Charlotte Elizabeth - Kindness to Animals
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Charlotte Elizabeth >> Kindness to Animals
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE.]
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-SCHOOL
UNION.
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's
Office 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 of
Natural History; and they usually give some description of the birds
and beasts, fishes and insects, that are known to man. I am not going to
write such a book as that; but to say a little about different kinds of
creatures that we are all in the habit of seeing, and to tell you a few
things of some which have belonged to me, or have come under my own
observation; so that, at least, I can promise to write nothing but what
I know to be true. I have not learned their characters and habits from
books, but by watching them ever since I was a very young child; and
many 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 and
cruel, while some are tame and quiet?" I was told that the Bible gave an
answer to that question; and so it does. If we look in the first chapter
of Genesis, where there is an account of the creation of the world, we
find 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 the
beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and
every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw
that it was good." From this we learn, that there was no violence or
cruelty in any of them, as they first came from the hand of the holy and
merciful God. And I would have you take particular notice of what
directly follows: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Now, the great
God is invisible--a Spirit--and not a body, as I think you all know; and
when it is said that God made man in his own image, it must mean that
man was made to be holy, and just, and good, and merciful; and he was
made to be a careful and loving ruler over the poor dumb creatures, as
the Lord God is a careful and loving ruler over all that he has
created.
Then, in the next chapter, we have a beautiful picture before us: I do
not mean a print, or drawing, but a description in words, that, if we
think a little, will make us fancy we see a lovely sight, such as we
cannot now see anywhere. We are told that out of the ground the Lord God
formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and then
that He "brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and
whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name
thereof."
Was it not a wonderful and a beautiful sight? There, in a very delicious
garden, full of all manner of rich fruit and bright flowers, with soft
warm air, and calm sunshine, was the first and only man in all the
world! He was righteous and good, without any malice, or cruelty, or
covetousness, or pride in his heart, looking with delight upon the
creatures that came about him as their rightful ruler, to receive their
names.
Can you not fancy how he must have admired the noble and beautiful
creatures as they meekly and lovingly came to him? The mighty lion,
shaking the curls of his mane, and fixing his eyes (not then fierce and
fiery, but bright and joyous) on the man, who, by God's gift, was
mightier than he; the great elephant, putting out his trunk to caress
his new master, and passing on to rest under the shadow of some stately
tree; the horse, with his arching neck and prancing movements; the fond
dog; the gentle sheep; the peacock, with its plumes of blue, and green,
and gold; the majestic snow-white swan; the little linnet; the
robin-redbreast; and that most beautiful, tiny creature, the
humming-bird; the gay butterfly; the bee. It is impossible to go over
the 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, to
receive just what name he was pleased to give them. But I often think
about it, because it keeps me in mind that the Lord God never overlooks
any 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 good
and gracious Lord God, and persuaded Adam to do the same. So every thing
was altered: they were driven out of that fair garden into the wide
world, 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, and
then it was very difficult for man to make it fruitful, till he had cut
and bruised it with iron spades and ploughshares, and bestowed a great
deal of labour upon it. This sad curse was on the animals too; not by
their fault, poor things! but by man's dreadful sin. For, you see, it
was God who made them subject to man; and when man became a rebel and
traitor to God, the creatures turned against him, and against each
other. Oh, it is sad to think of all the misery and crime brought into
the world by the ungrateful disobedience of man to his heavenly King and
Father!
