Animal Rights History »» Dr. James Macaulay

Plea for Mercy to Animals, "Claims of Lower Animals to Humane Treatment from Man"

I. CLAIMS OF THE LOWER ANIMALS
TO HUMANE TREATMENT FROM MAN.

THE term "cruelty to animals," in the following pages, includes all kinds of ill–usage and needless suffering which the lower animals undergo at the hand of man. Comparatively a small proportion of this suffering is caused by wanton cruelty. To inflict pain in cold blood, or for the sport of the thing, is so far repugnant to the sympathies even of man's fallen nature, that our efforts are to be directed more against ignorance and thoughtlessness than against wilful cruelty.

The different kinds of animal sufferings must be dealt with in different modes. Where these are wantonly inflicted, stern repression is needed, and the helpless creatures must have such protection as the law can give. In the punishment of offenders of this class, the present penalties are not always suitable nor sufficient. Compared with a small fine or short imprisonment, it is thought by some that corporal chastisement would be more powerful as a deterrent, as it would certainly be the punishment most fitting for those who wantonly inflict

8

CRUELTY AMONG HEATHEN NATIONS.

pain. In other cases our weapons must be educational rather than repressive. If the injuries are caused by ignorance or by thoughtlessness, we must point out the reality of the suffering, and try to awaken sympathy for dumb animals ; teaching also that want of thought does not release from moral responsibility and just blame.

It is only in recent times that this subject has obtained due attention. With the exception of a passage in Plutarch's "Life of Cato the Censor," a brief reference in one of Cicero's "Familiar Letters," and a few other allusions, I do not know of any protest in the classical writers of antiquity against cruelty to animals. On the contrary, the pages of historians and poets abound with descriptions of the most cruel amusements. We are told that in the horrible scenes of carnage in the Roman amphitheatre women took as intense an interest as men, and even gave the signal for the death of the combatants. Well might St. Paul, in his description of the world before the advent of Christ, crown the black catalogue of the crimes of heathen nations by declaring that they were "full of murder, implacable, unmerciful" (Rom. i. 29, 31). The delight taken in the barbarous games of the circus was probably in his thoughts, where not only beasts were tortured, but human victims murdered for the sport of Roman citizens. And when the same apostle describes "the fruits of the Spirit," as exhibited by the Christian converts, he speaks of mercy, kindness, gentleness. The disposition of mind is the same, whatever the objects upon which it is exercised. These heathens were cruel, whether looking on the combats of men or of the lower animals. And we thus understand the principle conveyed in the ancient Hebrew proverb, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast : but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

In speaking of cruelty among heathen nations, whether in ancient times or in our own day, we do not forget apparent exceptions. The old Egyptians protected and even worshipped

9

NATURAL RIGHTS OF ANIMALS.

certain animals, and in India the destruction of any animal life is by some regarded as an impious crime. But this is utterly distinct from the habitual spirit of gentleness and mercy arising from principle, not from superstition. Of all ancient nations, and of modern people not Christian, the Jews alone, in their laws and institutions, had regard to kind treatment of animals, and this was because such treatment was specially enjoined by Divine precepts. Of the enactments in the Jewish code we shall speak presently. It was not, however, till the Gospel of Christ had brought a revelation for all the world instead of for one nation, that the true spirit of Divine love and compassion was diffused among men. The prejudices which once opposed the progress of this Divine goodwill are continually lessening. The barriers offered by difference of nation, of country, of race, have been gradually removed; and it is not surprising that the exercise of compassion should be extended beyond the equally arbitrary limit of our own species.

There is a remarkable passage in the works of Jeremy Bentham, applying the principle of natural law to the rights of animals. It is quoted by Sir Arthur Helps in his "Talks about Animals and their Masters." "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, the villosity of the skin, or the termination of the os sacrum, 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 ?'"

10

HUMANITY BASED ON RELIGION.

It is well, however, to establish the duty of humanity to animals on the broad ground of religious principle ; not natural religion only, but the religion of the Bible. Very little good will be done if the subject is regarded merely as a matter of law and of police. Not thus can we deal with the subject in the education of the young, or in appealing to public opinion. There is no plea for mercy to animals so strong as that it is harmonious with the spirit and the doctrines of Christianity.

