To Admiral Gambier, G.C.B.
“My father, when last I from GuineaCame home with abundance of wealth,Said, ‘Jack, never be such a ninnyAs to drink--’ says I, ‘Father, your health?’”
Oh! Admiral Gam--I dare not mention bierIn such a temperate ear--Oh! Admiral Gam--an admiral of the Blue,Of course to read the Navy List aright,For strictly shunning wine of either hue,You can’t be Admiral of the Red or White:--Oh, Admiral Gam! consider ere you callOn merry Englishmen to wash their throttlesWith water only; and to break their bottles,To stick, for fear of trespass, on the wallOf Exeter Hall!
Consider, I beseech, the contrarietyOf cutting off our brandy, gin, and rum,And then, by tracts, inviting us to comeAnd “mix in your society!”In giving rules to dine, or sup, or lunch,Consider Nature’s ends before you league usTo strip the Isle of Rum of all its punch--To dock the Isle of Mull of all its negus--Or doom--to suit your milk and water view--The Isle of Skye to nothing but sky-blue!
Consider--for appearance’ sake--considerThe sorry figure of a spirit-ridder,Going on this crusade against the suttler;A sort of Hudibras--without a Butler!
Consider--ere you break the ardent spiritsOf father, mother, brother, sister, daughter;What are your beverage’s washy merits?Gin may be low--but I have known low-water!
Consider well, before you thus deliver,With such authority, your sloppy cannon;Should British tars taste nothing but the river,Because the Chesapeake once fought the Shannon!
Consider, too--before all Eau-de-vie,Schiedam, or other drinkers, you rebut--To bite a bitten dog all curs agree;But who would cut a man because he’s cut?
Consider--ere you bid the poor to fillTheir murmuring stomach with the “murmuring rill”--Consider that their streams are not like ours,Reflecting heaven, and margined by sweet flowers;On their dark pools by day no sun reclines,By night no Jupiter, no Venus shines;Consider life’s sour taste, that bids them mixTheir rum with Acheron, or Gin with Styx;If you must pour out water to the poor, oh!Let it be aqua d’ oro!
Consider--ere as furious as a griffin,Against a glass of grog you make such work,A man may like a stiff’un,And yet not be a Burke!
Consider, too, before you bid all skinkersTurn water-drinkers,What sort of fluid fills their native rivers;Their Mudiboos, and Niles, and Guadalquivirs.How should you like, yourself, in glass or mug,The Bog--the Bug--The Maine--the Weser--or that freezer, Neva?Nay, take the very rill of classic ground--Lord Byron foundEven Castaly better for Geneva.
Consider--if, to vote Reform’s arrears,His Majesty should please to make you peers,Your titles would be very far from trumps,To figure in a book of blue and red:--The Duke of Draw-well--what a name to dread!Marquis of Main-pipe! Earl New-River-Head!And Temperance’s chief, the Prince of Pumps!
Words in this poem 21
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- ninny n.
- A fool; a simpleton. [Cf. It. ninno, ninna, a baby, Sp. niño, niña, child, infant, It. ninna, ninna nanna, lullably, prob. fr. ni, na, as used in singing a child to sleep.]
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- inviting a.
- Alluring; tempting; as, an inviting amusement or prospect.
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- lunch n.
- A luncheon; specifically, a light repast between breakfast and dinner. [Of uncertain etymol. Cf. Prov. Eng. nunc a lump.]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- negus n.
- A beverage made of wine, water, sugar, nutmeg, and lemon juice; -- so called, it is said, from its first maker, Colonel Negus.
- washy a.
- Watery; damp; soft. [From Wash.]
- schiedam n.
- Holland gin made at Schiedam in the Netherlands. [Short for Schiedam schnapps.]
- rebut v. i.
- To retire; to recoil.
- rill n.
- A very small brook; a streamlet. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little di]
- margined a.
- Having a margin. Hawthorne.
- acheron n.
- A river in the Nether World or infernal regions; also, the infernal regions themselves. By some of the English poets it was supposed to be a flaming lake or gulf.
- styx n.
- The principal river of the lower world, which had to be crossed in passing to the regions of the dead.
- aqua n.
- Water; -- a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed. [L. See Ewer.]
- 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 ]
- freezer n.
- One who, or that which, cools or freezes, as a refrigerator, or the tub and can used in the process of freezing ice cream.
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Admiral Gambier, G.C.B. is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood A New and Complete Edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #56712; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hood, To Admiral Gambier, G.C.B., in Poems (1827–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56712, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poems/to-admiral-gambier-g-c-b.html, id L06767.
