Notes on the District of Menteith, for tourists and others . earchinghis littel brass-banded coffer in the Isle of Talla,the Earl must needs go and search the nationalarchives. In these, in l639, he found the docu-ments which caused his ruin. Most modest-minded men—and Scotsmen are proverbiallymodest—will shrink from making public thefrailties of a Scottish king, even though thefrailties had been committed ages ago. Earl William must needs obtain two chartersof Robert II. of the earldom of Stratheme tohis son David. Now, as we know that thissame Robert was the very king who could nevei-marry a
Notes on the District of Menteith, for tourists and others . earchinghis littel brass-banded coffer in the Isle of Talla,the Earl must needs go and search the nationalarchives. In these, in l639, he found the docu-ments which caused his ruin. Most modest-minded men—and Scotsmen are proverbiallymodest—will shrink from making public thefrailties of a Scottish king, even though thefrailties had been committed ages ago. Earl William must needs obtain two chartersof Robert II. of the earldom of Stratheme tohis son David. Now, as we know that thissame Robert was the very king who could nevei-marry a wife without a Papal dispensation, theimportance of that action at once appears. IfWilliam Earl of Menteith was really the heir ofDavid Earl of Stratheme, and if the mother of thesaid Earl was the only lawful wife of the King(Robert II.), it was at once patent that Williamalso should have been the King of England inplace of Charles, who really was an the thought; up to that time no onehad called the title of King Charles in Chapter House (Interior), Priory of Inclimahome. MENTEITH 33 Indeed it was not politic to do so, Charles was aman so eminently kingly. Who sat so well andquietly to Vandyke ? Who rode more stately on acream-coloured horse from Naples or from Cor-doba ? Who looked so melancholy ? Who lied socircumstantially, or worshipped God more piously,than Charles, in the three kingdoms ? Underthese circumstances it would have been worsethan a crime, almost, in fact, an error in goodbreeding, to supplant him. It is not alleged inany of the kingly attributes set down above thatWilliam, seventh Earl of Menteith, surpassed theKing. It is not, indeed, apparent that he wishedto supplant him in anything. In fact, his conductproves him to the last a loyal courtier. It may bethat his blood was redder than the Kings ; buteven if it was, another Papal dispensation woulddoubtless have reinstated matters (and molecules)in their proper position. The s
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