Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay, That was built in such a logical way It ran a hundred years to a day, And then, of a sudden, it — ah, but stay, I'll tell you what happened without delay, Scaring the parson into fits, Frightening people out of their wits, — Have you ever heard of that,
I say? Seventeen hundred and fifty-five. Georgius Secundus was then alive, — Snuffy old drone from the German hive. That was the year when Lisbon-town Saw the earth open and gulp her down, And Braddock's army was done so brown, Left without a scalp to its crown. It was on the terrible Earthquake-day That the Deacon finished the one-hoss shay. Now in building of chaises,
I tell you what, There is always somewhere a weakest spot, — In hub, tire, felloe, in spring or thill, In panel, or crossbar, or floor, or sill, In screw, bolt, thoroughbrace, — lurking still, Find it somewhere you must and will, — Above or below, or within or without, — And that's the reason, beyond a doubt, A chaise breaks down, but does n't wear out. But the Deacon swore (as Deacons do, With an "I dew vum," or an "I tell yeou") He would build one shay to beat the taown 'N' the keounty 'n' all the kentry raoun'; It should be so built that it could n' break daown: "Fur," said the Deacon, "'t 's mighty plain Thut the weakes' place mus' stan' the strain; 'N' the way t' fix it, uz I maintain, Is only jest T' make that place uz strong uz the rest." So the Deacon inquired of the village folk Where he could find the strongest oak, That could n't be split nor bent nor broke, — That was for spokes and floor and sills; He sent for lancewood to make the thills; The crossbars were ash, from the straightest trees, The panels of white-wood, that cuts like cheese, But lasts like iron for things like these; The hubs of logs from the "Settler's ellum," — Last of its timber, — they could n't sell 'em, Never an axe had seen their chips, And the wedges flew from between their lips, Their blunt ends frizzled like celery-tips; Step and prop-iron, bolt and screw, Spring, tire, axle, and linchpin too, Steel of the finest, bright and blue; Thoroughbrace bison-skin, thick and wide; Boot, top, dasher, from tough old hide Found in the pit when the tanner died. That was the way he "put her through." "There!" said the Deacon, "naow she'll dew!" Do!
I tell you,
I rather guess She was a wonder, and nothing less! Colts grew horses, beards turned gray, Deacon and deaconess dropped away, Children and grandchildren — where were they? But there stood the stout old one-hoss shay As fresh as on Lisbon-earthquake-day!
EN
ED; — it came and found The Deacon's masterpiece strong and sound. Eighteen hundred increased by ten; — "Hahnsum kerridge" they called it then. Eighteen hundred and twenty came; — Running as usual; much the same. Thirty and forty at last arrive, And then come fifty, and
VE. Little of all we value here Wakes on the morn of its hundreth year Without both feeling and looking queer. In fact, there's nothing that keeps its youth, So far as I know, but a tree and truth. (This is a moral that runs at large; Take it. — You're welcome. — No extra charge.)
ST OF
ER, — the Earthquake-day, — There are traces of age in the one-hoss shay, A general flavor of mild decay, But nothing local, as one may say. There could n't be, — for the Deacon's art Had made it so like in every part That there was n't a chance for one to start. For the wheels were just as strong as the thills, And the floor was just as strong as the sills, And the panels just as strong as the floor, And the whipple-tree neither less nor more, And the back crossbar as strong as the fore, And spring and axle and hub encore. And yet, as a whole, it is past a doubt In another hour it will be worn out! First of November, 'Fifty-five! This morning the parson takes a drive. Now, small boys, get out of the way! Here comes the wonderful one-horse shay, Drawn by a rat-tailed, ewe-necked bay. "Huddup!" said the parson. — Off went they. The parson was working his Sunday's text, — Had got to fifthly, and stopped perplexed At what the — Moses — was coming next. All at once the horse stood still, Close by the meet'n'-house on the hill. First a shiver, and then a thrill, Then something decidedly like a spill, — And the parson was sitting upon a rock, At half past nine by the meet'n-house clock, — Just the hour of the Earthquake shock! What do you think the parson found, When he got up and stared around? The poor old chaise in a heap or mound, As if it had been to the mill and ground! You see, of course, if you're not a dunce, How it went to pieces all at once, — All at once, and nothing first, — Just as bubbles do when they burst. End of the wonderful one-hoss shay. Logic is logic.
That's all I say.
Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.
The lyrical form of this poem is couplets.1. "`The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay' is a perfectlyintelligble conception, whatever materialdifficulties it presents.
It is conceivable that a being of an order superior to humanity should so understand the conditions of matter that he could construct a machinewhich should go to pieces, if not into its constituentatoms, at a given moment of the future.
The mindmay take a certain pleasure in thispicture of the impossible.
The event follows as a logical consequence of the presupposed condition of things.
There is a practical lesson to be got out of the story.
Observation shows us in what point any particular mechanism is most likely to give way.
In a wagon, for instance, the weak point is where theaxle enters the hub or nave.
When the wagonbreaks down, three times out of four,
I think, it is at this point that the accident occurs.
Theworkman should see to it that this part should never give way\; then find the next vulnerable place, and so on, until he arrives logically at the perfectresult attained by the deacon." [Holmes' comment,prefacing "an illustrated edition."]one-hoss shay: one-horse-drawn chaise or carriage.10.
Georgius Secundus:
George II, king of England (1683-1760).12.
Lisbon-town: the Lisbon earthquake took place November 1,1755, and took as many as 60,000 lives.14.
Braddock:
Edward Braddock (1695-1755),
British generalkilled by a French and Indian army near Fort Duquesne,
Pennsylvania.20. felloe: wheel-rim.22. thoroughbrace: leather braces connecting the front and backC-springs of the coach and holding it up.41. thills: pair of shafts attaching the horse to the vehicle.45.
Settler's ellum: the original elms harvested by the settlers?99. bay: brown horse.100.
Huddup: giddap, "get up."
