KING KING AT ARMS. 



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in 1702. archbishop of Dublin. He died May 8, 

 17/iy, aged seventy-nine. He was distinguished for 

 his wit as well as his learning. Having been disap- 

 pointed in his expectations of being raised to the 

 primacy of Ireland on the death of archbishop 

 Lindsey, it being assigned as a reason for passing 

 him over, that he was too far advanced in years, lie 

 received doctor Boulter, the new primate, at his first 

 visit, without paying him the customary compliment 

 of rising to salute him, apologizing for the apparent 

 incivility by saying, " My lord, I am sure your grace 

 will forgive me, because you know / am too old to 

 rise." Archbishop King is principally known at 

 present as the author of a treatise De Origine Mali, 

 the object of which is to show that the presence of 

 nntiiral and moral evil in the world is not inconsistent 

 with the power and goodness of the Supreme Being. 

 This work provoked the animadversions of the cele- 

 brated Bayle, as it impugned his arguments on the 

 Manichean system. Some remarks on it were like- 

 wise published by Leibnitz, whose objections, as well 

 as those of other opponents, are considered in the 

 additions to an English translation of the work, by 

 Law, afterwards bishop of Carlisle. 



KING, RUFUS, a distinguished American orator, 

 statesman, and diplomatist, was born in 1755, at 

 Scarborough, in the district of Maine, where his 

 father was an opulent merchant. He was entered 

 at Harvard college, Cambridge, in 1773; but, in 

 1775, his collegiate pursuits were interrupted by the 

 commencement of the revolutionary war, the buildings 

 appertaining to the institution having become the 

 barracks of the American troops. The students 

 were, in consequence, dispersed until the autumn of 

 the same year, when they re-assembled at Concord, 

 where they remained until the evacuation of Boston 

 by the British forces in 1776. In 1777, he received 

 his degree, and immediately afterwards entered, as a 

 student of law, into the office of the celebrated 

 Theophilus Parsons, at Newburyport. Before he 

 was admitted to the bar in 1778, he volunteered his 

 services in the enterprise conducted by general 

 Sullivan and count d'Estaign against the British in 

 Rhode Island, and acted in the capacity of aid-de- 

 camp to the former. In 1780, he began the practice 

 of his profession, and soon after was elected repre- 

 sentative of the town of Newburyport, in the legisla- 

 ture or General Court, as it is called, of Massachu- 

 setts, where his success paved the way to a seat in 

 the old congress in 1784. His most celebrated 

 effort in the legislature was made in that year, on 

 the occasion of the recommendation by congress to 

 the several states to grant to the general government 

 a five per cent, impost, a compliance with which he 

 advocated with great power and zeal. He was re- 

 elected a member of congress in 1785 and 1786. In 

 the latter year, he was sent by congress, with Mr 

 Monroe, to the legislature of Pennsylvania, to 

 remonstrate against one of its proceedings. A day 

 was appointed for them to address the legislature, on 

 which Mr King rose first to speak ; but, before he 

 could open his lips, he lost the command of his 

 faculties, and, in his confusion, barely retained 

 presence of mind enough to request Mr Monroe 

 to take his place. Meanwhile, he recovered his 

 self-possession, and on rising again, after compli- 

 menting his audience by attributing his misfortune 

 to the effect produced upon him by so august an 

 assemblage, proceeded to deliver an elegant and 

 masterly speech. In 1787, when the general con- 

 vention met at Philadelphia for the purpose of 

 forming a constitution for the country, Mr King 

 was sent to it by the legislature of Massachusetts, 

 find, when the convention of that state was called, in 

 order to discuss the system of government proposed, 



\vas likewise chosen a member of it by the inhabit- 

 ants of Newburyport. In both assemblies, he was 

 in favour of the present constitution. In 1788, he 

 removed to New York city. In 1789, he was elected 

 a member of the New York legislature, and, during 

 its extra session, in the summer of that year, general 

 Schuyler and himself were chosen the first senators 

 from the state, tinder the constitution of the United 

 States. In 1794, the British treaty was made public, 

 and, a public meeting of the citizens of New York 

 having been called respecting it, Mr King and 

 general Hamilton attended to explain and defend it ; 

 but the people were in such a ferment, that they 

 were not allowed to speak. They therefore retired, 

 and immediately commenced the publication of a 

 series of essays upon the subject, under the signature 

 of Camillus, the first ten of which, relating to the 

 permanent articles of the treaty, were written by 

 general Hamilton, and the remainder, relative to the 

 commercial and maritime articles, by Mr King. The 

 most celebrated speech made by Mr King, in the sen- 

 ate of the United States, was in this year, concerning 

 a petition which had been presented by some of the 

 citizens of Pennsylvania against the right of Albert 

 Gallatin to take a seat in the senate, to which he had 

 been chosen by that state, on the ground of want of 

 legal qualification, in consequence of not having been 

 a citizen of the United States for the requisite number 

 of years. Mr King spoke in support of the petition, 

 and in answer to a speech of Aaron Burr in favour 

 of Mr Gallatin. Mr Gallatin was excluded. In the 

 spring of 1796, Mr King was appointed, by pre- 

 sident Washington, minister plenipotentiary to the 

 court of St James's, having previously declined the 

 ofier of the department of state. The functions of 

 that post he continued to discharge until 1803, when 

 he returned home. In 1813, he was a third time sent 

 to the senate by the legislature of New York, at a 

 period when the nation was involved in hostilities 

 with Great Britain. His speech on the burning of 

 Washington by the enemy, was one of his most 

 eloquent displays, and teemed with sentiments which 

 had echoes from all parties. In 1816, whilst engaged 

 with his senatorial duties at Washington, he was pro- 

 posed as candidate for the chief magistracy of the state 

 of New York, by a convention of delegates from sev- 

 eral of its counties. The nomination was made with- 

 out his knowledge, and it was with great reluctance 

 that he acceded to it, at the earnest solicitation of his 

 friends. He was not, however, elected. In 1820, 

 he was re-elected to the senate of the United States, 

 where he continued until the expiration of the term, 

 in March, 1825. Several of the laws which he pro- 

 posed and carried, in that interval, were of great con- 

 sequence. On his withdrawal from the senate, he 

 accepted from president Adams, the appointment of 

 minister plenipotentiary at the court of London. 

 During the voyage to Britain, his health was sensi- 

 bly impaired. He remained abroad a twelvemonth, 

 but his illness impeded the performance of his official 

 duties, and proved fatal soon after his return home. 

 He died like a Christian philosopher, April 29, 1827, 

 in the seventy-third year of his age. The name of 

 Mr King is conspicuous in the annals of the American 

 Union, in connexion, not merely with the history of 

 parties, but with that of the formation and establish- 

 ment of the federal republican system. Politicians 

 of every denomination bore testimony to the value of 

 his public services, and the eminence of his talents 

 and virtues. 



KING AT ARMS, in heraldry; an officer formerly 

 of great authority, whose business is to direct the 

 heralds, preside at their chapters, and have the juris- 

 diction of armoury. The origin of the title is doubt- 

 ful. There are three kings at arms in England 



