English physician and scientist (1749–1823) often called the ‘father of immunology,’ who successfully tested his smallpox inoculation in 1796. Handwritten poem by Edward Jenner, penned on an off-white 5.75 x 9.25 sheet, which Jenner has titled above, incorporating his signature, “Original Poem by Dr. Jenner, 40 Signs of Rain.” The poem reads:
“The hollow winds begin to blow,
The clouds look black, the glass is low;
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep,
The spiders from their cobwebs creep.
Last night the sun went pale to bed,
The moon in halos hid her head;
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh,
For, see, a rainbow spans the sky:
The walls are damp, the ditches smell,
Clos’d is the pink-eyed pimpernel.
Hark! how the chairs & tables crack!
Old Betty, joints are on the rack;
Loud quack the ducks, the peacocks cry,
The distant hills are looking nigh.
How restless are the snorting swine,
The busy flies disturb the kine;
Low o’er the grass the swallow wings,
The cricket, too, how sharp he sings;
Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws,
Sits wiping o’er her whiskered jaws.
Through the clear stream the fishes rise,
And nimbly catch the incautious flies.
The glow-worm numerous and bright,
Illum’d the dewy dell last night.
At dusk the squalid toad was seen,
Hopping and crawling o’er the green;
The whirling wind the dust obeys,
And in the rapid eddy plays;
The frog has changed his yellow vest,
And in a russet coat is drest.
Though June, the air is cold and still,
The mellow Blackbird’s voice is shrill.
My dog so altered in his taste,
Quits mutton-bones, on grass to feast;
And see, yon Rooks, how odd their flight,
They imitate the gliding kite,
And seem precipitate to fall,
As if they felt the piercing ball.
Twill surely rain, I see, with sorrow;
Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow.”
The left edge is affixed to a same-size backing sheet. In fine condition. This poem was published in a few different variations, including in the July 1826 issue of Gentleman's Magazine with the title and subtitle, ‘Signs of Rain: (Written as an excuse for not accepting the invitation of a friend to make an excursion with him.)’
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