Act I: Scene II. — A Street. On One Side, Nicholas Upsall's House; On, the Other, Walter Merry's, with a Flock of Pigeons on the Roof, Upsall Seated in the Porch of His House
UPSALL.O day of rest! How beautiful, how fair,How welcome to the weary and the old!Day of the Lord! and truce to earthly cares!Day of the Lord, as all our days should be!Ah, why will man by his austeritiesShut out the blessed sunshine and the light,And make of thee a dungeon of despair!
WALTER MERRY (entering and looking round him).All silent as a graveyard! No one stirring;No footfall in the street, no sound of voices!By righteous punishment and perseverance,And perseverance in that punishment,At last I have brought this contumacious townTo strict observance of the Sabbath day.Those wanton gospellers, the pigeons yonder,Are now the only Sabbath-breakers left.I cannot put them down. As if to taunt me,They gather every Sabbath afternoonIn noisy congregation on my roof,Billing and cooing. Whir! take that, ye Quakers.
UPSALL.Good afternoon,Dear neighbor Walter.
MERRY.Master Nicholas,You have to-day withdrawn yourself from meeting.
UPSALL.Yea, I have chosen rather to worship GodSitting in silence here at my own door.
MERRY.Worship the Devil! You this day have brokenThree of our strictest laws. First, by abstainingFrom public worship. Secondly, by walkingProfanely on the Sabbath.
UPSALL.Not one step.I have been sitting still here, seeing the pigeonsFeed in the street and fly about the roofs.
MERRY.You have been in the street with other intentThan going to and from the Meeting-house.And, thirdly, you are harboring Quakers here.I am amazed!
UPSALL.Men sometimes, it is said,Entertain angels unawares.
MERRY.Nice angels!Angels in broad-brimmed hats and russet cloaks,The color of the Devil's nutting-bag. They cameInto the Meeting-house this afternoonMore in the shape of devils than of angels.The women screamed and fainted; and the boysMade such an uproar in the galleryI could not keep them quiet.
UPSALL.Neighbor Walter,Your persecution is of no avail.
MERRY.'T is prosecution, as the Governor says,Not persecution.
UPSALL.Well, your prosecution;Your hangings do no good.
MERRY.The reason is,We do not hang enough. But, mark my words,We'll scour them; yea, I warrant ye, we'll scour them!And now go in and entertain your angels,And don't be seen here in the street againTill after sundown! There they are again!
Words in this poem
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- dungeon n.
- A close, dark prison, commondonjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. [OE. donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a]
- walter v. i.
- To roll or wallow; to welter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [See Welter.]
- graveyard n.
- A yard or inclosure for the interment of the dead; a cemetery.
- footfall n.
- A setting down of the foot; a footstep; the sound of a footstep.
- contumacious a.
- Exhibiting contumacy; contemning authority; obstinate; perverse; stubborn; disobedient. [L. contumax, -acis. See Contumacy.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- billing a.
- Caressing; kissing.
- secondly adv.
- In the second place.
- profanely adv.
- In a profane manner.
- thirdly adv.
- In the third place.
- sundown n.
- The setting of the sun; sunset.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act I: Scene II. — A Street. On One Side, Nicholas Upsall's House; On, the Other, Walter Merry's, with a Flock of Pigeons on the Roof, Upsall Seated in the Porch of His House is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Act I: Scene II. — A Street. On One Side, Nicholas Upsall's House; On, the Other, Walter Merry's, with a Flock of Pigeons on the Roof, Upsall Seated in the Porch of His House, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/act-i-scene-ii-a-street-on-one-side-nicholas-upsall-s-house-.html, id L19218.
Form and metre
Act I: Scene II. — A Street. On One Side, Nicholas Upsall's House; On, the Other, Walter Merry's, with a Flock of Pigeons on the Roof, Upsall Seated in the Porch of His House is 72 lines in 14 stanzas.
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 upsall · fairA · old · cares · be · austerities · light · despairA
- 10 -A---A--- merry · angelsA · cloaks · came · afternoon · angelsA · boys · gallery · quiet
- 14 -----AA merry · is · words · them · angels · againA · againA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| O day of rest! How beautiful, how fair, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| How welcome to the weary and the old! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Day of the Lord! and truce to earthly cares! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Day of the Lord, as all our days should be! | 10 | ······/··· |
| Ah, why will man by his austerities | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Shut out the blessed sunshine and the light, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And make of thee a dungeon of despair! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| WALTER MERRY (entering and looking round him). | 11 | /˘/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| All silent as a graveyard! No one stirring; | 11 | ·/˘··/···/˘ |
| No footfall in the street, no sound of voices! | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| By righteous punishment and perseverance, | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| And perseverance in that punishment, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| At last I have brought this contumacious town | 11 | ··········· |
| To strict observance of the Sabbath day. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Those wanton gospellers, the pigeons yonder, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Are now the only Sabbath-breakers left. | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| I cannot put them down. As if to taunt me, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| They gather every Sabbath afternoon | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| In noisy congregation on my roof, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Billing and cooing. Whir! take that, ye Quakers. | 11 | /˘·/˘····/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Good afternoon, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Dear neighbor Walter. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| MERRY. | 2 | /˘ |
| Master Nicholas, | 5 | /˘/˘˘ |
| You have to-day withdrawn yourself from meeting. | 11 | ····˘/˘/·/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Yea, I have chosen rather to worship God | 11 | ···/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Sitting in silence here at my own door. | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| MERRY. | 2 | /˘ |
| Worship the Devil! You this day have broken | 11 | /˘·/˘····/˘ |
| Three of our strictest laws. First, by abstaining | 11 | ··//˘···˘/˘ |
| From public worship. Secondly, by walking | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Profanely on the Sabbath. | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Not one step. | 3 | ··· |
| I have been sitting still here, seeing the pigeons | 11 | ···/˘··/·/˘ |
| Feed in the street and fly about the roofs. | 10 | ·········· |
| MERRY. | 2 | /˘ |
| You have been in the street with other intent | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| Than going to and from the Meeting-house. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And, thirdly, you are harboring Quakers here. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| I am amazed! | 4 | ··˘/ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Men sometimes, it is said, | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| Entertain angels unawares. | 8 | ·˘//˘·˘/ |
| MERRY. | 2 | /˘ |
| Nice angels! | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Angels in broad-brimmed hats and russet cloaks, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| The color of the Devil's nutting-bag. They came | 12 | ·/˘··/˘/˘··· |
| Into the Meeting-house this afternoon | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| More in the shape of devils than of angels. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| The women screamed and fainted; and the boys | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Made such an uproar in the gallery | 10 | ···/···/˘˘ |
| I could not keep them quiet. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Neighbor Walter, | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Your persecution is of no avail. | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| MERRY. | 2 | /˘ |
| 'T is prosecution, as the Governor says, | 11 | ···˘/˘··/˘· |
| Not persecution. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| UPSALL. | 2 | ·· |
| Well, your prosecution; | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Your hangings do no good. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| MERRY. | 2 | /˘ |
| The reason is, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| We do not hang enough. But, mark my words, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| We'll scour them; yea, I warrant ye, we'll scour them! | 11 | ·/···/˘··/· |
| And now go in and entertain your angels, | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| And don't be seen here in the street again | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Till after sundown! There they are again! | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
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