THE ROUND TABLE; OR KING ARTHUR'S FEAST

An Arthurian Miscellany at sacred-texts.com

King Arthur is said to have disappeared after the battle of Camlan, and to have never been seen again; which gave rise to a tradition that he had been carried away by Merlin, a famous prophet and magician of his time, and would return to his kingdom at some future period.--The Welch continued to expect him for many hundred years; and it is by no means certain that they have entirely given him up. He is here represented as inhabiting a solitary island, under the influence of the prophet Merlin; by whose magic power he is shown all the kings and queens who have sat on his throne since his death, and giving to them a grand feast, at his old established round table, attended by their principal secretaries, dukes, lords, admirals, generals, poets, and a long train of courtiers. The kings are of course mentioned in the order of succession. The allegory is illustrated as concisely as possible in the notes. So many histories of England being published for the use of young persons, we have only attached the names of the kings, and to such instances as might not be considered sufficiently explanatory.

KING ARTHUR'S FEAST
THE ROUND TABLE
King Arthur sat down by the lonely sea-coast,
As thin as a lath, and as pale as a ghost:
He looked on the east, and the west, and the south,
With a tear in his eye, and a pipe in his mouth;
And he said to old Merlin, who near him did stand,
Drawing circles, triangles, and squares on the sand,
"Sure nothing more dismal and tedious can be,
Than to sit always smoking and watching the sea:
Say when shall the fates re-establish my reign,
And spread my round-table in Britain again?"

Old Merlin replied: "By my art it appears,
Not in less than three hundred and seventy years;
But in the mean time I am very well able
To spread in this island your ancient round table;
And to grace it with guests of unparallelled splendour,
I'll summon old Pluto forthwith to surrender
All the kings who have sat on your throne, from the day
When from Camlan's destruction I snatched you away."

King Arthur's long face, by these accents restored,
Grew as round as his table, as bright as his sword;
While the wand of old Merlin waved over the ocean,
Soon covered its billows with brilliant commotion;
For ships of all ages and sizes appearing,
Towards the same shore were all rapidly steering,
Came cleaving the billows with sail and with oar,
Yacht, pinnace, sloop, frigate, and seventy-four.

King Arthur scarce spied them afar from the land,
Ere their keels were fixed deep in the yellow sea-sand;
And from under their canopies, golden and gay,
Came kings, queens and courtiers in gallant array,
Much musing and marvelling who it might be,
That was smoking his pipe by the side of the sea;
But Merlin stepped forth with a greeting right warm,
And then introduced them in order and form.

The Saxons [1] came first, the pre-eminence claiming,
With scarce one among them but Alfred worth naming.
Full slily they looked upon Canute [2] the bold,
And remembered the drubbing he gave them of old:
Sad Harold [3] came last; and the crown which he wore
Had been broken, and trampled in dust and in gore.

Now the sun in the west had gone down to repose,
When before them at once a pavilion arose;
Where Arthur's round table was royally spread,
And illumined with lamps, purple, yellow, and red.
The smell of roast beef put them all in a foment,
So they scrambled for seats, and were ranged in a moment.

The Conqueror [4] stood up, as they thought, to say grace;
But he scowled around the board with a resolute face;
And the company stared, when he swore by the fates,
That a list he would have of their names and estates, [5]
And lest too much liquor their brains should inspire
To set the pavilion and table on fire,
He hoped they'd acknowledge he counselled right well,
To put out the lights when he tinkled his bell. [6]

His speech was cut short by a general dismay;
For William the Second [7] had fainted away,
At the smell of some New Forest Venison [8] before him;
But a tweak of the nose, Arthur said, would restore him.

But another disturbance compelled him to mark
The pitiful state of poor Henry Beauclerk; [9]
Who had fallen on the lampreys with ardour so stout, [10]
That he dropped from his chair in the midst of the rout.
Old Arthur, surprised at a king so voracious,
Thought a salt-water dunking might prove efficacious.

Now Stephen, [11] for whom some bold barons had carved, [12]
Said, while some could get surfeited, he was half-starved:
For his arms were so pinioned, unfortunate elf! [13]
He could hit on no method of helping himself.

But a tumult more furious called Arthur to check it,
'Twixt Henry the Second [14] and Thomas-a-Becket. [15]
"Turn out," exclaimed Arthur, "that prelate so free,
And from the first rock see him thrown in the sea."
So they hustled out Becket without judge or jury,
Who quickly returned in a terrible fury.
The lords were enraged, and the ladies affrighted;
But his head was soon cracked in the fray he excited;
When in rushed some monks in a great perturbation,
And gave good King Henry a sound flagellation;
Which so coolly he took, that the president swore,
He ne'er saw such a bigoted milk-sop before.

But Arthur's good humour was quickly restored,
When to lion-heart Richard [16] a bumper he poured
Whose pilgrim's array told the tale of his toils,
Half-veiling his arms and his Saracen spoils; [17]
As he sliced up the venison of merry Sherwood,
He told a long story of bold Robin Hood, [18]
Which gave good King Arthur such hearty delight,
That he vow'd he'd make Robin a round-table knight.

