IbelievethatForeigners，——andevenourownmercantileclasses，——havelittleideaoftheverynarrowprovisionwhichtheusual\"RightoftheEldestSon\"leavesfortheyoungermembersofnobleEnglishhouses。Theruleisexcellent，asameansofperpetuatingapowerfulandwealthyAristocracy；theChiefneverbeingimpoverishedbythatperpetualsubdivisionwhichtakesplaceinothercountries。Butoneresultis，thattheyoungerbrothersandsonsofPeers，（thehabitsofwhosechildhoodandyouthnaturallyweretoenjoyanequalityofluxurywiththeHeir，）areoftenembarrassedbytheslendernessoftheirmeans：
andthiswasourcase。Luckilyforme，lightserialliteraturewastheexpressfashionoftheday。Nordidthegreatestauthorswehad，disdaintocontributetheirsharetotheephemeral’Annuals’andPeriodicals，whichformedthestaplecommodityofthebook—sellersatthattime。
Irejoiced，then，atfinding，——womanthoughIwas，——acareerinwhichIcouldearnthatwhichmyhusband’sprofessionhadneverbroughthim。OutofourstormyquarrelsIroseundiscouraged，andworkedagaintohelphimandforwardtheinterestsofmychildren。
Ihavesatupallnight，——evenattimeswhenIhavehadayounginfanttonurse，——tofinishtasksforPage27
somepublisher。Imadeinoneyearasumof1，400l。bymypen；andIhavealetterfromMrNorton’sownbrother，provingthatevenwhenwewereontermsofestrangement，Istillprovided，withoutgrudging，moneythatwastobespentonhispleasures。