Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1910 — A Near View. [ARTICLE]

A Near View.

Distance lends enchantment to the imagination as well as to the actual vision. This is a fortunate circumstance, for the real truth about some of the heroes of history might, to a person to-day, bring disenchantment and even disgust. Charles XII of Sweden may claim the world’s admiration as a mlllltary genius, but from Mr. MorflU's description of the monarch, given in the "Story of Portland,” that gentleman would be anything but an agreeable addition to society. "He wears a black crape cravat, but the cape of the coat is always* buttoned so closely that one cannot see it His shirt and wristbands are always dirty. He wears no ruffles nor gloves, and his hands are commonly the same color as his wristbands, so you can hardly distinguish them. His hair Is Tight brown, very short, and never combed but with the fingers. "He begins dinner with a big piece of bread and butter, having stuck his napkin under hla chin. Between every two bits of meat he'eata bread which he button with his thumb. He Is never more than a quarter of an hour at his meals, eats like a horse, and speaks a word.” A kingly* picture, indeed, savoring of romance and knightly fashion?