in the Consols to which their father had mostly tied the Settlements they made to avoid death duties, and the six of them who had been reproduced had seventeen children, or just the proper two and five-sixths per stem.
There were other reasons, too, for this mild reproduction.

A distrust of their earning powers, natural where a sufficiency is guaranteed, together with the knowledge that their fathers did not die, kept them cautious.

If one had children and not much income, the standard of taste and comfort must of necessity go down; what was enough for two was not enough for four, and so on--it would be better to wait and see what Father did.

Besides, it was nice to be able to take holidays unhampered.
Sooner in fact than own children, they preferred to concentrate on the ownership of themselves, conforming to the growing tendency fin de siecle, as it was called.

In this way, little risk was run, and one would be able to have a motor-car.