The Viscount Vincent

A king may make a belted knight,
A marquis, duke and a' that,
But an honest man's aboon his might
Gude faith he mauna fa' that!
For a' that and a' that,
Their dignities and a' that,
The pith o' sense and pride o' worth
Are higher ranks than a' that.

--Robert Burns.

The next morning Ishmael and Bee, the only hard workers in the family,
were the first to make their appearance in the breakfast room. They had
both been up for hours--Ishmael in the library, answering letters, and
Bee in the nursery, seeing that the young children were properly washed,
dressed, and fed. And now, at the usual hour, they came down, a little
hungry, and impatient for the morning meal. But for some time no one
joined them. All seemed to be sleeping off the night's dissipation. Bee
waited nearly an hour, and then said: "Ishmael, I will not detain you longer. I know that you wish to go to
the courthouse, to watch the Emerson trial; so I will ring for
breakfast. Industrious people must not be hindered by the tardiness of
lazy ones," she added, with a smile, as she put her hand to the
bell-cord.

Ishmael was about to protest against the breakfast being hurried on his
account, when the matter was settled by the entrance of Judge Merlin,
followed by Mr. Middleton and Claudia. After the morning salutations had
passed, the judge said: "You may ring for breakfast, Claudia, my dear. We will not wait for your
aunt, since your uncle tells us that she is too tired to rise this
morning."