A Ballad of John Nicholson
It fell in the year of Mutiny,At darkest of the night,John Nicholson by Jalándhar came,On his way to Delhi fight.
And as he by Jaláandhar cameHe thought what he must do,And he sent to the Rajah fair greeting,To try if he were true.
"God grant your Highness length of days,And friends when need shall be;And I pray you send your Captains hither,That they may speak with me."
On the morrow through Jalándhar townThe Captains rode in state;They came to the house of John NicholsonAnd stood before the gate.
The chief of them was Mehtab Singh,He was both proud and sly;His turban gleamed with rubies red,He held his chin full high.
He marked his fellows how they putTheir shoes from off their feet;"Now wherefore make ye such adoThese fallen lords to greet?
"They have ruled us for a hundred years,In truth I know not how,But though they be fain of mastery,They dare not claim it now."
Right haughtily before them allThe durbar hall he trod,With rubies red his turban gleamed,His feet with pride were shod.
They had not been an hour together,A scanty hour or so,When Mehtab Singh rose in his placeAnd turned about to go.
Then swiftly came John NicholsonBetween the door and him,With anger smouldering in his eyesThat made the rubies dim.
"You are overhasty, Mehtab Singh,"--Oh, but his voice was low!He held his wrath with a curb of iron,That furrowed cheek and brow.
"You are overhasty, Mehtab Singh,When that the rest are gone,I have a word that may not waitTo speak with you alone."
The Captains passed in silence forthAnd stood the door behind;To go before the game was playedBe sure they had no mind.
But there within John NicholsonTurned him on Mehtab Singh,"So long as the soul is in my bodyYou shall not do this thing.
"Have ye served us for a hundred yearsAnd yet ye know not why?We brook no doubt of our mastery,We rule until we die.
"Were I the one last EnglishmanDrawing the breath of life,And you the master-rebel of allThat stir this land to strife--
"Were I," he said, "but a Corporal,And you a Rajput King,So long as the soul was in my bodyYou should not do this thing.
"Take off, take off those shoes of pride,Carry them whence they came;Your Captains saw your insolenceAnd they shall see your shame."
When Mehtab Singh came to the doorHis shoes they burned his hand,For there in long and silent linesHe saw the Captains stand.
When Mehtab Singh rode from the gateHis chin was on his breast:The Captains said, "When the strong commandObedience is best."
Words in this poem
- rajah n.
- A native prince or king; also, a landholder or person of importance in the agricultural districts. [India] [Hind. raja, Skr. rajan, akin to L. rex, regis. See Regal, a.]
- highness n.
- The state of being high; elevation; loftiness. [AS. heáhnes.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- haughtily adv.
- In a haughty manner; arrogantly. [From Haughty.]
- durbar n.
- An audience hall; the court of a native prince; a state levee; a formal reception of native princes, given by the governor general of India. [India] [Hind. darbar, fr. Per dar house, court, hall of audience; dar door, gate + bar court, assembly.]
- smouldering a.
- Being in a state of suppressed activity; quiet but not dead.
- overhasty a.
- Too hasty; precipitate; rash.
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- rajput n.
- A Hindoo of the second, or royal and military, caste; a Kshatriya; especially, an inhabitant of the country of Rajpootana, in northern central India. [Hind. raj-put, Skr. raja-putra king's son.]
- insolence n.
- The quality of being unusual or novel. [F. insolence, L. insolentia. See Insolent.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Ballad of John Nicholson is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems: New and Old, Project Gutenberg ebook #24405; 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 John Newbolt, A Ballad of John Nicholson, in Poems: New and Old (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24405, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/newbolt-poems/a-ballad-of-john-nicholson.html, id L11404.
