King George of Greece.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 2, 12 January 1910, Page 12

King George of Greece.

EVERY INCH A MONARCH. It is difficult for foreigners to undfl* Biand what underlies the recent outbreak in Athena. It is certainly some■>what disquieting to find a country, •which has been distinguished for more than two genrerations by a spirit of constitutional adhesion to law, suddenly *h>rating into a pronouncement, which has a certain resemblance to the not-yery-edifying performances of South American Republics. But be this as it may, it would l»e regretted by everybody who loves Greece —and Greece has nothing but friends in England—if this outbreak should interfere with the position of King George of Greece. There are few monarchs in Europe flvho have understood so well, and none better —not even excepting the King of England—the business of a King. He Came to the Greek throne when he was but a stripling of eighteen years; he came as a foreigner—for as everybody known, ho was the eon of a Danish King, and is the brother of our own Queen —and, therefore, he came with nearly every disadvantage a monarch could have. Moreover, when he aseended the throne a revolution had just deposed his predecessor; and indeed, revolution seemed to be almost the normal condition of Greece. That is so different from the present State of things—up to a few weeks ago even a email disturbance was never heard of—that people bad almost forgotten how far in constitutional methods, and in the establishment of the reign of law, Greece had advanced under the wise guidance of its present monarch. It is Tro small advantage to Greece, too, £hat its sovereign is connected so closely with nearly all the ruling houses of Europe. Tire powerful King of England is his brother-in-law; the Czar of Russia is bis nephew; one Of his sons is married to fl sister of the Emperor of Germany; and another is the husband of a Princess Bonaparte, one of the richest heiresses of Europe and member of the great House of the Napoleons. Whatever influence this relationship gives to the King of Greeece, is used entirely for the benefit of Greece. Every year /the King makes a tour through most parts of Europe; he is, during this tour, what may be called a commercial traveller for his country; attempting in every way he can to gam friends, concessions, alliances for Greece, and putting her ease for new developments perBistently and urgently. It is, however, with the King of Greece in his personal capacity, rather than with his political present or future, that I have to deal; and I will attempt to give some idea, of his personality as it appeared to me. Let me say at once that he is the most democratic sovereign in Europe. He carries the simplicity of his manners into everything in his daily as well as his public life. Indeed, I have heard that vome years ago bis Ministers were rather shocked when they were told that the King on more than One occasion jumped into a tramway car, and took his seat among his subjects, using that simple and cheap mode of locomotion. When he is in Paris he lives in a comfortable, but rather old-fashioned, hotel in the Place Vendome; and those who come to see him are shown into a small and very modest sitting room, which would be regarded by a rich iAtmericam as scarcely worthy of the lordly presence of his valet. He has a contempt and hatred for show and for extravagance in any form, and in that respect is the fitting representative of a race solcr, hard-working, and for the most part still fighting hard for existence. The manners of the King of Greece are, like lira surroundings, simple to a degree. He speaks English quite perfectly. speaks in a low, soft voice, and is an excellent listener. About five feet nine or ten inches in height, with a figure which is as slight as that of a youngster, be looks rather small beside the young giants who are his sons. For he looks, in youthfulness of appearance, rather like their eldest brother than their father. The expression of the face is simple, candid, with a certain quizzical look in the eyes that suggests nn amused, genially sceptical outlook nn the world, of the dark and Hie mean ns well ns of the glorious Bide of which ho must have seen so winch during his long reign as a King. The eyes are bright and clear and can-

did, and you can see that they conceal nothing of the inner thought and purpose of a simple and straightforward man; but that quizzical light in them reminds one that the King knows a good dead about human nature, and though he (may be amused, is not always duped by some of its peculiarities. It is in his personal habits that the King of Greece is such a model to his brethren on the throne. I often think it is a marvel that those born to the royal position—and that I regard, as in many cases, what Byron called a heritage of woe —can manage to escape destruction amid the abundant temptations by which they are accordingly surrounded. Everybody tries to spoil royalties. Flatterers surround them, -whose business it is to say that everything they desire is good. The climbers flre ever on their track, seeking to win their smiles and their favours, and ready to eat any dirt in order to do bo. Every form of pleasure opens out its seductive and broad arms to them. If they are entertained, they always find spread before them all that is magnificent, luxurious, seductive, and unhealthy. The most hospitable of hosts, who entertains an ordinary individual to lunch, rarely thinks of offering him champagne; unless the lunch be a solemn and ceremonial affair. But who, if he had to entertain royalty, would think of not having before it all the best wines of the world; and all the most luxurious food? And human beings are so weak —especially when the pleasures of the table tempt them—that to see a thing or to have it offered to them, is often an irresistible reason for taking it. If any of us, leading the life of London, retain our senses and our health, it is in spite of the temptations of London hospitality. The slim and active figure Of the King of Greece is an emphatic proof that he has not yielded to any of those temptations which pursue him and every man in a similar station. He is as frugal in food, as self-restrained in wine, as though he were an athlete in training. A lunch of two dishes, a halfglass of wine, one cigar, this represents what he takes himself and what he offers to his friends and his officers when he is travelling. The meal lasts at most half an hour. The dinner in the evening has, of course, to be more ceremonious; but, whatever the King may lay before his guests in the shape of luxuries, he takes care himself never to touch any but the simplest dishes; and he drinks scarcely any wine. Again, one cigar represents usually the full amount of his smoking. In other respects he is a model of the mens Sana in corpore sano. Nothing would induce him to forego every day the long walk to which he attributes, properly, so much of his extraordinary health and vitality. He is one of the best-known figures on the boulevards of Paris, because, whenever he is there, lie is to be seen constantly strolling along their fascinating spaciousness. I believe it has been the King’s rule for years to walk for two hours every evening after dinner; certainly he puts in two hours of exercises every day. The exercise which he likes above all others is that of walking; and that probably is, on the whole, the best kind of exercise a man can take. No man is less exposed to those outbursts of violence which are the constant peril of other sovereigns. When last I saw the King in Paris, I saw a significant and dramatic contrast between Jiis personality and his surroundings and those of Royalties in other lands. There was then in Paris a well-known Russian Grand Duke. He w'aa some ten to fifteen years younger than the King of Greece. But his red nose, in such sharp contrast with his white hair, his almost toothless month, his air of senile decrepitude in early middle-age, were indeed a curious epitome and commentary upon his life; and were a sharp contrast lietween him and the alert, juvenile, and splendidly preserved figure of the King of the Greeks; and the aimy of spies that everywhere watched cne royalty and that entirely neglected the other, was an eloquent testimony to the different fruits that are brought forth by autocratic and by constitutional governments.