The Cairo bulletin., 1912-07-31

laughing court I9"SnSt ~
iers. He and his KING JOH n
attendants seemed vastly amused over
something that had just happened and
which they protested to regard as
fine joke.
But the moment the regally clad
man reached his private apartments
In the palace, away from the eyes of
the public his mask Of false gayety
was cast aside. He hurled himself
upon the floor, screaming, raving and
bowling fearful blasphemies. foaming
at the mouth and biting like mad
dog at the rushes that strewed the
floor.
Nor was this burst of insane fury
without an excuse. For the man was
a tyrant; and that day had been forced
to sign the death-warrant of tyranny.
He was John, king of England. More
than century and half had passed
since William the Conqueror had won
England. beginning the blend Of Nor
man and Saxon races and giving the
English new line of kings and no.
bility. Henry H., king of England,
had several sons, all OF whom hated
their father and at various times con-
splred against hiIHa John was the
youngest. From fis poverty he be-
came known as Lakeland" The eld-
est son, Godfrey, died during Henry's
lifetime, leaving one son, little Prince
Arthur. Geoffrey's next youngest
brother Richard (known as Lion
Hearty, became king Of England at
Henry's death. He spent nearly all
his ten-year reign fighting In other
countries, and died childless
During Richards absence from Eng
land John had tried to seize the crown
for himself On Richards return he
had to fly for his own life before the
wrath of the brother he had striven to
suppiant Richard, however, forgave
him, and named him as heir to the
throne. On Lion Hearts" death
John became king OF England in 1899.
Some of the mobiles tried to make his
nephew, young Prince Arthur, king in
Johns place. Civil war broke out.
John was victorious. Arthur was cap
tured and thrown into prison John Is
said to have had the sixteen.yearold
boys eyes put out and then to have
murdered him. The king of France
made war on John to avenge this al
legged murder, and seized nearly all
England's French possessions.
John, forced thus to confine his tyr
amy to his own country. proceeded to
make his peoples lives miserable. He
seized at will the few possessions of
the poor and laid heavy taxes on the
rich. He insulted and ill-treated the
clergy, defying the pope himself. The
church thereupon placed an Inter
dict" on the backyard and his realm.
His holiness also called upon the
Christian rulers to unite against John.
This last danger scared the cowardly
tyrant into submission. But he re-
fused to make his peoples hardships
lighter.
Then 1t was that the powerful bar
ons, led by Stephen Langton, arch
bishop Of Canterbury, presented
code OF laws for the betterment OF the
people and for the curbing of oppres-
sion. They called this document the
Magma Charta Great Charter.
Among other reforms, the charter pro-
vided fair trial for every prisoner,
authorized the nation to resist unjust
royal demands and put the will of the
people ahead Of mere kings wishes.
The church's liberty was to be re-
spected and no mans possessions
were to be wrongfully seized by the
crown.
John was asked to sign the Magma
Charta. He refused. The barons and
the common people combined to force
him to sign 1t, Frightened by their
power and his own weakness, John at
last consented. Thus was English lib
erty born and the rights of man we're
established. John met the barons at
a meadow, near Runnymede on June
IS, 1915, salved his vanity by pretend
ing to make lest of the matter,
signed the charter and--safe In his
palace--gave way to a fit OF manlacal
rage.
Though he had been coerced into
performing an act Of splendid Justice
by signing the Magma Charta, John
had not the faintest idea Of keeping
his promises to the barons. He called
on foreign hired soldiers to help him
crush his rebelIious subjects The
English retaliated by asking a French
prince to come over and be their king
The land was once more rent by civ
II war. John showed no mercy to his
own country, but desolated and
wrecked 1t wherever his armies could
find foothold AT the climax of the
struggle his mind gave way. He sick
ened and, on October ~, 1915, died.
Some historians believe he was poi
soned. ~
~