Then Newport lifted up the crown,
With sparkling gems that shone,
And told the monarch to kneel down
With hand upon the throne;
For this mysterious, sacred thing
Was a type of sovereignty,
And all great kings that had been crown’d,
Were crown’d on bended knee.
A strange look then the monarch gave
To the captain of the sea,
As though he comprehended not
This type of sovereignty;
And Newport long confronted him
With arguments profound,
To make him understand that kings
Must kneel when they are crown’d.
But still the monarch could not see
The force of what he said,
And to his labor’d argument
He gravely shook his head.
His iron knee had never learn’d
To any power to bow,
And ’twas not all the kings on earth
Could make him bend it now.
But glancing round upon his men,
Unbending still he stood,{23}
Upright in native dignity,
Like an old oak of the wood.
This trouble vex’d exceedingly
The captain of the sea,
Who tried by every art to gain
Some slight bend of the knee,
That he on his return might tell
King James, and tell him true,
That Powhatan unto the crown
Had paid the homage due.
But all in vain; the more he strove,
The firmer stood the king:
Example or persuasive skill
Could no compliance bring,
Till on his shoulders both his hands
With gentle force he laid,
And pressing forward, thought he saw
The monarch bend his head.
‘It is enough,’ the captain said;
‘To bow the head, or knee,
‘With equal honor vindicates
‘The type of sovereignty:’
And then upon that lofty brow
He placed the glittering thing,
And in King James’s stead pronounced
A blessing on the king.