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KINDNESS TO ANIMALS;

OR, THE

Sin of Cruelty

EXPOSED AND REBUKED. 

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REVISED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOLUNION. 

PHILADELPHIA:AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, 146 CHESTNUT STREET. 

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1845, by HERMAN COPE, Treasurer, in trust for the American Sunday-school Union, in the Clerk'sOffice of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

KINDNESS TO ANIMALS. 

KINDNESS TO ANIMALS. 

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CHAPTER I. 

ABOUT THE BEGINNING. 

Many books have been written about animals, and very good books too, giving a great deal of information. Most of them are called works ofNatural History; and they usually give some description of the birdsand beasts, fishes and insects, that are known to man. I am not going towrite such a book as that; but to say a little about different kinds ofcreatures that we are all in the habit of seeing, and to tell you a fewthings of some which have belonged to me, or have come under my ownobservation; so that, at least, I can promise to write nothing but whatI know to be true. I have not learned their characters and habits frombooks, but by watching them ever since I was a very young child; andmany a happy hour I have spent in that delightful employment. 

One of the first things that it came into my little head to ask was, "How were the animals made; and why were any of them made wild andcruel, while some are tame and quiet?" I was told that the Bible gave ananswer to that question; and so it does. If we look in the first chapterof Genesis, where there is an account of the creation of the world, wefind that on the fifth day God created the fishes to move in the water, and the fowls to fly in the air; and on the sixth day, "God made thebeast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, andevery thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God sawthat it was good. " From this we learn, that there was no violence orcruelty in any of them, as they first came from the hand of the holy andmerciful God. And I would have you take particular notice of whatdirectly follows: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after ourlikeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and overthe fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, andover every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. " Now, the greatGod is invisible--a Spirit--and not a body, as I think you all know; andwhen it is said that God made man in his own image, it must mean thatman was made to be holy, and just, and good, and merciful; and he wasmade to be a careful and loving ruler over the poor dumb creatures, asthe Lord God is a careful and loving ruler over all that he hascreated. 

Then, in the next chapter, we have a beautiful picture before us: I donot mean a print, or drawing, but a description in words, that, if wethink a little, will make us fancy we see a lovely sight, such as wecannot now see anywhere. We are told that out of the ground the Lord Godformed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and thenthat He "brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: andwhatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the namethereof. "

Was it not a wonderful and a beautiful sight? There, in a very deliciousgarden, full of all manner of rich fruit and bright flowers, with softwarm air, and calm sunshine, was the first and only man in all theworld! He was righteous and good, without any malice, or cruelty, orcovetousness, or pride in his heart, looking with delight upon thecreatures that came about him as their rightful ruler, to receive theirnames. 

Can you not fancy how he must have admired the noble and beautifulcreatures as they meekly and lovingly came to him? The mighty lion, shaking the curls of his mane, and fixing his eyes (not then fierce andfiery, but bright and joyous) on the man, who, by God's gift, wasmightier than he; the great elephant, putting out his trunk to caresshis new master, and passing on to rest under the shadow of some statelytree; the horse, with his arching neck and prancing movements; the fonddog; the gentle sheep; the peacock, with its plumes of blue, and green, and gold; the majestic snow-white swan; the little linnet; therobin-redbreast; and that most beautiful, tiny creature, thehumming-bird; the gay butterfly; the bee. It is impossible to go overthe names of even what we know by sight, of the good creatures of God, who on that sixth day of the creation came about our first father, toreceive just what name he was pleased to give them. But I often thinkabout it, because it keeps me in mind that the Lord God never overlooksany thing which he has seen good to make. 

But what changed the animals so sadly as they must have been changed, to become what some of them are now? That we learn in the next chapter. Eve listened to the wicked temptation of Satan, and disobeyed the goodand gracious Lord God, and persuaded Adam to do the same. So every thingwas altered: they were driven out of that fair garden into the wideworld, the ground of which was cursed for man's sake; and this curse, which fell upon the earth, made it bring forth thorns and thistles, andthen it was very difficult for man to make it fruitful, till he had cutand bruised it with iron spades and ploughshares, and bestowed a greatdeal of labour upon it. This sad curse was on the animals too; not bytheir fault, poor things! but by man's dreadful sin. For, you see, itwas God who made them subject to man; and when man became a rebel andtraitor to God, the creatures turned against him, and against eachother. Oh, it is sad to think of all the misery and crime brought intothe world by the ungrateful disobedience of man to his heavenly King andFather!

However, it did happen once again that a thing as wonderful though notso beautiful was seen: indeed, we may say more wonderful, consideringhow the nature of the creatures had been changed for the worse. When allthe world had become so wicked that God resolved to destroy every humanbeing from off the face of the earth, except Noah and his family, Hedirected that pious man to make an ark, as you all know--an immenseship, or floating house--in which he was to be preserved on the surfaceof the waters for many days. When this great ark was ready, God caused apair of each from among all the animals and birds to come to Noah, andto enter into the ark. Of some kinds there were seven, and of none lessthan two. This was a very great miracle; and it shows us, too, howperfectly the Lord knows and numbers all the works of his hands, and howtenderly he cares for them all. This is one of the things that we areapt to forget when have a beast, or a bird, or a fish, or an insect, inour power. We are too ready to say to ourselves, "This is mine, and Imay do what I like to it. " Not so; it is a creature of God's, not ofours; and if we do to it any thing that he does not approve of, he willsurely reckon with us for it. When I call this to mind, I amalarmed--though I do not think I have often been cruel to animals, orany such thing--and I am ready to pray, "Lord, if I have hurt any of thycreatures, pardon my past sin, for Jesus Christ's sake, I beseech thee;and give me grace to be merciful for the future. "

Now, having told you how I got instructed when I was little, I shallgive you the history of some animals and birds that I have had, and howI treated them, and what amusement they gave me. I am sure if you knewhow very amusing they all are, when left to their own harmless ways, andgently restrained from ways that are not harmless, you would think it agreat loss to have them so altered as they are by bad management. If Ihad been a great traveller, I could tell you more wonderful stories; buthaving only been in England, and Ireland, and part of North America, mystore of anecdotes is not so great. However, I will try my best to giveyou some notion of what I do know; and as I shall often have occasion toname Jack, I will begin by telling you who he was. 

Jack was a little Irish boy, who became deaf while he was still a baby;and because, as you know, babies learn to talk by hearing those aroundthem, Jack, not hearing anybody talk, could not learn, and so he grew updumb. It is a sad thing to be deaf and dumb. A person who is so, cannotpossibly learn any thing about God and our Lord Jesus Christ, until hehas been taught to read; and it is so very difficult to teach them, thatif some benevolent people, who have money, did not subscribe to keep upcharitable schools on purpose for the deaf and dumb poor, I do notsuppose that one in a thousand of them would ever learn so much as thatthey have a soul to be saved or lost: and you may judge what a miserablelife they must lead, in total ignorance, nobody speaking to them, andthey not able to speak to anybody. Jack was in this state when I firstsaw him, at eleven years old; he was a poor boy, and I took him, andtaught him, and he lived with me above seven years, till he died of aconsumption. He died very happy indeed, full of love to God for hisgreat mercy in sending his Son into the world to save sinners: anddepending on the Lord Jesus for salvation. He was always with me, speaking by means of his fingers, but in an odd, that is, an imperfectsort of language, that would make you smile. So when I mention Jack, youwill know who I mean; and we will now have some talk about the domesticanimals. 

When I say domestic, I mean such as we are used to see in our houses, streets, and fields. Lions, tigers, elephants, and such as are shut upin caravans, or only taken about for a show, do not belong to these;though I am not sure that I shall not have a word or two to say aboutbears and monkeys. I want to amuse you, my young friends, and to makeyou think a little too; for all the good things given us of God becomemore valuable to us when we think about them in a right way. Jack knewthis: he used to rub his forehead with his fingers' ends, shake his headwisely, and spell, "Very good think. " I hope you will judge the same;and when you have come to the end of my little book, be able to say youhave had a "very good think" too. 

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CHAPTER II. 

THE HORSE. 

The great mistake that people seem to me to make about animals is this:they fancy that they must be frightened into obedience, and kept fromdisobeying their masters by being made afraid of punishment. I dare saythat animals, like human beings, often need correction; but two thingsare necessary to make such correction useful. One is, not to punish themtoo severely, which only hardens them in rebellion; the other is, neverto hurt them at all except for a real fault--something that they knowto be a fault, and know that they will be punished for doing. Otherwise, the poor beast, not knowing when or why it may be beaten, gets confusedand foolish, and does wrong, as any boy might do, from being in a greatfright. The truth is, that the animals are very sensible, and verywilling to do their best. They are fond of being praised and rewarded;they become very much attached to those who treat them kindly; and whenthey are so attached, they are very happy, and show off all the finequalities that make them both valuable and entertaining. I am going totell you some stories about my own favourites; and, to prevent yourthinking that they were different from others of the same kind, I shallbegin by letting you into the secret of making them so knowing. 

