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but because very few people take the trouble to make 

 themselves acquainted with these subjects. Genealogy is 

 simply the History of particular families, while Heraldry 

 is the language in which we frequently find it written, with 

 or without other documents at the same time ; and the 

 account becomes interesting to a parish, county, province, 

 or nation; according to the position occupied by the family 

 whose records it pretends to give. It is said, however, that 

 while the History of Nations is true in the main, partly 

 from the importance, and partly from the publicity of the 

 events, the History of Families is in general of a doubtful 

 character; from the strong disposition to exaggerate, and 

 from the private character of the records. It is undeniable 

 that there are facilities in the one case, which do not exist 

 in the other, for the insertion of Apocryphal statements ; 

 but it must be borne in mind at the same time, that the 

 same principles of criticism apply in both cases. There 

 have been men who coincided in the strong statement of 

 Walpole, that " all History is a lie/' and they were quite as 

 rational as those who say that all Genealogy is a fable. 

 The very fact that men of character are supposed capable 

 of exaggeration or mistatement, is a proof that the 

 objectors attach importance to illustrious descent : and 

 it rarely happens that a man despises Genealogical in- 

 quiries, or suspects their authenticity, if the proofs of his 

 own descent are clear and unquestionable for several 

 generations. If we find on the one hand that a poet traces 

 the descent of Julius Caesar from lulus, iEneas, and 

 Venus, we find on the other, that a whole nation claims 

 relationship with Mars, and is of Trojan or of Grecian 

 origin, according as Livy, or Dionysius tells the 

 story. We smile at the remark in Genealogy, that at the 

 time of the deluge " the M'Leans had a boat o' their ain," 

 and we find a parallel for it in the current history of the 

 sober Chinese, that at a certain date " the world was 



