I didn't realize the baronetcy was created to mainly raise funds for the Crown. I think it makes Sir Walter's conceit that much funnier-he has his title mainly because the king needed money! Something else that struck me is that Sir Walter's family got their title in 1660, and then you hear Sir Walter scoff at "the endless creations of the last century", which I'm assuming would mean the 1700's. But the early 1700's would have been fairly close to his own family being given a baronetcy. It seems like his vanity blows the "ancient dignity" of his house way out of proportion here.