First, I tried to find out their habits; and I will tell you what theyare. All very young animals like to sleep a good deal, and to be letalone. It both frightens and hurts them to be pulled about, and makesthem fretful and ill-tempered; spoils their growth, and prevents theirloving you. A puppy or a kitten is very fond of play, and will jump andbounce about with you for a long while; but the moment they begin to gettired, they should be left alone, to rest as much as they like. You maysuppose, that if, when you are comfortably going to sleep at night, arough-handed man were to come and shake you, and bawl out in your ears, and wake you continually, you would soon become fretful and ill too, andfeverish, and be very glad to get out of the way of such a tormentor. Somy rule is, when creatures are young, to let them have as much sleep asthey will. It may sometimes prevent their being playthings when you wantthem; but it will be made up in their health, and good-temper, andgratitude to you. 

Next, all creatures like liberty: a horse or a dog is never so happy aswhen bounding across the fields in perfect freedom. Why does chaining ortying up a dog make him savage? Because he then looks on mankind as hisenemies, and fancies that everybody he meets is going to take away hisliberty. My dogs have known as little about chains as possible: two ofthem had been used to be tied up before I had them, and I never couldbreak them of being savage. As to beating it out of them, it would belike putting on coals to keep a fire from burning. That, you know, makesthe fire look dull for a little while; but the moment you stir it, up itblazes, much higher and brighter than if no coals had been put on. Iknew a horse that was not naturally good-tempered, and bad usage hadmade him much worse: he was then bought by a gentleman, who gave himenough of the whip, and spur, and sharp iron bit to cure him, if thatcould have done it; but it only made him cunning and revengeful. Poorbeast! a little patient kindness would have gone much farther. I willtell you an instance of this. 

Once I had a mare, and such a beautiful creature she was! She lived on asort of farm, where they had not put her to work, and where thechildren had been used to play with her. She was hardly full grown. Ilived then in a house with very low windows, and the pretty mare wasgrazing on the outside. One warm day, the windows were all open, and Iwas sitting at work, when she popped her beautiful head and neck in atthe one nearest to me. I gave her a bit of bread that was lying by me, and told her to go away; but she would not. I said to myself, "Whyshould I drive her away? God made the animals to be loving and confidingtowards man; and if this lonely creature wants me to be a friend to her, why should I not? The Bible says, 'A righteous man regardeth the life ofhis beast;' and what is life to a poor animal that has no hereafter tolook to, if its life be without comforts?" So I put down my work, andwent and rubbed her forehead, stroked her long white face, patted hershining neck, and talked to her. After this when I was alone at mymorning work, she was sure to put her head in at one of the windows, toask, in her dumb way, to be petted; and many an apple, many a handfulof oats, did she get by coming there. She would soon listen for myfootstep about the house, and I seldom could look out from any windowwithout seeing her under it, or before it. She would also follow me likea dog when I walked in the grounds where she grazed. 

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One day, a gentleman's groom undertook to ride her; but he began bywhipping and by jerking the bridle, which is a very cruel thing. My maredid not like this; and as he went on doing it, she lost her patience;and after a long trial as to who should be master, she threw him overher head, and trotted home to her stable. He was not hurt, but very muchmortified, being a soldier, and a great horseman; and he told his masterthat she was the most vicious beast in the world, not safe for anybodyto ride. I did not like my pretty mare to get such a bad name: so I toldmy own groom to put on the side saddle, and I asked the gentleman tomount his fine English horse, and to ride out, and see if she were noteasily managed. We had a long ride over mountains, and through littlestreams, and crossing deep torrents by the unsteady bridges made oftrunks of trees, and he said he never saw an animal so full of spiritand good-temper as my mare. I never touched her with the whip, but spokegently to her; and I can truly say, that for the year and a half of myriding her every day, she never brought me into danger, nor everdisobeyed me. You may say, "But this was a particular sort of horse, notlike others. " I have only to answer you, that the bad, vicious horse Ispoke of before, was bred in the same place, lived in the same stable, and the only difference between them was the different usage that theyhad received. 

The horse is one of the most sensible and most affectionate ofcreatures. You see, every day, how they will obey the man who drivesthem, going on, stopping, moving to the right or left, and turning anycorner, all without the driver going near them. They have learned themeaning of his words, or they could not do this; and is it not dreadfulthat a creature able to understand, and most willing to obey the voice, should be beaten and tortured as horses are? Why does a horse go as fastas he can when he is cruelly whipped, and his poor mouth wounded by thehard bit? Because he is trying to get away from the man or boy whotreats him so. Ah, when God brought his beautiful creatures to the firstman, to be named, and gave them into his care, there was no appearanceof man ever becoming so cruel, or the animals so miserable as they noware! Yet the Lord loves mercy and judgment, and hates tyranny andwrong, as much now as he did then: and we may be quite certain of this, that every cruelty committed is an offence in his sight, and will beterribly punished, if it be not repented of, and left off; for when aperson says he repents, and goes on doing the same thing as before, heis deceiving himself and provoking God. 

The horse must bear a great deal of dreadful pain and suffering to bemade fit for the use man puts him to, in drawing carriages, and otherthings. It is not natural to him to have even a bridle and saddle onhim; much less to be loaded with harness, to wear blinders on his eyes, and to drag a great heavy weight as fast as he can run, keeping alwaysattentive to the least touch of the reins, and turning accordingly, toprevent running his carriage against others. His fine spirit must bebroken, his liberty quite taken away, and many a bitter smart must thepoor, dumb, harmless, helpless creature suffer. But surely this ought tobe enough; and you would not be the cruel wretch to add to his pains?Sometimes people _must_ go fast; but one who would distress and tormenta horse to make him go fast, just because it pleases the driver to bemoving quickly, is doing a very wrong thing; and so is the person whocould neglect to give food and drink to a horse when he wants it. Iwonder when I see the poor doing this. They know what it is to beoverworked, and to want as much as they could eat; they are often cold, and cannot get fuel enough: and if they were tied up, and not able torun about, or to help themselves, having no servants to wait on them, how very badly off they would think themselves! Yet a poor horse is muchworse off; he can neither do any thing for himself, nor express hiswants to others: he does his best, serves us faithfully, obeys all thathe understands; and then to be ill-used, neglected, starved! It is athing that I cannot bear to think of; and I hope my readers will alwaysset their faces against such wickedness. Remember that promise which theLord has given, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtainmercy. "

I dare say you have heard of the Arabs--a wild people, the descendantsof Ishmael, the son of Abraham, who possess a great deal of country inthe east; and are powerful, and much feared, because nobody has beenable to conquer them. Their greatest strength consists in having theboldest, fleetest, most docile horses in the whole world. Arabian horsesmay be known in a moment by their uncommon beauty, their delicate archednecks, waving manes, and long tails; but though a great price is givenfor them, and they are lodged, and fed, and tended with all the carepossible, they cannot be so happy in a king's palace, as in the tent orhut of their poor masters at home. The Arab treats his horse like achild; gives it to eat of his own victuals, to drink of his own bowl ofmilk, and lets it sleep in the midst of his family. Of course, theanimal becomes so fond of him, that it serves him for love, carries himthrough all dangers, and has often been known to defend him with itslife. We cannot bring up our horses in this way, nor treat them as thewild Arab does; but knowing what sense, and feeling, and gratitude, andlove, this noble creature can and does show, we ought to be alwayswatching to avoid giving it unnecessary pain, and to persuade others tobe equally kind. 

I cannot tell you how it used to grieve my dumb boy, Jack, when he saw ahorse ill-used; or how very kind he was to one that he had the care of. He would sooner have wanted food and drink himself, than have allowedhis master's horse to feel hunger or thirst. He was very tender whenrubbing it down, if there was any, sore place; and if the animal gotcross or impatient, he would say to me in signs, "Poor horse not know:horse tired: soon go sleep, poor horse!" That was a very strong, spirited animal, and needed a steady hand to rein him in; but I oftensaw the dumb boy jump on his back, and with only the halter over hishead, guide him where he chose. I never saw him give that horse a blowor a kick, in all the two years that he tended him. Jack was fourteenwhen he began, and sixteen when he left off being his groom. He wasstrong and healthy then; but at nineteen he died; and he told me that itmade him very happy to think that he had never been cruel to any ofGod's poor creatures. But I must not say any more now about the noblehorse. There is another animal, the natural companion of man, the dog, which comes next in value; for though it cannot take us on a longjourney, or convey our goods from place to place, it stands sentry overus and our property, being not only a good servant, but a mostintelligent, fond, and faithful friend. It does not need to be broke in, like the horse; it learns the ways and the wishes of those around it;and the more liberty you give it, the more eager it is to serve andplease you. The dog deserves a chapter to himself, and shall have it. 

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CHAPTER III. 

THE DOG. 

There is a great deal of sorrow in the world: perhaps, through thegoodness of God, you have been kept from suffering much yourselves, butyou must have seen trouble among your friends and neighbours; sicknessand death, perhaps. And it often happens that great distress comes onpeople, so as to keep them hungry and cold, for want of what would buyenough food and fuel. Besides this, how often the bad conduct of one ina family will make the rest unhappy! A single drunkard, or thief, orviolent person, will bring shame and misery on all the rest. The worldis full of troubles; but I do not think that we often find, even amongthose of our own nature, men, women, boys, and girls, not related to us, a person with so little selfishness as to be always sorry and sad whenwe are so, and because we are so. When we meet with any one sokind-hearted, we love that person, and would do a great deal to serve oroblige such a feeling friend. 

