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with other martyrs beheaded in the year 252, near to Paris, at a place which has since been called Mons Martyrum (Montmartre), the mountain of martyrs in honour of them. Ribadeneira says, the body of St. Dennis rose upon its feet, and took its own head up in its hands, as if he had triumphed, and carried in it the crown and token of its victories. The angels of Heaven, he continues, went on accompanying the Saint, singing hymns choirwise, with a celestial harmony and concert, and ended with these words, "gloria tibi, Domine alleluia;" and the Saint went with his head in his hands about two miles, till he met with a good woman called Catula, who came out of her house; and the body of St. Dennis going to her, it put the head in her hands.

He was Bishop of Paris; and after his martyrdom, wonderful miracles were worked at his tomb. The abbey of St. Dennis is named in honour of him.

TITLES AND DIGNITIES.

Opinions have changed upon all things, and greatly upon Titles and Dignities. Who has not seen a Consul appointed to reside in a fishing town? Who has not given a shilling to a Marquis, a sixpence to a Knight? A Roman senator was beneath the level of an English gentleman; yet not only a Roman senator, but a Roman citizen, held himself superior to foreign Kings. Surely it might well be permitted our Richard to assume a rank far above any potentate of his age. If Almanacks, and German Court Calenders, are to decide on dignities, the Emperors of Morocco, of Austria, and recently of Mexico, should precede the Kings of England and France; but learned men have thought otherwise. Rank, which pretends to fix the value of every one, is the most arbitrary of all things. A Roman knight, hardly the equal of our secondary gentleman, would have disdained to be considered as no better or more respectable than a foreign king. In our days, even an adventurer to whom a petty prince, or his valet, has given a pennyworth of ribbon, looks proudly and disdainfully on any one of us who has nothing more in his button-hole than his button.

THE KING.

The title of King, given to the Sovereign of these realms, is expressive of his being the chief or head of the state. The Hebrew word Rosch is considered as the root of all the present titles, denoting Kingly or Sovereign power; namely, the Punic Resch, the Scythian Reix, the Latin Rex, the Spanish Rey, and the French Roi. The present English appellative, King, is, however, generally derived from the English Gyning-cunning or wise; and it is past dispute, that all the German nations styled their ancient monarchs according to their different dialects, Konig, Kuning, Koning, King Egbert, grandfather of Alfred the Great, was the first king of England.

PRINCE OF WALES.

This title was first given by Edward the First to his son Edward, afterwards Edward 2d, to reconcile the Welch to his conquest of that country. The Prince was born at Caernarvon, from which circumstance he also took the name of Edward of Caernarvon.

DUKE.

About a year before Edward the Third assumed the title of King of France, in order to inflame the military ardour, and to gratify

the ambition of his Earls and Barons, he introduced a new order of nobility, by creating his eldest son Edward, Duke of Cornwall.— This was done with great solemnity, in full parliament, at Westminster, upon the 17th of March, 1337, by girding a sword upon the young Prince, and giving him a patent, containing a grant of the name, title, and dignity of a Duke, and of several large 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 3d, 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 2d, 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 1st.

MARQUIS.

This title is derived from the French Marquis, and was first conferred in England in 1385, by Richard 2d. It was not, however, till very recent reigns that the title became more general.

EARL.

This is the oldest English, or rather Danish title, that we have, and implies the Governor of a District. As an instance of its antiquity, take Earl Godwin, the father of King Harold, from whom the Goodwin Sands derive their name. It was first used by Alfred in 920, as a substitute for king. The first created was in 1066.~ The first Earl Marshal 1383.

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 Viscounte and was first conferred in this country in 1438.

BARONET.

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

NOVA SCOTIA BARONETS.

Nova Scotia Baronets were first created in commemoration of the taking 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 desiguation 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 the Fifth; some go so far back as Edward the Third, but this is a mistake, as in that reign an Esquire was only, as it originally implied, an attendant on a knight. Eustace and Mercoeur were the Esquires or attendants of Edward the Black Prince. The word is derived from the Norman Equiere, from whence is also derived Equery. Henry the Fifth, 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.

The late Lord Barrington was once asked by a German Prince, "Pray, my Lord, of what rank is an Esquire in England?" when his Lordship replied, "Why, Sir, I cannot exactly tell you, as you have no equivalent for it in Germany; but an English Esquire is considerably above a German Baron, and something below a German Prince."

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.-all in his Majesty's Commission of the Peace; all Members of, and appertaining to his Majesty's Government; 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 M S S. 1433, and is written on the first leaf of the Visitation of Surry. 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.

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 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 Moore's appointment, which took place in the reign of Henry 8th, 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 1st. 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. This title, which is not. generally known, was conferred on Peter the Great by the English.

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.

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 preconsulate. 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 always 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 4th. grandson of Louis 14th, 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.

POPES, ALIAS BISHOPS OF ROME.

If we refer back to the ancient Christian Church, to ascertain who was the first Bishop of Rome, we shall find great variance on that point. The term pope, is derived from the Italian papa, father. Tertullian makes Clement, whom he supposes to have been ordained by St. Peter, as his immediate successor; and this opinion generally obtained belief during the fourth century. Some difference of opinion on that point subsequently prevailed; St. Jerome giving Linus the first place after the Apostles-Annacletus the second-and Clement the third. To reconcile this contradiction, various writers have, from time to time, started forth, some of whom would have two Bishops of Rome exercising supreme authority at the same time-others again, and of no mean authority, combat that position. But without entering on so wide a field of controversy, it will be sufficient to state, that the first letter to the Corinthians has been generally ascribed to Clement; the spirit and style of the letter is at complete variance with the modern bulls, briefs, mandates, &c. of the Church of Rome of the present day; there are no anathemas or excommunications thundered forth in that letter. The infallibility of Popes was an after consideration, and took its rise from the extreme gullibility of the people.

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 4th, 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 themThere were then only seven Electors, they being reduced to that number in 999.

HORATII AND CURATII.

The Romans and Albans, contesting for superiority, agreed to choose three champions on each side to decide it. The three Horatii, Roman knights, and the three Curatii, Albans, being elected by their respective countries engaged, in which the Horatii were victors, and which united Alba to Rome, 667 B. C.

AMBASSADOR.

The term Ambassador is one of the numerous corruptions in our language, the proper term being Embassador from Embassy: the latter merely signifying, a message or errand; the former, the messenger. The term, however, has for a great length of time derived a deal of consequence, arising from court-trick and politics.

THE TITLE CARDINAL.

The Cardinals were originally nothing more than deacons, to whom was intrusted the care of distributing the alms to the poor of the several quarters of Rome; and as they held assemblies of the poor in certain churches of their several districts, they took the title of these churches. They began to be called Cardinals in the year 300, during the Pontificate of St. Sylvester, by which appellation

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