"There is one aspect," says Dr. Chalmers, in the peroration of his eloquent sermon on the subject, "in which the duty of humanity to the lower animals may be regarded as more profoundly and more peculiarly religious than any one virtue which reciprocates, or is of mutual operation among the fellows of the same species. It is a virtue which oversteps, as it were, the limits of a species, and which, in this instance, prompts a descending movement on our part, of righteousness and mercy towards those who have an inferior place to ourselves in the scale of creation.

"The distance upward between us and that mysterious Being, who let Himself down from heaven's high concave upon our lowly platform, surpasses by infinity the distance downward between us and everything that breathes. And He bowed Himself thus far for the purpose of an example, as well as for the purpose of an expiation,—that every Christian might extend his compassionate regards over the whole of sentient and suffering nature."

In the same spirit as this noble appeal of Chalmers are the words of a distinguished man of science, Dr. George Wilson. "There is an example as well as a lesson for us in the Saviour's compassion for men. Inasmuch as we partake with the lower animals of bodies exquisitely sensitive to pain, and often agonized by it, we should be slow to torture creatures who, though not sharers of our joys, or participators in our mental agonies, can equal us in our bodily suffering. We stand by

11

MERCY A BRANCH OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS.

Divine appointment between God and His irresponsible subjects, and are as gods unto them. . . . They have taught us a lesson of obedience to God, and He has taught us a lesson of kindness to them. We shall be worse even than the forgiven debtor, who showed no mercy to his fellow, if we wrong servants who have excelled us in faithfulness, or fail in compassion for the dumb creatures of God, which He has committed to our care.

"'He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.'"

A high place in Christian ethics is here given to the duty of humanity to animals, but not too high when we consider that virtues and vices depend on the state of the mind, and not merely on the objects upon which they are exercised. "To do justly and to love mercy" are two of the great and comprehensive requirements of religion, and the sphere of their obligation is not limited to our dealings with our fellow–men. Man may imagine for himself a scale of guilt founded upon his idea of the relative importance of these objects, but in the eye of the common Father of all there can be no such distinction. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." It is to the character and the internal disposition that He looketh, whether in denouncing His doom upon the unmerciful, or in announcing His promise to the merciful that they shall obtain mercy.

It may seem strange that, if this is so clearly an obligation of Christian duty, the general recognition of it should have been so tardy. But it is not strange when we remember how slow are the triumphs of Divine love over human passions and interests. It is only in recent times that slavery and the slave trade have been regarded by common consent as contrary to the spirit of Christianity ; and many evils are still

12

MOSAIC PRECEPTS ON MERCY TO ANIMALS

countenanced among nations nominally Christian. We need not wonder, then, at the tardy recognition of the claims of humanity to animals as a moral duty.

In the Mosaic code of laws there were several special precepts by which mercy to animals was enjoined. For instance, Deut. xxii. 6, 7 : "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young : but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go"—that is, whether you take the young for food or any other use, in any wise leave the mother. It is enough to lose her brood ; let her have her liberty, and the chance of other young ones in their place.

In the same group of laws we read : "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them : thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again" (Deut. xxii. 4). And again : "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again." This is partly to teach goodwill even to an enemy; but with it is mixed up the duty of compassion for its own sake : "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 " (Exod. xxiii. 4, 5).

In Deuteronomy xxii. 10, we read : "Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together ;" a rule of mercy, teaching that the work should always be adapted to the strength of the animal employed. In Deut. xxv. 4, the precept, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn," teaches that animals, when engaged in the service of man, should be treated with indulgence and kindness. The apostle Paul quotes this precept, and shows that God did not appoint it for the sake of oxen only, but that every labourer is worthy of his hire : and thence deduces the obligation

13

KINDNESS TO ANIMALS TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE

of men to exercise justice in properly rewarding those who labour for their benefit, and especially who labour for the good of their souls. This use of the precept, so far from weakening, seems to confirm its obligation in reference to the lower animals. It proves that the same principles of equity are expected to apply to the relations between all God's creatures, and that the rules of justice and mercy are of universal obligation.

These Divine precepts, taken along with such passages of Scripture as describe God's watchful care over all His creatures, ought to give us higher views of our relations to the animals that serve us or are useful to us, and ought to inspire us with more of that goodwill which is so widely diffused over the creation. So far is the merciful regard of the Creator to the lower animals declared, that in the covenant with Noah they are specially mentioned ; and in the institution of the Sabbath they are to share the advantage of the day of rest from toil and labour. "Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest : that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed" (Exod. xxiii. 12 ; Deut. v. 14).