Now, I always observed that a dog, when kindly treated and taken careof, will show his concern for the troubles of his master or mistress, ina wonderful way. Indeed, I never, in my life, had a dog that would notdo so; and seeing this has convinced me that it is worse than cruel totreat a dog ill--it is most ungrateful. It does sometimes happen that adog has a bad and violent temper, even from a puppy; and if very carefultreatment does not soon cure this, I should say that such a dog ought tobe destroyed, by a quick and easy death; not making the poor brutesuffer for what it cannot help. But in ninety-nine cases out of ahundred, a dog's savageness is the fault of those who have brought himup: and few things are more wicked than to teach or encourage a dog tofight his own race, or to bark and fly at human beings. When the worldwas as God made it, there was no hatred in it, no quarrelling, no wishin any living creature to frighten or hurt any other living creatures;but when Adam became a sinner, his sin broke through all this beautifulorder, and peace, and love, and set the animals against each other, andagainst himself. I am trying always to remember this; for when theyalarm or distress me, and I am thinking to punish them, I ought not toforget what first made the brutes vicious, and brought so much sufferingon them. It was man's sin alone: man should therefore do the best he canto make them amends; and not increase their misery, as he often does, bycruel severity. I think you will agree with me in this. Besides, it is acertain truth, that God's eye is upon us and on the animals about us, as much as it was on Adam and the living creatures that came to him tobe named; and though we and they are much changed for the worse, yet theLord God never does or can change. He is as righteous, as holy, asmerciful, and as just to-day, as he was then. How often has Jack, whenhe saw a thoughtless boy hurting a dog, or any other animal, gone up tohim, and said, on his fingers, in a very quiet, gentle, but earnestmanner, "God see--God angry. " He felt much for the dumb beast, sufferingpain; but more for the boy who was forgetting that the Lord's hand wouldyet punish him, when he least expected it: for Jack very well knew thatthe Bible says, "He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showedno mercy. "

Dogs have been a great amusement to me ever since I was a baby; and Inever have been without one in the house when I could keep one. Ladiesand gentlemen are not often willing to let their carpets be soiled bydogs; but the poor people, who are not troubled with carpets, makecompanions of them. I am writing this book in a room with a carpet andgood furniture, but I have my two dogs with me. There is little Fiddy, the small spaniel, at my feet, where he has lain every day for eightyears; and there is Bronti, the fine big Newfoundlander, lying, where doyou think? Why the rogue has got upon the sofa, and when I shake my headat him, he wags his long tail, and turns up his large bright eyes to myface, as much as to say, "Pray let me stop here; it is so comfortable. "But no, Bronti, you must walk down, my fine fellow, or some lady comingto see me may have her gown soiled, which would not be fair. We have noright to make our pets a plague to other people, and, perhaps, a meansof injuring them too. 

That was enough for Bronti; no need of a loud, cross, or threateningvoice. He saw that I wished him to leave the sofa, and he wags his tailas contentedly on the carpet. I can manage him with a word, almost witha look, because he was born in the house, and has never been away fromme; but master Fiddy was a year or two old when I had him, and somethings he will do in spite of me. He will hunt a cat, kill a bird, andgrowl most furiously over a bone. Bronti has the same nature, but hislove for us overcomes it all. He would live peaceably with a cat, it wehad one; he will let the chickens and pigeons perch upon him, or walkbetween his feet; and last year I had half a dozen tame mice, which Iused to let out upon him, when they would nestle in his warm coat, runraces over and under him, and he would not move a limb, for fear ofhurting one. As to a bone, he will allow me to take it out of his mouthat any time; and, what is more, he will readily give it up to Fiddy, whose little teeth can only nibble off the meat; and when he has donethat, Bronti takes it, and munches the bone. 

His mother was full grown when I had her, and she was very fierce: ifany workman came to the house, unless her master or I was by torestrain her, she would put him in fear of his life; and would havebitten him too, if she could have seized him. We gave her away to afriend who would be kind to her, and keep her out of mischief; and webrought up a puppy for ourselves, this same Bronti. Now he is more thanthree years old; and though he will sometimes fight a big dog whoaffronts him in the street, he never frightened anybody who came to thehouse. He watches, and gives one single, deep, quiet bark, to let usknow that there is a stranger; and seeing that we are satisfied, he sitswith one ear thrown back, listening and watching. If he meets a workmanin the house, he does not even growl; only keeps him in sight, followinghim about, but with such a sweet-tempered look, that the greatestcoward, if honest, could not contrive to be afraid of him. I might leavea joint of meat under his care, if he were ever so hungry; he would nottouch it, because he is truly honest: and as to his sense, you wouldhardly believe if I told you how sensible he is. When I am putting onmy boots, he comes up to me, and looks very eagerly in my face; if I say"Yes, " or, "Bronti shall go, " he is just wild with joy, tearing about, barking, and making no small riot. If I say "No, " or shake my headsorrowfully and say nothing, he steals away, lies down, and neverattempts to follow me: but he gets on a chair, and Fiddy on a table, tosee me go out at the gate; and then they both begin to cry and moan mostpiteously, so that nobody can comfort them. 

On Sunday morning, Bronti looks very melancholy; how he knows the day Icannot tell. Of course, we all go to church, but he begins to be sad assoon as we get up. Neither he, nor Fiddy would attempt to follow usthen, if the doors and gate were all set open: they seat themselves atthe window to see us go. And now I recollect one time when Bronti was assavage as his mother. You shall hear about it. 

One Sunday, when were all at church, a friend, just landed from avoyage, came to the house. He opened the garden gate, and was walkingtowards the door, when up jumped Bronti on a chair at window, barking, growling, and behaving so violently, that he really dared not try to getinto a house where such a wild beast stood ready to seize him. So hewent off to the church, found us, and after service returned with us;and Bronti, seeing him as a friend of the family, gave him anaffectionate welcome. Then he told us of his ferocious behaviour; and wewere very glad to find that our gentle dog knew how to protect our houseand property when it was left entirely to his care. 

A book larger than this might be filled, all through, with stories aboutthe dog, besides what are already published; but any one of you may seeenough to delight you every day in the affectionate creature, it youwill only be patient and kind. It is too often the custom to punish adog when he does not do just what you like; and you may like thingsquite different at different times. Now, the poor brute cannot tellexactly what you wish; and if he is used to get a blow, or an angryscolding, he will be so afraid of doing wrong, that what little sensehe has left will fail him, and he will be so confused as to make him dowrong. An animal, or a boy either, living in constant fear of ill-usagewhether he deserves it or not, will get either so stupid or so careless, as seldom to do what is required. Think a little, and you willunderstand this. An angry tone and hard words agitate a dog very much. Mr. Blaine, who wrote a book about their diseases and cures, says thathe has often known a dog, weakened by illness, to go into convulsions onhearing another dog violently scolded. I tell you this to explain whysome dogs are hard to manage: they are frightened out of their senses;to say nothing of the cruel pain that they are often made to suffer. Ihave seen a person beat a dog one day for not following him when hewished it, and the next day for following when he was not wanted. I haveseen a dog set at another to fight, being encouraged, and irritated, andmade savage on purpose; and soon after beaten for flying at some person, or thing that he was not wanted to attack. No wonder if the poorcreature loses all his fine qualities under such treatment. 

All that he wishes is to be allowed to love you, and follow you, andserve you. He wants the help of your reason to keep him from doingwrong; and he wants you to explain to him how he may please you. It hasmade my heart ache, many a time, to see a poor dog obey his master'scall, coming up to him in a crouching, crawling way, trembling withfear, and seeming to say, "Pray, pray do not hurt me! I am ready to dowhat you wish, and to lay down my life for you; but you are going tobeat or to kick me, and I am a poor creature, without any one to take mypart. I _could_ bite you, I _could_ seize you by the throat, or tear theflesh off your leg, but I will not do so. I come because you call me;pray do not hurt me!" And I have seen the meek, obedient creaturestruck, and put to cruel pain, without the smallest reason in the world. And when I recollected the words of the Bible, "Verily there is a Godthat judgeth in the earth, " I have grieved the more to think whatpunishment that cruel man or boy was bringing on himself. 

If we call one of our dogs, even when at high play in the fields, heinstantly comes bounding up, puts his head on one side, pricks up hisears, and looks full in our faces as if saying, "Well, here I am; whatdo you want me to do?" A beating is the last thing that they would thinkof. I am not now speaking of Bronti and Fiddy in particular, but all thedogs that ever I had. The reason is, that the dog is the very fondestcreature that breathes; and any but a really ill-tempered dog may bemanaged by means of this fondness; while, as I before remarked, a reallybad-tempered one should not be kept to be punished, but speedilydestroyed. 

