Read the following passage:
i had learned, too, the very remarkable fact, that the stem of the usher race, all time-honored as it was, had put forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent, and had always, with very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain.
what is the best meaning of the above passage?
that they, the usher family, has been around for years.
that they are enduring and will last for years
that their family line has not branched out
that they have a wide variety of bloodlines within their family