Other passages might be cited, as where harmless cattle are mentioned along with innocent children, as being regarded by the Almighty when He averted His judgments from guilty Nineveh. "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. II)

Enough has been said to prove that kindness to animals is a duty enjoined by the precepts of the Bible. And besides these direct precepts, we find some of the most touching representations of the interest God takes in our welfare, and of His love to mankind, given under the figure of the kindness due on our parts to the lower animals. The love of the

14

LORD ERSKINE'S PLEA FOR LEGISLATION

Saviour of the world is denoted by that of a tender and good shepherd : "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd : He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young" (Isa. xl. 11 ; John x. 11)

It is true that God has given to man "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth" (Gen. i. 26 ; ix. 1-3). But the dominion thus conferred is not absolute. It is limited by the eternal obligations of justice and mercy, even in matters not included in special precepts of the Scriptures. It is also to be regarded not only as a right but as a trust. On this point we quote some sentences from a remarkable speech by the great Lord Erskine, when he was trying to induce the Government of his day to legislate for the protection of animals from cruelty : "That the dominion of man over the lower world is a moral trust, is a proposition which no man living can deny, without denying the whole foundation of our duties. If in the examination of the qualities, powers, and instincts of animals, we could discover nothing else but their admirable and wonderful construction for man's assistance ; if we found no organs in the animals for their own gratification and happiness,—no sensibility to pain or pleasure,—no grateful sense of kindness, nor suffering from neglect or injury,—no senses analogous, though inferior to our own ; if we discovered, in short, nothing but mere animated matter, obviously and exclusively subservient to human purposes, it would be difficult to maintain that the dominion over them was a trust : in any other sense at least than to make the best use for ourselves of the property in those which Providence had given us. But it calls for no deep or extended skill in natural history to know that the very reverse of this is the case, and that God is the benevolent and impartial author of

15

SENTIMENTS OF COWPER, THE POET.

all that He has created. For every animal which comes in contact with man, and whose powers and qualities and instincts are obviously adapted to his use, Nature has taken care to provide, and as carefully and bountifully as for man himself, organs and feelings for its own enjoyment and happiness." "The animals are given for our use, but not for our abuse. Their freedom and enjoyments, when they cease to be consistent with our just dominion and enjoyments, can be no part of their natural rights ; but whilst they are consistent, their rights, subservient as they are, ought to be as sacred as our own."

In the same strain as those eloquent arguments of Lord Erskine are the words of the gentle and genial poet Cowper:—

"The sum is this : if man's convenience, health,
Or safety interfere, his rights and claims
Are paramount, and must extinguish theirs ;
Else they are all, the meanest things that are,
As free to live, and to enjoy that life,
As God was free to form them at the first,
Who in His sovereign wisdom made them all."

Other motives of a religious bearing might be urged in behalf of our dumb clients. The fact of their being the creatures of God ought to secure our kind and humane treatment of them. "Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee ; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee : or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee : and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this ? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing" (Job xii. 7-10). God has made the sun, the skies, the air, free to all His creatures ; and man should not wantonly shorten the little day of pleasure, nor interrupt the lowly bliss of those creatures to whom the Creator has given the enjoyment of life.

The fact of God's providential care of the lower animals, their

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GOD'S PROVIDENTIAL CARE.

preservation as well as their creation by God, ought to secure their kind and humane treatment. In the beginning of the world, we read of the provision made for them as well as for man. "To every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat" (Gen. i. 30). The wants of all living creatures are before the Lord, the preserver of man and of beast (Ps. xxxvi. 6). "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" (Ps. cxlv. 15, 16). He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry" (Ps. cxlvii. 9). "Consider the ravens : for they neither sow nor reap ; which neither have storehouse nor barn ; and God feedeth them" (Luke xii. 24). And again : "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). "These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them they gather : Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled : Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust" (Ps. civ. 27-29). This is the language of poetry, but it is also the language of fact, for we are assured that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father, and "not one of them is forgotten before God," in whose hand is the breath of every living thing. It is not by miracle they are sustained, nor is there special providence in the fall of a sparrow ; but God has wonderfully adapted the scenes of nature to the life of His creatures. "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man." " He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field : the wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,

17

ADDISON ON INSTINCT.

which sing among the branches." Well may man, as the great high-priest of nature, lift up the song of wonder and of praise : "0 Lord, how manifold are Thy works ! in wisdom hast Thou made them all : the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." "Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God" (Ps. cxlvii. 7).