You know what a terrible thing the bite of a mad dog is. The wound maybe so small as hardly to leave a scar, and it may heal, and beforgotten, perhaps for weeks and months; still, the deadly poison is inthe person's blood, and when it breaks out, a most fearful deathfollows, after such sufferings as nobody, who has not seen them, canhave an idea of. But, perhaps, you do not know that the angry bite of adog, when teased or hurt, has often produced the same awful madness. Iremember a neighbour's son dying most horribly of it, who had only hadhis finger wounded, as if by a pin's point, by the tooth of a little dogwhich he was teasing and provoking in play. This shows us how verydangerous it is to irritate an animal; for you never know what peril youmay run into. These things do not fall out by chance. The Lord Godorders them all; and sometimes he does very terrible things, in judgmenton those who knowingly transgress, and for an example to others. Mayyou, dear young readers, be loving, and merciful, and kind; and neverstand for a moment in the hateful character of oppressors, where it isalike your duty and your happiness to help the defenceless and toprotect the weak!

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CHAPTER IV. 

THE CAT--THE COW--THE SHEEP--THE ASS. 

Poor Puss! I have not so much to say for her as for the noble dog. Thecat is more selfish, and not so trustful; neither does she often show somuch affection for us. The cat's habits are more like those of a wildanimal, than are the habits of any other of our domestic creatures. Itis hardly possible to keep her from straying about, or to teach her todo no mischief. I have had a cat that would not steal, and a dog thatwould: both proving that every rule has an exception. I often think, when I see Puss watching for mice and birds, and choosing them ratherthan meat, what a wonderful thing it is that God should have taught abeast of prey to attach itself to man, so far as to rid him of othercreatures which, by increasing too fast, would eat up what he wants tolive upon. At the same time, I grieve to remember that this war betweenus and the smaller animals, and between them and each other, comes fromour rebellion against God; and I dare not set one creature to destroyanother, any farther than is necessary for my own safety, and thesupport of my family. 

Still the cat is an interesting animal, beautiful, cleanly, graceful, and often very loving. A kitten is even more engaging than a puppy. Itsfun and frolic are more diverting because of its light, activemovements. A grave old cat, sitting in the sunshine, with her eyes halfshut, and a merry little kitten, playing with her tail, bounding overher back, and comically boxing her ears, is a sight that I cannot helpstopping to admire. But how much to be pitied is a kitten in the handsof children too young to know, or too cruel to care what pain they mayput it to! As to setting dogs to hunt and worry cats, or tormenting themon purpose, as some will, I do not wish to think that anybody who canread the Bible, or hear it read, is capable of such wickedness; norshould I like to believe that anybody born in this free country, among abrave people, could be so mean a coward. A boy may fancy himself verycourageous, if he is able and willing to fight anybody who doubts hisbeing so; but if he is capable of wantonly hurting one of God'screatures, when he gets it into his power, he is a real coward. He aloneis truly brave who fears none because he would injure none, but woulduse all the strength and all the influence that he has, to protect theweak from those who are too powerful for them. 

I have seen wild cats abroad: most terrible-looking they are, and moredangerous than many larger animals. Nobody would offer to play anyunfeeling tricks with them; a single look from their fierce, fiery eyes, glaring from the branches of a tree, round which they twist their longtails, would send the boldest of you scampering away. They grow larger, and their fur becomes much richer, when in a wild state. The goodprovidence of God supplies them with very warm, thick coat, when theyhave no longer the benefit of a corner by the fireside. Oh that we wouldlearn lessons of tender mercy by seeing how compassionately the Lordcares for the meanest creature that he has made!

But about young kittens: there are two things, often done throughthoughtlessness, which are both very cruel indeed. One is to kill allher little ones, which not only causes great distress, but severe paintoo, to the poor mother. God gives her milk to nourish the littlecreatures, and if one is not left to draw it off, the animal suffersmuch torment and fever from it. The other thing is one that nokindhearted person could do, or allow to be done, after being once toldhow exceedingly inhuman it is: I mean, putting the young ones to deathin the mother's sight. The agonies of a bitch, when she sees her puppiesdrowned, are really a call for divine vengeance on the wretch who couldpurposely be guilty of such an outrage on the tenderest feelings ofnature. The cat, though inferior to the dog in many points, is a mostloving mother, and very sagacious in protecting her young. She willoften hide them so cunningly, that nobody can reach them; and I haveseen a family astonished by the return of a cat which they had supposedwas lost, with four or five wild-looking, lean kittens behind her, alltheir faces being well scratched by the sticks or other rubbish amongwhich they were hidden. The dog never does so: its confiding characterleads it to commit its young to its master's care, little as hesometimes deserves such a trust. 

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Have you a cow? People who live in cities very seldom indeed have one;but in the country, many, who are not rich, contrive to keep one; and amore gentle, quiet, patient animal is not to be found. Jack's motherwas a poor Irishwoman, but she had two cows, and sold their milk tosupport her family. I have often met her, stepping so stately andsteadily, because she had a brim-full pail of milk balanced on her head, and never even put up her hand to support it. Jack was very fond of hismother; and next after his parents, brother, and sisters, he certainlyloved the cows. It was his business, when quite a little fellow, toserve up to them the pail of hot potatoes in winter; and many a walk hetook to the green fields where they pastured in summer, to see that allwas safe and right about them. Three years after his leaving home, wealso kept a cow; and Jack insisted on having the care of it, and milkingit himself. It was quite a lesson to see how kind and thoughtful thedumb boy was about the poor cow: and what a happy life she led under hismanagement might be easily known by her being always good-tempered andfearless. Often, when standing on the lawn, feeding my chickens, I havebeen surprised by finding her gently rubbing her horns against myshoulder, and asking to be petted, as every animal will ask whenencouraged. She gave a great deal more milk than any one expected--forkind usage is a wonderful help in making any creature thrive; and Inever shall forget the joyful looks of Jack, when, one morning, he camejumping and skipping to me, spelling as fast as he could, "Cow baby--cowbaby. " He did not know the right name for a calf, and our cow had a verypretty one, born in the night. 

Then Jack's sweet disposition showed itself farther in the care that hetook not to distress the poor creatures more than was necessary. He didnot ill-use the cow for being unwilling to leave her young one, and veryeager to return to it again; nor did he frighten or hurt the tenderlittle calf for crying and struggling to get to its mother. In all thesethings there is opportunity for being merciful and kind: and becauseSatan knows that the Lord hates cruelty, and will punish those whoafflict his helpless creatures, there he chooses these occasions totempt people into the wanton wickedness of offending the Most High bythe abuse of such power as he has intrusted them with. Jack knew it. Ihave seen the colour rise to his face, with the effort that he made toovercome the impatience that was provoked by the eagerness of theanimals to break through the fence which separated them; but he didovercome it, and said with a smile, "Poor baby cow! Jack not hurt--no;God see!" Ah, it is a happy and a blessed thing to be able to rejoicethat God sees us! Less than three years after that, Jack was called toappear before the Lord; and I am sure the recollection of havingpurposely given pain to others never disturbed the quietness of hisdeath-bed. He felt the blessedness of having been merciful. For my ownpart, I never can see a man or boy driving cattle with sticks and goads;torturing the poor creatures for being tired, and lame, and thirsty, andfaint; and cruelly punishing them for wishing to rest, or do drink, orto crop the green grass; or for being confused and frightened in thenoisy, crowded streets of a city, after the quiet country places thatthey were reared in; I say, I never see such things without a feeling ofhorror and dread: for the Lord God will surely call to a terribleaccount those who act as if there were no just, holy, and mercifulCreator, to hear the cry of his tormented creatures, and to prove beforemen and angels that they did not cry to him in vain. 

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The next animal that I shall talk to you about is the SHEEP. People callthem "silly sheep, " because they are so easily frightened, and show verylittle sense of judgment when running away. This is owing to theirbeing driven about. We seem to think it right to make every creatureafraid of us, and by that means we weaken their faculties; or, to speakin common words, we frighten them out of their wits. In easterncountries it is quite different. There the flocks are not driven, butled. You will remember that beautiful description in the tenth chapterof John, where our blessed Lord Jesus Christ compares himself to ashepherd, and his people to sheep. It is now above eighteen hundredyears since He spoke those words; but travellers tell us that it isexactly the same at this day. Speaking of the shepherd, our Lord says, "The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, andleadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goethbefore them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And astranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know notthe voice of strangers. " Only fancy what a different sight it must befrom what we often witness! Instead of a poor, frightened, agitatedcrowd of panting creatures, running here and there, with perhaps a manor boy shouting after them, outspreading his arms to increase theirterror, and a rough dog jumping and barking among them, to see aquiet-looking, happy flock walking after their shepherd, pressingforward to get near him, and each coming readily when called by itsname. Of course, not being taught to run away from man, they are notflurried and thrown into confusion so easily as ours are. But sheep arealways timid, weak, defenceless creatures, and therefore the Lord oftenspeaks of his disciples as sheep; because we are all as little able toprotest ourselves from our enemy, Satan, as a flock of sheep is todefend itself from a wolf, or a lion; and he would have us keep close tohim for protection as the eastern sheep do to their careful shepherd. 

There is nothing to prevent our sheep from being as manageable as anyothers. I once had a lamb given to me, because its mother could notnurse it; and I kept it in some nice hay in a large basket, and fed itwith warm milk from the spout of a teapot. As it gained strength, I letit run about the house, and it was a droll sight to see the big lambcome bouncing and scampering into a room full of company, hunting thecat about, leaping over chairs, and playing just like a frolicsomekitten. If I walked out, it would, like the eastern sheep, follow me. Ihave taken it for miles along the public road, and never saw it appearfrightened. It was stolen and killed before it became quite a sheep; butI have no doubt it would have continued as tame, and as bold, and ashappy. If you look into the faces of a flock of sheep, you will see agreat variety of countenances among them, and some are very intelligent. There is a field near me, where I often go to walk; and a number ofyoung sheep in it have taken such a fancy to Bronti, that when he standsstill they will come almost close to him, the ram foremost, as ifwishing to play with him; but if he goes towards them, off they trot, poor things, to the other end of the field. 

