great portion of the land, and all the
offices and powers of government, among the nobles and generals that
came with him; and they and their descendants have held the property and
the power to the present day. Thus England, so far as the great mass of
the people are concerned, is to be considered as a conquered country,
and now in the possession of the conquerors. It is governed mainly by an
aristocracy which descended from, and represents, the generals that
conquered it. In fact, the highest honor which any man can claim for
himself or his family in England is to say that his ancestors came in
with the Conqueror. It is a sort of phrase."

"Yes," said Rollo; "I have heard it."

"You must understand, however," continued Mr. George, "that not _all_ of
the present aristocracy have descended from the old generals and nobles
that came in with William. Many of those old families have become
extinct, and their places have been supplied by new nobles that have
been created from time to time by selection from the men that have most
distinguished themselves as generals or statesmen. Still these men,
however great they may be, never rise really to the same level of rank
and consideration with the others. They are called the new nobility, and
are always looked down upon, more or less, by the old families whose
ancestors 'came in with the Conqueror.' Now, these nobles and their
families, with persons connected with and dependent upon them, govern
the land. They control nearly all the elections to Parliament, both in
the Lords and in the Commons. They make peace and the