As God provides the sustenance for all living things, so He has implanted instincts in His creatures adapted to their infinitely varied conditions of life. The most interesting and instructive part of the study of natural history—far above the mere describing and classifying, to which some naturalists confine themselves—is the observation of the habits and instincts of living creatures, in the preservation of their life and continuance of their species on the earth. Some men of science have seen in these wonderful instincts only the operation of material laws, ascribing life itself to the random play of lifeless atoms. But in a loftier and devouter spirit Addison has thus referred to the subject : "There is not, in my opinion, anything more mysterious in nature than this instinct in animals, which thus rises above reason, and falls infinitely short of it. It cannot be accounted for by any properties in matter, and at the same time works in so odd a manner, that one cannot think it the faculty of an intellectual being. For my own part, I look upon it as upon the principle of gravitation in bodies, which is not to be explained by any known qualities inherent in the bodies themselves, nor from any laws of mechanism ; but, according to the best notions of the greatest philosophers, is an immediate impression from the First Mover, and the Divine energy acting in he creatures" ("Spectator," No. 120).

Very much has been written concerning Instinct as distinguished from Reason, The distinction and definition will not

18

DEFINITIONS OF INSTINCT.

be found so easy as might at first be thought, at least if we may judge by the great variety in the statements of naturalists and metaphysicians. Dr. Johnson in his Dictionary gives two definitions, the first referring to instinct as existing in man : "Desire or aversion in the mind, without the intervention of reason or deliberation." The second definition is what at present is to the point : "The power of determining the will of brutes." And he quotes, as example of the use of the word, from Pope,—

"The philosopher avers
That Reason guides our deeds, and Instinct theirs :
Instinct and Reason how shall we divide ?"

How, indeed ! But for ordinary purposes we can get sufficiently clear division. The most concise definition of instinct we have seen is : "Spontaneous impulse to certain actions, not accompanied by intelligence." Another author says it is "a capacity for performing certain actions which conduce to some useful purpose, but of which purpose the animal is itself ignorant." A third writer has it : "A natural impulse to certain actions, which animals perform without deliberation, and without having any end in view, or knowing why They do it." By Messrs. Kirby and Spence, in their "Entomology, or Elements of the Natural History of Insects," Instincts are said to be "those unknown faculties, implanted in their constitution by the Creator, by which, independent of instruction, observation, or experience, and without a knowledge of the end in view, they are impelled to the performance of certain actions tending to the well–being of the individual and the preservation of the species."

These latter definitions are correct so far as natural impulse and absence of plan are concerned, but it is not so certain that the animal is always acting without intelligence, unconscious of what it is doing, or ignorant of the object in doing

19

WONDERS OF INSTINCT.

it. A more accurate definition we venture to give : "Instinct is a natural impulse prompting to action, without instruction or experience, for the preservation of the individual or the continuation of the species." This definition includes instinctive actions in man as well as in the lower animals, and does not exclude such knowledge, or motive, or voluntary exertion, as will often be found to accompany actions which must still be described as instinctive. In many cases of variation or modification of instinct, it cannot be said that the animal acts without intelligence and will.

Under ordinary circumstances there is uniformity of action ; but there are deviations from this uniformity, sometimes, indeed, caused by material conditions, but at other times undoubtedly the result of will or voluntary action modifying natural law.

A remarkable form of instinct is that which leads animals to make their way to remote places, without the possibility of aid from sight, or smell, or other senses. In migrating animals and birds, this instinct is common to the whole species ; but there are also many instances on record of strange journeys performed by animals whose usual habits are home-keeping. The late Mr. J. K. Lord, an accomplished naturalist and genial writer, narrated the following instances in the pages of the "Leisure Hour."