However, it did happen once again that a thing as wonderful though not
so beautiful was seen: indeed, we may say more wonderful, considering
how the nature of the creatures had been changed for the worse. When all
the world had become so wicked that God resolved to destroy every human
being from off the face of the earth, except Noah and his family, He
directed that pious man to make an ark, as you all know--an immense
ship, or floating house--in which he was to be preserved on the surface
of the waters for many days. When this great ark was ready, God caused a
pair of each from among all the animals and birds to come to Noah, and
to enter into the ark. Of some kinds there were seven, and of none less
than two. This was a very great miracle; and it shows us, too, how
perfectly the Lord knows and numbers all the works of his hands, and how
tenderly he cares for them all. This is one of the things that we are
apt to forget when have a beast, or a bird, or a fish, or an insect, in
our power. We are too ready to say to ourselves, "This is mine, and I
may do what I like to it." Not so; it is a creature of God's, not of
ours; and if we do to it any thing that he does not approve of, he will
surely reckon with us for it. When I call this to mind, I am
alarmed--though I do not think I have often been cruel to animals, or
any such thing--and I am ready to pray, "Lord, if I have hurt any of thy
creatures, 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 shall
give you the history of some animals and birds that I have had, and how
I treated them, and what amusement they gave me. I am sure if you knew
how very amusing they all are, when left to their own harmless ways, and
gently restrained from ways that are not harmless, you would think it a
great loss to have them so altered as they are by bad management. If I
had been a great traveller, I could tell you more wonderful stories; but
having only been in England, and Ireland, and part of North America, my
store of anecdotes is not so great. However, I will try my best to give
you some notion of what I do know; and as I shall often have occasion to
name 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 around
them, Jack, not hearing anybody talk, could not learn, and so he grew up
dumb. It is a sad thing to be deaf and dumb. A person who is so, cannot
possibly learn any thing about God and our Lord Jesus Christ, until he
has been taught to read; and it is so very difficult to teach them, that
if some benevolent people, who have money, did not subscribe to keep up
charitable schools on purpose for the deaf and dumb poor, I do not
suppose that one in a thousand of them would ever learn so much as that
they have a soul to be saved or lost: and you may judge what a miserable
life they must lead, in total ignorance, nobody speaking to them, and
they not able to speak to anybody. Jack was in this state when I first
saw him, at eleven years old; he was a poor boy, and I took him, and
taught him, and he lived with me above seven years, till he died of a
consumption. He died very happy indeed, full of love to God for his
great mercy in sending his Son into the world to save sinners: and
depending on the Lord Jesus for salvation. He was always with me,
speaking by means of his fingers, but in an odd, that is, an imperfect
sort of language, that would make you smile. So when I mention Jack, you
will know who I mean; and we will now have some talk about the domestic
animals.
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 up
in 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 about
bears and monkeys. I want to amuse you, my young friends, and to make
you think a little too; for all the good things given us of God become
more valuable to us when we think about them in a right way. Jack knew
this: he used to rub his forehead with his fingers' ends, shake his head
wisely, 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 you
have 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 from
disobeying their masters by being made afraid of punishment. I dare say
that animals, like human beings, often need correction; but two things
are necessary to make such correction useful. One is, not to punish them
too severely, which only hardens them in rebellion; the other is, never
to hurt them at all except for a real fault--something that they know
to 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 confused
and foolish, and does wrong, as any boy might do, from being in a great
fright. The truth is, that the animals are very sensible, and very
willing to do their best. They are fond of being praised and rewarded;
they become very much attached to those who treat them kindly; and when
they are so attached, they are very happy, and show off all the fine
qualities that make them both valuable and entertaining. I am going to
tell you some stories about my own favourites; and, to prevent your
thinking that they were different from others of the same kind, I shall
begin 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 they
are. All very young animals like to sleep a good deal, and to be let
alone. It both frightens and hurts them to be pulled about, and makes
them fretful and ill-tempered; spoils their growth, and prevents their
loving you. A puppy or a kitten is very fond of play, and will jump and
bounce about with you for a long while; but the moment they begin to get
tired, they should be left alone, to rest as much as they like. You may
suppose, that if, when you are comfortably going to sleep at night, a
rough-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, and
feverish, and be very glad to get out of the way of such a tormentor. So
my rule is, when creatures are young, to let them have as much sleep as
they will. It may sometimes prevent their being playthings when you want
them; but it will be made up in their health, and good-temper, and
gratitude to you.
Next, all creatures like liberty: a horse or a dog is never so happy as
when bounding across the fields in perfect freedom. Why does chaining or
tying up a dog make him savage? Because he then looks on mankind as his
enemies, and fancies that everybody he meets is going to take away his
liberty. My dogs have known as little about chains as possible: two of
them had been used to be tied up before I had them, and I never could
break them of being savage. As to beating it out of them, it would be
like putting on coals to keep a fire from burning. That, you know, makes
the fire look dull for a little while; but the moment you stir it, up it
blazes, much higher and brighter than if no coals had been put on. I
knew a horse that was not naturally good-tempered, and bad usage had
made him much worse: he was then bought by a gentleman, who gave him
enough of the whip, and spur, and sharp iron bit to cure him, if that
could have done it; but it only made him cunning and revengeful. Poor
beast! a little patient kindness would have gone much farther. I will
tell you an instance of this.
