The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-01-26
Where King Arthur
Held High Revel
Miss Kaiser Visits CaerleOn, the Site
of the Round Table.
QUEEN GUINEVERE'S TURRET
1t Was Hero That TcnnysOn Wrote the
Idyis Of the King-Plunkett Grecne's
Fine BassO Singing-Other
Musical Topics.
Special Correspondence of The Tribune.

London, Jan. 81 am In London town
again ready for the fray. l had most
delightful holidays, during which l saw
many beautiful and interesting sights.
One of Them however, | forgot to men
tion, but which certainly deserves
word or two, was the little old village
Caerleon, near Newport-genuine old
ruined town, the remains of what was
once flourishing Roman colony. 1t Is
doubly interesting, olso. because II Is the
very place where the famous King Ar
thur and his knights of the Round Ia
BILE used to assemble and hold their
feasts and banquets in ye olden time
The round Table, or what remains or
1t, rather, was pointed out to me, and or
course | looked upon 1T with great
deal of interest. 1t is in great field,
and is a round and rather shallow de-
preston in the ground, in the center ana
bottom of which. the knights so bold,
in days of old" used to roast their game
and meats, while l suppose they all sat
around in a circle, at the top OF this
bowl-shaped plane, and talked OF the
great feats of skill and daring which
they had accomplished In chase ana
battle during the day. 1t was quite
revelation to me, for / had had only
vague ideas of what King Arthur's
Round Table really was like. The time
of this doughty old king was after that
of the Romans, l believe, but traces of
his foreign predecessors such as an OLD
Roman ,aqueduot, various Roman
spears, and pieces of armor, still remain
to prove the antiquity of this spot. the
different cid, urns, images helmets,
axes, spears, and armOr-all Roman
which have been dug up out Of the very
ground where they have laid for ages
and ages past, are all kept on eXhipl-
bition in a tiny little museum which
has been erected and devoted to the
preservation of the antiquities of the
u,ace: and on the stones of the court
ward and the old castle there, where
the moss has been scraped away from
the stones, one can see the marks OF
the second legion of Augustus, during
whose reign the Roman Occupation
Of the place lasted.
Queen Guinevere's Turrct.
Driven out by THE Saxons shortly
after this, we see no further traces or
them. and THE interest becomes. with
the people, Saxon. So | was next
shown the ,turret lin the old castle
where the wicked Queen Guinevere,
once upon a time, sat and watched the
bridal procession of Enid winding Its
way across the very meadows which
Law before me. looked out of the hole
in the crumbling wall, way across the
lovely green fields and almost fancied
Mt n
again, as in the days of old King Ar
thur. 1t all seemed to be true and real
again, and l did not want ITO go away
from the place at all, but wished again
to go over this tiny village looking at
all the interesting old things; but time
was limited, and so was the patience of
my friends, and l finished the little tour
by being shown the very house, a little
inn called the Hanbury Arms, where the
dear old poet, Tennyson, came and
wrote the "Idyls of the King Pass
ing of Arthur" and other poems, de-
scriptive of the same themes. The very
table at which he wrote, and the very
chair which he occupied, are there in
state, in the little parlor Of the inn, and
| dare say, will come ITO be quite as in
teresting to the tourist as the historic
place itself
There was a concert given on New
Years Eve. at Newport, at which ! had
the pleasure of assisting, and / must
say | was most delightfully."- welcomed
again by the people of that town. They
We're so good to me that almost fancy
they meant some of my applause for
some of the other members of the COM
pany with which / sang when l first
suw Newport few months ago. 1t
was there that we gave our farewell
concert, you remember the pleasant
memories of which are still fresh in
the minds Of the people of Newport, and
many were the inquiries | had as to
how the others were, and where they
were. and so forth. The concert was
all very we'll done, as 1t should be, as a
matter of course, being managed by
tn. Misses Driscoll, who were my host
esses. The praises sung after the affair
WAS ever were both loud and long, and
my dear friends realized quite a large
sum of money for the Infirmary, of
which institution Miss Driscoll is one of
the lady guardians.
Viewing a Winter Palace.
This afternoon 1 went to a private
view, given to the representatives of the
press, of a big winter palace, called the
Niagara" which was favorably opened
yesterday and today. A big dinner last
night a Hotel Savoy opened the formal
tiles, and today, at three, the place it.
self was thrown open to pressmen and
pressowners. who were shown over the
place at their leisure. 1t Is a beautiful
thing, but l cannot describe it. / am
afraid, as its beauties would fill quite
too much space.
But just "a word or two, please. En-
tering the outer court and In which
there is a great organ playing, and
palms and flowers all around, we passed
under an archway into the Niagara
proper, which is an immense circular
hall, with the walls all around simla-
ting the scenery about our Niagara, in
winl.er, and the great falls seem to
tumble down into the floor of the palace.
which is frozen by that compressed
ammonia gas process, you know. and
around this big frozen surface run nice
warm balconies, with chairs and tea
tables, and palms scattered about. 1t
IL a beautiful place, just like fairyland.
The snow looks so real and the electric
lights twinkle and shine on the Ice so
prs;l.lly. and the orchestra plays and
makes one feel SO buoyant. | told my
fr.snds, who asked about 1t, that 1t was
a very fine representation of the cata-
iau..
We went from the cold place down
to a very dainty luncheon. and from
theYa up to the snowy place again,
where several very fine skaters were
giving an exhibition on the Ice. Soon a
great many Uther people came in. and
the ice was shontly after "a most beau
tiful spectacle to look, upon, with the
many skaters upon 1t. You see 1t Is the
first artificial Ice concern upon the scene
in London, and the magnitude Of the
undertaking, together with the mag