A Ballad for a Boy
When George the Third was reigning, a hundred years ago,He ordered Captain Farmer to chase the foreign foe,“You’re not afraid of shot,” said he, “you’re not afraid of wreck,So cruise about the west of France in the frigate called Quebec.
“Quebec was once a Frenchman’s town, but twenty years agoKing George the Second sent a man called General Wolfe, you know,To clamber up a precipice and look into Quebec,As you’d look down a hatchway when standing on the deck.
“If Wolfe could beat the Frenchmen then, so you can beat them now.Before he got inside the town he died, I must allow.But since the town was won for us it is a lucky name,And you’ll remember Wolfe’s good work, and you shall do the same.”
Then Farmer said, “I’ll try, sir,” and Farmer bowed so lowThat George could see his pigtail tied in a velvet bow.George gave him his commission, and that it might be safer,Signed “King of Britain, King of France,” and sealed it with a wafer.
Then proud was Captain Farmer in a frigate of his own,And grander on his quarter-deck than George upon his throne.He’d two guns in his cabin, and on the spar-deck ten,And twenty on the gun-deck, and more than ten-score men.
And as a huntsman scours the brakes with sixteen brace of dogs,With two-and-thirty cannon the ship explored the fogs.From Cape la Hogue to Ushant, from Rochefort to Belleisle,She hunted game till reef and mud were rubbing on her keel.
The fogs are dried, the frigate’s side is bright with melting tar,The lad up in the foretop sees square white sails afar;The east wind drives three square-sailed masts from out the Breton bay,And “Clear for action!” Farmer shouts, and reefers yell “Hooray!”
The Frenchmen’s captain had a name I wish I could pronounce;A Breton gentleman was he, and wholly free from bounce,One like those famous fellows who died by guillotineFor honour and the fleur-de-lys, and Antoinette the Queen.
The Catholic for Louis, the Protestant for George,Each captain drew as bright a sword as saintly smiths could forge;And both were simple seamen, but both could understandHow each was bound to win or die for flag and native land.
The French ship was La Surveillante, which means the watchful maid;She folded up her head-dress and began to cannonade.Her hull was clean, and ours was foul; we had to spread more sail.On canvas, stays, and topsail yards her bullets came like hail.
Sore smitten were both captains, and many lads beside,And still to cut our rigging the foreign gunners tried.A sail-clad spar came flapping down athwart a blazing gun;We could not quench the rushing flames, and so the Frenchman won.
Our quarter-deck was crowded, the waist was all aglow;Men hung upon the taffrail half scorched, but loth to go;Our captain sat where once he stood, and would not quit his chair.He bade his comrades leap for life, and leave him bleeding there.
The guns were hushed on either side, the Frenchmen lowered boats,They flung us planks and hen-coops, and everything that floats.They risked their lives, good fellows! to bring their rivals aid.Twas by the conflagration the peace was strangely made.
La Surveillante was like a sieve; the victors had no rest;They had to dodge the east wind to reach the port of Brest.And where the waves leapt lower and the riddled ship went slower,In triumph, yet in funeral guise, came fisher-boats to tow her.
They dealt with us as brethren, they mourned for Farmer dead;And as the wounded captives passed each Breton bowed the head.Then spoke the French Lieutenant, “Twas fire that won, not we.You never struck your flag to us; you’ll go to England free.”
Twas the sixth day of October, seventeen hundred seventy-nine,A year when nations ventured against us to combine,Quebec was burned and Farmer slain, by us remembered not;But thanks be to the French book wherein they’re not forgot.
Now you, if you’ve to fight the French, my youngster, bear in mindThose seamen of King Louis so chivalrous and kind;Think of the Breton gentlemen who took our lads to Brest,And treat some rescued Breton as a comrade and a guest.
Words in this poem 28
- cruise v. i.
- To sail back and forth on the ocean; to sail, as for the potection of commerce, in search of an enemy, for plunder, or for pleasure. [D. kruisen to move crosswise or in a zigzag, to cruise, fr. kruis cross, fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, or directly fr. OF. croisier, F. croiser, to cross, cru]
- frenchman n.
- A native or one of the people of France.
- clamber v. i.
- To climb with difficulty, or with hands and feet; -- also used figuratively. [OE clambren, clameren, to heap together, climb; akin to Icel. klambra to clamp, G. klammern. Cf. Clamp, Climb.]
- precipice n.
- A sudden or headlong fall. Fuller. [F. précipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, - cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]
- hatchway n.
- A square or oblong opening in a deck or floor, affording passage from one deck or story to another; the entrance to a cellar.
- 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,]
- pigtail n.