While Merlin to fetch Robin Hood was preparing,
John Lackland [19] was blustering, and vapouring, and swearing,
And seemed quite determined the roast to be ruling; [20]
But some stout fellows near him prepared him a cooling;
Who seized him, and held him, nor gave him release,
Till he signed them a bond for preserving the peace. [21]

While Henry the Third, [22] dull, contemned, and forsaken,
Sat stupidly silent, regaling on Bacon, [23]
The First of the Edwards [24] charmed Arthur with tales
Of fighting in Palestine, Scotland, and Wales; [25]
But Merlin asserted his angry regards,
Recollecting how Edward had treated the Bards. [26]
The Second, [27] whose days in affliction had run, [28]
Sat pensive and sad 'twixt his father and son.
But on the Third Edward [29] resplendently glance
The blazons of knighthood, and trophies of France; [30]
Beside him his son in black armour appears,
That yet bears the marks of the field of Poictiers. [31]

From the festival's pomp, and the table's array,
Pale Richard of Bourdeaux [32] turned sadly away;
The thought of that time his remembrance appals,
When Famine scowled on him in Pomfret's dark walls. [33]

Beside him sat Bolingbroke, [34] gloomy and stern,
Nor dared his dark eyes on his victim to turn; [35]
The wrinkles of care o'er his features were spread,
And thorns lined the crown that encircled his head. [36]
But Harry of Monmouth [37] some guests had brought in,
Who drank so much liquor, and made such a din, [38]
(While Arthur full loudly his mirth did disclose
At Falstaff's fat belly and Bardolph's red nose)
That he turned them all out with monarchical pride, [39]
And laid the plumed cap of his revels aside,
And put on the helmet, and breastplate, and shield,
That did such great service on Agincourt's field. [40]

And now rang the tent with unusual alarms,
For the white and red roses were calling to arms; [41]
Confusion and tumult established their reign,
And Arthur stood up, and called silence in vain.

Poor Harry the Sixth, [42] hustled, beaten, and prest,
Had his nosegay of lilies [43] soon torn from his breast;
And, though Margaret, to shield him, had clasped him around, [44]
From her arms he was shaken, and hurled to the ground; [45]
While Edward of York [46] flourished over his head
The rose's pale blossoms, and trampled the red;
Though Warwick strove vainly the ill to repair,
And set fallen Henry again on his chair.

The children [47] of Edward stood up in the fray,
But, touched by cruel Richard, [48] they vanished away;
Who, knowing none loved him, resolved all should fear him,
And therefore knocked every one down who was near him.
Till him in his turn Harry Richmond [49] assailed,
And at once, on his downfall, good order prevailed;
And Richmond uplifted, to prove the strife ended,
A wreath where the white and red roses were blended. [50]

With his Jane, and his Annes, and his Catherines beside,
Sat Henry the Eighth, [51] in true Ottoman pride,
And quaffed off with Wolsey the goblet's red tide;
But over the head of each lady so fair
An axe was impending, that hung by a hair. [52]

Bold Arthur, whose fancy this king had not won,
Look'd with hope and delight on young Edward [53 ]his son;
But had scarcely commended his learning and grace,
Ere he found his attention called off [54] to the place
Where the infamous Mary [55] polluted the feast,
Who sat drinking blood from the skull of a priest. [56]

But he struggled his horror and rage to repress,
And sought consolation from worthy Queen Bess, [57]
Who had brought Drake and Raleigh her state to sustain, [58]
With American spoils and the trophies of Spain;
While Shakspeare and Spencer, [59] with song and with fable,
Enchanted King Arthur and all round his table.

Now the First of the James's [60] complained of the heat,
And seemed ill at ease in his ricketty seat;
It proved, when examined (which made them all stare),
A gunpowder barrel instead of a chair. [61]

The first of the Charles's [62] was clearing the dishes,
Taking more than his share of the loaves and the fishes, [63]
Not minding at all what the company said,
When up started Cromwell, and sliced off his head. [64]

Charles the Second, [65] enraged at the villainous deed,
Tried to turn out old Cromwell, but could not succeed;
But he mastered young Dick, and then cooled his own wrath
In syllabub, trifle, and fillagree broth. [66]

James the Second, [67] with looks full of anger and gloom,
Pronounced nothing good but the cookery of Rome; [68]
So begged of King Arthur, his dear royal crony,
To make all the company eat macaroni; [69]
But Arthur bade Mary an orange present, [70]
At which James grew queasy, and fled from the tent.
So she placed on his seat honest William, [71] her spouse,
And with laurel and olive encircled his brows; [72]
Wreath of glory and peace, by young Freedom entwined, [73]
And gave him a key to the lock [73] of the mind.

Now as Arthur continued the party to scan,
He did not well know what to make of Queen Anne; [74]
But Marlborough, [75] he saw, did her credit uplift,
And he heartily laughed at the jokes of Dean Swift. [76]
Then shook hands with two Georges, [77] who near him were seated,
Who closed in his left, and the circle completed;
He liked them both well, but he frankly averred,
He expected to prove better pleased with the Third.

