Blue ribbon I’m pretty sure sorry if wrong
I think it's B because it says "What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth!...The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires." Meaning that men have a need to explore and to get more land and discover things.
According to Hobbs, if the successor has not been named, 'other natural signs of the will are to be followed'. In this case, the custom takes precedence, so if the custom is that the monarch is succeeded by next of kin, then the next of kin should succeed the monarch.