A PHILOSOPHICAL MONARCH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1703, 20 March 1913, Page 5

A PHILOSOPHICAL MONARCH.

KING GEORGE'S CAREER. ' A CHARACTER SKETCH. . : On June 0 next, had he survived .to that date. King George of Greece woiild have completed the fiftieth year of his reign; At. the: time of his death- he had occupied'his throne longer than any other ruler in the Old World, with the Military exception of -tile' venerable ' .Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria-Huiigary. It. was an odd chance that own father,, the late King Christian IX of .Denmark, lyas ,tho sovereigji. whose reign came next in " 'duration.'- Both', monarchs assumed-the.crowii'in ISG3, but while tho son—then only Prince William of Denmark—was '.elected King of the Hellenes in June '; and enteral upon . his exalted offlco. in King Christian, did nbi become sovereign of. Denmark until a month, later. It was no - wean proof of : King. George's .'capacity for kingShip. that hi 9 Majesty; knew how to pre'servo his authority* intact during, tho political frenzies wliiiji in 4910 threatened to rend his land . asunder! : He went to Greece as a stranger and_ a yoiith, after others, including an English Prince, had refused the 'crown. 'His. uiifortunato predecessor, King Otho, son of ithe devoted phil-Hellene, King Ludwig of Bavaria, had been compelled to relinquish the: throne by a rising , of the populace. President Capodist'rias,' .who had -l-iilcd the country , with a hand of iron for seven, yeai's' before Otho's accession, had fallen a victim of assassination. ~ No extremity of;the crisis in his royal destiny left this, -most' of ntonarchs unsupported by his characteristic coolness and firmness and. his equally characteristic shrewdness.,. and , penetration. -His Majesty received all factions with genial and sereno humour, shaking everybody's hand, and.-enlivening all interviews with cheerful observations. .' : A Democratic Ruler.

A recent writer says:—l'ew would suspect that'tho elderly man whom tourists in Greece aro apt'to- find sipping coffee in one of tho cheap restaurants of Athens is the brother of ■ Queen . : Alexander and husband of tlie; Grand Duchess Olga of Uitssia. His Majesty's attire is as likely as not to .comprise a worn slouch hut,'« gray sack coat aiid a pair ofiincreaped trousers'.' His. entrance into tho-, coffee houss inspires no demonstrations Ijeyond a nod from one or two of tlio frequenters of' the place and a-bustle: of preparations from jthe proprietor, as lie strikes a match for ,tlie 'King's cigarette. His Majesty is soon übsorbed in tho perusal of his newspaper or in tho progress : of a gamo of draughts between a cab driver and , a teamster. Or his Majesty may drop in.at the afternoon performance of one. of the cheap theatres, paying: his way like one of tho general puHic and sitting in the Tear of tho houso-among the plainest sort of. people. . He does not disdain, a seat at tho side of the driver of a farmer's wagon when his walk ' in the environs of his capital has taken'him far afield. .: Tho spectacle he presents on these occasions attracts no particular attention from his subjects, wli'o nod as if he were a familiar lie is. 1 in fact, notes the "Figaro"—and bail vn'tli, the Greek pmiiva'ent of the words: "How do you do, King?" The Kinir's natural simplicity of tasto and disposition was reflected in -all lie eaid and did. Few monarch* have so little consciousness if their royal digiiily, and it is unthinkable to tho Paris "Gaulnis" that any' other Sovereign tlmn : King Georgo could luive'omlured with suoli perfect equanimity ■ his rjecti-in a restaurant' at one, of the German Soas f-ir bringing his dog into the place. This dog was the invariable companion of the monarch's long walks over th« mountain npar th~ royal palace. Aninuils were one of his hobbies, and ' travelling was another.

A Surprised American. An experience the 'King had with a young American in Athens who was prosecuting his classical studies thoro is related by,the Berlin "Vossicho Zeitung" as'-'only a single . cident'among many of a'similar land., Whilo his Majesty was turning tho pages of a volume of verso by that one of tho modern Greeks who most affects the an-oic-nt. forms, ho Was asked by tho young American where it duplicate copy could bo "I ani reading the only copy yet.-in circulation," replisd tho King. A long conversation oil the state of contemporary Hellenic literntnro ensued, at, tho conclusion of which tho sovereign io®J ei ' tho book to his new acquaintance. ' How shall I return this to you?'' asked, the American. "I'll b? here again next week," replied King George, who paid Ills score and departed. Not until the youth settled for his own eoffeo and cigarettes did lie become aware, from a chance remark of. the waiter's, that lie had beep exchanging ideas nil the afternoon' with tho ruler of the kingdom. _ ~ Notwithstanding his sobriety of aspect) his lack of snectacular-qualities, and his slightlv shabby nppe.trance, there is m the King of' tlio Hellenes, s.iys- . (ho "Gaulois," a "simplicity of majesty, ■ duite as impressive in its way as t.lio (inmbovaneo of Emperor William .himself. King George has the look of "a spiritual, a modest, and, nb'ii-o nil. an extremely iiil'allifri-'iit old man." T'io charm, of tho countenance is undeniable, and it owes most to Ilia beaming aiid lcpoieful eyes,

deep blue with a touch of gray. The brow is lofty and wide, the mouth well placed above a strong chin. But not until the King begins to speak does the' force of his personality assert itself in its fineness. He speaks without tho slightest lessrve of any'kind-upon, the theme that chances to be -uppermost', even when the fate pf .his dynasty is in question. The trait makes ' his Majesty prodigiously popular with newspaper correspondents, who enjoy extraordinary facilities for interviewing this reigning sovereign. _Un-' like the late King .Leopold of Belgium, whose dreadi of reporters was notorious, King George regularly accords interviews, in which he reveals the.state of his mind 'without resolve. His candour and cordiality havo been reciprocated with, perfect, loyalty, it being/now. an understood thing among the reporters of Paris that tho King of the Hellenes .shall : not be Hiotcd in a way calculated to cause him personal embarrassment. ... : 1

