The Lost Colonel
"'Tis a woeful yarn," said the sailor man boldWho had sailed the northern-lakes--"No woefuler one has ever been toldExceptin' them called 'fakes.'"
"Go on, thou son of the wind and fog,For I burn to know the worst!"But his silent lip in a glass of grogWas dreamily immersed.
Then he wiped it on his sleeve and said:"It's never like that I drinksBut what of the gallant gent that's deadI truly mournful thinks.
"He was a soldier chap--leastwaysAs 'Colonel' he was knew;An' he hailed from some'rs where they raiseA grass that's heavenly blue.
"He sailed as a passenger aboardThe schooner 'Henery Jo.'O wild the waves and galeses roared,Like taggers in a show!
"But he sat at table that calm an' mildAs if he never had letHis sperit know that the waves was wildAn' everlastin' wet!--
"Jest set with a bottle afore his nose,As was labeled 'Total Eclipse'(The bottle was) an' he frequent roseA glass o' the same to his lips.
"An' he says to me (for the steward slickOf the 'Henery Jo' was I):'This sailor life's the very old Nick--On the lakes it's powerful dry!'
"I says: 'Aye, aye, sir, it beats the Dutch.I hopes you'll outlast the trip.'But if I'd been him--an' I said as much--I'd 'a' took a faster ship.
"His laughture, loud an' long an' free,Rang out o'er the tempest's roar.'You're an elegant reasoner,' says he,'But it's powerful dry ashore!'"
"O mariner man, why pause and donA look of so deep concern?Have another glass--go on, go on,For to know the worst I burn."
"One day he was leanin' over the rail,When his footing some way slipped,An' (this is the woefulest part o' my tale),He was accidental unshipped!
"The empty boats was overboard hove,As he swum in the 'Henery's wake';But 'fore we had 'bouted ship he had droveFrom sight on the ragin' lake!"
"And so the poor gentleman was drowned--And now I'm apprised of the worst.""What! him? 'Twas an hour afore he was found--In the yawl--stone dead o' thirst!"
Words in this poem
- 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 ]
- dreamily adv.
- As if in a dream; softly; slowly; languidly.
- gent a.
- Gentle; noble; of gentle birth. [OF. gent, fr. L. genitus born, or (less prob.) fr. gentilis. See Genteel.]
- aboard adv.
- On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car. [Pref. a- on, in + board.]
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- slick v. t.
- To make sleek or smoth.
- nick n.
- A notch cut into something; as: (a) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning. [Akin to Nock.]
- outlast v. t.
- To exceed in duration; to survive; to endure longer than.
- hove v. i.
- To rise; to swell; to heave; to cause to swell.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Lost Colonel 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 Lost Colonel, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-lost-colonel.html, id L28136.
Form and metre
The Lost Colonel is 56 lines in 14 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABAB boldA · lakesB · toldA · fakesB
- 2 ABAB fogA · worstB · grogA · immersedB
- 3 ABAB saidA · drinksB · deadA · thinksB
- 4 ABAB leastwaysA · knewB · raiseA · blueB
- 5 ABAB aboardA · joB · roaredA · showB
- 6 ABAB mildA · letB · wildA · wetB
- 7 ABAB noseA · eclipseB · roseA · lipsB
- 8 ABAB slickA · iB · nickA · dryB
- 9 ABAB dutchA · tripB · muchA · shipB
- 10 ABAB freeA · roarB · heA · ashoreB
- 11 ABAB donA · concernB · onA · burnB
- 12 ABAB railA · slippedB · taleA · unshippedB
- 13 ABAB hoveA · wakeB · droveA · lakeB
- 14 ABAB drownedA · worstB · foundA · thirstB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "'Tis a woeful yarn," said the sailor man bold | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| Who had sailed the northern-lakes-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "No woefuler one has ever been told | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Exceptin' them called 'fakes.'" | 6 | ······ |
| "Go on, thou son of the wind and fog, | 9 | ········· |
| For I burn to know the worst!" | 7 | ······· |
| But his silent lip in a glass of grog | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Was dreamily immersed. | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| Then he wiped it on his sleeve and said: | 9 | ········· |
| "It's never like that I drinks | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| But what of the gallant gent that's dead | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| I truly mournful thinks. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| "He was a soldier chap--leastways | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As 'Colonel' he was knew; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' he hailed from some'rs where they raise | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| A grass that's heavenly blue. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| "He sailed as a passenger aboard | 9 | ····/˘˘˘/ |
| The schooner 'Henery Jo.' | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| O wild the waves and galeses roared, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like taggers in a show! | 6 | ······ |
| "But he sat at table that calm an' mild | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| As if he never had let | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| His sperit know that the waves was wild | 9 | ········· |
| An' everlastin' wet!-- | 6 | ······ |
| "Jest set with a bottle afore his nose, | 10 | ····/˘˘/·· |
| As was labeled 'Total Eclipse' | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘/ |
| (The bottle was) an' he frequent rose | 9 | ·/˘···/·· |
| A glass o' the same to his lips. | 8 | ········ |
| "An' he says to me (for the steward slick | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of the 'Henery Jo' was I): | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| 'This sailor life's the very old Nick-- | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| On the lakes it's powerful dry!' | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| "I says: 'Aye, aye, sir, it beats the Dutch. | 9 | ········· |
| I hopes you'll outlast the trip.' | 7 | ···/··· |
| But if I'd been him--an' I said as much-- | 10 | ·········· |
| I'd 'a' took a faster ship. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "His laughture, loud an' long an' free, | 8 | ········ |
| Rang out o'er the tempest's roar. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| 'You're an elegant reasoner,' says he, | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘˘·· |
| 'But it's powerful dry ashore!'" | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| "O mariner man, why pause and don | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| A look of so deep concern? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Have another glass--go on, go on, | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| For to know the worst I burn." | 7 | ······· |
| "One day he was leanin' over the rail, | 10 | ·········· |
| When his footing some way slipped, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| An' (this is the woefulest part o' my tale), | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| He was accidental unshipped! | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| "The empty boats was overboard hove, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| As he swum in the 'Henery's wake'; | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| But 'fore we had 'bouted ship he had drove | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| From sight on the ragin' lake!" | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "And so the poor gentleman was drowned-- | 9 | ····/˘˘·· |
| And now I'm apprised of the worst." | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| "What! him? 'Twas an hour afore he was found-- | 10 | ····/˘/··· |
| In the yawl--stone dead o' thirst!" | 7 | ······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.