Blenheim. 1 09 



Blenheim is superb, grand, and broad enough to sat- 

 isfy princely tastes. And that noble library ! As we 

 walked through it we felt subdued, as if in the presence 

 of the gods of ages past, for a worthy collection of great 

 books ever breathes forth the influence of kings dead 

 yet present, of 



" Those dead but sceptred sovereigns 

 Whose spirits still rule us from their urns." 



And to think that this library, in whose treasures we 

 revelled, reverently taking one old tome after another in 

 our hands, has since then been sold by auction ! De- 

 generate wretch ! but one descended from Marlborough 

 can scarcely be called degenerate. You may not even 

 be responsible for what seems like family dishonor ; 

 some previous heir may have rendered the sale neces- 

 sary ; but the dispersion of such treasures as these must 

 surely open the eyes of good men in England to the 

 folly of maintaining hereditary rank and privilege. Per- 

 haps, however, the noble owner had no more use for his 

 books than the lord whose library Burns was privileged 

 to see, which showed no evidences of usage. The bard 

 wrote in a volume of Shakespeare he took up : 



" Through and through the inspired leaves, 

 Ye maggots, make your windings ; 

 But oh ! respect his lordship's taste 

 And spare his golden bindings." 



With many notable exceptions, the aristocracy of 

 Britain took its rise from bad men who did the dirty 



