something she loved,and she would say, with tears in her eyes--
"Play, oh, play this! I do love it."
I managed to find flowers for her even in the snowstorm, for theglass-houses at the Manor of D--are as large as any in the country, andthe owner was my friend.
I think she liked to look at the hothouse fruit we brought her, betterthan to eat them.
The dogs were now often admitted. Even Gael and Broom were not entirelybanished.
My wife used to sew in the room, and sometimes read to Ida, and Frankused to come in and sit at the window and twirl his thumbs. Hispresence seemed to comfort the child.
I used to write beside her.
"What is that you are writing?" she said one day.
"Nothing much," I replied; "only the introduction to a `Penny Reading'I'm going to give against cruelty to animals."
"Read it," said Ida; "and to-morrow, mind, you must begin and tell mestories again, and then I'm sure I shall soon get well, because whateveryou describe about the fields or the woods, the birds or the flowers Ican see, it is just like being among them."
I had to do as I was told, so read as follows:--
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"Mercy to the Dumb Animals.
"`I would give nothing for that man's religion whose cat and dog are notthe better for it.'--_Dr Norman McLeod_.
"`We are living in an enlightened age.' This is a remark which we hearmade almost every day, a remark which contains just one golden grain oftruth. Mankind is not yet enlightened in the broad sense of the term.From the night of the past, from the darkness of bygone times, we arebut groping our way, as it were, in the morning-glome, towards a greatand a glorious light.
"It is an age of advancement, and a thousand facts might be adduced inproof of this. I need point to only one: the evident but gradualsurcease of needless cruelty to animals. Among all classes of thecommunity far greater love and kindness is now manifested towards thecreatures under our charge than ever was in days gone by. We takegreater care of them, we think more of their comfort when well, we tendthem more gently when sick, and we even take a justifiable pride intheir appearance and beauty. All this only shows that there is a spiritof good abroad in the land, a something that tends to elevate, notdepress, the soul of man. I see a spark of this goodness even in thebreast of the felon who in his prison cell tames a humble mouse, and whoweeps when it is cruelly taken from him; in the ignorant costermongerwho strokes the sleek sides of his fat donkey, or the rough and unkemptdrover-boy, who shares the remains of a meagre meal with his faithfulcollie.
"Religion and kindness to animals go hand in hand, and have done so forages, for we cannot truly worship the Creator unless we love and admireHis works.
"The heavenly teaching of the Mosaic law inculcates mercy to the beasts.It is even commanded that the ox and the ass should have rest on oneday of the week--namely, the Sabbath; that the ox that treadeth out thecorn is not to be muzzled; that the disparity in strength of the ass andox is to be considered, and that they should not be yoked together inone plough. Even the wild birds of the field and woods are notforgotten, as may be seen by reading the following passage from the Bookof Deuteronomy:--`If a bird's nest be before thee in any tree, or on theground, whether they be young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon theyoung or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: butthou shalt in any way let the dam go.'
"The Jews were commanded to be merciful and kind to an animal, even ifit belonged to a person unfriendly to them.
"`If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden,and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.'
"That is, they were to assist even an enemy to do good to a fallenbrute. It is as if a man, passing along the street, saw the horse orass of a neighbour, who bore deadly hatred to him, stumble and fallunder his load, and said to himself--
"`Oh! yonder is So-and-so's beast come down; I'll go and lend a hand.So-and-so is no friend of mine, but the poor animal can't help that._He_ never did me any harm.'
"And a greater than even Moses reminds us we are to show mercy to theanimals even on the sacred day of the week.
"But it is not so very many years ago--in the time when our grandfatherswere young, for instance--since roughness and cruelty towards animalswere in a manner studied, and even encouraged in the young by theirelders. It was thought manly to domineer over helpless brutes, to pullhorses on their haunches, to goad oxen along the road, though they weremoving to death in the shambles, to stone or beat poor fallen sheep, tohunt cats with dogs, and to attend bull-baitings and dog and cockfights. And there are people even yet who talk of these days as thegood old times when `a man was a man.' But such people have only tovisit some low-class haunt of `the fancy,' when `business' is beingtransacted, to learn how depraving are the effects of familiarity withscenes of cruelty towards the lower animals. Even around a rat-pit theywould see faces more revolting in appearance than those of Dore'sdemons, and listen to jests and language so ribald and coarse aspositively to pain and torture the ear and senses. Goodness be praisedthat such scenes are every day getting more rare, and that the men whoattend them have a wholesome terror of the majesty of human laws atleast.
"Other religions besides the Christian impress upon their followersrules relating to kindness to the inferior animals. Notably, perhaps,that of Buddha, under the teachings of which about five hundred millionsof human beings live and die. The doctrines of Gautama are sublimelybeautiful; they are akin to those of our own religion, and I never yetmet any one who had studied them who did not confess himself the betterand happier for having done so. One may read in prose sketches of thelife and teachings of Gautama the Buddha, in a book published by theSociety for Promoting Christian Knowledge, or he may read them in versein that splendid poem by Edwin Arnold called `The Light of Asia.'Gautama sees good in all things, and all nature working together forgood; he speaks of--
"`That fixed decree at silent work which will Evolve the dark to light, the dead to life, To fulness void, to form the yet unformed, Good unto better, better unto best, By wordless edict; having none to bid, None to forbid; for this is past all gods Immutable, unspeakable, supreme, A Power which builds, unbuilds, and builds again, Ruling all things accordant to the rule Of virtue, which is beauty, truth, and use. So that all things do well which serve the Power And ill which hinder; nay, the worm does well [Note 1] Obedient to its kind; the hawk does well Which carries bleeding quarries to its young; The dewdrop and the star shine sisterly, Globing together in the common work; And man who lives to die, dies to live well, So if he guide his ways by blamelessness And earnest will to hinder not, but help All things both great and small which suffer life.'
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"Those among us who have tender hearts towards the lower animals cannothelp day after day witnessing acts of cruelty to them which give usgreat pain. We are naturally inclined to feel anger against theperpetrators of such cruelty, and to express that anger in wrathfullanguage. By so doing I am convinced we do more harm than good to thecreatures we try to serve. Calmness, not heat or hurry, should guide usin defending the brute creation against those who oppress and injure it.Let me illustrate my meaning by one or two further extracts fromArnold's poem.
"It is noontide, and Gautama, engrossed in thought and study, isjourneying onwards--
"`Gentle and slow, Radiant with heavenly pity, lost in care For those he knew not, save as fellow-lives.'
"When,--
"`Blew down the mount the dust of pattering feet, White goats, and black sheep, winding slow their way, With many a lingering nibble at the tufts, And wanderings from the path where water gleamed, Or wild figs hung. But always as they strayed The herdsman cried, or slung his sling, and kept The silly crowd still moving to the plain. A ewe with couplets in the flock there
was, Some hurt had lamed one lamb, which toiled behind Bleeding, while in the front its fellow skipped. And the vexed dam hither and thither ran, Fearful to lose this little one or that. Which, when our Lord did mark, full tenderly He took the limping lamb upon his neck, Saying: "Poor woolly mother, be at peace! Whither thou goest, I will bear thy care; 'Twere all as good to ease one beast of grief, As sit and watch the sorrows of the world In yonder caverns with the priests who pray." So paced he patiently, bearing the lamb. Beside the herdsman in the dust and sun, The wistful ewe low-bleating at his feet.'
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"Sorely this was a lesson which the herdsman, ignorant though he nodoubt was, never forgot; farther comment on the passage is needless.Precept calmly given does much good,