Arthur Hamilton, and His Dog - 3

Her eldest son had gone to a distant
southern state, carrying with him, his mother's prayers and blessings;
and a strong arm, and stout heart, with which to win himself a name and
a place in his adopted home. John, the second, still remained with her,
assisting, by his unceasing toil, to earn a supply for their daily
wants. Henry, the third son, a bright-eyed youth of sixteen, had
attracted the notice of his pastor, and by his advice and assistance,
had been placed on the list of the beneficiaries of the American
Education Society, and was now at an Academy, preparing for College.
James was living with a farmer in the neighborhood, and was now on the
green with Arthur. These changes had already taken place, and now, could
she part with Arthur,--her sweet-tempered, gentle Arthur? That was the
question which agitated and saddened her. An offer had been made her, by
Mr. Martin, who lived in an adjoining town, and whom she knew to be an
excellent man. He wished to take Arthur, and keep him till he was
twenty-one; would clothe him, send him to school, and treat him as one
of his own family; training him to habits of industry and economy. Could
she hope any thing better for her darling boy? There was a younger
brother and two sisters still remaining at home, and embarrassed as she
was, ought she not to be grateful for such an opening, and thankfully
avail herself of it? Such was the view another might take of the
subject, but to her it was unspeakably painful to think of the
separation. Arthur was ten years old; but he was a modest and timid boy,
whose sensitive nature had led him to cling more closely to his mother's
side than his bolder and more active brothers.

Two Other Arthur Hamiltons

Our book, as its title would suggest, concerns one Arthur Hamilton (and his dog!).

There are a few other Arthur Hamiltons of note, though.

One is the most senior judge in the Scottish judiciary. His Wikipedia entry notes (the links are ours, the text is Wikipedia's):

'As Lord President and Lord Justice General, he is responsible for the supervision of these Courts and for the determination of policy and rules of court procedure. He also makes appointments to some tribunals and makes recommendations to The Queen for the appointment of Queen’s Counsel."

There's another Arthur Hamilton who is well-known for his skills as a songwriter. His...

"songs have been performed by Dinah Washington, Harry Connick Jr., Barbara Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, and countless others."

Neither should be confused with our protagonist!

A Little Massachusetts Sabbath School Society History

The Massachusetts Sabbath School Society published Arthur Hamilton, and His Dog. It turns out that the Society was a very prolific publisher. A little research revealed scores of titles created under its imprint in the 1800s.

I also found a partial copy of an 1833 MSSS offering via Google. You can see the actual text here. The Sabbath School Visiter probably won't make our list here at Discover Them, but it is neat to see an original.

Some authors wrote multiple books for the Society. Here's an example, taken from a "Letter from Dr. Grosvenor..." which is quite interesting. Here's an excerpt (links added & not in original):

"My grandmother, the daughter of Thayer S. Sanborn (Mrs. Harriet Ward Sanborn Grosvenor), born in Hampton Falls in 1823, married Edwin Prescott Grosvenor, M.D., of Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1843, and four years later, when only 24, she wrote a little book, "My Sister Emily," published by the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and she continued to write books, published by this Society until her death in 1863, her husband meanwhile having died seven years previously.

"I have a list of about fifteen of her books that were published by the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society. On the chance that you may be interested, I enclosed a list of the copies of her books that I have. It may be she wrote others also. There is no mention in "The History of Hampton Falls" of this brilliant young authoress. From the day she was married she lived in Newburyport.