Not long ago, I saw something that made me quite unhappy; and indeed itwas one reason for my writing this little book. A boy was driving a fewsheep, and he got them into a corner, on some very high ground, fromwhich they could not possibly get away without jumping down where theymust have broken their necks, or limbs. Then this bad boy calledanother, and they both took up large stones that were lying about theroad, and threw them at the innocent sheep--or rather lambs, for theywere not full grown. I saw them hit on their heads and eyes, and nearlymad with pain and terror. I never saw a more cruel thing: I thoughtBronti would have seized the boys, he was so angry. I could not helpthinking how awful would be the state of those boys, if they were cutoff by death in such wickedness. Alas! the agonies of one hourhereafter, would be worse than all the tortures that could be inflictedon God's creatures during their whole lives. But instead of an hour, itis for ever and ever that all who go to that dreadful place ofpunishment must remain. It made me very miserable to see the poor lambsso cruelly hurt, and to think what judgment those boys were bringing onthemselves. I ran for Bronti's master, and we met the bruised, bleedinglittle innocents limping along, and the inhuman boy, tired of his savagesport, following them. We stopped him, and that gentleman spoke veryplainly to him of his sin, and God's anger. The boy looked alarmed, butsulky; and I sadly fear he was hardening his young heart against theLord. Let us pray that we may be kept from hardness of heart, and madetender to keep a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man. 

It was a donkey-boy who had helped the other to throw stones at thelambs; and this reminds me that I have something to say about the ass;the most despised and the worst-used of all animals, and yet the one onwhich the greatest honour has been put, being chosen for its humble, gentle, patient character to assist in setting forth the wonderfulhumiliation of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who in the greatnessof his everlasting majesty and power condescended to stoop low for oursakes. I think you will remember at once what I mean. In the ninthchapter of the book of Zechariah, it is written, "Rejoice greatly, Odaughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy Kingcometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and ridingupon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. "

And you know how this was fulfilled. When our Lord Jesus was about toenter, for the last time, into the holy city of Jerusalem, before hisenemies had laid their cruel hands on him, he sent two of the disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightwayye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bringthem unto me. They did so; and this meek and lowly Saviour, this King ofheaven and earth, descended from the mount of Olives, and rode intoJerusalem, not as the monarchs of this world ride, on a fiery war-horsewith proud trappings and surrounded by gleaming swords and spears. No, the blessed Jesus chose no such pomp. He made choice of the humble, despised ass; her trappings were the outer garments of those poor men, fishermen and such like, who followed him; and who took them off, tomake, as it were, a saddle and saddle-cloth for their beloved Master;while others, seeing that no more were wanted for that purpose, spreadtheirs on the ground that he might ride over them. Ah, the day will comewhen the King of kings and Lord of lords shall ride in vengeance overthe persons of his rebellious enemies, as he then rode in meek andlowly state over the garments of his loving friends. And, as you wouldavoid his wrath on that terrible day, provoke him not now by wantoncruelty to the creatures which he has made. He is very, very merciful tothem, and to you. They do you no wrong; do no wrong to them. 

How often have I thought of that beautiful scene on the green side ofthe gently sloping mount of Olives, which rises eastward of the city ofJerusalem, with the brook Kedron sparkling at its feet! You know theBible tells us, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, that by Him God madethe world; and again, "All things were made by him, and without him wasnot any thing made that was made. " Yet he, the Maker of all things, tookupon him the nature of man; and so you see, for once, a poor animalenjoyed even greater privilege and happiness than when the creatureswere first brought to Adam; and that animal was no other than thepersecuted ass! The Lord showed his tenderness in not separating thedam from her young one: He commanded both to be brought; and the littlecreature tripped so happily beside its mother, while both enjoyed thesheltering protection of Him who made the worlds! Yes, I very oftenthink of this, when I see the cruelties committed on some overworkedanimal, in a cart, or ridden by an unfeeling person; and the mischief, the wicked mischief, that Satan finds for idle hands to do, in thefield, or by the way-side, where the poor ass is quietly nibbling atsuch coarse weeds as neither horse, nor cow, nor sheep would touch. Thelittle foal too, with its innocent face, and broad forehead covered withshaggy hair, looking as if it longed to have a game of play with you. Can you put it to pain? Alas! it has a life of cruel labour andsuffering before it: and you should not be so inhuman as to rob it ofits very short time of freedom and repose. Some boys are cruel onpurpose. Satan leads them captive at his will; and if they continue todo his wicked will, they must expect to be with him for ever in theplace of fire. But many are cruel from thoughtlessness only; and I hopethis little book will lead such to reflect, and to cease from what is agreat sin against God, whether they think it to be so or not. 

I have said nothing about the wonderful story of an ass which you willfind in the book of Numbers, chapter xxii. : you can read it foryourselves. I will finish this subject by giving you a text from thewise and gracious laws which it pleased the Lord God to lay down for hispeople Israel, when he was himself their own King. It is a mostbeautiful precept: it teaches at once to overcome an evil feelingagainst a fellow-man, and to show mercy to a suffering animal. "If thousee the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldestforbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him, " Ex. Xxiii. 5; andin the 12th verse we read a reason given for keeping holy and quiet theSabbath day, "that thine ox and thine ass may rest. "

This is a long chapter; but I had a good deal to say in it, and I hopeyou are not tired, and that you will think it over, and pray God toenable you to profit by it. 

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CHAPTER V. 

BEARS, MONKEYS, RATS. 

Now, I think, you are laughing at the heading of this chapter, andwondering what I can have to say about such creatures; but wait alittle, and you will find I am not afraid to put in a good word forthem. You must know that I once had a young bear, a mere cub, which wasgiven to me by one of the wild Indians, as they are called. TheseIndians, by the way, are not half so wild as some boys of myacquaintance, who are a great deal better taught; and they were veryfond of me--merely because it pleased God to keep me mindful of agracious command which he has given us. You will find it in the firstEpistle of Peter, chap. Ii. , verse 17: "Honour all men. " Man, whether hebe black, or white, or tawny; whether he be rich or poor, bond or free;man was at first made in the image of God, and would have kept the imageif Adam had not sinned and lost it; so that none of his posterity arenow born in that holy, happy state in which Adam was created. But then, lost as man is, and deprived of all honour, it pleased the eternal Sonof God to take upon Him the name and the nature of man, free from allits sinfulness, though deprived of its first glory, and this he did thathe might, by suffering death, atone for the sin of the world. So now, asthere is no person so miserable, so despised, or even so sinful, that bycoming to the Lord Jesus Christ, and believing in Him alone, he may nothave his sins blotted out, and himself made an inheritor of the kingdomof heaven, I am sure that every man ought to be treated with somerespect, as one of that race whom God created, and for whom Christ died. Indeed, it would be enough for me, if only the Bible said, "Honour allmen, " without my being able to see why I ought to do so. It is my dutyto obey every one of my Lord's commands: but it is very pleasant tothink about his gracious commandments, and to see, as we must then do, how very lovely they are. Now you know why I treated the wild Indians ofthe woods with gentle, kind respect; and they felt it, and loved megreatly, and used to bring me their little gifts. One day, two roughIndian men came to me, in their very strange dresses, with their stiffblack hair hanging down, never having been combed in their lives, Ishould think. They each brought a young bear into my large kitchen; andwhile I told them to sit down and eat something, the two cubs began toexamine the place for themselves. It was a funny sight, so I will tellyou about it. 

Under a table, there lay a good long barrel on its side, and two veryfriendly cats had each got some kittens in it. They had made themselveslittle beds in the straw, one near the mouth of the barrel, the otherfarther in. So one young bear, (they were but a few weeks old, poorlittle animals!) in the course of his travels about the kitchen, pokedhis nose into this barrel, and out flew the old gray cat, in a greatrage, or fright, I hardly know which, and began to spit most furiouslyat the cub, who ran away as fast as he could, into a distant corner, followed by puss. She did not choose to go too near such an odd-lookingcreature; but sat watching him, to prevent his leaving that corner. 

Meantime, the other cub, thinking, I suppose, that, "as the cat wasaway, the bear might play"--at least with the kittens, went boldly closeto the barrel, when lo! out sprang the tortoise-shell cat from thefarther end, and this master Bruin was not slower than his brother inscampering away, the cat following him also. No harm was done; none ofthem had any wish to fight, and the scene was so droll that theservants were in fits of laughter; while the Indians, who I must tellyou are very grave, and even sad-looking people, and seldom seen tosmile, for once laughed heartily too. I took pity upon the frightenedcub, at whom the gray cat was still growling and spitting, and took himup my arms; for which he seemed so thankful, that I continued to strokehis shaggy coat, until one of the Indians, with a grin, offered to givehim to me. I accepted him, making a present in return; and for some daysI took delight in my bargain; for he was a most innocent littlecreature, and played merrily with a puppy dog: but those who understoodthe nature of a bear better than I did, persuaded me to give him up;because they had known a young lady who was killed by a tame bear in asudden passion. 

