The Log-Book of the Steamship Virginia
Twelve hundred miles and moreFrom the stormy English shore,All aright, the seventh night,On her course our vessel bore.Her lantern shone ahead,And the green lamp and the redTo starboard and to larboardShot their light.
Close on the midnight callWhat a mist began to fall,And to hide the ocean wide,And to wrap us in a pall!Beneath its folds we past:Hidden were shroud and mast,And faces, in near placesSide by side.
Sudden there also fellA summons like a knell:Every ear the words could hear,—Whence spoken, who could tell?“What ship is this? where bound?”Gods, what a dismal sound!A stranger, and in danger,Sailing near.
“The Virginia, on her routeFrom the Mersey, seven days out;Fore and aft, our trusty craftCarries a thousand souls, about.”“All these souls may travel still,Westward bound, if so they will;Bodies rather, I would gather!”Loud he laughed.
“Who is’t that hails so rude,And for what this idle mood?Words like these, on midnight seas,Bode no friend nor fortune good!”“Care not to know my name,But whence I lastly came,At leisure, for my pleasure,Ask the breeze.
“To the people of your portBear a message of this sort:Say, I haste unto the West,A sharer of their sport.Let them sweep the houses clean:Their fathers did, I ween,When hearing of my nearingAs a guest!
“As by Halifax ye sailAnd the steamship England hail,Of me, then, bespeak her men;She took my latest mail,—’Twas somewhere near this spot:Doubtless they’ve not forgot.Remind them (if you find them!)Once again.
“Yet that you all may knowWho is’t that hailed you so,(Slow he saith, and under breath,)I leave my sign below!”Then from our crowded holdA dreadful cry uprolled,Unbroken, and the token,—It was Death.
Words in this poem 16
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- route n.
- The course or way which is traveled or passed, or is to be passed; a passing; a course; a road or path; a march. [OE. & F. route, OF. rote, fr. L. rupta (sc. via), fr. ruptus, p.p. of rumpere to break; hence, literally, a broken or beaten way or path. See Rout, and cf. Rut ]
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- bode n.
- An omen; a foreshadowing.
- lastly adv.
- In the last place; in conclusion.
- sharer n.
- One who shares; a participator; a partaker; also, a divider; a distributer.
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- steamship n.
- A ship or seagoing vessel propelled by the power of steam; a steamer.
- bespeak v. t.
- To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor. [OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be- + sprecan to speak. See Speak.]
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Log-Book of the Steamship Virginia is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edmund Clarence Stedman, Project Gutenberg ebook #70763; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Clarence Stedman, The Log-Book of the Steamship Virginia, in The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1860–1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70763, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stedman-poems/the-log-book-of-the-steamship-virginia.html, id L10702.
Form and metre
The Log-Book of the Steamship Virginia is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABACC-B moreA · shoreA · nightB · boreA · aheadC · redC · larboard · lightB
- 2 AABACC-B callA · fallA · wideB · pallA · pastC · mastC · places · sideB
- 3 AABACC-B fellA · knellA · hearB · tellA · boundC · soundC · danger · nearB
- 4 AABACC-B routeA · outA · craftB · aboutA · stillC · willC · gather · laughedB
- 5 AAB-CC-B rudeA · moodA · seasB · good · nameC · cameC · pleasure · breezeB
- 6 AABACC-B portA · sortA · westB · sportA · cleanC · weenC · nearing · guestB
- 7 AABACC-B sailA · hailA · menB · mailA · spotC · forgotC · them · againB
- 8 AABACC-B knowA · soA · breathB · belowA · holdC · uprolledC · token · deathB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Twelve hundred miles and more | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| From the stormy English shore, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| All aright, the seventh night, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| On her course our vessel bore. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Her lantern shone ahead, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And the green lamp and the red | 7 | ······· |
| To starboard and to larboard | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Shot their light. | 3 | ··· |
| Close on the midnight call | 6 | ···/·· |
| What a mist began to fall, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| And to hide the ocean wide, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And to wrap us in a pall! | 7 | ······· |
| Beneath its folds we past: | 6 | ······ |
| Hidden were shroud and mast, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And faces, in near places | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Side by side. | 3 | ··· |
| Sudden there also fell | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| A summons like a knell: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Every ear the words could hear,— | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Whence spoken, who could tell? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “What ship is this? where bound?” | 6 | ······ |
| Gods, what a dismal sound! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A stranger, and in danger, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Sailing near. | 3 | /˘· |
| “The Virginia, on her route | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| From the Mersey, seven days out; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Fore and aft, our trusty craft | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Carries a thousand souls, about.” | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| “All these souls may travel still, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Westward bound, if so they will; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Bodies rather, I would gather!” | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Loud he laughed. | 3 | ··· |
| “Who is’t that hails so rude, | 6 | ······ |
| And for what this idle mood? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Words like these, on midnight seas, | 7 | ····/·· |
| Bode no friend nor fortune good!” | 7 | ····/˘· |
| “Care not to know my name, | 6 | ······ |
| But whence I lastly came, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| At leisure, for my pleasure, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Ask the breeze. | 3 | ··· |
| “To the people of your port | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Bear a message of this sort: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Say, I haste unto the West, | 7 | ······· |
| A sharer of their sport. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Let them sweep the houses clean: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Their fathers did, I ween, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| When hearing of my nearing | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| As a guest! | 3 | ··· |
| “As by Halifax ye sail | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the steamship England hail, | 7 | ··/·/˘· |
| Of me, then, bespeak her men; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| She took my latest mail,— | 6 | ···/˘· |
| ’Twas somewhere near this spot: | 6 | ·/···· |
| Doubtless they’ve not forgot. | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| Remind them (if you find them!) | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Once again. | 3 | ·˘/ |
| “Yet that you all may know | 6 | ······ |
| Who is’t that hailed you so, | 6 | ······ |
| (Slow he saith, and under breath,) | 7 | ······· |
| I leave my sign below!” | 6 | ······ |
| Then from our crowded hold | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| A dreadful cry uprolled, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Unbroken, and the token,— | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| It was Death. | 3 | ··· |
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