THE RISE OF FAMILIES 



93 



to deduce the results attending marriages with heiresses, 

 and possibly, could we examine contemporary records, 

 and draw upon the personal knowledge of one or two 

 generations of contemporaries, we should gain a clearer 

 insight into the nature of the ill-luck that pursued or 

 led astray the great families of ancient days. 



Family history, as far as it is given in any printed 

 and published work which can be bought in the open 

 market or consulted in general reading-rooms, is public 

 property. There is no breach of confidence involved 

 in any further use of it. Unfortunately, it consists for 

 the most part of lists of names and dates ; the details 

 of history, character, and occupation are few, and much 

 of the utility of such records is lost for scientific pur- 

 poses. The accurate observation and careful entry of 

 the characteristics of each individual unit of a family 

 group is a modern conception, carried out only by a 

 few persons. Since many of the subjects may be still 

 alive or live in the memory of others, such studies do 

 not admit as yet of full publication, either with names 

 or with details that might lead to identification. 



So, for the purpose we have in hand, which is the 

 elucidation of the causes of the rise and fall of families, 

 we have two classes of evidence available. The first 

 consists of the published records, with names, dates, 

 and scanty details ; the second is a series of pedigrees 

 which have been privately collected, and set forth, to 

 the best ability of the recorders, the virtues and vices of 

 various representative families. 



One of the most marked of the general features in 

 the rise of families, who remain in a position of stable 

 equilibrium, is their slow and gradual ascent. The 



