Mulholland's Contract
The fear was on the cattle, for the gale was on the sea,An' the pens broke up on the lower deck an' let the creatures free --An' the lights went out on the lower deck, an' no one near but me.
I had been singin' to them to keep 'em quiet there,For the lower deck is the dangerousest, requirin' constant care,An' give to me as the strongest man, though used to drink and swear.
I see my chance was certain of bein' horned or trod,For the lower deck was packed with steers thicker'n peas in a pod,An' more pens broke at every roll -- so I made a Contract with God.
An' by the terms of the Contract, as I have read the same,If He got me to port alive I would exalt His Name,An' praise His Holy Majesty till further orders came.
He saved me from the cattle an' He saved me from the sea,For they found me 'tween two drownded ones where the roll had landed me --An' a four-inch crack on top of my head, as crazy as could be.
But that were done by a stanchion, an' not by a bullock at all,An' I lay still for seven weeks convalessing of the fall,An' readin' the shiny Scripture texts in the Seaman's Hospital.
An' I spoke to God of our Contract, an' He says to my prayer:“I never puts on My ministers no more than they can bear.So back you go to the cattle-boats an' preach My Gospel there.
“For human life is chancy at any kind of trade,But most of all, as well you know, when the steers are mad-afraid;So you go back to the cattle-boats an' preach 'em as I've said.
“They must quit drinkin' an' swearin', they mustn't knife on a blow,They must quit gamblin' their wages, and you must preach it so;For now those boats are more like Hell than anything else I know.”
I didn't want to do it, for I knew what I should get,An' I wanted to preach Religion, handsome an' out of the wet,But the Word of the Lord were lain on me, an' I done what I was set.
I have been smit an' bruis]\ed, as warned would be the case,An' turned my cheek to the smiter exactly as Scripture says;But following that, I knocked him down an' led him up to Grace.
An' we have preaching on Sundays whenever the sea is calm,An' I use no knife or pistol an' I never take no harm,For the Lord abideth back of me to guide my fighting arm.
An' I sign for four-pound-ten a month and save the money clear,An' I am in charge of the lower deck, an' I never lose a steer;An' I believe in Almighty God an' preach His Gospel here.
The skippers say I'm crazy, but I can prove 'em wrong,For I am in charge of the lower deck with all that doth belong --Which they would not give to a lunatic, and the competition so strong!
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- stanchion n.
- A prop or support; a piece of timber in the form of a stake or post, used for a support or stay. [OF. estanson, estançon, F. étançon, from OF. estance a stay, a prop, from L. stans, stantis, standing, p.pr. of stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Stanza.]
- bullock n.
- A young bull, or any male of the ox kind. [AS. bulluc a young bull. See Bull.]
- shiny a.
- Bright; luminous; clear; unclouded.
- hospital n.
- A place for shelter or entertainment; an inn. [OF. hospital, ospital, F. hôpital, LL. hospitale (or perh. E. hospital is directly from the Late Latin), from L. hospitalis relating to a guest, hospitalia apar]
- 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.]
- smit
- 3d. pers. sing. pres. of Smite.
- smiter n.
- One who smites.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mulholland's Contract is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verses 1889-1896, Project Gutenberg ebook #323; 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, Mulholland's Contract, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/mulholland-s-contract.html, id L16820.
Form and metre
Mulholland's Contract is 42 lines in 14 stanzas of 3 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. The metre is iambic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 14.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic octameter.
