"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 they make war. They officer the army and the navy. They, or persons whom they appoint, administer the affairs of the church and of the state, and expend the revenues, and they make the laws. In a word, they govern the country." "And do they govern it well?" asked Rollo. "Yes," said Mr. George; "admirably well--at least so far as preserving order and protecting life and property are concerned. I don't believe that there are any where else in the world, or ever were in any age, thirty millions of people together, who for a hundred years at a time enjoyed so much order, and peace, and general safety as has prevailed in England for the last century. Every thing is admirably regulated throughout all the ranks and departments of society, so far as these things are concerned." "Then it succeeds very well," said Rollo.