In one detail—the important matter of religion—the King of . the_ Hellenes remained apart from his subjects. He had found it quite out of tho question, notes the "JFigaro," to abandon the Lutheran faith in- which ho was reared. His wife and children are scrupulous adherents of tho Orthodox Church, but his Majesty refrained from all participation in tho national religion. The Crown- l'rinee represented his ' father at ecclesiastical functions. The King's reason for this abstention -was based, it seems, 1 upon his aversion to' praying in 'public. His wife had striven for many years' ,to convert him to the national creed, and petitions to tho Almighty havo been mado on behalf of the royal family in tho Kremlin at Moscow for the conversion of the King. Were the King of Greece not endowed with strong common sense and wonderful pationce, says the London "Spectator," ho might to-day be an oxilo from his realm as a consequence of the military revolt of 1910 at' Athens. Its immediate cause was the "humiliation of Greece in Crete." Not for a moment did the King permit considerations of personal pride to stand,in the . way of a settlement of the crisis. He removed the royal princes from their commands in the army. Ho discussed with perfcct- courtesy his own abdication with every deputation that cared to press the subject unon him. Tho conferences invariably ended with indulgence in coffee and cigarettes, and an exchange of opinion in which his Majesty relieved all tension with displays of imperturbable good humour. Tie immensely amused the Hotspurs of the army by suggesting that in the event of his exilo ho be permitted to become agent for a firm of Athenian wine merchants. "If you decide to set up a remiblic here," lie'ob■SPi'v;d to Prime Minister Ralli when tho Military Commitk'e assumed control, "you might make me Ambassador to Prance, for I should like to live in Paris."

WHAT KING GEORGE HAS DONE FOR GREECE, A WART AND SKILFUL PILOT. Daring the reign of King Georgo of Greece, the Indian Islands, and part of Thcssnly, have .been added to tho kingdom, and oven after the disastrous war of 1807 there was only a slight ratification of tho frontier to tliQ disadvantage of Grcece, whilo Europe actually gave lier tho substance of what slin fought for— virtual possession of Crete. The King of Greece, according to "M.A.1'.," every - year makes a- tour through most parts of Europe; he is, during this tour, wliat may ]>o called a commercial traveller for his country; attempting in every way ho can to gain friends, concessions, alliances lor Greece, and putting lut rase for new developments persisently and urijeui Iv. . . . Tim powerful King of England is his brother-in-law;

the Tsar of Russia is his nephew; ono of his sons is married to a sister of the Emperor of Germany; and another is the husband of ft Princess Bonaparte, one ot the richest heiresses of Europe, and member of tho great House of the Napoleons. Whatever influence this relationship gives to tho King of Greece, is used entirely for tho benefit of Greece. . . . There are few monarchs in Europe who liavo understood so well, and nono better—not even excepting tho King of England—tho business of a King. He came to tho Greek throne when ho \ was but a stripling of eighteea years; ho came as a foreigner— for, as. everybody knows, ho was the son of a Danish King and is tho brother of our own Queen—and, therefore, he came with nearly every disadvantage a monarch could have. Moreover, when ho ascended Uio throno a revolution had just deposed his predecessor; and, indeed, revolution seemed to bo almost the normal condition of Greece.

A striking tribute to tho late King was paid by the London "Times" at the time of the military revolt in Greece in 1910: "Tho one strong ground for hops wlucli Greece possesses that she will successfully emergo from the critical operation to which she is committed," declared "The Times," "lies in the character and the long. experience of King George, his devotion to her, and the unquestionablo loyalty which the masses of her people feel for him. No Sovereign in Europe lias had to play a more difficult or a more ungrateful part. He has played it on the whole with rare courage, judgment, and skill. It is the bold and judicious use of his prerogatives of veto, dissolution, and dismissal which has saved Greece from misfortunes even more grievous than those that have visited lier. He has averted tho worst consequences of the, follies which he could not prevent, and he is to-day the one statesman in Greeco whom foreign Governments are accustomed to trust. To steer Greece safely through the storifiy weather of the autumn may tax. the powers even of that wary and skilful pilot. Without his guiding hand, disaster would seem almost inevitable. He, wo are confident, with reasonable good fortune and with the honest support of good subjects and good patriots, will bring the ship safely to port and guard her until in the course of nature lie hands over the command to his heir and lawful successor." Forty-five years ago King George married the young and beautiful Grand Duchess Olga Constaniuovna of Ruraia. The Crown Prince and his son, Prince George, having been .born in Greece and brought up in the national creed of the country, tho Greek Orthodox Cliurch, are tookedupon as native Greek Princes by the nation with which they have wholly and entirely identified themselves. NEW ZEALAND SYMPATHY. MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER. ' (By Telegraph.—PreEa Association.) - Timaru, March 19. Mr. Massey has sent the following telegram 'to the Governor to-day: "The Prime Minister presents his compliments and respectfully requests his Excellency to telegraph to the Secretary of State for the Colonies expressing, on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand, their licrror a'; the assassination .of his Majesty King George of Greece, and also their deep sympathy with the bereaved Royal-Family and the Greek nation." The Prime Minister further suggests that a message be sent expressing the deep sympathy of the Government and people "of New Zealand with her Majesty Queen Alexandra in the untoward death of her brother, King George of Greece.