Once I had a mare, and such a beautiful creature she was! She lived on a
sort of farm, where they had not put her to work, and where the
children had been used to play with her. She was hardly full grown. I
lived then in a house with very low windows, and the pretty mare was
grazing on the outside. One warm day, the windows were all open, and I
was sitting at work, when she popped her beautiful head and neck in at
the 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, "Why
should I drive her away? God made the animals to be loving and confiding
towards 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 of
his beast;' and what is life to a poor animal that has no hereafter to
look to, if its life be without comforts?" So I put down my work, and
went and rubbed her forehead, stroked her long white face, patted her
shining neck, and talked to her. After this when I was alone at my
morning work, she was sure to put her head in at one of the windows, to
ask, in her dumb way, to be petted; and many an apple, many a handful
of oats, did she get by coming there. She would soon listen for my
footstep about the house, and I seldom could look out from any window
without seeing her under it, or before it. She would also follow me like
a 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 by
whipping and by jerking the bridle, which is a very cruel thing. My mare
did 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 over
her head, and trotted home to her stable. He was not hurt, but very much
mortified, being a soldier, and a great horseman; and he told his master
that she was the most vicious beast in the world, not safe for anybody
to ride. I did not like my pretty mare to get such a bad name: so I told
my own groom to put on the side saddle, and I asked the gentleman to
mount his fine English horse, and to ride out, and see if she were not
easily managed. We had a long ride over mountains, and through little
streams, and crossing deep torrents by the unsteady bridges made of
trunks of trees, and he said he never saw an animal so full of spirit
and good-temper as my mare. I never touched her with the whip, but spoke
gently to her; and I can truly say, that for the year and a half of my
riding her every day, she never brought me into danger, nor ever
disobeyed me. You may say, "But this was a particular sort of horse, not
like others." I have only to answer you, that the bad, vicious horse I
spoke of before, was bred in the same place, lived in the same stable,
and the only difference between them was the different usage that they
had received.
The horse is one of the most sensible and most affectionate of
creatures. You see, every day, how they will obey the man who drives
them, going on, stopping, moving to the right or left, and turning any
corner, all without the driver going near them. They have learned the
meaning of his words, or they could not do this; and is it not dreadful
that 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 fast
as he can when he is cruelly whipped, and his poor mouth wounded by the
hard bit? Because he is trying to get away from the man or boy who
treats him so. Ah, when God brought his beautiful creatures to the first
man, to be named, and gave them into his care, there was no appearance
of man ever becoming so cruel, or the animals so miserable as they now
are! Yet the Lord loves mercy and judgment, and hates tyranny and
wrong, 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 be
terribly punished, if it be not repented of, and left off; for when a
person says he repents, and goes on doing the same thing as before, he
is deceiving himself and provoking God.
The horse must bear a great deal of dreadful pain and suffering to be
made fit for the use man puts him to, in drawing carriages, and other
things. It is not natural to him to have even a bridle and saddle on
him; 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 always
attentive to the least touch of the reins, and turning accordingly, to
prevent running his carriage against others. His fine spirit must be
broken, his liberty quite taken away, and many a bitter smart must the
poor, dumb, harmless, helpless creature suffer. But surely this ought to
be 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 torment
a horse to make him go fast, just because it pleases the driver to be
moving quickly, is doing a very wrong thing; and so is the person who
could neglect to give food and drink to a horse when he wants it. I
wonder when I see the poor doing this. They know what it is to be
overworked, 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 to
run 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 much
worse off; he can neither do any thing for himself, nor express his
wants to others: he does his best, serves us faithfully, obeys all that
he understands; and then to be ill-used, neglected, starved! It is a
thing that I cannot bear to think of; and I hope my readers will always
set their faces against such wickedness. Remember that promise which the
Lord has given, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy."
