Burlesques William Makepeace Thackeray

239
I've often wished, I hope no sin,
That I were Sultan Saladin.
"But no, the Pope no wife may choose,
And so I would not wear his shoes;
No wine may drink the proud Paynim,
And so I'd rather not be him:
My wife, my wine, I love I hope,
And would be neither Turk nor Pope."
"Encore! Encore! Bravo! Bis!" Everybody applauded the King's song with all his might:
everybody except Ivanhoe, who preserved his abominable gravity: and when asked aloud
by Roger de Backbite whether he had heard that too, said firmly, "Yes, Roger de Backbite;
and so hast thou if thou darest but tell the truth."
"Now, by St. Cicely, may I never touch gittern again," bawled the King in a fury, "if every
note, word, and thought be not mine; may I die in to-morrow's onslaught if the song be not
my song. Sing thyself, Wilfrid of the Lanthorn Jaws; thou could'st sing a good song in old
times." And with all his might, and with a forced laugh, the King, who loved brutal
practical jests, flung his guitar at the head of Ivanhoe.
Sir Wilfrid caught it gracefully with one hand, and making an elegant bow to the sovereign,
began to chant as follows:—
"KING CANUTE.
"King Canute was weary-hearted; he had reigned for years a score,
Battling, struggling, pushing, fighting, killing much and robbing
more;
And he thought upon his actions, walking by the wild sea-shore.
"'Twixt the Chancellor and Bishop walked the King with steps
sedate,
Chamberlains and grooms came after, silversticks and goldsticks
great,
Chaplains, aides-de-camp, and pages,—all the officers of state.
"Sliding after like his shadow, pausing when he chose to pause,
If a frown his face contracted, straight the courtiers dropped
their jaws;
If to laugh the King was minded, out they burst in loud hee-haws.