Boudoir Prophecies
One day in the Tuileries,When a south-west Spanish breezeBrought scandalous news of the Queen,The fair, proud Empress said,"My good friend loses her head;If matters go on this way,I shall see her shopping, some day,In the Boulevard des Capucines."
The saying swiftly wentTo the Place of the Orient,And the stout Queen sneered, "Ah, well!You are proud and prude, ma belle!But I think I will hazard a guessI shall see you one day playing chessWith the Cure of Carabanchel."
Both ladies, though not over wise,Were lucky in prophecies.For the Boulevard shopmen wellKnow the form of stout IsabelAs she buys her modes de Paris;And after Sedan in despairThe Empress prude and fairWent to visit Madame sa MereIn her villa at Carabanchel--But the Queen was not there to see.
Words in this poem
- scandalous a.
- Giving offense to the conscience or moral feelings; exciting reprobation; calling out condemnation. [Cf. F. scandaleux.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- boulevard n.
- Originally, a bulwark or rampart of fortification or fortified town. [F. boulevard, boulevart, fr. G. bollwerk. See Bulwark.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- prude n.
- A woman of affected modesty, reserve, or coyness; one who is overscrupulous or sensitive; one who affects extraordinary prudence in conduct and speech. [F., prudish, originally, discreet, modest; shortened from OF. prudefeme, preudefeme, a discreet or excellent woman; OF. preu, prou, excellent, brave + de of + f]
- belle n.
- A young lady of superior beauty and attractions; a handsome lady, or one who attracts notice in society; a fair lady. [F. belle, fem. of bel, beau, beautiful, fine. See Beau.]
- sedan n.
- A portable chair or covered vehicle for carrying a single person, -- usually borne on poles by two men. Called also sedan chair. [Said to be named from Sedan, in France, where it was first made, and whence it was introduced into England in the time of King Charles I.]
- madame n.
- My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
- villa n.
- A country seat; a country or suburban residence of some pretensions to elegance. Dryden. [L. villa, LL. also village, dim. of L. vicus a village: cf. It. & F. villa. See Vicinity, and cf. Vill, Village, Villain.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Boudoir Prophecies is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pike County Ballads and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6062; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Hay, Boudoir Prophecies, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/boudoir-prophecies.html, id L21589.
Form and metre
Boudoir Prophecies is 25 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 ---AABB- tuileries · breeze · queen · saidA · headA · wayB · dayB · capucines
- 2 AABBCC- wentA · orientA · wellB · belleB · guessC · chessC · carabanchel
- 3 AABB-CCC-- wiseA · propheciesA · wellB · isabelB · paris · despairC · fairC · mereC · carabanchel · see
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One day in the Tuileries, | 6 | ······ |
| When a south-west Spanish breeze | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Brought scandalous news of the Queen, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| The fair, proud Empress said, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "My good friend loses her head; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| If matters go on this way, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I shall see her shopping, some day, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| In the Boulevard des Capucines." | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The saying swiftly went | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| To the Place of the Orient, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And the stout Queen sneered, "Ah, well! | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| You are proud and prude, ma belle! | 7 | ······· |
| But I think I will hazard a guess | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| I shall see you one day playing chess | 9 | ······/˘· |
| With the Cure of Carabanchel." | 8 | ········ |
| Both ladies, though not over wise, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Were lucky in prophecies. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘˘ |
| For the Boulevard shopmen well | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Know the form of stout Isabel | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As she buys her modes de Paris; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And after Sedan in despair | 8 | ···˘/·˘/ |
| The Empress prude and fair | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Went to visit Madame sa Mere | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| In her villa at Carabanchel-- | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| But the Queen was not there to see. | 8 | ········ |
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.