The Dogs’ Meeting

I recently went to a fantastic antique shop, and boy, did I have fun! Between two stores I found 9 antique children’s books.

Ariel is also interested.

I’d like to talk about Harvest Home, second on the bottom. This beautiful book is from 1891, published by Worthington Co, 747 Broadway. 

 

Master Roy Harold Emmanuel Pearson, Galesburg Ill. is written in script on the inside page in pencil. I love when that happens! It gives the book character.

This book is full of short poems, stories, and adages, and even factual information regarding the Queen’s Jubilee which occurred only four years before. Every page has beautiful illustrations including these two:

The latter is called The Secret. I know, because the book states so on the other page! In my opinion, it is the most beautiful illustration in the book.

The first thing I’m going blog about is an adorable poem about dogs. All odd punctuation, lack thereof, and spelling is true to the original.

The Dogs’ Meeting

The dogs held a meeting
One day at Somewhere,
At which a Saint Bernard,
So grave, took the chair.

Then up spoke the Pointer,
“I roam oer the hill.
To search for the wild birds
That sportsmen will kill.”

Then answered the Setter,
“I do much the same,
And plunge in the water
To follow the game.”

And next spoke the Stag-hound,
“I chase the swift deer,
As onward he dashes,
In madness and fear.”

Then up spoke a Terrier—
From England came he—
“A rat-hunt or cat-hunt
Is great fun to me.”

“Just so,” said another,
A native of Skye.
“To rats, cats, or rabbits
No great friend am I.”

“I’m shocked,” said the Colley,
“At what you five say;
I follow the sheep-flocks,
To guard, not to slay.”

“I,” said the Newfoundland,
“All danger will brave,
To rescue the drowning
From river and wave.”

“And I, said the Bulldog,
“Though sometimes I fight,
Protect carts and waggons,
By day and by night.”

“And I,” said the Mastiff,
Protect house and home
From thieves and from robbers
In darkness that roam.”

A dog from the country
Where Polar winds blow,
Said, “I drag the sledges
O’er ice and o’er snow.”

Then up rose a Lap-dog,
An impudent pup;
His talk was so silly,
The meeting broke up.

I will include the page, so you can see the cute pictures beside each stanza.

A thing I observed about this poem is that each breed of dog is capitalized. Note the unusual spelling of Collie. This is not a constant old spelling, as may be assumed, because elsewhere in the book it mentions a collie and spells it right.

I’ll be blogging more about other parts of this book and the others as I get to reading them. They are so much fun!