The Diverting History of John Gilpin

The story of Diverting History of John Gilpin is a comic ballad by William Cowper about John Gilpin, written in 1782. The ballad concerns a draper called John Gilpin who rides a runaway 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. It was very popular, to the extent that pirate together with Gilpin toys.