Quotation from: The Arrow of Gold

Written by: Joseph Conrad

"Some princely families," I said, "were founded by men who have
done that very thing. The great Condottieri, you know."

It was in an almost tempestuous tone that she made me observe that
we were not living in the fifteenth century. She gave me also to
understand with some spirit that there was no question here of
founding a family. Her son was very far from being the first of
the name. His importance lay rather in being the last of a race
which had totally perished, she added in a completely drawing-room
tone, "in our Civil War."