BELOVED BY NATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21239, 20 July 1932, Page 11

BELOVED BY NATION.

KING'S DOMINATING FORCE. WISE MAN OF AFFAIRS. LONDON, July 12. The word " omniscient" can fairly be connected, regarding affairs of State and the public weal, with the King, who is the most experienced man of affairs in the Empire, says the Sunday Chx-onicle. His Majesty's outstanding characteristics nro' an uncanny memory, inherited from his father, the late King Edward, a tremendous diligence, inherited from his late grandmother, Queen Victoria, and a wisdom which, in spito of crises and uncertainties, has embedded the Throne ever more firmly in the nation's affections. No King has ever been more beloved, yet 110 man has achieved so much with so little fuss.

Ho gives the impression of being deferential and diffident; nevertheless, beneath the placid exterior arc a dominating personality and a force of mind which astonish all on first contact.

The King has never been robust-, yet he works twice as hard as a business man, and it is a marvellous tribute to liis stamina and constitution that he has been able to. crowd so much work into his 67 years. \

His Majesty spends six or seven hours a day in reading and initialling State documents and adding recommendations and suggestions which show clear thinking, analytical skill, and foresight. The King possesses an amazing knowledge of affairs. As one result, he has simple tastes. One of his favourite dishes is poached eggs on toast. It is even sometimes ordered for dinner. Since his illness the King drinks only weak whisky and soda and light lager beer. He is still one of the best shots in the kingdom, and a careful, diligent reader, but only for information. He has only half-a-dozen intimato friends, of whom death recently robbed him of the best-loved, causing him great sorrow. Finally, in pn age of doubt and scepticism, the King is content to be simple and devout.