The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-09
HISTORIAN SHOWS THAT
"MARY'S LAMB" WAS REAL

Mary's little lamb was not a myth
il was an actuality. Charles r. Cha.
deayne Of Ossining, n. Y, is the an.
thority and he backs it UP with proofs
OF tho little creature 8 origin. life. de.
pertinent and above all. its experience
in school on that we'll remembered day,
| The information concerning the fa-
nous animal is CLEANED from extensive
researches made upon the collection of
curioH belonging to Mr.. Chadeayne. Ex-
hihits in this collection demonstrate 10
n certainty that the lamb was born in
1917 in Sterling, Mass, where Mary
(surname Sawyer) lived with her par
ents. The lamb destined to be so wide
| Iy known was IN its earliest hours in
frail health. says a New York letter to
the Chicago Tribune,
Several lambs had been born at about
the same time and Mary made visit 20
the fold with her papa.
MARY said nor lather, "that lamb
is dead. .
Ono. papa replied the little girl,
for when | move its head it will move
ii back again
But it cannot live" said her father
so, yes, maybe it can replied
Mary; "Let me take it home and nurse
it and tend it
To this Mary's papa consented So
Mary took her little lamb and carried il
home and warmed it and fed it. And
from that moment the poem that every
body knows was assured,
The little girls pet was so grateful
10 its benefactor that it could hardly
bear to have her out Of its sight But
Mary must GO TO school, you know, and
so here had to be separation for sew
eral hours every day. But Mary always
SAID long good-bv TO it every morning
Once in hurry this farewell slipped
her mind until she got considerable dis
tance from the house.
And that is how it came about that
Mary took the lamb to school and how
! the poetry spoken by every chick and
child in America was inspired. To be
sure, the poem says that ''it followed
her to school one day Well, that can t
be helped. Facts are facts, despite
poets.
When Mary remembered that she
hadn Z paid parting visit TO the lamb
she hurried right back rs quick as she
could. She had little sound that sbe
made that was half way between a
scream and song. and no matter where
the lamb was when II heard that sound
IT would run TO Mary. AS she hastened
homeward she made that little sound
and sure enough here came the lamb 1t
looked up so pleadingly that Mary Just
couldn Z take it back 10 the house aud
|
took If along to school.
She put it, still wrapped in the shawl.
under her seat. and she never studied so
hard in her life as she did that morn
ing. She did not want the teacher TO
look her way for fear she would see the
lamb But when the time came TO say
lessons the scholars in Mary's class had
crack in the floor. And what should
happen but the moment that Mary
started the lamb started. too, and went
night forward and stood on the crack
with Mary.
John Rollestone was the poet who
! framed the original verses. This man of
/ letters appears 10 have been sort Of
New England Keats, for he was at that
time not more than II years old. Ho
was studying under the guidance Of the
UIlaCe parson. and as soon as he heard
about the lamb incident he saw at once
that here was his opportunity.
| In kind of divine frenzy he dashed
J off the stanzas which relate OF the lamb
being sure to go where Mary did, and
| following her TO school. and about it
making the children laugh and play and
about it being against the rules, and
about the teacher turning II out, and
about ii waiting outside until Mary
came out
This effort cont1In med only thrco stan
zas and no more Mary said ir the late
sos Just before her death. and cousti-
tuted the poem as 1T was stricken from
the white hot anvil of John Rollestonc' IS
inspiration So far as Mary knew,
Rollestone wrote no more regarding the
adventures of the lamb. 1t was not
until several years later that Mary read
in newspaper some verses accredited
TO Mrs Sara j. Hale and entitled
"Mary's s Little Lamb. - Mrs. Hale had
used the Rolestone stanZas. with one OF
two slight changes, and TO them had
added three.
Mary survived her lamb by about
sixty five years. passing away in Somer
Vile Mass. al the age of So. having in
Ter.