The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-04
KING ARTHUR's CAPITAL.
Imagination Needed When one Goes
There.

From the Pail Mall Budget.
BY producing king Arthur at the Ly-
ceum Mr.. Irving. among other things, re-
mentioned in the famous legend, and ere
long we may be in the midst of an ex-
cited controversy as to their identity. One
class of antquarians maintains that Tin
tagcl, Camelot Avalon and Caerleon are
all to be found in the Scotch Lowlands,
while another class, perhaps with less rea-
son but with the certainty Of greater APP
proval, stoutly urges the claims Of West
ern England The problem may never be
solved, but, speaking as one who has
over and over again visited the Arthurian
country marked out by tradition. / can
say that those who undertake the Journey
will derive abundant pleasure from 1t,
even If they fail to find that which they
seek.
"Old Caerleon-upon- Usk" is the enchant-
ed capital Of the kingdom called Romance.
It's domes of fretted gold, its countless
pinnacles, its seventy churches, its gor-
geous palaces, and its giant tower,
From whose high crest, they say.
Men saw the goodly hills Of Somerset
And white sails flying on the yellow sea,
have a reality for us to-day though they
have long ceased to be visible But the
city Of the Hero-King is a city seen
through q veil. 1t is said that this city
of Legions was once the rival of Rome in
its grandeur When the all-conquering
king had subdued thirty kingdoms he
could find no suitable place than Caerleon
for "holding n magnificent court to place
the crown upon his head, and to invite
Il
to the ceremony. When he had commune
Gated his designs to his familiar friends
he pitched upon Caerleon as a proper place
for his purpose, for, besides its great
wealth above the other cities, its situation
was most pleasant and 1T for so great a
solemnity For on one side 1t was washed
by that noble river Cthe UslD so that the
kings and princes from the countries be-
yond the seas might have the conven-
fence Of sailing up to it. On the other
side was the beauty of meadows and
groves and the magnihcence of the royal
palaces. Besides, there was a college Of
200 philosophers who, being learned in as
tronomy and the other arts, were dill
gent in observing the courses Of the stars,
and gave King Arthur the predictions
of the events that would happen at that
time" Giraldus Cambrensis recorded in
the twelfth century that at Caerleon might
be seen many Vestiges of Its former
glory immense palaces ornamented
with gilded roofs, in imitation of Roman
magnihcence, a tower of prodigious size,
and relics Of temples"
But what is Caerleon now? I reached
the ancient seat of power late on an
August afternoon, and white, sandy.
deserted lane led me past a few scat
tered houses and a small church to the
riverside. The tide was out and the wat
ers had shrunk almost into silence. An
old tower, thickly overgrown with trail
ing weeds stands on the bank and tells
of other times The fields stretching away
from the right bank Of the Usk ar irregu
larly divided by the remnant Of an old
Roman wall, rising about twelve feet, and
supposed to have been originally fouI
miles long, connecting Caerleon with the
outposts. Antiquaries differ In opinion az
10 where the stone was obtained; those
Woodworking Romans who came over
with Julius Frontius in the first cen
fury and made Caerleon the headquarters
Of the second Augustan Legion left the
secret buried in the monument they rear
ed. The wall passes by and beyond the
prlory and the Round Table Field,
where a deep indentation probably marks
the site of a Roman amphitheater. This
supposition derives circumstantial contlr-
nation from the fact that contiguous
field has borne from time out of record
legend floats about the scene and fan
tastlcally shapes itself into marvellous
tale that here King Arthur with his
knights sits entraced in subterranean
chamber. and there will remain until Brit
ain, in her hour Of peril, calls him forth
to new and greater cohquests.
In 1853 the result Of Tennysons soJourn
at Caerleon, or "Caerwysg." was seen
when he produced his "Idylls Of the King.
some few, of the inhabitants still remem-
Der the poet residing there, and at Han
bury Arms, an ancient hosiery, the chair
which he chiefly occupied In his apart
rnent overlooking Usk is still pointed to-
Tennyson's visit to Caerleon is import
ant inasmuch as it offers a further ex-
emplincation Of the poets scrupulous care
I'm studying details; and II adds to the in
terest Of reading the Arthurian poems to
know that he obtained from the genus
loci both Inspiration and enlightenment.
Caerleon has wisely built museum IN
which to store its antiquities. but they