A Ghost Story
In all the Eastern hemisphereYou would n’t find a knight, a peer,A viscount, earl or baronet,A marquis or a duke, nor yetA prince, or emperor, or king,Or sultan, czar, or anythingThat could in family pride surpassJ. Wentworth Beane of Boston, Mass.His family tree could far outscaleThe bean-stalk in the fairy tale;And Joseph’s coat would pale beforeThe blazon’d coat-of-arms he bore,The arms of his old ancestor,One Godfrey Beane, “who crossed, you know,About two hundred years ago.”He had it stamped, engraved, embossed,Without the least regard to cost,Upon his house, upon his gate,Upon his table-cloth, his plate,Upon his knocker, and his mat,Upon his watch, inside his hat;On scarf-pin, handkerchief, and screen,And cards; in short, J. Wentworth BeaneContrived to have old Godfrey’s crestOn everything that he possessed.And lastly, when he died, his willProved to contain a codicilDirecting that a sum be spentTo carve it on his monument.
But if you think this ends the sceneYou little know J. Wentworth Beane.To judge him by the common hostIs reckoning without his ghost.And it is something that befellHis ghost I chiefly have to tell.
At midnight of the very dayThey laid J. Wentworth Beane away,No sooner had the clock come roundTo 12 P. M. than from the groundArose a spectre, lank and lean,With frigid air and haughty mien;No other than J. Wentworth Beane,Unchanged in all, except his pride--If anything, intensified.He looked about him with that airOf supercilious despairThat very stuck-up people wearAt some society affairWhen no one in their set is there.Then, after brushing from his sleevesSome bits of mould and clinging leaves,And lightly dusting off his shoe,The iron gate he floated through,Just looking back the clock to note,As one who fears to miss a boat.Ten minutes later found him onThe ghost’s Cunarder--“Oregon;”And ten days later by spook timeHe heard the hour of midnight chimeFrom out the tower of Beanley Hall,And stood within the grave-yard wallBeside a stone, moss-grown and green,On which these simple words were seen:
Words in this poem
- duke n.
- A leader; a chief; a prince. [F. duc, fr. L. dux, ducis, leader, commander, fr. ducere to lead; akin to AS. teón to draw; cf. AS. heretoga (here army) an army leader, general, G. herzog duke]
- knocker n.
- One who, or that which, knocks; specifically, an instrument, or kind of hammer, fastened to a door, to be used in seeking for admittance.
- lastly adv.
- In the last place; in conclusion.
- codicil n.
- A clause added to a will. [L. codicillus, dim. of codex: cf. F. codicille. See Code.]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- spectre n.
- Something preternaturally visible; an apparition; a ghost; a phantom. [F. spectre, fr. L. spectrum an appearance, image, specter, fr. specere to look. See Spy, and cf. Spectrum.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- brushing a.
- Constructed or used to brush with; as a brushing machine.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- spook n.
- A spirit; a ghost; an apparition; a hobgoblin. Ld. Lytton. [D. spook; akin to G. spuk, Sw. spöke, Dan. spögelse a specter, spöge to play, sport, joke, spög a play, joke.]
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Ghost Story is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bashful Earthquake, & Other Fables and Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #56765; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Herford, A Ghost Story, in The Bashful Earthquake, and Other Fables and Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56765, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herford-bashful-earthquake/a-ghost-story.html, id L22133.
Form and metre
A Ghost Story is 63 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFF-GGHHIIJJKKLL--MM hemisphereA · peerA · baronetB · yetB · kingC · anythingC · surpassD · massD · outscaleE · taleE · beforeF · boreF · ancestor · knowG · agoG · embossedH · costH · gateI · plateI · matJ · hatJ · screenK · beaneK · crestL · possessedL · will · codicil · spentM · monumentM
- 2 AABBCC sceneA · beaneA · hostB · ghostB · befellC · tellC
- 3 AABBCCCDDEEEEEFFGGHHIIJJKKCC dayA · awayA · roundB · groundB · leanC · mienC · beaneC · prideD · intensifiedD · airE · despairE · wearE · affairE · thereE · sleevesF · leavesF · shoeG · throughG · noteH · boatH · onI · oregonI · timeJ · chimeJ · hallK · wallK · greenC · seenC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In all the Eastern hemisphere | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| You would n’t find a knight, a peer, | 8 | ········ |
| A viscount, earl or baronet, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A marquis or a duke, nor yet | 8 | ··/····· |
| A prince, or emperor, or king, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Or sultan, czar, or anything | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That could in family pride surpass | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| J. Wentworth Beane of Boston, Mass. | 8 | ·//··/˘· |
| His family tree could far outscale | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The bean-stalk in the fairy tale; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Joseph’s coat would pale before | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The blazon’d coat-of-arms he bore, | 8 | ········ |
| The arms of his old ancestor, | 8 | ·····/·˘ |
| One Godfrey Beane, “who crossed, you know, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| About two hundred years ago.” | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| He had it stamped, engraved, embossed, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Without the least regard to cost, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Upon his house, upon his gate, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon his table-cloth, his plate, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon his knocker, and his mat, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon his watch, inside his hat; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| On scarf-pin, handkerchief, and screen, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And cards; in short, J. Wentworth Beane | 8 | ·····//· |
| Contrived to have old Godfrey’s crest | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| On everything that he possessed. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And lastly, when he died, his will | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Proved to contain a codicil | 8 | ··˘/·/˘˘ |
| Directing that a sum be spent | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| To carve it on his monument. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| But if you think this ends the scene | 8 | ········ |
| You little know J. Wentworth Beane. | 8 | ·/˘··//· |
| To judge him by the common host | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is reckoning without his ghost. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And it is something that befell | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| His ghost I chiefly have to tell. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| At midnight of the very day | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| They laid J. Wentworth Beane away, | 8 | ···//·˘/ |
| No sooner had the clock come round | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To 12 P. M. than from the ground | 7 | ······· |
| Arose a spectre, lank and lean, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| With frigid air and haughty mien; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| No other than J. Wentworth Beane, | 8 | ·/˘··//· |
| Unchanged in all, except his pride-- | 8 | ˘/······ |
| If anything, intensified. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| He looked about him with that air | 8 | ········ |
| Of supercilious despair | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘/ |
| That very stuck-up people wear | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| At some society affair | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘/ |
| When no one in their set is there. | 8 | ········ |
| Then, after brushing from his sleeves | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Some bits of mould and clinging leaves, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And lightly dusting off his shoe, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The iron gate he floated through, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Just looking back the clock to note, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As one who fears to miss a boat. | 8 | ········ |
| Ten minutes later found him on | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The ghost’s Cunarder--“Oregon;” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And ten days later by spook time | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He heard the hour of midnight chime | 8 | ···/·/·· |
| From out the tower of Beanley Hall, | 8 | ···/···· |
| And stood within the grave-yard wall | 8 | ········ |
| Beside a stone, moss-grown and green, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| On which these simple words were seen: | 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.