Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-06-20

II
tiles Of alfalfa production in this ant
adjoining states-in fact, everywhere
g
WIsEsT FOOL IN cHRIsTENDoN
King Jamse l., Made Famous by th'
Translation Of Bible, Was Odd Com
| bination.
A pompous, wobbly man whose Ill
shaped shanks were usually encaset
In thickly quilted green trousers t
ward Off daggers; that Is the descrip
tion history has left US of King James
l., whom French statesman, Sully
once characterized as "the wisest foo
In Christendom."' That swift Gallo
summary sticks In the memory wher
almost everything else about Kins
James grows dim and dusty. =.
For, indeed, ones whole impress
sion Of his reign is that 1t must
have been a tiresome time. England
grown accustomed to the bold achieve.
ments Of Elizabethan times, relapset
into a dull brown frame Of mind, 9
dry as dust" time, to quote Carlyle
Of which the king was fit embodi-
ment. 49,
In the first place--and 1t was NIGH
ty disadvantage In those days-Kine
James was Scotchman. member oi
the race which had been stealing En-
glish cattle and cracking English
crowns since shadowy times, and get
ting their own cattle stolen and their
own pates thwacked in return.
And he was not at all an Imposing
or dignified figure. In spite Of the fact
that his mother was the beautiful and
winsome Mary Queen Of Scots, the
king himself was a sad figure Of q
man. -.
Goggle-eyed he was, the men who
knew him wrote. and his tongue was
too large for his mouth, so that when
he drank he invariably slobbered wine
from the corners of his mouth. AS q
child he had suffered from ricketts,, e...d
even at s6, when he came to the throne
OF England, he walked in an indeter-
inmate way, making big wavery cir
cles with his feet, and much prefer
ring to have a courtier supporting
either arm. Add to this that he had
the mind of pompous pedagogue
crammed with all manner of large
words and information about theology
and other high-brow subjects, and
that he firmly believed that he was
Gods special deputy. sent down to
earth to govern England to his own
sweet will, and you can understand
how In twenty FIVE years he could do
an infinite lot to undermine the stur-
dy respect and loyalty Englishmen
felt for their sovereign and how he
paved the way for his son, Charles, to
the headsman's block. wy
Hunting was one of the favorite re.
cfeatfons OF the king. All the way down
from Scotland to England, where he
was to be crowned, he hunted along
the way and he let It be known that
It annoyed him to have crowds gather
to welcome him, because they scared
away the game. And 1t is not hard to
imagine how rude the crowds must
have been at this ungracious response
to their enthusiasm. The king spent
considerable part Of his life hunting
and the curious thing is that he never
learned to ride a horse at that. More
than once he was tumbled out Of his
saddle like a bundle Of dirty clothes
and had to be helped up again by
courtiers whose lip muscles were un-
der perfect control
Despite his many unheroic qualities
he was an amiable creature, was the
king. But even his amiability led him
into fresh absurdities. He needs must
have a favorite always, and the favor
ite must always, be q good-lookine
young man with nice manners. Court
memoirs tell how he used frequently
to embrace one Of those favorites
when some business called the young
man away, weeping and s!averine
upon the beloved cheeks and begging
him for Gods sake to return anon"
And yet the king could be pompous
enough when he chose. He loved tc
discuss intellectual matters in an eS
catheda manner, giving his opinions
about poetry and essays In the man.
ner of one imparting great truths tt
an eagerly waiting world. He had
read lot, too, and remembered most
of what he read, and II one could write
metrically perfect poem about what
bearcat the king was, he was likely
to knock down shekel or two and
maybe a pewter medal.
In spite of the fact that he had q
larger income than Elizabeth and thai
he was Scotch, and therefore should
have been saving, King James was
perennially hard up. He quarreled
with parliament, which he could moi
for the life Of him regard as anything
but a crowd of wranglesome, turbulent
knaves who grudged their duty tc
their God-sent sovereign. And so he
determined to get along as much OF
the time as possible without parlia-
ment. In order to raise money he
farmed out various monopolies to the
rich mobiles, monopolies in wine, spices
and many other things ZEN more nec-
essary to life. ....
The king, who did not smoke him
self, regarded the use Of tobacco as
one Of the seven deadly sins, and was
continually inveighing against 1t as q
tough, debauching habit. He did, how
ever, get drunk upon occasions, and
Carlyle mentions the fact that when
the king of Denmark visited him one
day they put on a bout worthy Of the
old Morse sea kings; that Faith, Hope
Truth and Charity, ladies Of the court
in masquerade, Joined in the jamboree
and everybody made the welkin ring
as the saying Is.
Undoubtedly King James's worst be-
quest to his son Charles, who succeed
ed him on the throne, was the notion
that kings ruled by divine right, in
stead of by the consent of the people