Categories
1880s Poem

High and Low

High and Low [1]

By Frank Bellew [2]
Annotations by Jessica Abell
From Harper’s Young People. 1884.
A high-bred dog and a low bred dog
   Were talking together one day.
Said the low-bred dog to the high-bred dog,
   "Supposing us go and play."
Said the high-bred dog to the low-bred dog,
   "What! waste my time? Oh no!"
Said the low-bred dog to the high-bred dog,
   "Then let us a-hunting go."
Said the high-bred dog to the low-bred dog,
   "Ah! that is a different case."
Said the low-bred dog to the high-bred dog,
   "I will find, and you can chase."

So off they started side by side,
The Low on a trot, the High on stride.
Said the Low to the High: "I do not stay
When I find a thing that stands in my way.
If it be too high for me to leap,
I slyly, wily, under it I creep;
A were you not so mighty and high,
You'd soon get fat upon game as I."
"Of course," said High, "you know what best
Will serve your own good interest.
But different minds choose different courses,
And I surmount[3][4] opposing forces."
To a fence they came while talking so;
Over went High, under went Low.
Both were very well content.
So on complacently they went,
Till they came to a wall too high for Rover;
There Ajax kindly lifts him over.
There being no hole, you see, to crawl.
After a while they reached a fence-
Something altogether immense.
High could not get over that, you know;
But underneath was a hole for Low.
"I'll crawl first, and, after, you
Can lie on your back, and I'll pull you through."
So Low went first, and, as agreed,
Dragged through the hound of lofty breed.
But, oh, what a sight on the other side!
Torn were his ears and scratched his hide;
His glossy coat was smeared with mud,
Bestuck with burrs, and stained with blood;
And he cried, as he homeward limped in pain,
"I'll never be dragged through a hole again."
From Harper’s Young People. 1884.
MORAL
The man of high principles possibly may
Help the low-minded man on a virtuous way,
But he can not make compacts for pleasure of gain
With the low, and not suffer some kind of stain.
No matter how kind his intentions may be.
The hound or the human of vulgar degree
Always teaches some trick or some method his own,
Be it robbing a bank or stealing a bone.
So never make compacts with dogs that are low,
Or some day you'll be covered with-no, not snow.
Bellew, Frank. “High and Low.” Harper’s Young People, vol. 6, no. 263, Harper & Bros., 1884, p. 32.

[1] “High and Low” was featured in Harper’s Young People publication.

[2] Frank Bellow is the author and illustrator of “High and Low.”

[3] emphasis original.

[4] surmount: To overcome a difficulty or obstacle.

Resources for Further Study
Pedagogy
  • Why does the author emphasize the word “surmount” in the poem? What is significant about this word?
  • At first, this poem seems like a comparable metaphor of social classes, but the MORAL offers a different context. Does the MORAL change the perspective of the poem for the reader?

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