"I once had a favourite spaniel, called 'Sport.' He was lent to a friend, who came to fetch him. Sport was placed in a dog-cart, and driven to my friend's residence, a distance of over twenty miles. The cart was so made that air could freely get in for the dog to breathe, but by no possibility could any part of the road be seen during the journey. On his arrival Sport was tied up with a rope under the manger in the stable. During the night the dog gnawed the rope, made his escape through a broken window, and he was discovered early in the morning succeeding his departure, sitting, weary, hungry, and bedraggled,

20

INSTINCT AND REASON.

outside the door of my own residence. Now the question which naturally presents itself is, how did the dog find his way back along a road not one foot of which he had ever seen before ? The remembrance of particular objects noted by the way could not have guided the dog, simply because he had no opportunity afforded him of seeing them.

"I once, while living in the Far West, rode a horse from my camp across a prairie to an encampment of squatters, a distance of more than twenty miles. A river of some width was crossed on the route, the horse being ferried over in a large boat. The animal had never travelled the road previously, nor had it ever run upon the prairie, and yet during the night it contrived to break its tether line, and in the dark to find its way back to our camp ; and, what is more strange, the horse actually swam the stream it had, during the day, been ferried over in a boat. By what means, it may be asked, did the horse contrive to find its way over a grassy waste never trodden by it previously, and across a broad stream, to a given point so far distant ?"

There seems no doubt that Providence has bestowed on animals a faculty which we do not possess, and can therefore neither comprehend nor explain.

In a broad general sense we say that man has reason, and brutes have instinct. This does not, however, imply that intelligence is not the moving power in many of the actions of animals, any more than that instinct is not the moving power in many of the actions of man.

In the early stages of human existence there is a large proportion of instinct, with only a small portion of reason ; as years advance, there is a greater proportion of reason, but still with admixture of instinct, which continues throughout life. All the involuntary actions and functions of the human body are, in a sense, instinctive. Even in regard to some actions which are strictly voluntary, such as walking or swallowing,

21

MIXTURE OF INTELLIGENCE WITH INSTINCT.

these are the results of early instinct, strengthened by exercise or habit. An infant, immediately after birth, swallows the mother's milk, by instinct using the same muscles which afterwards are moved by the will. The early instincts are subjected to a law of the animal economy, according to which motions occurring at the same time, or in immediate succession, become so connected, that when one of them is reproduced the other has a tendency to accompany or to succeed it. We call this the law of association. To this law of association that of habit is nearly allied, the power of which is exercised on the mental as well as the corporeal functions. By these laws many of the actions of man are determined, without direct or conscious exercise of the reason or the will. In fact, they may be regarded rather as instinctive than as rational. In man the powers of instinct prevail in the early stages of existence. In the imbecile and the insane, these actions of instinct prevail over those of reason throughout life.

In comparing the faculties of different classes of animals, we find that the two powers of reason and instinct generally exist in a kind of inverse ratio to each other. The higher the organization, especially of the brain and nervous system, the larger the proportion of intelligence the lower the organization, the larger the proportion of instinct. In no class of living creatures, or instance, are the operations of instinct more varied and more marvellous than in the insect tribes. They have exquisite organs of motion, yet with such organization of the nervous system that they cannot possess intelligence, and are denied even sensation by some physiologists. The fact of their spontaneous movements, however, attests the possession of sensation and will, although these are feeble compared with the intense power of their instinctive functions.

As we advance upward in the scale of animated nature, the admixture of intelligence with instinct is constantly apparent. Every naturalist, every sportsman, and indeed every observer of

22

ILLUSTRATIONS OF INSTINCT.

animal life, can give hosts of illustrations of the intelligence of creatures whose life in the main is at the same time governed by instinct. Let us give a few examples. Archbishop Whately, in his interesting "Lecture on Instinct," tells of a cat which lived many years in his mother's family, and whose feats of sagacity were witnessed by the narrator's mother, sisters, and himself. "It was known, nor merely once or twice, but habitually, to ring the parlour bell whenever it wished the door to be opened. Some alarm was excited on the first occasion that it turned bellringer. The family had retired to rest, and in the middle of the night the parlour bell was rung violently. The sleepers were startled from their repose, and proceeded downstairs with pokers and tongs to interrupt, as they thought, the predatory movement of some burglar ; but they were agreeably surprised to discover that the bell had been rung by pussy, who frequently repeated the act whenever she wanted to get out of the parlour." "It is quite clear," adds Dr. Whately, "that if such acts were done by man, they would be regarded as an exercise of reason ; and I do not know why, when performed by brutes, evidently by a similar process, as far as can be judged, they should not bear the same name. To speak of a cat's having an instinct to pull a bell when desirous of going out at the door, or of an elephant's lifting up a cannon and beating down a wall at his driver's command, would be to use words at random."

