The Project Gutenberg EBook of King Cole, by John Masefield

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: King Cole

Author: John Masefield

Illustrator: Judith Masefield

Release Date: May 26, 2010 [EBook #32532]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING COLE ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Iris Schimandle and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

KING COLE

_By_

JOHN MASEFIELD

Rosas
Gallipoli
Right Royal
The Faithful
Selected Poems
Lost Endeavour
A Mainsail Haul
Captain Magaret
Reynard the Fox
The Daffodil Fields
The Old Front Line
Multitude and Solitude
Collected Poems and Plays
Salt Water Poems and Ballads
Good Friday and Other Poems
The Tragedy of Pompey the Great
Philip the King and Other Poems
The Tragedy of Nan and Other Poems
Lollingdon Downs and Other Poems
The Story of a Round-House and Other Poems
The Locked Chest; and The Sweeps of Ninety-eight
The Everlasting Mercy and the Widow in the Bye Street

KING COLE

BY

JOHN MASEFIELD

WITH DRAWINGS IN BLACK AND WHITE

BY

JUDITH MASEFIELD

New York

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1921

_All rights reserved_

COPYRIGHT, 1921,

BY JOHN MASEFIELD.

Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1921.

_To_

MY WIFE

KING COLE

[Illustration]

King Cole was King before the troubles came,
The land was happy while he held the helm,
The valley-land from Condicote to Thame,
Watered by Thames and green with many an elm.
For many a year he governed well his realm,
So well-beloved, that, when at last he died,
It was bereavement to the countryside.

So good, so well-beloved, had he been
In life, that when he reached the judging-place
(There where the scales are even, the sword keen),
The Acquitting Judges granted him a grace,
Aught he might choose, red, black, from king to ace,
Beneath the bright arch of the heaven's span;
He chose, to wander earth, the friend of man.

So, since that time, he wanders shore and shire,
An old, poor, wandering man, with glittering eyes
Helping distressful folk t