But I want to convince you how wrong we are in treating any animal as ifit could not feel attachment to us. Some soldiers' wives used to pet mylittle cub, even with tears in their eyes; and they told me the reason. They said, that a short time before, the regiment to which they belongedwas quartered in Canada, and the soldiers had a bear, which they broughtup tame. This creature had a strange office--he was nurse to all thebabies in the barrack. So great was his love for them, that whenever themothers wanted to have their infants well taken care of, they wouldplace them under this animal's charge, who was delighted to smooth forthem the clean soft straw that they gave him; and whose tender care overthe babes was, they told me, the most beautiful thing ever seen. Thepoor bear was always trying to help and oblige his friends; and onwashing days he had plenty of babies to mind, when the weather was mildenough to have them out of doors; but one cold day they were all leftwithin, and the bear had nothing to do. So, seeing a woman leave herwashing-tub, which she had just filled with boiling water, he thought hewould do some of her work, and put his paws into it: the pain made himsnatch them out, and in so doing he upset the tub--all the scaldingwater fell over him--and his agonies were such that, in mercy, somesoldier shot him dead at once. The women, when they told me this, sobbedwith grief, saying, "He was so kind to our babies! he would have died intheir defence, poor fellow!" I assure you, that when I see a poor bearled through the streets, chained, beaten, and made to dance, as theycall it, which it is taught to do by cruel tortures, I always rememberthis story; and think, how much love and gratitude might that miserablesufferer feel, and how happy he might be made, if those who have takenhim from his native woods, and made a slave of him, would only showmercy now instead of such barbarity! We often hear the expression, "Assavage as a bear;" but, I fear, in general, the man is the greatersavage of the two. 

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MONKEYS are diverting creatures; and if you saw their fun and frolicwhere they have liberty among the boughs of a tree, you would not knowhow to leave off laughing. It is a different thing, however, to seethem also chained, and beaten, and with their limbs confined inunnatural clothing, forced by fear, and hunger, and pain, to play theantics which they would do of their own accord if treated differently. Inever could understand how people can be amused by any thing that causespain to the creature doing it. They must either be very stupid, or veryhard-hearted. Want of thought is a great cause of needless cruelty, Iknow; and I am trying to put some kind thoughts into your heads, whichyou may be thankful for when you are older. I can tell you one thing, which is, that it is impossible for a cruel man to be happy: it isentirely IMPOSSIBLE. He may laugh and shout, and sing, and dance, andtell you that he is very happy; but it is not so. There is in his heartsomething always whispering, "Your turn will come. The great God, theholy, just, merciful God, whose creatures you now torment, sees it all, knows it all; and he will punish you. Every one of us must appear beforethe judgment-seat of Christ, to give an account of the things done inthe body; and you will be forced to own all your cruelties, beforeangels and men: and then what follows? 'HE SHALL HAVE JUDGMENT WITHOUTMERCY WHO HATH SHOWN NO MERCY!'" A bad man will never confess to youthat such is his feeling: for bad men always will try to make you as badas themselves: but now, mind, after what I have told you, if you havenot the same terror of God's vengeance coming over you when you do acruel thing. If not, it is because you are already hardened by Satan;but I should grieve to think it was so with you. Oh! remember that theblessed Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil; and pray to himnow to deliver you from the power of that evil one. He will hear, andhelp, and save. 

Even as to animals that we may destroy when they injure us, we shouldnot forget the good they also do: as an instance, the RAT may bementioned. It is, indeed, a very troublesome and sometimes dangerouscreature: it will kill and carry off young chickens, pigeons, and otherdefenceless things; besides making sad havoc among the grain andeatables of every sort. It is often more than a match for a grownkitten, or even a weak cat: and where they are in numbers, they havebeen known to overpower a man. I confess, the rat is a very disagreeableenemy, whom we may fairly get rid of when we can. But when it isnecessary to kill them, we should do it mercifully; do not put them toneedless pain. Why should you? Is it manly? Is it generous? Is it whatyou think God will approve? Will it make you wiser, or better, orhappier to feel that you are giving pain to a poor creature?

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CHAPTER VI. 

BIRDS. 

Having now, I think, mentioned all the "four-footed beasts" about whichI had any thing particular to say, I will pass on to another and stillmore beautiful portion of God's handy-work--the birds. The account oftheir creation is thus given: "And God said, Let the waters bring forthabundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may flyabove the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created greatwhales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters broughtforth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after hiskind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Befruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowlmultiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifthday. " The beasts were not made until the sixth day; so that, if I hadbeen writing a history of the creation, I should have put the birds andfishes first. Notice these expressions, "God saw that it was good; andGod blessed them. " Every thing when it came from his glorious hand wasvery good; and man was the only being who became bad by his own fault, despised the blessing, and brought the curse on himself, with all itssad consequences to the whole earth and every creature. "God blessedthem;" and what right have we to make their little lives miserable? Thisthought has often come over me when I have seen any cruel thing done. God said, that the fowl were to "fly above the earth, in the openfirmament of heaven;" but he has made some fowls that are very useful toman, willing to stay upon the earth. If hens and ducks were to lay theireggs in high trees, and among rocks, as many birds do, we should getvery few of them; and as they lay many more than they can hatch, itwould be a great and wasteful loss. By this we are sure that poultry wasintended for our use; and if you take care not to frighten or teasethem, you may bring up chickens to be as tame and familiar as dogs orcats. I remember a droll proof of this. Once, out of a great many fowls, belonging to a dear friend in whose house I lived, there was only onethat would not be friends with me. She was a fine old speckled black andwhite hen, very wild; and her running away from me vexed me; for Icannot bear that any one of God's creatures should think I would be socruel as to hurt it. Well, I set myself to wheedle this hen into beingon better terms; taking crumbs to her, and persuading her by degrees tofeed from my hand, like the rest. This was very good: but it did notstop here. Whether Mrs. Hen was flattered by so much attention, orwhether she was desirous of making up for her former rudeness, or how itwas, I don't know; but she became so unreasonably fond of me, that if adoor or window were opened she would pop in to look for her friend, running up and down stairs, into the parlour, the drawing-room, thebed-rooms, and making no little work for the servants. At first, everybody was amused at it; but, after a time, the poor hen became sotroublesome that we were obliged to give her away. Jack, the dumb boy, would put his hands to his sides, and laugh till he lost his breath, tosee "my fat hen, " as he called her, waddling after me, without mindingeither dogs or strangers, and he was in great trouble when she was sentaway. Jack's care of the poultry, and his anxiety to prevent their beinghunted, or hurt, would have delighted you. Nothing pleased him betterthan to see that fine fellow, the cock, when he had scratched up orfound any nice thing, calling the hens and chickens about him, biddingthem take it, and never seeming even to wish for it himself. Jack usedto say, "Good; beautiful! God made poor bird. " When he was a little boy, he had seen some cock-fighting; and he used to tell me of it, in hisway, with so much grief and anger. He said, "God see bad man hurt poorbirds--make birds fight. " The tears would come into his eyes, when hethought how the birds were tortured; but he always ended by pitying themen and boys who suffered Satan to tempt them into such wickedness, forwhich they would be dreadfully punished at last. 

Jack was very fond of small birds: I suppose you think, then, that hehad some in a cage; and that he caught them in traps, for he was veryingenious. No; Jack would as soon, and sooner, have gone to prisonhimself. He could not bear the idea of imprisoning a bird. Canaries, indeed, and such others as could not live in our cold climate, andwhich, having been hatched in a cage, would not have known how to usetheir liberty, he did not object to, but took great pleasure in givingthem pans or saucers of clean water, to bathe themselves in; and plentyof fresh sand, and nice food: but most birds he could not bear to seewithin the bars of a prison. The robin, the thrush, the blackbird, thelinnet, the sparrow, he knew it was a sin to deprive of their liberty. Ihave seen him persuade other boys to break their traps, or to let thepoor frightened captives go: and I have seen him clap his hands with joyas they spread out their pretty wings, and flew "above the earth, in theopen firmament of heaven, " as they were made to do; but I do not believethat a whole pocket full of silver and gold would have tempted Jack tocatch and sell a bird. Indeed, I am sure it would not; for he knew thatneither silver nor gold, nor any thing that is to be bought with them, would make a person's heart feel happy; and that the commission of a sinwould make him feel very unhappy; for nothing was so dreadful to Jack asthe idea of offending his gracious God, or grieving the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the heart of every true believer. Now, perhaps, you willsay, "I would not catch and sell birds to put money in my own pocket;but may I not do it to earn a little for those who really want it?" Butrobbing is not earning. If you catch a bird, or a fish, not belonging toanother person, to kill and eat it, or to sell or to give it to othersfor food, you do what God has permitted; and if it is done for thispurpose, and not for sport, nobody can blame you. But, though the Lordhas given you the bodies of his creatures for food, he has never givenyou their natural liberty, either for your amusement or profit. 