A young lamb had become entangled in a brier hedge. Its own struggles, and the efforts of the mother, persevered in for a long time, were unavailing to set it at liberty. Finding at length that additional help must be obtained, the parent set off at a rapid pace across three large fields and through as many hedges, bleating in a most piteous fashion. In the last field were a flock of sheep, to whom she no doubt told her trouble, for she shortly returned, attended by a large ram, who used his powerful horns to some purpose, speedily dragging away by

23

THE DOG AND THE WATER LILY

them the encircling briers, and freeing the captive. ("Leisure Hour," 1870, p. 125.)

Every one who has travelled much in Scotland, more especially in the Highland districts, must have remarked the large attendance of shepherds' dogs at church on Sundays. This peculiarity is very interesting to English tourists, one of whom states that he was told that many of the dogs were more regular attendants than their masters. In one parish, the animals became so quarrelsome and unmannerly in their behaviour, that the minister requested all who had been in the habit of bringing their dogs to confine them to the house before leaving for church. This plan answered exceedingly well for the first Sunday, but, for the future, not a single shepherd or farmer could find his dog on a Sunday morning. They had no notion of being deprived of their accustomed, liberty, and, well knowing the hour of service, set off to church without their masters. An attempt was then made to compromise matters, by erecting a large kennel close to the church, where the dogs were imprisoned during public worship, but they kept up such a fearful howling, that the congregation was seriously disturbed, and there was no help for it but to restore them to their former rights and privileges.

What more interesting example of a process very like reasoning, as well as an evident desire to please his master, could be met with than that which Cowper records in his beautiful little poem, entitled "The Dog and the Water Lily." To attempt to render it into commonplace prose would spoil it. Some of my readers may not be sorry to have the incident recalled in the poet's own words :

"It was the time when Ouse displayed
His lilies newly blown ;
Their beauties I intent surveyed,
And one I wished my own.

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SAGACITY OF DOGS.

"With cane extended far, I sought
To steer it close to land,
And still the prize, though nearly caught,
Escaped my eager hand.

"Beau marked my unsuccessful pains
With fixed considerate face,
And puzzling set his puppy brains
To comprehend the case.

"But with a chirrup clear and strong
Dispersing all his dream,
I thence withdrew, and followed long
The windings of the stream.

"My ramble ended, I returned;
Beau, trotting far before,
The floating wreath again discerned,
And plunging, left the shore.

"I saw him, with that lily cropped,
Impatient swim to meet
My quick approach, and soon he dropped
The treasure at my feet."

All books of natural history abound in anecdotes of the docility and sagacity of dogs, but they have had no more genial historian than James Hogg, "the Ettrick Shepherd."

He declares that dogs know what is said on subjects in which they feel interested. A farmer had a dog that for years met him always at the foot of his farm, about a mile and a half from his house, on his way home. If he was half a day away, a week, or a fortnight, it was all the same ; she met him at that spot; and there never was an instance seen of her going to wait his arrival there on a wrong day. She could only know of his coming home by hearing it mentioned in the family.

The same writer speaks of a clever sheep-dog, named "Hector," which had a similar tact in picking up what was said. One day he observed to his mother, "I am going to–morrow to

25

THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD'S FAVOURITE DOG.

Bowerhope for a fortnight ; but I will not take Hector with me, for he is constantly quarrelling with the rest of the dogs." Hector, who was present, and overheard the conversation, was missing next morning, and when Hogg reached Bowerhope, there was Hector sitting on a knoll, waiting his arrival. He had swum across a flooded river to reach the spot.

