The Fall of Miss Larkin
Hear me sing of Sally Larkin who, I'd have you understand,Played accordions as well as any lady in the land;And I've often heard it stated that her fingering was suchThat Professor Schweinenhauer was enchanted with her touch;And that beasts were so affected when her apparatus rangThat they dropped upon their haunches and deliriously sang.This I know from testimony, though a critic, I opine,Needs an ear that is dissimilar in some respects to mine.She could sing, too, like a jaybird, and they say all eyes were wetWhen Sally and the ranch-dog were performing a duet--Which I take it is a song that has to be so loudly sungAs to overtax the strength of any single human lung.That, at least, would seem to follow from the tale I have to tell,Which (I've told you how she flourished) is how Sally Larkin fell.
One day there came to visit Sally's dad as sleek and smartA chap as ever wandered there from any foreign part.Though his gentle birth and breeding he did not at all obtrudeIt was somehow whispered round he was a simon-pure Dude.Howsoe'er that may have been, it was conspicuous to seeThat he was a real Gent of an uncommon high degree.That Sally cast her tender and affectionate regardsOn this exquisite creation was, of course, upon the cards;But he didn't seem to notice, and was variously blindTo her many charms of person and the merits of her mind,And preferred, I grieve to say it, to play poker with her dad,And acted in a manner that in general was bad.
One evening--'twas in summer--she was holding in her lapHer accordion, and near her stood that melancholy chap,Leaning up against a pillar with his lip in grog imbrued,Thinking, maybe, of that ancient land in which he was a Dude.
Then Sally, who was melancholy too, began to humAnd elongate the accordion with a preluding thumb.Then sighs of amorosity from Sally L. exhaled,And her music apparatus sympathetically wailed."In the gloaming, O my darling!" rose that wild impassioned strain,And her eyes were fixed on his with an intensity of pain,Till the ranch-dog from his kennel at the postern gate came round,And going into session strove to magnify the sound.He lifted up his spirit till the gloaming rang and rangWith the song that to his darling he impetuously sang!Then that musing youth, recalling all his soul from other scenes,Where his fathers all were Dudes and his mothers all Dudines,From his lips removed the beaker and politely, o'er the grog,Said: "Miss Larkin, please be quiet: you will interrupt the dog."
Words in this poem 22
- fingering n.
- The act or process of handling or touching with the fingers.
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- opine v. t.
- To have an opinion; to judge; to think; to suppose. South. [L. opinari, p.p. opinatus; akin to opinus (in comp.) thinking, and perh. to E. apt: cf. F. opiner.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- duet n.
- A composition for two performers, whether vocal or instrumental. [Duetto.]
- overtax v. t.
- To tax or to task too heavily.
- obtrude v. t.
- To thrust impertinently; to present without warrant or solicitation; as, to obtrude one's self upon a company. [L. obtrudere, obtrusum; ob (see Ob-) + trudere to thrust. See Threat.]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- dude n.
- A kind of dandy; especially, one characterized by an ultrafashionable style of dress and other affectations.
- gent a.
- Gentle; noble; of gentle birth. [OF. gent, fr. L. genitus born, or (less prob.) fr. gentilis. See Genteel.]
- accordion n.
- A small, portable, keyed wind instrument, whose tones are generated by play of the wind upon free metallic reeds. [See Accord.]
- grog n.
- A mixture of spirit and water not sweetened; hence, any intoxicating liquor. Grog blossom, a redness on the nose or face of persons who drink ardent spirits to excess. [Collog.] [So named fronm "Old Grog" a nickmname given to Admiral Vernon, in allusion to his wearing a grogram cloak in foul weather. He is said to have been the first to ]
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- amorosity n.
- The quality of being amorous; lovingness. Galt.
- sympathetically adv.
- In a sympathetic manner.
- gloaming n.
- Twilight; dusk; the fall of the evening. [Scot. & North of Eng., and in poetry.] Hogg. [See Gloom.]
- impassioned p. p.
- Actuated or characterized by passion or zeal; showing warmth of feeling; ardent; animated; excited; as, an impassioned orator or discourse.
- kennel n.
- The water course of a street; a little canal or channel; a gutter; also, a puddle. Bp. Hall. [See Channel, Canal.]
- postern n.
- Originally, a back door or gate; a private entrance; hence, any small door or gate. [OF. posterne, posterle, F. poterne, fr. L. posterula, fr. posterus coming after. See Posterior.]
- session n.
- The act of sitting, or the state of being seated. [L. sessio, fr. sedere, sessum, to sit: cf. F. session. See Sit.]
- beaker n.
- A large drinking cup, with a wide mouth, supported on a foot or standard. [OE. biker; akin to Icel. bikarr, Sw. bägare, Dan. baeger, G. becher, It. bicchiere; -- all fr. LL. bicarium, prob. fr. Gr. wine jar, or perh. L. bacar wine vess]
- politely adv.