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 AAA seaA · freeA · meA
- 2 AAA thereA · careA · swearA
- 3 AAA trodA · podA · godA
- 4 AAA sameA · nameA · cameA
- 5 AAA seaA · meA · beA
- 6 AAA allA · fallA · hospitalA
- 7 AAA prayerA · bearA · thereA
- 8 AA- tradeA · afraidA · said
- 9 AAA blowA · soA · knowA
- 10 AAA getA · wetA · setA
- 11 A-A caseA · says · graceA
- 12 -AA calm · harmA · armA
- 13 AAA clearA · steerA · hereA
- 14 AAA wrongA · belongA · strongA
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 octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The fear was on the cattle, for the gale was on the sea, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| An' the pens broke up on the lower deck an' let the creatures free -- | 15 | ·······/····/˘· |
| An' the lights went out on the lower deck, an' no one near but me. | 15 | ·······/······· |
| I had been singin' to them to keep 'em quiet there, | 12 | ···/˘·····/· |
| For the lower deck is the dangerousest, requirin' constant care, | 14 | ··/···/˘···/˘· |
| An' give to me as the strongest man, though used to drink and swear. | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| I see my chance was certain of bein' horned or trod, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| For the lower deck was packed with steers thicker'n peas in a pod, | 14 | ··/··········· |
| An' more pens broke at every roll -- so I made a Contract with God. | 16 | ·····/˘·····˘/·· |
| An' by the terms of the Contract, as I have read the same, | 14 | ······/······· |
| If He got me to port alive I would exalt His Name, | 14 | ······˘/··˘/·· |
| An' praise His Holy Majesty till further orders came. | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| He saved me from the cattle an' He saved me from the sea, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| For they found me 'tween two drownded ones where the roll had landed me -- | 16 | ·············/˘· |
| An' a four-inch crack on top of my head, as crazy as could be. | 16 | ···········/˘··· |
| But that were done by a stanchion, an' not by a bullock at all, | 16 | ······/˘····/˘·· |
| An' I lay still for seven weeks convalessing of the fall, | 14 | ·····/········ |
| An' readin' the shiny Scripture texts in the Seaman's Hospital. | 16 | ····/˘/˘···/˘/·˘ |
| An' I spoke to God of our Contract, an' He says to my prayer: | 15 | ······/˘/······ |
| “I never puts on My ministers no more than they can bear. | 13 | ·/···/˘······ |
| So back you go to the cattle-boats an' preach My Gospel there. | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| “For human life is chancy at any kind of trade, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| But most of all, as well you know, when the steers are mad-afraid; | 15 | ·············˘/ |
| So you go back to the cattle-boats an' preach 'em as I've said. | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| “They must quit drinkin' an' swearin', they mustn't knife on a blow, | 15 | ·········/˘···· |
| They must quit gamblin' their wages, and you must preach it so; | 14 | ···/˘·/˘······ |
| For now those boats are more like Hell than anything else I know.” | 15 | ·········/˘···· |
| I didn't want to do it, for I knew what I should get, | 14 | ·/˘··········· |
| An' I wanted to preach Religion, handsome an' out of the wet, | 16 | ··/˘··˘/˘/˘····· |
| But the Word of the Lord were lain on me, an' I done what I was set. | 17 | ················· |
| I have been smit an' bruis]\ed, as warned would be the case, | 13 | ············· |
| An' turned my cheek to the smiter exactly as Scripture says; | 15 | ······/˘˘/˘·/˘· |
| But following that, I knocked him down an' led him up to Grace. | 14 | ·/˘··········· |
| An' we have preaching on Sundays whenever the sea is calm, | 15 | ···/˘·/·˘/˘···· |
| An' I use no knife or pistol an' I never take no harm, | 14 | ······/˘··/··· |
| For the Lord abideth back of me to guide my fighting arm. | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| An' I sign for four-pound-ten a month and save the money clear, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| An' I am in charge of the lower deck, an' I never lose a steer; | 15 | ·······/···/··· |
| An' I believe in Almighty God an' preach His Gospel here. | 15 | ··˘/·˘/˘····/˘· |
| The skippers say I'm crazy, but I can prove 'em wrong, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| For I am in charge of the lower deck with all that doth belong -- | 15 | ·······/·····˘/ |
| Which they would not give to a lunatic, and the competition so strong! | 18 | ·······/˘····˘/˘·· |
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.