"My dog 'Sirrah,'" says he, "was, beyond all comparison, the best dog I ever saw : he was of a surly and unsocial temper,—disdaining all flattery, he refused to be caressed but his attention to my commands and interests will never again, perhaps, be equalled by any of the canine race. When I first saw him, a drover was leading him in a rope ; he was both lean and hungry, and far from being a beautiful animal, for he was almost all black, and had a grim face, striped with dark brown. The man had bought him of a boy, somewhere on the Border, for three shillings, and had fed him very ill on his journey. I thought I discovered a sort of sullen intelligence in his countenance, notwithstanding his dejected and forlorn appearance ; I gave the drover a guinea for him, and I believe there never was a guinea so well laid out ; at least, I am satisfied I never laid out one to so good a purpose. He was scarcely a year old, and knew so little of herding, that he had never turned a sheep in his life ; but as soon as he discovered that it was his duty to do so, and that it obliged me, I can never forget with what anxiety and eagerness he learned his different evolutions. He would try every way deliberately, till he found out what I wanted him to do, and, when I once made him understand a direction, he never forgot or mistook it again. Well as I knew him, he often astonished me ; for, when hard-pressed in accomplishing the task that he was put to, he had expedients of the moment that bespoke a great share of the reasoning faculty."

Among other remarkable exploits of Sirrah, as illustrative of sagacity, Mr. Hogg relates that, upon one occasion, about

26

"SIRRAH'S" NIGHT ADVENTURE.

seven hundred lambs, which were under his care at weaning time, broke up at midnight, and scampered off, in three divisions, across the neighbouring hills, in spite of all that he and an assistant could do to keep them together. The night was so dark that he could not see Sirrah ; but the faithful animal heard his master lament their absence in words which, of all others, were sure to set him most on the alert; and without more ado, he silently set off in quest of the recreant flock. Meanwhile the shepherd and his companion did not fail to do all in their power to recover their lost charge ; they spent the whole night in scouring the hills for miles round, but of neither the lambs nor Sirrah could they obtain the slightest trace. It was the most extraordinary circumstance that had ever occurred in the annals of pastoral life. They had nothing for it, day having dawned, but to return to their master, and inform him that they had lost his whole flock of lambs, and knew not what was become of one of them. "On our way home, however," says Mr. Hogg, "we discovered a lot of lambs at the bottom of a deep ravine, and the indefatigable Sirrah standing in front of them looking round for some relief, but still true to his charge. The sun was then up, and when we first came in view, we concluded that it was one of the divisions which Sirrah had been unable to manage until he came to that commanding situation. But what was our astonishment when we discovered that not one lamb of the whole flock was wanting ! How he had got all the divisions collected in the dark is beyond my comprehension. The charge was left entirely to himself from midnight until the rising sun ; and if all the shepherds in the forest had been there to have assisted him, they could not have effected it with greater propriety. All that I can further say is, that I never felt so grateful to any creature under the sun as I did to my honest Sirrah that morning."

Sir Edwin Landseer's pictures tell how much he admired and

27

"GREYFRIARS BOBBY."

loved those wisest and most useful of all dogs, the collies. Nor does he confine his loving portraiture to intellectual traits only. What a depth of feeling and tenderness of affection we see in that picture of "The Shepherd's Chief Mourner !"

The story of "Greyfriars Bobby" is widely known, but if it is new to only a few of my readers it is worth briefly re-telling. A poor labouring man died, and was buried in the old Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh. It was a plain, undistinguished grave, but there, with few intervals of absence, by day and night, the little terrier dog was seen to remain. How it was supported none could tell, but after a time one who resided near the churchyard used to give the poor faithful animal its food. When the dog-tax was imposed, the collector came upon Bobby's new patron for the tax. He explained that he was not the owner of the dog, whose master lay buried in the churchyard. The matter came before the city magistrates on appeal. Inquiries were made, and it was found that Bobby had, with touching fidelity, clung to the memory and to the grave of his master. The Lord Provost and magistrates of Edinburgh obtained for Bobby exemption from the tax, and presented the faithful creature with a collar with a suitable inscription. He continued to live in the churchyard till he died. The story had long before become famous, and the generous, kind-hearted Baroness Burdett-Coutts has since erected a monument to Bobby's memory, in the form of a drinking fountain surmounted by a sculptured effigy of the dog.

