'Ware Holes

Arthur Conan Doyle 1859 (Edinburgh) – 1930 (Crowborough)



[''Ware Holes!' is the expression used in the hunting-field to warn those behind against rabbit-burrows or other suck dangers.]
  
A sportin' death! My word it was!
An' taken in a sportin' way.
Mind you, I wasn't there to see;
I only tell you what they say.
  
They found that day at Shillinglee,
An' ran 'im down to Chillinghurst;
The fox was goin' straight an' free
For ninety minutes at a burst.
  
They 'ad a check at Ebernoe
An' made a cast across the Down,
Until they got a view 'ullo
An' chased 'im up to Kirdford town.
  
From Kirdford 'e run Bramber way,
An' took 'em over 'alf the Weald.
If you 'ave tried the Sussex clay,
You'll guess it weeded out the field.
  
Until at last I don't suppose
As 'arf a dozen, at the most,
Came safe to where the grassland goes
Switchbackin' southwards to the coast.
  
Young Captain 'Eadley, 'e was there,
And Jim the whip an' Percy Day;
The Purcells an' Sir Charles Adair,
An' this 'ere gent from London way.
  
For 'e 'ad gone amazin' fine,
Two 'undred pounds between 'is knees;
Eight stone he was, an' rode at nine,
As light an' limber as you please.
  
'E was a stranger to the 'Unt,
There weren't a person as 'e knew there;
But 'e could ride, that London gent -
'E sat 'is mare as if 'e grew there.
  
They seed the 'ounds upon the scent,
But found a fence across their track,
And 'ad to fly it; else it meant
A turnin' and a 'arkin' back.
  
'E was the foremost at the fence,
And as 'is mare just cleared the rail
He turned to them that rode be'ind,
For three was at 'is very tail.
  
''Ware 'oles!' says 'e, an' with the word,
Still sittin' easy on his mare,
Down, down 'e went, an' down an' down,
Into the quarry yawnin' there.
  
Some say it was two 'undred foot;
The bottom lay as black as ink.
I guess they 'ad some ugly dreams,
Who reined their 'orses on the brink.
  
'E'd only time for that one cry;
''Ware 'oles!' says 'e, an' saves all three.
There may be better deaths to die,
But that one's good enough for me.
  
For mind you, 'twas a sportin' end,
Upon a right good sportin' day;
They think a deal of 'im down 'ere,
That gent what came from London way.
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:07 min read
10

Quick analysis:

Scheme X XABA CDBD EECE ADAD FDFD GAGA EHEH DGDG DIDI XCDC DGEG DJXJ XBDB DAGA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,061
Words 421
Stanzas 15
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction and for the adventures of Professor Challenger He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories historical novels plays and romances poetry and non-fiction more…

All Arthur Conan Doyle poems | Arthur Conan Doyle Books

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