- In a polished manner; so as to be smooth or glossy.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fall of Miss Larkin is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shapes of Clay (1903), Project Gutenberg ebook #12658; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ambrose Bierce, The Fall of Miss Larkin, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-fall-of-miss-larkin.html, id L28144.
Form and metre
The Fall of Miss Larkin is 44 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEEFFGG, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCCDDEEFFGG understandA · landA · suchB · touchB · rangC · sangC · opineD · mineD · wetE · duetE · sungF · lungF · tellG · fellG
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFF smartA · partA · obtrudeB · dudeB · seeC · degreeC · regardsD · cardsD · blindE · mindE · dadF · badF
- 3 AABB lapA · chapA · imbruedB · dudeB
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFFGG humA · thumbA · exhaledB · wailedB · strainC · painC · roundD · soundD · rangE · sangE · scenesF · dudinesF · grogG · dogG
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hear me sing of Sally Larkin who, I'd have you understand, | 15 | ····/˘/˘·····˘/ |
| Played accordions as well as any lady in the land; | 15 | ·˘/˘˘···/˘/˘··· |
| And I've often heard it stated that her fingering was such | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘˘·· |
| That Professor Schweinenhauer was enchanted with her touch; | 14 | ·˘/˘····˘/˘··· |
| And that beasts were so affected when her apparatus rang | 15 | ·····˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| That they dropped upon their haunches and deliriously sang. | 15 | ···˘··········· |
| This I know from testimony, though a critic, I opine, | 15 | ····/˘·˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Needs an ear that is dissimilar in some respects to mine. | 15 | ·····˘/˘˘··˘/·· |
| She could sing, too, like a jaybird, and they say all eyes were wet | 15 | ··············· |
| When Sally and the ranch-dog were performing a duet-- | 14 | ·/˘·····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Which I take it is a song that has to be so loudly sung | 15 | ············/˘· |
| As to overtax the strength of any single human lung. | 15 | ··/˘····/˘/˘/˘· |
| That, at least, would seem to follow from the tale I have to tell, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Which (I've told you how she flourished) is how Sally Larkin fell. | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| One day there came to visit Sally's dad as sleek and smart | 14 | ·····/˘/˘····· |
| A chap as ever wandered there from any foreign part. | 15 | ···/˘/˘˘··/˘/˘· |
| Though his gentle birth and breeding he did not at all obtrude | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·····˘/ |
| It was somehow whispered round he was a simon-pure Dude. | 15 | ··/·/˘˘····/˘·· |
| Howsoe'er that may have been, it was conspicuous to see | 14 | ········˘/˘˘·· |
| That he was a real Gent of an uncommon high degree. | 14 | ········˘/˘·˘/ |
| That Sally cast her tender and affectionate regards | 14 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘˘˘/ |
| On this exquisite creation was, of course, upon the cards; | 15 | ··/˘˘˘/˘······· |
| But he didn't seem to notice, and was variously blind | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘˘˘· |
| To her many charms of person and the merits of her mind, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| And preferred, I grieve to say it, to play poker with her dad, | 15 | ·˘/·······/˘··· |
| And acted in a manner that in general was bad. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘˘·· |
| One evening--'twas in summer--she was holding in her lap | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Her accordion, and near her stood that melancholy chap, | 15 | ·˘/˘˘·····/˘·˘· |
| Leaning up against a pillar with his lip in grog imbrued, | 15 | /˘····/˘······˘ |
| Thinking, maybe, of that ancient land in which he was a Dude. | 15 | /˘/˘··/˘······· |
| Then Sally, who was melancholy too, began to hum | 14 | ·/˘··/˘·˘·˘/·· |
| And elongate the accordion with a preluding thumb. | 15 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘˘··/·˘· |
| Then sighs of amorosity from Sally L. exhaled, | 15 | ·········/˘·˘/˘ |
| And her music apparatus sympathetically wailed. | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘˘˘· |
| "In the gloaming, O my darling!" rose that wild impassioned strain, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘···˘/˘· |
| And her eyes were fixed on his with an intensity of pain, | 15 | ·········˘/˘˘·· |
| Till the ranch-dog from his kennel at the postern gate came round, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| And going into session strove to magnify the sound. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| He lifted up his spirit till the gloaming rang and rang | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| With the song that to his darling he impetuously sang! | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| Then that musing youth, recalling all his soul from other scenes, | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘····/˘· |
| Where his fathers all were Dudes and his mothers all Dudines, | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘··· |
| From his lips removed the beaker and politely, o'er the grog, | 15 | ···˘/·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Said: "Miss Larkin, please be quiet: you will interrupt the dog." | 15 | ··/˘··/˘···˘/·· |
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