Very many touching stories have been recorded of these creatures ; of their grief at the loss of those they have loved, and the great difficulty of separating them from the cold remains ; and how, when these are hid from their sight, they will, for days, months, even years, constitute themselves the unwearying guardians of the mound of earth which marks the spot. The circumstance which occasioned the composition of Scott's beautiful poem, "Helvellyn," is well known. An amiable

28

THE DOG OF HELVELLYN.

and highly-talented young gentleman, who was in the habit of taking long rambles through the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, attended only by a favourite terrier, perished by losing his way, in the spring of 1805, on the above-mentioned mountain. His body was found three months after-wards, still watched over by the faithful companion of his solitary excursions. The poetry of Sir Walter is not so much in fashion as it used to be, and as it is possible that the lines may be new to some of our younger readers, we venture to quote two out of the five musical stanzas which compose the poem :—

"Dark green was that spot, 'mid the brown mountain heather,
Where the Pilgrim of Nature lay stretched in decay,
Like the corpse of an outcast abandoned to weather,
Till the mountain-winds wasted the tenantless clay.
Nor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended,
For faithful in death, his mute favourite attended,
The much-loved remains of his master defended,
And chased the hill-fox and the raven away.

"How long didst thou think that his silence was slumber ?
When the wind waved his garment, how oft didst thou start ?
How many long days and long weeks didst thou number,
Ere he faded before thee, the friend of thy heart?
And, oh, was it meet that-no requiem read o'er him
No mother to weep, and no friend to deplore him,
And thou, little guardian, alone stretched before him,—
Unhonoured the Pilgrim from life should depart ?"

Many anecdotes have been recorded about little dogs, after being worried by bigger dogs, returning with a more powerful friend or companion, and taking delight in seeing the bully well thrashed.

The following deliberate plan of retaliation, formed and carried out by a dog belonging to himself, is related by one who was a witness of the whole proceeding. The dog had been assaulted and bitten by another much more powerful than himself, and thinking that, in such unequal odds, "discretion"

29

MORAL QUALITIES OF ANIMALS

was "the better part of valour," he took to his heels and ran home. For several days afterwards he was noticed to put himself on half rations, and lay by the remainder of his food. At the expiry of this period he sallied out, and in a short time returned with a few of his friends, before whom he set his store of provisions, and begged them to make a good dinner. This being despatched, the guests took their leave, along with their entertainer, and followed by the dog's master, whose curiosity was excited. He watched their progress for a considerable distance, when a large dog marked out by the leader to his companions as the offender was furiously attacked by them all, and well worried before he could make his escape. The self-denial persevered in by this dog with a view to his revenge, and his knowledge of the efficacy of a bribe, are very remarkable ; and he must have explained to his friends the service expected from them in return for their dinner.

All animals that come under the observation of man supply illustrations of what we may call moral as well as mental qualities that are truly surprising. There are no doubt very bad and disagreeable animals, as there are very bad and disagreeable people, but we have no right to treat them with cruelty. Where animals do not interfere with man's rights and convenience, they have a claim to humane treatment. The Creator has given to them wonderful qualities and capacities. We may get good example sometimes from the lower animals. We may learn from them

"Many a good
And useful quality, and virtue too,
Rarely exemplified among ourselves ;
Attachment never to be weaned or changed
By any change of fortune, proof alike
Against unkindness, absence, or neglect :
Fidelity, that neither bribe nor threat
Can move or warp ; and gratitude for small
And trivial favours, lasting as the life,
And glistening even in the dying eye."—Cowper.

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BISHOP BUTLER ON THE FUTURE LIFE OF ANIMALS

Bishop Butler, in the opening chapter of his "Analogy," "On a Future Life," gives various reasons against concluding that the dissolution of the body must be followed by the destruction of the living agent. "But," he adds, "it is said these observations are equally applicable to brutes ; and it is thought an insuperable difficulty that they should be immortal, and by consequence capable of everlasting happiness." This objection Bishop Butler calls both invidious and weak, for immortality would not imply that they must arrive at great attainments, and become rational and moral agents ; "even this would be no difficulty, since we know not what latent powers and capacities they may be endued with. But the economy of the universe might require the existence of living creatures without any capacities of this kind. And all difficulties as to the manner how they are to be disposed of are so apparently and wholly founded in our ignorance, that it is wonderful they should be insisted upon by any but such as are weak enough to think they are acquainted with the whole system of things."

So great a thinker as Bishop Butler did not consider it irrational to conceive the continuance of the life of the lower animals with their present capacities. However this may be, the motives of humanity are equally strong. If, as some wise and good men have supposed, there may be a place for lower creatures than man in a future world, we should feel the responsibility of our relation to them now all the greater. Or, if we regard them only as a passing part of the present system of things, then, in knowing that death is the end of their little existence, we have the strongest motive to let them enjoy their brief life, and cruelty appears the greater injustice.