As for keeping birds in a cage to sing, if you look at the hundred andfourth Psalm, you will find that they were made to "sing among thebranches. " Go into the fields, and listen to their happy little songs ofliberty, and take from them a lesson of thankful joy: or, if you wantthem at home, put crumbs and grains of corn on the windows, and theywill learn to come and pick them up, and thank you with their merrynotes. Only do not be so mean and treacherous as to draw a snare orclose a trap over the poor things when they come, as they think, to befed by your bounty. People who love music so well as to make an innocentcreature miserable that they may enjoy its songs will wish, some day, that they had been born deaf. 

But there is one thing that I am sorry to see many boys doing everyspring, and which they cannot defend by any such excuses. I often wonderwho was the first to begin such a disgraceful custom, the most cruel, senseless, and babyish piece of folly: I mean what is calledbird-nesting. God said to the creatures, "Be fruitful andmultiply, "--"let fowl multiply in the earth. " At the same time, He gavethem a wonderful instinct and skill, such as man's reason cannotimitate. The birds must keep their eggs very warm for a certain numberof days, to bring to life the little creatures that are forming withinthem; and the eggs being so very delicate and brittle, they must alsohave a soft place to lie in, close enough for the bird's body to coverthem all; and be out of reach of rats, and other enemies. So, when thebird is going to lay, she and her mate set to work, and what wonderfulwork it is! These little creatures, without any hands, or even paws likefour-footed animals, to help them, and with only the bits of stick, hay, grass, dead leaves, wool, hairs, and moss, that they can pick up withtheir bills, presently form a soft, snug, warm, strong apartment, asround as a tea-cup, and exactly of the proper size; placed, too, whereit will be little seen, sheltered above from the wet, yet airy enough tokeep it fresh and wholesome, and so smooth on the inside that even thedelicate naked body of a bird just hatched cannot be made uneasy by arough point. It costs the parent-birds a great deal of trouble; and ifyou leave a nest untouched from one year to another, neither disturbingthe eggs nor the nestings, you will find it the next spring nicelyrepaired and new lined, and a new family in it. Oh! I do wish that boys, remembering how, by the goodness of our equal laws, a poor man's houseis his castle, would let a poor bird's little nest be its castle too! Heis the bravest boy who will defend the weak from the strong; and he isthe best boy who loves and is kind to the least of God's creatures forthe sake of the glorious Creator. 

But perhaps you may say, "Well, I will not spoil the nest; I will onlytake the eggs. " No, pray do not take the eggs. What pleasure in theworld can a parcel of little eggs afford you, compared with the delightthat the poor harmless mother takes in them as she sits in her warmhouse, of her own making, listening for the first faint chirp of thetiny creature within? Birds only bring up one family in a year; and ifyou take from them the eggs that are to produce that one, you rob themof all the happiness for which they took so much trouble. You are notenough of a hen to hatch the eggs, though you may be enough of a gooseto try: then think, and be too much of a man to do such a silly, cruelthing. You like, perhaps, to blow the inside out, and string the shellsin a row. Oh you thoughtless child! You must certainly be a very littlechild to take pleasure in such a babyish thing; and you are very, verythoughtless and wrong to do it at the expense of a poor innocent birdwhich never injured or wished to injure you, though you can rob it ofall its delight, to please such a silly fancy. If you want a prettything to ornament your room, go and pick up some round, clear pebbles, of different colours, and give one side of them a polish at thegrindstone; then get some pieces of brick, and join them together in theshape of an arch, or any thing you fancy, with a little mortar; spreadmore mortar, thick and rough, over the front, and, while it is wet, stick in your pebbles, with the shining side outmost, with bits ofglass, moss, sealing-wax, and any gay thing that comes in your way. Ihave seen such pretty contrivances, and have said to myself, "The boywho made this is skilful, and may come to be a good builder, or otherartisan, some day;" but when I see bird's eggshells hung up, I turn awaywith a feeling of pain, because I know that somebody must be there, either idle and cruel, or encouraging their children to be so. 

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But there is something far worse than this. When the mother bird hasmade her nest, and sat long days and nights on her eggs, and heard thelittle ones chirp within, and helped them to break the thin shell, andfelt their little warm bodies cuddling themselves among her softfeathers, and seen their yellow beaks open to ask her for the food thatit gives such joy to her affectionate heart to put into them; oh, THEN, can you turn all her honest happiness into misery and mourning, and killthose baby-birds with a miserable death, by cold and hunger, if not byother tortures. If ever you have done this, pray to the Lord God toforgive your sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Do you think He will forgiveyou? Yes, you say, because he is very merciful. Indeed he is and forthat very reason he hates cruelty: but while you look to the Lord'smercy for pardon, you must steadily resolve to offend no more by doingwhat he hates; else you only mock him. 

I do not myself understand how anybody can bear to hurt little birds, they are such endearing creatures; but I have seen it with my own eyes, and am obliged to believe it. Bad example will go a great way. Boys, andmen too, will do what they see others do, without stopping to think ofthe great truth that God sees them too. But, then, good example goesfar also; and the person who is careful not to do wrong has the comfortof knowing that he is showing others the right way. While I write thislittle book, I am praying to the Lord to make it the means of persuadingmany young readers to be merciful; and that their good example willpersuade many more, who may not see the book; and so good will be done, greater than you now think. 

I have a cockatoo. A friend brought him from India, and a funny bird heis, but terribly noisy. He soon began to bark like Fid, and to growllike Bronti; to cackle like the hens, and to imitate every loud noisethat he heard. We hoped, if he had a good teacher, he would learn tosing, instead of making such a riot, as he whistles uncommonly wellafter his master. So we went to buy a Canary bird, and you may be surewe bought two; for it is very cruel to shut up a bird alone in a cage. The cockatoo is not in a cage, but on a stand, dancing and chatteringall day. We put our canaries into a very large cage, with a good-sizedpan of fresh water every day, clean gravel, and plenty of seed. Nothingcould be happier, or tamer, than these little things; but one day thehen got at some green paper, which she pecked at through the wires, andthe stuff that coloured it killed her at once. We got another directlyin her place, and there they are in the sunshine, on a table close byme, splashing the paper on which I write with the water; for theydelight to plunge into it, till they are wet in every feather. Nothingis more necessary to animals and birds than plenty of fresh water. Mypigeons have a pan of it to wash in, and it wants changing several timesa day; and you do not know how much birds in confinement suffer if thatis neglected. A glass hung outside, if always kept full, is good todrink out of; but a bath _in_ the cage is the great luxury. 

Perhaps you will ask, Has the cockatoo learned to sing? No, I am sorryto say, he is as noisy as ever, and not at all musical. We keep himquiet by giving him sticks to break, and knotted cord to untie; and whenhe has been good I take him on my lap, and rub his head and wings, whichhe greatly likes. I never yet saw the animal, down to a little mouse, that would not be fond of those who treated it tenderly; and thepleasure of being loved is so great, that I only wonder how anybody canneglect to win the love of the creatures which were made for man's useand benefit. There is a wonderful deal of happiness among them, showinghow, as the Psalm says, the Lord's "tender mercies are over all hisworks;" and a little kindness makes them so familiar, that we are alwaysreminded how sociable they were with Adam in the garden of Eden; and howhappy they and we should all be together now, if sin had not enteredinto the world to destroy the beauty and blessedness that were uponevery thing when God first made them, and saw that they were all "verygood. "

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CHAPTER VII. 

FISHES--INSECTS. 

A story about Jack. When he was a little fellow, soon after he came tome, and before he knew many words, he made me understand that he wanteda very long, slender stick. I asked a gardener of a friend, and he cuthim a fine one from a particular sort of tree. Then Jack laid out apenny, all that he had, on a coarse bit of line, such as fishermen use;and, lastly, he came to me for some large pins: one of which he bentlike a hook; explaining to me that he was going to dig for worms to putupon it, that he might fish. I shook my head, saying, "No. " Jack noddedhis head, and said "Yes. " I said "bad;" Jack said "good;" and then Itook up his little red hand, and pretended I was going to run the hookthrough the flesh. He snatched it away in a fright, saying "Bad, bad!"but I nodded, and said "Good, good!" He said, "Bad Mam, hurt Jack!" andI answered, "Bad Jack, hurt worm: God made Jack--God made worm. " Heshook his head, and said, "No;" and what do you think was the reason hegave? He reminded me that God is high up above, and that the worms comefrom below, under the ground. The little fellow did not know that theworld is round; he thought it was flat: still less did he thenunderstand that God is everywhere, and made all things, above andbeneath. Then I told him that the Lord did so; and that worms and otherthings were put into the earth by him, even as we were made to walk uponits surface. Jack considered a little; and then said the worms wererolled up in the world as apples were in a dumpling, and that they eattheir way through the crust. It was an odd idea, and made me smile; onwhich he said, "Good, " and told me he would fish with a piece of meat orbread for a bait. 