- The tail of a pig.
- wafer n.
- A thin cake made of flour and other ingredients. [OE. wafre, OF. waufre, qaufre, F. qaufre; of Teutonic origin; cf. LG. & D. wafel, G. waffel, Dan. vaffel, Sw. våffla; all akin to G. wabe a honeycomb, OHG. waba]
- huntsman n.
- One who hunts, or who practices hunting.
- foretop n.
- The hair on the forepart of the head; esp., a tuft or lock of hair which hangs over the forehead, as of a horse.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- breton a.
- Of or relating to Brittany, or Bretagne, in France. [F. breton.]
- bounce v. i.
- To strike or thump, so as to rebound, or to make a sudden noise; a knock loudly. [OE. bunsen; cf. D. bonzen to strike, bounce, bons blow, LG. bunsen to knock; all prob. of imitative origin.]
- guillotine n.
- A machine for beheading a person by one stroke of a heavy ax or blade, which slides in vertical guides, is raised by a cord, and let fall upon the neck of the victim. [F., from Guillotin, a French physician, who proposed, in the Constituent Assembly of 1789, to abolish decapitation with the ax or sword. The instrument was inve]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- cannonade n.
- The act of discharging cannon and throwing ball, shell, etc., for the purpose of destroying an army, or battering a town, ship, or fort; -- usually, an attack of some continuance. [F. Canonnade; cf. It. cannanata.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- aglow adv.
- In a glow; glowing; as, cheeks aglow; the landscape all aglow. [Pref. a- + glow.]
- taffrail n.
- The upper part of a ship's stern, which is flat like a table on the top, and sometimes ornamented with carved work; the rail around a ship's stern. [D. tafereel a panel, picture, fr. tafel table, fr. L. tabula. See Table.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- conflagration n.
- A fire extending to many objects, or over a large space; a general burning.
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- dodge v. i.
- To start suddenly aside, as to avoid a blow or a missile; to shift place by a sudden start. [Of uncertain origin: cf. dodder, v., daddle, dade, or dog, v. t.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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.]
- seventeen a.
- One more than sixteen; ten and seven added; as, seventeen years. [OE. seventene, AS. seofontyne, i. e., seven- ten. Cf. Seventy.]
- youngster n.
- A young person; a youngling; a lad.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Ballad for a Boy is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, A Ballad for a Boy, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/a-ballad-for-a-boy.html, id L25291.
Form and metre
A Ballad for a Boy is 68 lines in 17 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABB agoA · foeA · wreckB · quebecB
- 2 AABB agoA · knowA · quebecB · deckB
- 3 AABB nowA · allowA · nameB · sameB
- 4 AABB lowA · bowA · saferB · waferB
- 5 AABB ownA · throneA · tenB · menB
- 6 AABB dogsA · fogsA · belleisleB · keelB
- 7 AABB tarA · afarA · bayB · hoorayB
- 8 AABB pronounceA · bounceA · guillotineB · queenB
- 9 AABB georgeA · forgeA · understandB · landB
- 10 AABB maidA · cannonadeA · sailB · hailB
- 11 AABB besideA · triedA · gunB · wonB
- 12 AABB aglowA · goA · chairB · thereB
- 13 AABB boatsA · floatsA · aidB · madeB
- 14 AABB restA · brestA · slowerB · herB
- 15 AABB deadA · headA · weB · freeB
- 16 AABB nineA · combineA · notB · forgotB
- 17 AABB mindA · kindA · brestB · guestB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When George the Third was reigning, a hundred years ago, | 14 | ·····/˘·/˘˘·˘/ |
| He ordered Captain Farmer to chase the foreign foe, | 14 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘···/˘· |
| “You’re not afraid of shot,” said he, “you’re not afraid of wreck, | 14 | ··˘/······˘/·· |
| So cruise about the west of France in the frigate called Quebec. | 15 | ··········/˘·˘/ |
| “Quebec was once a Frenchman’s town, but twenty years ago | 14 | ˘/···/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| King George the Second sent a man called General Wolfe, you know, | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| To clamber up a precipice and look into Quebec, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘˘····˘/ |
| As you’d look down a hatchway when standing on the deck. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| “If Wolfe could beat the Frenchmen then, so you can beat them now. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| Before he got inside the town he died, I must allow. | 14 | ····˘/······˘/ |
| But since the town was won for us it is a lucky name, | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| And you’ll remember Wolfe’s good work, and you shall do the same.” | 14 | ··˘/˘········· |
| Then Farmer said, “I’ll try, sir,” and Farmer bowed so low | 14 | ·/˘·····/˘·˘·· |
| That George could see his pigtail tied in a velvet bow. | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| George gave him his commission, and that it might be safer, | 14 | ····˘/˘·····/˘ |
| Signed “King of Britain, King of France,” and sealed it with a wafer. | 15 | ···/˘········/˘ |
