The Mystery of Gilgal
The darkest, strangest mysteryI ever read, or heern, or see,Is 'long of a drink at Taggart's Hall,--Tom Taggart's of Gilgal.
I've heern the tale a thousand ways,But never could git through the mazeThat hangs around that queer day's doin's;But I'll tell the yarn to youans.
Tom Taggart stood behind his bar,The time was fall, the skies was fa'r,The neighbours round the counter drawed,And ca'mly drinked and jawed.
At last come Colonel Blood of Pike,And old Jedge Phinn, permiscus-like,And each, as he meandered in,Remarked, "A whisky-skin."
Tom mixed the beverage full and fa'r,And slammed it, smoking, on the bar.Some says three fingers, some says two,--I'll leave the choice to you.
Phinn to the drink put forth his hand;Blood drawed his knife, with accent bland,"I ax yer parding, Mister Phinn--Jest drap that whisky-skin."
No man high-toneder could be foundThan old Jedge Phinn the country round.Says he, "Young man, the tribe of PhinnsKnows their own whisky-skins!"
He went for his 'leven-inch bowie-knife:--"I tries to foller a Christian life;But I'll drap a slice of liver or two,My bloomin' shrub, with you."
They carved in a way that all admired,Tell Blood drawed iron at last, and fired.It took Seth Bludso 'twixt the eyes,Which caused him great surprise.
Then coats went off, and all went in;Shots and bad language swelled the din;The short, sharp bark of Derringers,Like bull-pups, cheered the furse.
They piled the stiffs outside the door;They made, I reckon, a cord or more.Girls went that winter, as a rule,Alone to spellin'-school.
I've searched in vain, from Dan to Beer-Sheba, to make this mystery clear;But I end with HIT as I did begin,--
Words in this poem
- maze n.
- A wild fancy; a confused notion. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw.]
- jawed a.
- Having jaws; -- chiefly in composition; as, lantern-jawed.
- mister n.
- A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
- 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]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- shots n.
- The refuse of cattle taken from a drove.
- piled a.
- Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Mystery of Gilgal 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, The Mystery of Gilgal, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/the-mystery-of-gilgal.html, id L21573.
Form and metre
The Mystery of Gilgal is 47 lines in 12 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 9 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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.
- 2 AABB waysA · mazeA · doin'sB · youansB
- 3 AABB barA · fa'rA · drawedB · jawedB
- 4 AABB pikeA · likeA · inB · skinB
- 5 AABB fa'rA · barA · twoB · youB
- 6 AABB handA · blandA · phinnB · skinB
- 7 AABB foundA · roundA · phinnsB · skinsB
- 8 AABB knifeA · lifeA · twoB · youB
- 9 AABB admiredA · firedA · eyesB · surpriseB
- 10 AA-- inA · dinA · derringers · furse
- 11 AABB doorA · moreA · ruleB · schoolB
- 12 AA- beerA · clearA · begin
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The darkest, strangest mystery | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| I ever read, or heern, or see, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is 'long of a drink at Taggart's Hall,-- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Tom Taggart's of Gilgal. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I've heern the tale a thousand ways, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But never could git through the maze | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That hangs around that queer day's doin's; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But I'll tell the yarn to youans. | 7 | ······· |
| Tom Taggart stood behind his bar, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The time was fall, the skies was fa'r, | 8 | ········ |
| The neighbours round the counter drawed, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And ca'mly drinked and jawed. | 8 | ····˘··˘ |
| At last come Colonel Blood of Pike, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And old Jedge Phinn, permiscus-like, | 8 | ········ |
| And each, as he meandered in, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Remarked, "A whisky-skin." | 7 | ˘/˘·/˘· |
| Tom mixed the beverage full and fa'r, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And slammed it, smoking, on the bar. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Some says three fingers, some says two,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I'll leave the choice to you. | 6 | ······ |
| Phinn to the drink put forth his hand; | 8 | ········ |
| Blood drawed his knife, with accent bland, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| "I ax yer parding, Mister Phinn-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Jest drap that whisky-skin." | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No man high-toneder could be found | 9 | ········· |
| Than old Jedge Phinn the country round. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Says he, "Young man, the tribe of Phinns | 8 | ········ |
| Knows their own whisky-skins!" | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He went for his 'leven-inch bowie-knife:-- | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| "I tries to foller a Christian life; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| But I'll drap a slice of liver or two, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| My bloomin' shrub, with you." | 6 | ······ |
| They carved in a way that all admired, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Tell Blood drawed iron at last, and fired. | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| It took Seth Bludso 'twixt the eyes, | 8 | ········ |
| Which caused him great surprise. | 7 | ··˘··˘/ |
| Then coats went off, and all went in; | 8 | ········ |
| Shots and bad language swelled the din; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The short, sharp bark of Derringers, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Like bull-pups, cheered the furse. | 7 | ····˘·· |
| They piled the stiffs outside the door; | 8 | ····//·· |
| They made, I reckon, a cord or more. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Girls went that winter, as a rule, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Alone to spellin'-school. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| I've searched in vain, from Dan to Beer- | 8 | ········ |
| Sheba, to make this mystery clear; | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| But I end with HIT as I did begin,-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
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