Form and metre
To Admiral Gambier, G.C.B. is 72 lines in 11 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 3 of the 11 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.6 syllables. 23 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAB guineaA · wealthB · ninnyA · healthB
- 2 AAB-B-CDDCC bierA · earA · blueB · aright · hueB · white · callC · throttlesD · bottlesD · wallC · hallC
- 3 ABBACDCDEE contrarietyA · rumB · comeB · societyA · lunchC · usD · punchC · negusD · viewE · blueE
- 4 AABB considerA · ridderA · suttlerB · butlerB
- 5 -A-A spirits · daughterA · merits · waterA
- 6 ABAB deliverA · cannonB · riverA · shannonB
- 7 ABAB vieA · rebutB · agreeA · cutB
- 8 AABBCCDD-- fillA · rillA · oursB · flowersB · reclinesC · shinesC · mixD · styxD · oh · oro
- 9 -A-A griffin · workA · stiff'un · burkeA
- 10 AAA-BB-CC- skinkersA · drinkersA · riversA · guadalquivirs · mugB · bugB · neva · groundC · foundC · geneva
- 11 AABCCCB arrearsA · peersA · trumpsB · redC · dreadC · headC · pumpsB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “My father, when last I from Guinea | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Came home with abundance of wealth, | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Said, ‘Jack, never be such a ninny | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| As to drink--’ says I, ‘Father, your health?’” | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Oh! Admiral Gam--I dare not mention bier | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| In such a temperate ear-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Oh! Admiral Gam--an admiral of the Blue, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Of course to read the Navy List aright, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| For strictly shunning wine of either hue, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| You can’t be Admiral of the Red or White:-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Oh, Admiral Gam! consider ere you call | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| On merry Englishmen to wash their throttles | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘ |
| With water only; and to break their bottles, | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| To stick, for fear of trespass, on the wall | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Of Exeter Hall! | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Consider, I beseech, the contrariety | 11 | ˘/˘·˘/····· |
| Of cutting off our brandy, gin, and rum, | 10 | ·/˘·//˘··· |
| And then, by tracts, inviting us to come | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And “mix in your society!” | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| In giving rules to dine, or sup, or lunch, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Consider Nature’s ends before you league us | 11 | ˘/˘/˘······ |
| To strip the Isle of Rum of all its punch-- | 10 | ·········· |
| To dock the Isle of Mull of all its negus-- | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Or doom--to suit your milk and water view-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The Isle of Skye to nothing but sky-blue! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Consider--for appearance’ sake--consider | 11 | ˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The sorry figure of a spirit-ridder, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··//˘ |
| Going on this crusade against the suttler; | 10 | /··˘/····· |
| A sort of Hudibras--without a Butler! | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Consider--ere you break the ardent spirits | 11 | ˘/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Of father, mother, brother, sister, daughter; | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| What are your beverage’s washy merits? | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Gin may be low--but I have known low-water! | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Consider well, before you thus deliver, | 11 | ˘/˘·····˘/˘ |
| With such authority, your sloppy cannon; | 10 | ··˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Should British tars taste nothing but the river, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Because the Chesapeake once fought the Shannon! | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Consider, too--before all Eau-de-vie, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Schiedam, or other drinkers, you rebut-- | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To bite a bitten dog all curs agree; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But who would cut a man because he’s cut? | 10 | ·········· |
| Consider--ere you bid the poor to fill | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Their murmuring stomach with the “murmuring rill”-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Consider that their streams are not like ours, | 10 | ˘/˘······/ |
| Reflecting heaven, and margined by sweet flowers; | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘··/ |
| On their dark pools by day no sun reclines, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| By night no Jupiter, no Venus shines; | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Consider life’s sour taste, that bids them mix | 10 | ˘/˘·/····· |
| Their rum with Acheron, or Gin with Styx; | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| If you must pour out water to the poor, oh! | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Let it be aqua d’ oro! | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Consider--ere as furious as a griffin, | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Against a glass of grog you make such work, | 10 | ·········· |
| A man may like a stiff’un, | 7 | ······· |
| And yet not be a Burke! | 6 | ······ |
| Consider, too, before you bid all skinkers | 11 | ˘/˘········ |
| Turn water-drinkers, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| What sort of fluid fills their native rivers; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Their Mudiboos, and Niles, and Guadalquivirs. | 11 | ··········· |
| How should you like, yourself, in glass or mug, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The Bog--the Bug-- | 4 | ···· |
| The Maine--the Weser--or that freezer, Neva? | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Nay, take the very rill of classic ground-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Lord Byron found | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Even Castaly better for Geneva. | 10 | /···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Consider--if, to vote Reform’s arrears, | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/˘/ |
| His Majesty should please to make you peers, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Your titles would be very far from trumps, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| To figure in a book of blue and red:-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The Duke of Draw-well--what a name to dread! | 10 | ·········· |
| Marquis of Main-pipe! Earl New-River-Head! | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| And Temperance’s chief, the Prince of Pumps! | 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.