| Then proud was Captain Farmer in a frigate of his own, | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And grander on his quarter-deck than George upon his throne. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| He’d two guns in his cabin, and on the spar-deck ten, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And twenty on the gun-deck, and more than ten-score men. | 13 | ·/˘·········· |
| And as a huntsman scours the brakes with sixteen brace of dogs, | 14 | ···/˘/···//··· |
| With two-and-thirty cannon the ship explored the fogs. | 14 | ···/˘/˘··˘/˘·· |
| From Cape la Hogue to Ushant, from Rochefort to Belleisle, | 14 | ········/˘···· |
| She hunted game till reef and mud were rubbing on her keel. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| The fogs are dried, the frigate’s side is bright with melting tar, | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| The lad up in the foretop sees square white sails afar; | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| The east wind drives three square-sailed masts from out the Breton bay, | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| And “Clear for action!” Farmer shouts, and reefers yell “Hooray!” | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| The Frenchmen’s captain had a name I wish I could pronounce; | 14 | ·/˘/˘·······˘/ |
| A Breton gentleman was he, and wholly free from bounce, | 14 | ·/˘/˘˘···/˘··· |
| One like those famous fellows who died by guillotine | 13 | ···/˘/˘···/˘· |
| For honour and the fleur-de-lys, and Antoinette the Queen. | 14 | ·/˘·······˘/·· |
| The Catholic for Louis, the Protestant for George, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘·· |
| Each captain drew as bright a sword as saintly smiths could forge; | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| And both were simple seamen, but both could understand | 13 | ···/˘/˘····˘/ |
| How each was bound to win or die for flag and native land. | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| The French ship was La Surveillante, which means the watchful maid; | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| She folded up her head-dress and began to cannonade. | 14 | ·/˘·····˘/·/˘˘ |
| Her hull was clean, and ours was foul; we had to spread more sail. | 14 | ·····/········ |
| On canvas, stays, and topsail yards her bullets came like hail. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Sore smitten were both captains, and many lads beside, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··/ |
| And still to cut our rigging the foreign gunners tried. | 14 | ····/˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| A sail-clad spar came flapping down athwart a blazing gun; | 14 | ·····/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| We could not quench the rushing flames, and so the Frenchman won. | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| Our quarter-deck was crowded, the waist was all aglow; | 14 | /˘/˘··/˘····˘/ |
| Men hung upon the taffrail half scorched, but loth to go; | 14 | ·····/˘··˘···· |
| Our captain sat where once he stood, and would not quit his chair. | 14 | //˘··········· |
| He bade his comrades leap for life, and leave him bleeding there. | 14 | ···/·······/˘· |
| The guns were hushed on either side, the Frenchmen lowered boats, | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘/˘· |
| They flung us planks and hen-coops, and everything that floats. | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| They risked their lives, good fellows! to bring their rivals aid. | 14 | ··˘···/˘···/˘· |
| Twas by the conflagration the peace was strangely made. | 13 | ····˘/˘···/˘· |
| La Surveillante was like a sieve; the victors had no rest; | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| They had to dodge the east wind to reach the port of Brest. | 13 | ············· |
| And where the waves leapt lower and the riddled ship went slower, | 15 | ·····/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| In triumph, yet in funeral guise, came fisher-boats to tow her. | 15 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘···· |
| They dealt with us as brethren, they mourned for Farmer dead; | 14 | ·····/˘··˘·/˘· |
| And as the wounded captives passed each Breton bowed the head. | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Then spoke the French Lieutenant, “Twas fire that won, not we. | 14 | ····˘/˘·/˘···· |
| You never struck your flag to us; you’ll go to England free.” | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| Twas the sixth day of October, seventeen hundred seventy-nine, | 16 | ·····˘/˘/˘//˘/˘· |
| A year when nations ventured against us to combine, | 14 | ···/˘/˘˘····˘/ |
| Quebec was burned and Farmer slain, by us remembered not; | 14 | ˘/···/˘···˘/˘· |
| But thanks be to the French book wherein they’re not forgot. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| Now you, if you’ve to fight the French, my youngster, bear in mind | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| Those seamen of King Louis so chivalrous and kind; | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘˘·· |
| Think of the Breton gentlemen who took our lads to Brest, | 14 | ···/˘/˘˘··/··· |
| And treat some rescued Breton as a comrade and a guest. | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/···· |
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