Inscription for My Little Son’s Silver Plate by Eugene Field
When thou dost eat from off this plate,
I charge thee be thou temperate;
Unto thine elders at the board
Do thou sweet reverence accord;
And, though to dignity inclined,
Unto the serving-folk be kind;
Be ever mindful of the poor,
Nor turn them hungry from the door;
And unto God, for health and food
And all that in thy life is good,
Give thou thy heart in gratitude.
Mother Stork’s Baby Book is filled with 10 wonderful poems that accompany the beautiful illustrations of Albertine Randall Wheelan. The best children’s poets of the late 1800s are included: Eugene Field, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, Robert Herrick, Francis Turner Palgrave and Dinah M. Craik. Eugene Field penned 5 of the 10 in the book which I love because he was a mid-western guy who settled in Chicago.
The first time I read through the book I was amazed that so many of them can be applied to life today, even though they are over 100-years-old. They are about the universal themes of mothers and babies and make-believe, what could be better?!
Each of the poems is listed here along with some of the illustrations. Wheelan’s transcriptions alongside her beautiful illustrations truly enhance the poems in a way that adds to their already fanciful style, making the whole book that much more enchanting.
Next up…..
CHAPTER 4, THE ART OF SCRIPT INSIDE MOTHER STORK’S BABY BOOK
A Song of Love by Lewis Carroll
Say, what is the spell, when her fledglings are cheeping,
That lures the bird home to her nest?
Or wakes the tired mother, whose infant is weeping,
To cuddle and croon it to rest?
What’s the magic that charms the glad babe in her arms,
Till it cooes with the voice of the dove?
‘Tis a secret, and so let us whisper it low —
And the name of the secret is Love!
For I think it is Love,
For I feel it is Love,
For I’m sure it is nothing but Love! … .
Fairy Land by Robert Louis Stevenson
When at home alone I sit
And am very tired of it,
I have just to shut my eyes
To go sailing through the skies–
To go sailing far away
To the pleasant Land of Play;
To the fairy land afar
Where the Little People are;
Where the clover-tops are trees,
And the rain-pools are the seas,
And the leaves, like little ships,
Sail about on tiny trips;
And above the Daisy tree Through the grasses,
High o’erhead the Bumble Bee Hums and passes.
Bottle Tree by Eugene Field
A bottle tree bloometh in Winkyway land –
Heigh-ho for a bottle, I say!
A snug little berth in that ship I demand
That rocketh the Bottle-Tree babies away
Where the Bottle Tree bloometh by night and by day
And reacheth its fruit to each wee, dimpled hand;
You take of that fruit as much as you list,
For colic’s a nuisance that doesn’t exist!
So cuddle me and cuddle me fast,
And cuddle me snug in my cradle away,
For I hunger and thirst for that precious repast –
Heigh-ho for a bottle, I say! … .
Garden and Cradle by Eugene Field
When our babe he goeth walking in his garden,
Around his tinkling feet the sunbeams play;
The posies they are good to him,
And bow them as they should to him,
As fareth he upon his kingly way;
And birdlings of the wood to him
Make music, gentle music, all the day,
When our babe he goeth walking in his garden.
When our babe he goeth swinging in his cradle,
Then the night it looketh ever sweetly down;
The little stars are kind to him,
The moon she hath a mind to him
And layeth on his head a golden crown;
And singeth then the wind to him
A song, the gentle song of Bethle’m-town,
When our babe he goeth swinging in his cradle.
Googly-Goo by Eugene Field
Of mornings, bright and early,
When the lark is on the wing
And the robin in the maple
Hops from her nest to sing,
From yonder cheery chamber
Cometh a mellow coo –
‘T is the sweet, persuasive treble
Of my little Googly-Goo! … .
My heart – my heart it leapeth
To hear that treble tone;
What music like thy music,
My darling and mine own!
And patiently – yes, cheerfully
I toil the long day through –
My labor seemeth lightened
By the song of Googly-Goo!
The Stork Came Stalking by Eugene Field
Last night the Stork came stalking,
And, Stork, beneath your wing
Lay, lapped in dreamless slumber,
The tiniest little thing!
From Babyland, out yonder
Beside a silver sea,
You brought a priceless treasure
As gift to mine and me! …
Last night a babe awakened,
And, babe, how strange and new
Must seem the home and people
The Stork has brought you to;
And yet methinks you like them –
You neither stare nor weep,
But closer to my dear one
You cuddle, and you sleep!
Last night my heart grew fonder –
0 happy heart of mine,
Sing of the inspirations
That round my pathway shine!
And sing your sweetest love-song
To this dear nestling wee
The Stork from ‘Way-Out-Yonder
Hath brought to mine and me!
Poem by Francis Turner Palgrave
If thou couldst know thine own sweetness,
O little one, perfect and sweet,
Thou wouldst be a child forever;
Completer whilst incomplete.
The Star Song by Robert Herrick
Tell us, thou clear and heavenly tongue,
Where is the Babe but lately sprung?
Lies he the lily-banks among?
Or say, if this new Birth of ours,
Sleeps, laid within some ark of flowers,
Spangled with dew-light; thou canst clear
All doubts, and manifest the where.
Declare to us, bright star, if we shall seek
Him in the morning’s blushing cheek,
Or search the beds of spices through,
To find him out.
Star. No, this ye need not do;
But only come and see him rest
A Princely Babe in’s mother’s breast.
The New Year by Dinah M. Craik
Who comes dancing over the snow,
His soft little feet all bare and rosy?
Open the door, though the wild wind blow,
Take the child in and make him cozy,
Take him in and hold him dear,
Here is the wonderful glad New Year.