Form and metre
A Ballad of John Nicholson is 80 lines in 20 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 mutiny · nightA · came · fightA
- 2 -A-A came · doA · greeting · trueA
- 3 -A-A days · beA · hither · meA
- 4 ABAB townA · stateB · nicholsonA · gateB
- 5 -A-A singh · slyA · red · highA
- 6 -A-A put · feetA · ado · greetA
- 7 -A-A years · howA · mastery · nowA
- 8 -A-A all · trodA · gleamed · shodA
- 9 -A-A together · soA · place · goA
- 10 -A-A nicholson · himA · eyes · dimA
- 13 -A-A forth · behindA · played · mindA
- 14 -A-A nicholson · singhA · body · thingA
- 15 -A-A years · whyA · mastery · dieA
- 16 -A-A englishman · lifeA · all · strifeA
- 17 -A-A corporal · kingA · body · thingA
- 18 -A-A pride · cameA · insolence · shameA
- 19 -A-A door · handA · lines · standA
- 20 -A-A gate · breastA · command · bestA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It fell in the year of Mutiny, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| At darkest of the night, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| John Nicholson by Jalándhar came, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| On his way to Delhi fight. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And as he by Jaláandhar came | 8 | ········ |
| He thought what he must do, | 6 | ······ |
| And he sent to the Rajah fair greeting, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| To try if he were true. | 6 | ······ |
| "God grant your Highness length of days, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And friends when need shall be; | 6 | ······ |
| And I pray you send your Captains hither, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| That they may speak with me." | 6 | ······ |
| On the morrow through Jalándhar town | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The Captains rode in state; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| They came to the house of John Nicholson | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| And stood before the gate. | 6 | ······ |
| The chief of them was Mehtab Singh, | 8 | ········ |
| He was both proud and sly; | 6 | ······ |
| His turban gleamed with rubies red, | 9 | ·/˘·˘·/˘· |
| He held his chin full high. | 6 | ······ |
| He marked his fellows how they put | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| Their shoes from off their feet; | 6 | ······ |
| "Now wherefore make ye such ado | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| These fallen lords to greet? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "They have ruled us for a hundred years, | 10 | ···˘···/˘· |
| In truth I know not how, | 6 | ······ |
| But though they be fain of mastery, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| They dare not claim it now." | 6 | ······ |
| Right haughtily before them all | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| The durbar hall he trod, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| With rubies red his turban gleamed, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·˘ |
| His feet with pride were shod. | 6 | ······ |
| They had not been an hour together, | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| A scanty hour or so, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| When Mehtab Singh rose in his place | 8 | ········ |
| And turned about to go. | 6 | ······ |
| Then swiftly came John Nicholson | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Between the door and him, | 6 | ······ |
| With anger smouldering in his eyes | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| That made the rubies dim. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "You are overhasty, Mehtab Singh,"-- | 9 | ··/˘˘˘··· |
| Oh, but his voice was low! | 6 | ······ |
| He held his wrath with a curb of iron, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| That furrowed cheek and brow. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "You are overhasty, Mehtab Singh, | 9 | ··/˘˘˘··· |
| When that the rest are gone, | 6 | ······ |
| I have a word that may not wait | 8 | ········ |
| To speak with you alone." | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The Captains passed in silence forth | 9 | ·/˘·˘·/˘· |
| And stood the door behind; | 6 | ······ |
| To go before the game was played | 9 | ········˘ |
| Be sure they had no mind. | 6 | ······ |
| But there within John Nicholson | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Turned him on Mehtab Singh, | 6 | ······ |
| "So long as the soul is in my body | 10 | ········/˘ |
| You shall not do this thing. | 6 | ······ |
| "Have ye served us for a hundred years | 10 | ···˘···/˘· |
| And yet ye know not why? | 6 | ······ |
| We brook no doubt of our mastery, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| We rule until we die. | 6 | ······ |
| "Were I the one last Englishman | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Drawing the breath of life, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And you the master-rebel of all | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| That stir this land to strife-- | 6 | ······ |
| "Were I," he said, "but a Corporal, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| And you a Rajput King, | 6 | ······ |
| So long as the soul was in my body | 10 | ········/˘ |
| You should not do this thing. | 6 | ······ |
| "Take off, take off those shoes of pride, | 8 | ········ |
| Carry them whence they came; | 6 | /˘···· |
| Your Captains saw your insolence | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| And they shall see your shame." | 6 | ······ |
| When Mehtab Singh came to the door | 8 | ········ |
| His shoes they burned his hand, | 6 | ······ |
| For there in long and silent lines | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He saw the Captains stand. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When Mehtab Singh rode from the gate | 8 | ········ |
| His chin was on his breast: | 6 | ······ |
| The Captains said, "When the strong command | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Obedience is best." | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
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.