The Linnet
Hear the Woodland Linnet
The Parrot
The Common Question
Why not do it, Sir, To-day
To a Redbreast
Phoebe
To the Stork
The Storks of Delft
The Pheasant
The Herons of Elmwood
Walter von der Vogelweid
The Legend of the Cross-Bill
Pretty Birds
The Little Bird sits
The Living Swan
The Stormy Petrel
To the Cuckoo
Birds at Dawn
Evening Songs
Little Brown Bird
Life's Sign
A Bird's Ministry
Of Birds
Birds in Spring
The Canary in his Cage
Who stole the Bird's-Nest
Who stole the Eggs
What the Birds say
The Wren's Nest
On Another's Sorrow
The Shepherd's Home
The Wood-Pigeon's Home
The Shag
The Lost Bird
The Birds must know
The Bird King
Shadows of Birds
The Bird and the Ship
A Myth
THE DOG.
Cuvier on the Dog
A Hindoo Legend
Ulysses and Argus
Tom
William of Orange saved by his Dog
The Bloodhound
Helvellyn
Llewellyn and his Dog
Looking for Pearls
Rover
To my Dog "Blanco"
The Beggar and his Dog
Don
Geist's Grave
On the Death of a Favorite Old Spaniel
Epitaph in Grey Friars' Churchyard
From an Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog
The Dog
Johnny's Private Argument
The Harper
"Flight"
The Irish Wolf-Hound
Six Feet
There's Room enough for all
His Faithful Dog
The Faithful Hound
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Spider's Lesson
The Spider and Stork
The Homestead at Evening
The Cattle of a Hundred Farms
Cat-Questions
The Newsboy's Cat
The Child and her Pussy
The Alpine Sheep
Little Lamb
Cowper's Hare
Turn thy Hasty Foot aside
The Worm turns
Grasshopper and Cricket
The Honey-Bees
Cunning Bee
An Insect
The Chipmunk
Mountain and Squirrel
To a Field-Mouse
A Sea-Shell
The Chambered Nautilus
Hiawatha's Brothers
Unoffending Creatures
September
The Lark
The Swallow
Returning Birds
The Birds
Thrush
Linnet
Nightingale
Songsters
Mohammedanism—The Cattle
The Spider and the Dove
The Young Doves
Forgiven
Prayers
Dumb Mouths
The Parsees
Hindoo
The Tiger
Value of Animals
Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND TITLES.
INDEX OF AUTHORS.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.—Gen. i. 31.
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.—Ex. xx. 10.
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.—Psa. l. 10, 11.
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.The eyes of all wait upon thee: and thou givest them their meat in due season.Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.—Psa. cxlv. 9, 15, 16.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.—Prov. xii. 10.
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.—Prov. xxxi. 8.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee.—Job xii. 7.
Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.
In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment: and with all lost things of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself.
Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surelyhelphim to lift them up again.—Deut. xxii. 1-4.
Whoisa God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because hedelighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.—Mic. vii. 18, 19.
Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?—Job xxxix. 26, 27.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,Provideth her meat in summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.—Prov. vi. 6-8.
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city: the one was rich, and the other poor.
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing save one little ewe-lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come to him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and becausehe had no pity.—2 Sam. xii. 1-6.
Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.Beasts and all cattle: creeping things, and flying fowl.—Psa. cxlviii. 1, 2, 10.
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.—Psa. lxxxiv. 3.
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?—Jonah iv. 11.
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.—1 Tim. v. 18.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matt. v. 7.
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.—Matt. vi. 26.
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?—Luke xii. 6.
Maker of earth and sea and sky,Creation's sovereign, Lord and King,Who hung the starry worlds on high,And formed alike the sparrow's wing:Bless the dumb creatures of thy care,And listen to their voiceless prayer.For us they toil, for us they die,These humble creatures Thou hast made;How shall we dare their rights deny,On whom thy seal of love is laid?Teach Thou our hearts to hear their plea,As Thou dost man's in prayer to Thee!
Maker of earth and sea and sky,Creation's sovereign, Lord and King,Who hung the starry worlds on high,And formed alike the sparrow's wing:Bless the dumb creatures of thy care,And listen to their voiceless prayer.
For us they toil, for us they die,These humble creatures Thou hast made;How shall we dare their rights deny,On whom thy seal of love is laid?Teach Thou our hearts to hear their plea,As Thou dost man's in prayer to Thee!
Emily B. Lord.
O wedding guest! this soul hath beenAlone on a wide, wide sea:So lonely 'twas, that God himselfScarce seeméd there to be.O sweeter than the marriage feast,'Tis sweeter far to me,To walk together to the kirkWith a goodly company!—To walk together to the kirk,And all together pray,While each to his great Father bends,Old man, and babes, and loving friends,And youths and maidens gay!Farewell! farewell! but this I tellTo thee, thou wedding guest!He prayeth well, who loveth wellBoth man and bird and beast.He prayeth best, who loveth bestAll things both great and small;For the dear God who loveth us,He made and loveth all.
O wedding guest! this soul hath beenAlone on a wide, wide sea:So lonely 'twas, that God himselfScarce seeméd there to be.
O sweeter than the marriage feast,'Tis sweeter far to me,To walk together to the kirkWith a goodly company!—
To walk together to the kirk,And all together pray,While each to his great Father bends,Old man, and babes, and loving friends,And youths and maidens gay!
Farewell! farewell! but this I tellTo thee, thou wedding guest!He prayeth well, who loveth wellBoth man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth bestAll things both great and small;For the dear God who loveth us,He made and loveth all.
