"Proceed; I leave in your hands the introduction of his lordship!"

The observance of these customs, and also of others which will now be

described, were the old ceremonies in use prior to the time of Henry

VIII., and which Anne for some time attempted to revive. There is

nothing like it in existence now. Nevertheless, the House of Lords

thinks that it is unchangeable; and, if Conservatism exists anywhere, it

is there.

It changes, nevertheless. E pur si muove. For instance, what has

become of the may-pole, which the citizens of London erected on the 1st

of May, when the peers went down to the House? The last one was erected

in 1713. Since then the may-pole has disappeared. Disuse.

Outwardly, unchangeable; inwardly, mutable. Take, for example, the title

of Albemarle. It sounds eternal. Yet it has been through six different

families--Odo, Mandeville, Bethune, Plantagenet, Beauchamp, Monck. Under

the title of Leicester five different names have been merged--Beaumont,

Breose, Dudley, Sydney, Coke. Under Lincoln, six; under Pembroke, seven.

The families change, under unchanging titles. A superficial historian

believes in immutability. In reality it does not exist. Man can never be

more than a wave; humanity is the ocean.

Aristocracy is proud of what women consider a reproach--age! Yet both

cherish the same illusion, that they do not change. It is probable the

House of Lords will not recognize itself in the foregoing description,

784

The Man Who Laughs