Eddi's Service (A.D. 687)
Eddi, priest of St. WilfridIn the chapel at Manhood End,Ordered a midnight serviceFor such as cared to attend.
But the Saxons were keeping Christmas,And the night was stormy as well.Nobody came to serviceThough Eddi rang the bell.
'Wicked weather for walking,'Said Eddi of Manhood End.'But I must go on with the serviceFor such as care to attend.'
The altar-candles were lighted,--An old marsh donkey came,Bold as a guest invited,And stared at the guttering flame.
The storm beat on at the windows,The water splashed on the floor,And a wet, yoke-weary bullockPushed in through the open door.
'How do I know what is greatest,How do I know what is least?That is My Father's business,'Said Eddi, Wilfrid's priest.
'But--three are gathered together--Listen to me and attend.I bring good news, my brethren!'Said Eddi of Manhood End.
And he told the Ox of a MangerAnd a Stall in Bethlehem,And he spoke to the Ass of a Rider,That rode to Jerusalem.
They steamed and dripped in the chancel,They listened and never stirred,While, just as though they were Bishops,Eddi preached them The Word.
Till the gale blew off on the marshesAnd the windows showed the day,And the Ox and the Ass togetherWheeled and clattered away.
And when the Saxons mocked him,Said Eddi of Manhood End,'I dare not shut His chapelOn such as care to attend.'
Words in this poem
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- donkey n.
- An ass; or (less frequently) a mule. [Prob. dun, in allusion to the color of the animal + a dim. termination.]
- bullock n.
- A young bull, or any male of the ox kind. [AS. bulluc a young bull. See Bull.]
- manger n.
- A trough or open box in which fodder is placed for horses or cattle to eat. [F. mangeoire, fr. manger to eat, fr. L. manducare, fr. mandere to chew. Cf. Mandible, Manducate.]
- bethlehem n.
- A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam. [Heb. b house of food; b house + lekhem food, lakham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of ]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Eddi's Service (A.D. 687) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs from Books, Project Gutenberg ebook #15529; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, Eddi's Service (A.D. 687), in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/eddi-s-service-a-d-687.html, id L20308.
Form and metre
Eddi's Service (A.D. 687) is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A wilfrid · endA · service · attendA
- 2 -A-A christmas · wellA · service · bellA
- 3 -A-A walking · endA · service · attendA
- 4 ABAB lightedA · cameB · invitedA · flameB
- 5 -A-A windows · floorA · bullock · doorA
- 6 AA-A greatestA · leastA · business · priestA
- 7 -A-A together · attendA · brethren · endA
- 8 -A-A manger · bethlehemA · rider · jerusalemA
- 9 -A-A chancel · stirredA · bishops · wordA
- 10 -A-A marshes · dayA · together · awayA
- 11 -A-A him · endA · chapel · attendA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Eddi, priest of St. Wilfrid | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In the chapel at Manhood End, | 8 | ··/˘·/·· |
| Ordered a midnight service | 8 | /˘˘·/·/˘ |
| For such as cared to attend. | 8 | ····˘·˘/ |
| But the Saxons were keeping Christmas, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘/˘ |
| And the night was stormy as well. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Nobody came to service | 7 | /····/˘ |
| Though Eddi rang the bell. | 6 | ······ |
| 'Wicked weather for walking,' | 8 | /˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| Said Eddi of Manhood End. | 7 | ····/·· |
| 'But I must go on with the service | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For such as care to attend.' | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The altar-candles were lighted,-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘·/˘ |
| An old marsh donkey came, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Bold as a guest invited, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And stared at the guttering flame. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| The storm beat on at the windows, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The water splashed on the floor, | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| And a wet, yoke-weary bullock | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Pushed in through the open door. | 8 | ·˘···/˘· |
| 'How do I know what is greatest, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| How do I know what is least? | 7 | ······· |
| That is My Father's business,' | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Said Eddi, Wilfrid's priest. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'But--three are gathered together-- | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Listen to me and attend. | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| I bring good news, my brethren!' | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Said Eddi of Manhood End. | 7 | ····/·· |
| And he told the Ox of a Manger | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And a Stall in Bethlehem, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And he spoke to the Ass of a Rider, | 9 | ········/ |
| That rode to Jerusalem. | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| They steamed and dripped in the chancel, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| They listened and never stirred, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| While, just as though they were Bishops, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Eddi preached them The Word. | 7 | ···˘··· |
| Till the gale blew off on the marshes | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And the windows showed the day, | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| And the Ox and the Ass together | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Wheeled and clattered away. | 8 | ·˘·/˘˘˘/ |
| And when the Saxons mocked him, | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Said Eddi of Manhood End, | 7 | ····/·· |
| 'I dare not shut His chapel | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| On such as care to attend.' | 7 | ·····˘/ |
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