S. T. Coleridge.
Bishop Butler affirmed that it was on the simple fact of a creature beingsentient, i.e. capable of pain and pleasure, that rests our responsibility to save it pain and give it pleasure. There is no evading this obligation, then, as regards the lower animals, by the plea that they are not moral beings; it isourmorality, nottheirs, which is in question.
Miss F. P. Cobbe.
"Never," said my aunt, "be mean in anything; never be false, neverbe cruel. Avoid those three vices, Trot, and I can always be hopeful of you."
C. Dickens, inDavid Copperfield.
Wherefore it is evident that even the ordinary exercise of this faculty of sympathy implies a condition of the whole moral being in some measure right and healthy, and that to the entire exercise of it there is necessary the entire perfection of the Christian character, for he who loves not God, nor his brother, cannot love the grass beneath his feet and the creatures that fill those spaces in the universe which he needs not, and which live not for his uses; nay, he has seldom grace to be grateful even to those that love and serve him, while, on the other hand, none can love God nor his human brother without loving all things which his Father loves, nor without looking upon them every one as in that respect his brethren also, and perhaps worthier than he, if in the under concords they have to fill their part is touched more truly.
Ruskin.
The quality of mercy is not strained;It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is twice blessed;It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes:'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomesThe throned monarch better than his crown:His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majesty,Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.But mercy is above this sceptred sway:It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;It is an attribute to God himself;And earthly power doth then show likest God'sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore,...Though justice be thy plea, consider this,—That, in the course of justice, none of usShould see salvation. We do pray for mercy;And that same prayer doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy.
The quality of mercy is not strained;It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is twice blessed;It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes:'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomesThe throned monarch better than his crown:His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majesty,Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.But mercy is above this sceptred sway:It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;It is an attribute to God himself;And earthly power doth then show likest God'sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore,...Though justice be thy plea, consider this,—That, in the course of justice, none of usShould see salvation. We do pray for mercy;And that same prayer doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy.
Shakespeare:Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Sc. 1.
And in that primeval account of Creation which the second chapter of Genesis gives us, the first peculiar characteristic of the Human Being is that he assumes the rank of the Guardian and Master of every fowl of the air and every beast of the field. They gather round him, he names them, he classifies them, he seeks for companionship from them. It is the fit likeness and emblem of their relation to him in the course of history. That "earnest expectation of the creature" which the Apostle describes, that, "stretching forth the head" of the whole creation towards a brighter and better state as ages have rolled on, has received even here a fulfilment which in earlier times could not have been dreamed of. The savage animals have, before the tread of the Lord of Creation, gradually disappeared. Those creatures which show capacity for improvement have been cherished and strengthened and humanized by their intercourse with man. The wild horse has been brought under his protecting care, has become a faithful ministering servant, rejoicing in his master's voice, fondled by his master's children. The huge elephant has had his "half-reasoning" powers turned into the faculties of a gentle, benevolent giant, starting aside from his course to befriend a little child, listening with the docility of a child to his driver's rebuke or exhortation. The light, airy, volatile bird seems to glow with a new instinct of affection and of perseverance under the shelter of the firm hand and eye of man. The dog, in all Eastern nations, even under the Old Testament itself, represented as an outcast, the emblem of all that was unclean and shameful, has, through the Gentile Western nations, been admitted within the pale of human fellowship. Truly, if man has thus, as it were, infused a soul into the dumb, lawless animals, what a community of feeling, what tenderness should it require from him in dealing with them. What a heartless, in one word, what aninhumanspirit is implied by any cruelty towards those, his dependents, his followers, his grateful, innocent companions, placed under his charge by Him who is at once their Father and ours. Remember our common origin and our common infirmities. Remember that we are bound to feel for their hunger, their thirst, their pains, which they share with us, and which we, the controllers of their destiny, ought to alleviate by the means which our advancing civilization enables us to use for ourselves. Remember how completely each of us is a god to them, and, as a god, bound to them by godlike duties.
Dean Stanley.
The rights of all creatures are to be respected, but especially of those kinds which man domesticates and subsidizes for his peculiar use. Their nearer contact with the human world creates a claim on our loving-kindness beyond what is due to more foreign and untamed tribes. Respect that claim. "The righteous man," says the proverb, "regardeth the life of his beast." Note that word "righteous." The proverb does not say the merciful man, but the righteous, the just. Not mercy only, but justice, is due to the brute. Your horse, your ox, your kine, your dog, are not mere chattels, but sentient souls. They are not your own so proper as to make your will the true and only measure of their lot. Beware of contravening their nature's law, of taxing unduly their nature's strength. Their powers and gifts are a sacred trust. The gift of the horse is his fleetness, but when that gift is strained to excess and put to wager for exorbitant tasks, murderous injustice is done to the beast. They have their rights, which every right-minded owner will respect. We owe them return for the service they yield, all needful comfort, kind usage, rest in old age, and an easy death.
Rev. Dr. Hedge.
The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withheld from them but by the hand of tyranny. It may come one day to be recognized that the number of legs, or the villosity of the skin, are reasons insufficient for abandoning a sensitive being to the caprice of a tormentor. What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason, or perhaps the faculty of discourse? But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational as well as a more conversable animal than an infant of a day, a week, or even a month old. But suppose the case were otherwise, what could it avail? The question is not "Can they reason?" nor "Can they speak?" but "Can they suffer?"
Bentham.