But, while Elizabeth
possessed a sternness of masculine sense and determination which
rendered even her weaknesses, some of which were in themselves
sufficiently ridiculous, in a certain degree respectable, James, on
the other hand, was so utterly devoid of "firm resolve," so well
called by the Scottish bard,
"The stalk of carle-hemp in man,"
that even his virtues and his good meaning became laughable, from the
whimsical uncertainty of his conduct; so that the wisest things he
ever said, and the best actions he ever did, were often touched with a
strain of the ludicrous and fidgety character of the man. Accordingly,
though at different periods of his reign he contrived to acquire with
his people a certain degree of temporary popularity, it never long
outlived the occasion which produced it; so true it is, that the mass
of mankind will respect a monarch stained with actual guilt, more than
one whose foibles render him only ridiculous.
To return from this digression, Lord Glenvarloch soon received, as
Green-jacket had assured him, the offer of an idle bargeman to
transport his baggage where he listed; but that where was a question
of momentary doubt. At length, recollecting the necessity that his
hair and beard should be properly arranged before he attempted to
enter the royal presence, and desirous, at the same time, of obtaining
some information of the motions of the Sovereign and of the Court, he
desired to be guided to the next barber's shop, which we have already
mentioned as the place where news of every kind circled and centred.
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