“It is calamitous. It is too terrible,” he said sadly. “And what it brings may be far more of a burden than a joy.”

“But the name, my lord, — the ancient and honorable lineage!”

“That last was already mine, and for the title — I have never coveted it, far less all that it entails. I must think it over.”

“But, my lord, it is yours! You can’t help yourself, you know; a — the — the position is yours, and you will a — fill it with dignity, and — a — let me hope will follow the conservative policy of your honored uncle.”

“And I say I must think it over. May I not have a day — a single day — in which to mourn the loss of my splendid brother? Would God he had lived to fill this place!”