A Second Western Wonder
You heard of that wonder, of the lightning and thunder,Which made the lie so much the louder:Now list to another, that miracle's brother,Which was done with a firkin of powder.
Oh, what a damp it struck through the camp!But as for honest Sir Ralph,It blew him to the Vies without beard or eyes,But at least three heads and a half.
When out came the book, which the newsmonger took,From the preaching lady's letter,Where in the first place, stood the conqueror's face,Which made it show much the better.
But now, without lying, you may paint him flying,At Bristol they say you may find him,Great William the Con, so fast did he run,That he left half his name behind him.
And now came the post, save all that was lost,But, alas! we are past deceivingBy a trick so stale, or else such a taleMight amount to a new thanksgiving.
This made Mr. Case, with a pitiful face,In the pulpit to fall a weeping,Though his mouth utter'd lies, truth fell from his eyes,Which kept the Lord Mayor from sleeping.
Now shut up shops, and spend your last drops,For the laws, not your cause, you that loathe 'em,Lest Essex should start, and play the second partOf worshipful Sir John Hotham.
Words in this poem
- firkin n.
- A varying measure of capacity, usually being the fourth part of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons. [From AS. feówer four (or an allied word, perh. Dutch or Danish) + -kin. See Four.]
- ralph n.
- A name sometimes given to the raven.
- newsmonger n.
- One who deals in news; one who is active in hearing and telling news.
- bristol n.
- A seaport city in the west of England. Bristol board, a kind of fine pasteboard, made with a smooth but usually unglazed surface.
- thanksgiving n.
- The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
- worshipful a.
- Entitled to worship, reverence, or high respect; claiming respect; worthy of honor; -- often used as a term of respect, sometimes ironically.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Second Western Wonder is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; 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 Waller, A Second Western Wonder, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/a-second-western-wonder.html, id L09157.
Form and metre
A Second Western Wonder is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is anapaestic common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.6 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 thunder · louderA · brother · powderA
- 3 -A-A took · letterA · face · betterA
- 4 -A-A flying · himA · run · himA
- 6 -A-A face · weepingA · eyes · sleepingA
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 anapaestic common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| You heard of that wonder, of the lightning and thunder, | 13 | ····/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Which made the lie so much the louder: | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Now list to another, that miracle's brother, | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Which was done with a firkin of powder. | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Oh, what a damp it struck through the camp! | 9 | ········· |
| But as for honest Sir Ralph, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| It blew him to the Vies without beard or eyes, | 11 | ··········· |
| But at least three heads and a half. | 8 | ········ |
| When out came the book, which the newsmonger took, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From the preaching lady's letter, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Where in the first place, stood the conqueror's face, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Which made it show much the better. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But now, without lying, you may paint him flying, | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| At Bristol they say you may find him, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Great William the Con, so fast did he run, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That he left half his name behind him. | 9 | ········· |
| And now came the post, save all that was lost, | 10 | ·········· |
| But, alas! we are past deceiving | 9 | ·˘/···˘/˘ |
| By a trick so stale, or else such a tale | 10 | ·········· |
| Might amount to a new thanksgiving. | 9 | ·˘/····/˘ |
| This made Mr. Case, with a pitiful face, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| In the pulpit to fall a weeping, | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Though his mouth utter'd lies, truth fell from his eyes, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Which kept the Lord Mayor from sleeping. | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Now shut up shops, and spend your last drops, | 9 | ········· |
| For the laws, not your cause, you that loathe 'em, | 10 | ·········· |
| Lest Essex should start, and play the second part | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| Of worshipful Sir John Hotham. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
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.