I dare say you have heard of the Arabs--a wild people, the descendants
of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, who possess a great deal of country in
the east; and are powerful, and much feared, because nobody has been
able to conquer them. Their greatest strength consists in having the
boldest, fleetest, most docile horses in the whole world. Arabian horses
may be known in a moment by their uncommon beauty, their delicate arched
necks, waving manes, and long tails; but though a great price is given
for them, and they are lodged, and fed, and tended with all the care
possible, they cannot be so happy in a king's palace, as in the tent or
hut of their poor masters at home. The Arab treats his horse like a
child; gives it to eat of his own victuals, to drink of his own bowl of
milk, and lets it sleep in the midst of his family. Of course, the
animal becomes so fond of him, that it serves him for love, carries him
through all dangers, and has often been known to defend him with its
life. We cannot bring up our horses in this way, nor treat them as the
wild Arab does; but knowing what sense, and feeling, and gratitude, and
love, this noble creature can and does show, we ought to be always
watching to avoid giving it unnecessary pain, and to persuade others to
be equally kind.
I cannot tell you how it used to grieve my dumb boy, Jack, when he saw a
horse 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 allowed
his master's horse to feel hunger or thirst. He was very tender when
rubbing it down, if there was any, sore place; and if the animal got
cross 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 often
saw the dumb boy jump on his back, and with only the halter over his
head, guide him where he chose. I never saw him give that horse a blow
or a kick, in all the two years that he tended him. Jack was fourteen
when he began, and sixteen when he left off being his groom. He was
strong and healthy then; but at nineteen he died; and he told me that it
made him very happy to think that he had never been cruel to any of
God's poor creatures. But I must not say any more now about the noble
horse. There is another animal, the natural companion of man, the dog,
which comes next in value; for though it cannot take us on a long
journey, or convey our goods from place to place, it stands sentry over
us and our property, being not only a good servant, but a most
intelligent, 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 and
please 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 the
goodness of God, you have been kept from suffering much yourselves, but
you must have seen trouble among your friends and neighbours; sickness
and death, perhaps. And it often happens that great distress comes on
people, so as to keep them hungry and cold, for want of what would buy
enough food and fuel. Besides this, how often the bad conduct of one in
a family will make the rest unhappy! A single drunkard, or thief, or
violent person, will bring shame and misery on all the rest. The world
is full of troubles; but I do not think that we often find, even among
those 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 when
we are so, and because we are so. When we meet with any one so
kind-hearted, we love that person, and would do a great deal to serve or
oblige such a feeling friend.
Now, I always observed that a dog, when kindly treated and taken care
of, will show his concern for the troubles of his master or mistress, in
a wonderful way. Indeed, I never, in my life, had a dog that would not
do so; and seeing this has convinced me that it is worse than cruel to
treat a dog ill--it is most ungrateful. It does sometimes happen that a
dog has a bad and violent temper, even from a puppy; and if very careful
treatment does not soon cure this, I should say that such a dog ought to
be destroyed, by a quick and easy death; not making the poor brute
suffer for what it cannot help. But in ninety-nine cases out of a
hundred, a dog's savageness is the fault of those who have brought him
up: and few things are more wicked than to teach or encourage a dog to
fight his own race, or to bark and fly at human beings. When the world
was as God made it, there was no hatred in it, no quarrelling, no wish
in any living creature to frighten or hurt any other living creatures;
but when Adam became a sinner, his sin broke through all this beautiful
order, and peace, and love, and set the animals against each other, and
against himself. I am trying always to remember this; for when they
alarm or distress me, and I am thinking to punish them, I ought not to
forget what first made the brutes vicious, and brought so much suffering
on them. It was man's sin alone: man should therefore do the best he can
to make them amends; and not increase their misery, as he often does, by
cruel severity. I think you will agree with me in this. Besides, it is a
certain 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 to
be named; and though we and they are much changed for the worse, yet the
Lord God never does or can change. He is as righteous, as holy, as
merciful, and as just to-day, as he was then. How often has Jack, when
he saw a thoughtless boy hurting a dog, or any other animal, gone up to
him, and said, on his fingers, in a very quiet, gentle, but earnest
manner, "God see--God angry." He felt much for the dumb beast, suffering
pain; but more for the boy who was forgetting that the Lord's hand would
yet punish him, when he least expected it: for Jack very well knew that
the Bible says, "He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed
no mercy."
