An Incident of the French Camp
You know, we French storm’d Ratisbon:A mile or so awayOn a little mound, NapoleonStood on our storming-day;With neck out-thrust, you fancy how,Legs wide, arms lock’d behind,As if to balance the prone browOppressive with its mind.
Just as perhaps he mus’d “My plansThat soar, to earth may fall,Let once my army leader LannesWaver at yonder wall,”--Out ’twixt the battery smokes there flewA rider, bound on boundFull-galloping; nor bridle drewUntil he reach’d the mound.
Then off there flung in smiling joy,And held himself erectBy just his horse’s mane, a boy:You hardly could suspect--(So tight he kept his lips compress’d,Scarce any blood came through)You look’d twice ere you saw his breastWas all but shot in two.
“Well,” cried he, “Emperor, by God’s graceWe’ve got you Ratisbon!The Marshal’s in the market-place,And you’ll be there anonTo see your flag-bird flap his vansWhere I, to heart’s desire,Perched him!” The chief’s eye flashed; his plansSoared up again like fire.
The chief’s eye flashed; but presentlySoftened itself, as sheathesA film the mother-eagle’s eyeWhen her bruised eaglet breathes;“You’re wounded!” “Nay,” the soldier’s prideTouched to the quick, he said:“I’m killed, Sire!” And his chief beside,Smiling the boy fell dead.
Words in this poem
- napoleon n.
- A French gold coin of twenty francs, or about $3.86. [From the Emperor Napoleon 1.]
- waver v. i.
- To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to swing; to flutter. [OE. waveren, from AS. wæfre wavering, restless. See Wave, v. i.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- galloping a.
- Going at a gallop; progressing rapidly; as, a galloping horse.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- eaglet n.
- A young eagle, or a diminutive eagle. [Cf. OF. aiglet.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Incident of the French Camp 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, An Incident of the French Camp, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/an-incident-of-the-french-camp.html, id L25188.
Form and metre
An Incident of the French Camp is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABABCDCD ratisbonA · awayB · napoleonA · dayB · howC · behindD · browC · mindD
- 2 ABABCDCD plansA · fallB · lannesA · wallB · flewC · boundD · drewC · moundD
- 3 ABABCDCD joyA · erectB · boyA · suspectB · compress'dC · throughD · breastC · twoD
- 4 ABABCDCD graceA · ratisbonB · placeA · anonB · vansC · desireD · plansC · fireD
- 5 ----ABAB presently · sheathes · eye · breathes · prideA · saidB · besideA · deadB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| You know, we French storm’d Ratisbon: | 8 | ········ |
| A mile or so away | 6 | ····˘/ |
| On a little mound, Napoleon | 9 | ··/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Stood on our storming-day; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Legs wide, arms lock’d behind, | 6 | ······ |
| As if to balance the prone brow | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Oppressive with its mind. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Just as perhaps he mus’d “My plans | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| That soar, to earth may fall, | 6 | ······ |
| Let once my army leader Lannes | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Waver at yonder wall,”-- | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Out ’twixt the battery smokes there flew | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A rider, bound on bound | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Full-galloping; nor bridle drew | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Until he reach’d the mound. | 6 | ······ |
| Then off there flung in smiling joy, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And held himself erect | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| By just his horse’s mane, a boy: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| You hardly could suspect-- | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| (So tight he kept his lips compress’d, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Scarce any blood came through) | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| You look’d twice ere you saw his breast | 8 | ········ |
| Was all but shot in two. | 6 | ······ |
| “Well,” cried he, “Emperor, by God’s grace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We’ve got you Ratisbon! | 6 | ······ |
| The Marshal’s in the market-place, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And you’ll be there anon | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To see your flag-bird flap his vans | 8 | ········ |
| Where I, to heart’s desire, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Perched him!” The chief’s eye flashed; his plans | 8 | ········ |
| Soared up again like fire. | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| The chief’s eye flashed; but presently | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Softened itself, as sheathes | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| A film the mother-eagle’s eye | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| When her bruised eaglet breathes; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “You’re wounded!” “Nay,” the soldier’s pride | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Touched to the quick, he said: | 6 | ······ |
| “I’m killed, Sire!” And his chief beside, | 8 | ··/···˘/ |
| Smiling the boy fell dead. | 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.