John Gilpin by William Cowper

When I was a child, I had a book that referred to famous works of fiction.  One of the illustrations (which showed a frightened man clinging to a runaway horse) was entitled "John Gilpin by William Cowper", but the text of the book made no mention of the genre or content of the story.  Decades later one thing led to another and something reminded me of that illustration, and so I finally looked into the matter of John Gilpin.

The Diverting History of John Gilpin is a poem written by Cowper and was published in 1782.  Supposedly based on a real event, the poem tells the tale of an Englishman who is travelling to a neighbouring town to join his family in a celebration when his horse bolts and takes him miles past his intended destination.  If that isn't bad enough, the horse bolts a  second time.

Well, I'll never die wondering.  Cowper's poem is diverting and can still entertain after 230 years or so.  Perhaps a copy of it came to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788.  Who knows?  Read it by all means - it will take you only a few minutes - but remember, those were simpler times.