The Diverting History of John Gilpin Shewing how he went Farther than he intended, and came safe Home again is a comicballad byWilliam Cowper written in1782.[1] The ballad concerns a draper calledJohn Gilpin who rides arunaway horse. Cowper heard the story from Lady Anna Austen at a time of severe depression, and it cheered him up so much that he put it into verse.[2] The poem was published anonymously in thePublic Advertiser in 1782, and then published withThe Task in1785.[3] It was very popular, to the extent that "pirate copies were being sold all across the country, together with Gilpinbooks and toys."[2]
The poem was republished in 1878, illustrated byRandolph Caldecott and printed byEdmund Evans. Caldecott's image of Gilpin riding the horse is the basis for the design of the obverse of theCaldecott Medal.
The poem was again republished in 1953, in theKing Penguin series, with illustrations byRonald Searle.
John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and renown,
Atrain-band captain eke was he
Of famous London town.
John Gilpin's spouse said to her dear—
Though wedded we have been
These twice ten tedious years, yet we
No holiday have seen.
To-morrow is our wedding-day,
And we will then repair
Unto the Bell at Edmonton
All in a chaise and pair.
My sister, and my sister's child,
Myself, and children three,
Will fill the chaise; so you must ride
On horseback after we.[4]
— Stanzas 1-4 (lines 1-16)
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