1 The Saxons invaded England, and dispossessed the Britons. The most famous of the Saxon kings was Alfred.

2 The Danes, under Canute, conquered the Saxons. The sons of Canute died without children, and the government returned to the Saxon kings.

3 The last of the Saxon kings was Harold II., who was killed in the battle of Hastings, when William, Duke of Normandy, gained a decisive victory.

4 William I. the Conqueror.

5 Doomsday Book.

6 The curfew.

7 William II. Rufus.

8 Accidentally killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest.

9 Henry I. Beauclerk.

10 Died eating lampreys.

11 Stephen, of Bloix.

12 Held in subjection by the barons.

13 And so restricted in his authority, that he had little more than the name of a king.

14 Henry II. Fitz-Empress.

15 Quarrelled with his minister, Thomas-a-Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was compelled to fly the country; but afterwards returning, was murdered by some followers of the king; for which Henry was forced to do penance, and was whipped by the monks at Becket's tomb.

16 Richard Coeur-de-Lion.

17 Returned in a pilgrim's disguise through Europe from his wars in the Holy Land.

18 In his time lived Robin Hood, the celebrated robber of Sherwood Forest.

19 King John, surnamed Lackland.

20 Ambitious of absolute power.

21 Forced by his barons to sign Magna Charta.

22 Henry III. of Winchester.

23 A weak and foolish king, in whose reign lived Friar Bacon.

24 Edward I. Longshanks.

25 Gained many victories.

26 Massacred the Welch Bards.

27 Edward II. of Caernarvon.

28 Murdered by his wife's knowledge in Berkeley Castle.

29 Edward III.

30 Conquered France in conjunction with his son, the Black Prince.

31 The Battle of Poictiers.

32 Richard II. of Bordeaux.

33 Killed in Pomfret Castle.

34 Henry IV. Bolingbroke.

35 Obtained the crown by rebelling against Richard II.

36 Was miserable all his reign.

37 Henry V. of Monmouth.

38 Led a very dissolute life while Prince of Wales, and kept a set of drunken companions, to whom Shakespeare has given the names of Falstaff, Bardolph, & c.

39 Discarded them when he came to be king.

40 And gained great victories in France, particularly the battle of Agincourt.

41 The civil wars of York and Lancaster, of which respective parties the white and red roses were the emblems.

42 Henry VI. of Windsor.

43 Lost the kingdom of France.

44 Supported by his queen, Margaret.

45 Overcome by the York party, and made a prisoner in the tower.

46 Edward IV., raised to the throne by the aid of the Earl of Warwick; who afterwards quarrelled with Edward, and endeavoured to restore Henry, but without success.

47 Edward V. and his brother, the Duke of York, died while children, supposed to have been murdered in the Tower by order of their Uncle Richard.

48 Richard III., a cruel and sanguinary tyrant.

49 Conquered in the battle of Bosworth by Henry of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII.

50 Being himself of the house of Lancaster, married Elizabeth, sister of Edward V., who was of the house of York; thus uniting the two huoses, and ending the civil wars.

51 Henry VIII.

52 Had six wives--one Jane, two Annes, and three Catherines, in the following order:

1. Catherine of Arragon, whom he divorced.
2. Ann Boleyn, whom he beheaded.
3. Jane Seymour, who died in giving birth to Edward VI.
4. Ann of Cleves, whom he sent back to her parents.
5. Catherine Howard, whom he beheaded.
6. Catherine Parr, who outlived him.

53 Edward VI., a very promising young prince.

54 Died in his sixteenth year.

55 Mary. Cruel Queen Mary. Daughter of Henry the Eighth.

56 Burned three hundred persons for not being of her opinion in religion.

57 Elizabeth. A wise and fortunate queen.

58 Her admirals, among whom were Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, sailed round the world, settled colonies in North America, defeated the Spanish Armada, & c.

59 In her reign lived many eminent authors, particularly Shakspeare and Spenser.

60 James the First.

61 The gunpowder plot, 5th November, 1605.

62 Charles I.

63 Overstrained his prerogative; encroached on the liberties of the people, and on the privileges of parliament. The consequence was a civil war and the loss of his head.

64 The commonwealth succeeded, at the head of which was Oliver Cromwell. He was succeeded by his son Richard, who was displaced by the restoration of Charles II.

65 Charles II.

66 A frivolous and dissolute king.

67 James II.

68 A bigoted Roman Catholic.

69 Used violent measures to establish that religion in England.

70 Was obliged to fly the country; and the crown devolved to his daughter Mary, and her husband, William, Prince of Orange.

71 William III.

72 His reign was distinguished by foreign victories and domestic prosperity.

73 By being the origin of the present form of the English constitution, in the glorious revolution of 1688; and by the life and writings of the philosopher Locke.

74 Anne.

75 Her general, the Duke of Marlborough, gained several great victories in France.

76 Many eminent literary characters flourished in her time, particularly Swift and Pope.

77 The House of Hanover.

George I.
George II.
George III.