Of course, this works out also in another way, and makes us all descended from the serfs as well as from the lords of the soil. Though the matter may not be capable of demonstration, it is an interesting point to consider. A genealogist, however, is not satisfied with a pedigree which cannot be proved, and if our pedigree-hunter thinks, either from the high qualities with which he is endowed, or from the knowledge of noble ancestors having adorned his family tree, that kings must have been undoubtedly numbered among _his_ forbears--well, of course, he must make good his claim, perhaps even to royal descent in the male line. This probably will not be a matter which can be accomplished, but he may possibly be able to prove that he is descended from English kings--though not in the direct male line--provided that some of his ancestors were of high social position. As a matter of fact, the majority of our greater and lesser nobility are of royal descent, and if our pedigree-hunter’s ancestors were allied to such families, the descent in his case should be comparatively easy to prove. To help towards this, he might consult Burke’s _Royal Descents_ and Foster’s _Royal Lineages_; but if his family cannot claim the honour of royal ancestry, the “kind hearts” which are “more than coronets” may have been his proud heritage through a long line of forbears. And, taking into consideration the millions of ancestors which each noble lord has had, there cannot fail to have been some of low degree from whom _he_ has been descended in bygone centuries. Some families rise in the social scale, others descend, and the genealogist may come across numerous instances of the vicissitudes of families. Heirs to the highest of what were regarded as extinct titles have been found occupying the very lowest positions in the social scale. Who knows whether some unexpected stroke of fortune may not come across our genealogical searcher. In fact, there are few limits as to the possibilities which may arise in pedigree-hunting. INDEX Administration Bonds, 20 Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh, 40, 41 _Ancestor, The_, 18 _Ancestral Tablets_, 8, 24 _Angliæ Notitia_, 48 _Annual Register_, 17 Antiquaries, Society of, 16 Army, The, 23, 48 Assize Rolls, 20 Attorneys, 22, 23 Baronetage, 6 Baronets, Official Roll of, 6 Barristers, 22 Betham MSS., 36 Bodleian Library, 44 British Archæological Association, 16 ---- Museum Library, 31, 56 Burke’s _Commoners_ and _Landed Gentry_, 7, 16 ---- _Royal Descents_, 62 Caius College Library, Cambridge, 44 _Calendars of State Papers_, 14 Camden Society, 16 Cause Papers, 33 Census Returns, 21 Chancery Proceedings, 19, 29, 33, 34, 41, 54 Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 37 Christian Names, 12 Church and Clergy, 48, 51 Clan System, 41 College of Arms, Dublin, 36, 57 College of Arms, London, 29, 35, 57 College of Physicians, Roll of, 22