The Adopted Daughter
But now, as from a dream, his Reason sprung,And heartiest greetings dwelt upon his tongue;The sounding Kitchen floor at once receiv'dThe happy group, with all their fears reliev'd:'Soldier,' he cried, 'you've found your Girl; 'tis true:But suffer me to be a Father too;For, never Child that blest a Parent's knee,Could show more duty than she has to metStrangely she came; Affliction chas'd her hard:I pitied her;--and this is my reward!Here sit you down; recount your perils o'er:Henceforth be this your home; and grieve no more:Plenty hath shower'd her dewdrops on my head;Care visits not my Table, nor my Bed.My heart's warm wishes thus then I fulfill:--My Dame and I can live without the Mill:George, take the whole; I'll near you still remainTo guide your judgment in the choice of Grain:
Perfect Content: hopes and prospects of Goodness.
In Virtue's path commence your prosperous life;And from my hand receive your worthy Wife.Rise, Phoebe; rise, my Girl!--kneel not to me;But to THAT POW'R who interpos'd for thee.Integrity hath mark'd your favourite Youth;Fair budding Honour, Constancy, and Truth:Go to his arms;--and may unsullied joysBring smiling round me, rosy Girls and Boys!I'll love them for thy sake. And may your daysGlide on, as glides the Stream that never stays;Bright as whose shingled bed, till life's decline,May all your Worth, and all your Virtues shine!'
Words in this poem
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- fulfill v. t.
- To fill up; to make full or complete. [OE. fulfillen, fulfullen, AS. fulfyllan; ful full + fyllan to fill. See Full, a., and Fill, v. t.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- phoebe n.
- The pewee, or pewit.
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Adopted Daughter is in the public domain. This text is taken from Rural Tales, Ballads, and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #9093; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bloomfield, The Adopted Daughter, in Rural Tales, Ballads and Songs (1802), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9093, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bloomfield-tales/the-adopted-daughter.html, id L09698.
Form and metre
The Adopted Daughter is 31 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 77% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCC------DDEEFF sprungA · tongueA · receiv'dB · reliev'dB · trueC · tooC · knee · met · hard · reward · o'er · more · headD · bedD · fulfillE · millE · remainF · grainF
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFF lifeA · wifeA · meB · theeB · youthC · truthC · joysD · boysD · daysE · staysE · declineF · shineF
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| But now, as from a dream, his Reason sprung, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And heartiest greetings dwelt upon his tongue; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| The sounding Kitchen floor at once receiv'd | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| The happy group, with all their fears reliev'd: | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| 'Soldier,' he cried, 'you've found your Girl; 'tis true: | 10 | /˘········ |
| But suffer me to be a Father too; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For, never Child that blest a Parent's knee, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Could show more duty than she has to met | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Strangely she came; Affliction chas'd her hard: | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| I pitied her;--and this is my reward! | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| Here sit you down; recount your perils o'er: | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Henceforth be this your home; and grieve no more: | 10 | //········ |
| Plenty hath shower'd her dewdrops on my head; | 10 | /˘·/······ |
| Care visits not my Table, nor my Bed. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| My heart's warm wishes thus then I fulfill:-- | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| My Dame and I can live without the Mill: | 10 | ·········· |
| George, take the whole; I'll near you still remain | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To guide your judgment in the choice of Grain: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Perfect Content: hopes and prospects of Goodness. | 11 | /·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| In Virtue's path commence your prosperous life; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And from my hand receive your worthy Wife. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Rise, Phoebe; rise, my Girl!--kneel not to me; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But to THAT POW'R who interpos'd for thee. | 10 | ·········· |
| Integrity hath mark'd your favourite Youth; | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Fair budding Honour, Constancy, and Truth: | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Go to his arms;--and may unsullied joys | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Bring smiling round me, rosy Girls and Boys! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I'll love them for thy sake. And may your days | 10 | ·········· |
| Glide on, as glides the Stream that never stays; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Bright as whose shingled bed, till life's decline, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| May all your Worth, and all your Virtues shine!' | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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