The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1913-01-09

iers. He and his KING -1OH n
attendants seemed vastly amused over
something that had just happened and
which they protested to regard as a
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 a mad
| dog at the rushes that strewed the
! floor
Nor was this burst of insane fury
without an excuse. For the man was
/ tyrart; and that day had been forced
/ to sign the death-warrant of tyranny.
1 he was John, king of England. More
| than century and a 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.
| mad several sons, all of whom hated
| their father and at various times con-
| spired against him. John was the
Youngest. From his poverty he be-
| came known as Lakeland" The eld-
est son, Godfrey, died during Henrys
| lifetime, leaving one son, little Prince
Arthur. Geoffrey's next youngest
brother, Richard Cknown 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
supplant. 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 sthrown into prison. John is
said to have had the sixteen-year-old
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 conffne 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
fNh az
clergy, defying the pope himself The
church thereupon placed an Inter
dict" on the BLACKBOARD 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 a I
code of laws for the betterment of the I
people and for the curling of oppres-
sion. They called this document the I
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 a 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 it. Frightened by their
power and his own weakness. John at /
last consented. Thus was English lib
erty born and the rights of man were
established. John met the barons at |
a meadow, near Runnymede. on June
Is, 1915. salved his vanity by pretend
ing to make a jest of the matter,
signed the charter and-safe in his
palace-gave way to a fit of maniacal
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 rebellious subjects. The /
English retaliated by asking a French
prince to come over and be their king. I
The land was once more rent by CIV
il war. John showed no mercy to his
own country, but desolated and /
wrecked it wherever his armies could /
find foothold At the climax of the /
struggle his mind gave way. He sick
ened and, on October 10, 1916, died.
Some historians believe he was pol
soned.