[Illustration: THE TADPOLE OR YOUNG FROG. ]

Next morning, Jack came to me, and after reminding me of this, he askedme if God also made the little newts, tadpoles, and frogs, and otherthings that he had seen in the muddy ditches? I replied, "Yes, all. ""Did God make fishes?" "Oh yes, " I answered, "he made fishes and everything. " Then, in a very lively manner, he made me understand, that ifGod did not like to have him hurt the worms, neither would he like tohave him hurt the fish. "Poor fish!" he said, showing me how its mouthwould be torn by the hook; and then, to my surprise, he got a smallhatchet, and chopped up his fine fishing-rod into walking-sticks; andfrom that day he could never bear to see anybody angling. He used totell him, if they wanted to fish to eat or sell, to catch them with anet, and to kill them at once; and I believe that the sight of the deafand dumb boy, taking such pains to plead for the creatures which are notonly dumb, but have no way of pleading for themselves, was the means ofchecking many persons in cruel practices. He knew very little comparedwith what you, perhaps, know; but he knew one blessed truth--he knewthat "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, thatwhosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlastinglife;" and by always thinking on this great mercy of God to man, and theexceeding love of our Lord Jesus Christ, in dying for poor sinners likeus, Jack came to hate whatever he knew to be displeasing to thatgracious Lord and heavenly Father; and the happiness that he felt in hisown soul made him delight in seeking the happiness of every creaturearound him. 

Jack died of a slow decline. He had much pain, but I never saw him lookimpatient or unhappy. He felt what David so beautifully describes in thetwenty-third Psalm: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow ofdeath, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. " He knew quite wellthat he was going to die; but it never made him uneasy. He knew that Godwas at peace with him, through the merits of the Redeemer; and he was atpeace with all the world. His dying pillow was not made a pillow ofthorns by the remembrance of having made any living thing suffertorment; nor were his short sleeps disturbed by terrible dreams of whathe had forgotten until the time drew near to appear before God. I couldtell fearful stories of some who died as young as Jack, and whosedeath-beds can never be forgotten by those who saw them. They had beencruel to God's dumb creatures, and never gave a thought to what they haddone; but when death was near, when the poor weak body could not risefrom the bed, nor the soul be any longer deceived with the thought ofyears to come, it was horrible to hear the cries they uttered, and thewild things that they said about beasts, and birds, and insects torturedby them in the days of their health and strength. There was one inparticular, a butcher's boy, who could not be comforted: he said, thecalves, the sheep, and the lambs, had provoked him by theirunwillingness to be caught and driven into the slaughter-yard, and hehad revenged himself by making their deaths as painful as he could; andthat he saw them then--whether his eyes were open or shut, he always sawthem--all bleeding, and torn, and struggling, as they used to do: andwhatever was said to him, or whatever noise was made, he heard theircries of agony louder than all. When he was told that God was merciful, he answered, "Yes; but I had no mercy, and there is no mercy for me. " Iwish I could tell you that he died praying for pardon; but, alas! hedied shrieking out that he must go to hell. At that time, I was asked towrite a book about it, to warn others; but I was so much shocked that Icould not write about it. I mention it now, to show you that sometimes, even in this world, the dreadful work of judgment is begun--judgmentwithout mercy, to those who show no mercy. 

But you must not suppose that Jack's happiness and peace, and confidencein God, came from any thing that he had done, or any thing that he hadrefrained from doing. No, it was all from believing with his whole heartthat God loved him for the sake of his dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if Jack has said, or fancied, that he loved God, and had at thesame time been cruel, or lived in any other sin, it would have provedthat he was mistaken, and he would have had no real peace. If you passby a garden and see clusters of fine ripe grapes hanging from the boughsof a tree, and anybody should say to you, "That's a fine vine, " youwould agree with him at once; but if he pointed to a tree wherehorse-chestnuts were growing, and called it a vine, you would laugh athim; you know the difference between a sweet juicy grape, and a hard, bitter, uneatable horse-chestnut. Yet you would not say that the grapesmade the vine, would you? No, they did not make it a vine, but theyproved it to be one. If a boy were to tie bunches of grapes to ahorse-chestnut tree, and tell you it was a vine, you would say no, it isnot a real vine--the fruit did not grow upon it. 

In this way, I may say that I knew Jack to be a true child of God:because the fruit of good works grew upon him. It was not in look only, but really and indeed, that he was the character I have described; andif you read carefully, very carefully, the fifteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel, you will see what I mean. In that beautiful chapter, ourLord Jesus Christ compares himself to a vine, his people to thebranches, and the good works that they do to the grapes; and he shows usthat if we do not really belong to him, and keep close to him, (which wecan only do by believing and praying, ) then we are like the branches cutoff from the vine, which cannot possibly bring forth any grapes. You maythink little of this now; but you must think of it, whether you will orno, when you come to die. Perhaps you say to yourself, "Ay, but when Icome to die, I will pray, and make my peace with God. " Do not deceiveyourself with such a vain hope: there is a very terrible warning givenin the first chapter of Proverbs, which you must not forget. The Lord isaddressing such as mean to put off repenting and praying, and servinghim, to another time, when sickness or some other calamity shallfrighten them into calling on him for pardon and help. These are thewords: "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out myhand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, andwould none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I willmock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, andyour destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish comethupon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; theyshall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hateknowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none ofmy counsel: they despised all my reproof. " Does not this alarm you? Thendo not be found a day longer among those who refuse to hear the graciousvoice of the Lord Jesus, who invites you to come to him for eternallife; and who will, if you ask it in his name, send the Holy Spirit toguide you in the good way, and make you real branches of the good Vine, as he made the dumb boy. When Jack was eleven years old, he became atrue servant of the Lord; and he died at nineteen, and went to live inheaven with the blessed Master whom he had delighted to serve uponearth. 

His religion made him so happy, there was not a merrier boy to be found. Some people will tell you that being religious makes a boy feel dull andmelancholy. Ask them if they think you so silly as to believe thatwalking in the summer sunshine will make you feel dark and cold? Truereligion is to man what the bright sunshine is to the little insectsthat sport upon the wing, and who find in it not only their light buttheir life. 

[Illustration: THE WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR. ]

Does any boy's conscience smite him at my naming the insects? I hopenot. I hope you have not been tempted by Satan to do any harm to thelittle harmless, and often useful, creatures that cross your path. Abutterfly, a cockchaffer, a house-fly, a snail, a caterpillar, aworm--these, and all others, are God's handy-work; and if you could seethem through a glass that magnifies very much indeed, you would be moreastonished than I can tell you. The small powder, scarcely seen on yourfinger's end, from the wing of a butterfly, is a lump of the mostbeautiful feathers, so delicate that the gentlest touch will rub some ofthem off: the wing itself is made of lovely net-work, like silverthreads, stretched on strong wires; and all the skill of all the mostskilful men in the world could make nothing to equal the coarsest partof the plainest insect. But it is not their beauty--though we ought tosee and to glorify the Creator's hand in that--it is their delicatesense of feeling that should keep us from hurting them. The common wormis very useful in dividing the clods of earth, which would otherwisebecome so hard as to prevent the fine fibres of the roots of plants fromforcing their way, and then the plants would die. Man has not discoveredall the uses of the different insects; but God has made nothing in vain:and though, for our own safety and comfort, we must destroy some sorts, still we are bound to do it in the quickest and most complete manner, orelse we must give an account to their Creator and ours for the crueltywe commit. I have killed insects myself, for no reason but because I sawthat they must fall into the hands of boys, or others, whom I knew to beso dreadfully wicked as to take pleasure in torturing them; but I did itsorrowfully; feeling that I could not give life to the meanest reptile, and that I must be able to render to God a reason for taking it away. Ihave found poor harmless insects alive, most cruelly maimed, with theirwings or legs torn off, or their bodies pierced through; and I shudderedto think how the eye of God was fixed on those who did it, never losingsight of them; and I have prayed that he would change their wickedhearts before it was too late. 

And now I have finished my book. While I was writing it, more than a fewfunerals passed my window, the coffins being those of very young people;and this made me more anxious to go on; for I thought to myself, "Perhaps some boy or girl will read it who has never thought rightlyabout these things, and will presently determine not to go on in sin, but to become merciful and obedient, and all that they ought to be. " Ifthey try to do this of themselves, they will soon find that the sinfulnature of Adam is too strong in them; and the more they try to mendthemselves, they will find Satan is the more busy, leading them intomore wickedness. Then, perhaps, they will mind what I have said aboutthe need not only of pardon, but of help from the Lord Jesus Christ. They will pray to God, for his sake, to give them a new heart, holy, humble, obedient, and merciful. This prayer will be heard; for ourgracious God hears and answers the prayer of the poorest child asreadily as that of the mightiest king. Then they will know what itreally is to love God, and to keep his commandments, because they lovehim; and what a sweet example they will set to others, and how happythey will be themselves, and what a blessing to all belonging to them!Perhaps, too, they will make a little party among the kindest-hearted oftheir playmates, all giving a promise to each other not willingly tohurt any of God's creatures; but to do the best they can to persuadeevery one to be merciful to the dumb animals, birds, fishes, andinsects. If they live, they will grow up to be such men and women as wewant, to bring a blessing on this land; and in their own children theywill reap the reward of having shown tenderness to the helpless. If theydie young, they will be like my happy boy Jack, not afraid of death; butwilling and rejoiced to go to the Saviour, whom they sought and found soearly. Oh, may the Lord grant this blessing to my little book, that atthe great day of judgment I may meet with some happy spirits to tell methat it was not written in vain! "BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEYSHALL OBTAIN MERCY. " Matt. V. 7. 

[Illustration: FINIS]