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18 Our Dumb Animals 211 (1885-1886)

handle is hein.journals/animals18 and id is 1 raw text is: 40 CANIV02' I would not enter on my list of friends, Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility, the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.- CowPER. Vol. 18. Boston, June, 1885. No. 1. June. June, with its roses - June! The gladdest month of our capricious year, With its thick foliage and its sunlight clear; And with the drowsy tune Of the bright, leaping waters, as they pass Laughingly on amid the springing grass! The overarching sky Weareth a softer tint, a lovelier blue, As if the light of heaven were melting through Its sapphire home on high; Hiding the sunshine in their vapory breast, The clouds float on like spirits to their rest. A deeper melody, Poured by the birds, as o'er their callow young Watchful they hover, to the breeze is flung- Gladsome, yet not of glee- Music heart-born, like that which mothers sing Above their cradled infants slumbering. These are thy pictures, June! Brightest of summer months-thou month of flowers! First-born of beauty, whose swift-footed hours Dance to the merry tune Of birds, and waters, and the pleasant shout Of childhood on the sunny hills pealed out. I feel it were not wrong To deem thou art a type of heaven's clime, Only that there the clouds and storms of time Sweep not the sky along; The flowers-air-beauty-music-all are thine, But brighter-purer-lovelier-more divine! -William H. Burleigh. 40 A glimpse thou art of heaven, Lovely June! Type of a purer clime Beyond the flight of time, Where the amaranth flowers are rife By the placid stream of life, For ever gently flowing; Where the beauty of the rose In that land of soft repose Nor blight nor fading knows, In immortal fragrance blowing. And my prayer is still to see, In thy blessed ministry, A transient gleam of regions that are all divinely fair; A foretaste of the bliss In a holier world than this, And a place beside the loved ones who are safely gathered there. -Mary N. Meigs. Aunt Betty's Story. It was the eve of Aunt Betty's birthday. My present had been waiting for ever so long. I gloated over it in secret with distracted feelings; I would not for worlds have betrayed it prematurely, yet I longed to let her guess at the wonderful surprise in store for her. Thus divided in my childish mind I sought her little room in the twilight. She was not there, and I grew impatient. I must needs look for something to amuse me. But there was nothing that owned the charm of novelty. I gazed about, yawning, when a large moth on the window caught my eye. That called me to action, and, forgetful of all Aunt Betty's pious injunctions to leave God's creatures unmolested, I forth with set upon a chase. Nor was it long before I had caught the hapless insect; it fluttered anxiously, but I held it fast, bent upon examining it, when suddenly Aunt Betty entered. Overtaken in my boyish cruelty I closed my hand upon the little prisoner, and stood trembling. Aunt Betty, however, did not seem to notice that I was ill at ease, and turned to me with her usual kindness. I felt very miserable, and conversation would not flow, so she told me a story, her usual device when she thought I needed rousing. Now, whatever her stories might be worth,- and they were not by any means always inven- tions of genius,- they were sure to culminate in some sort of moral which never failed to impress me. Aunt Betty's story on this occasion led up to the statement- God seeth thee! The words fell on me like judgment; involuntarily I hid my hand behind my back, my heart beating, ready to burst. You must know, darling, Aunt Betty went on un- consciously, that God sits upon His holy throne, an angel on His right hand, and another on His left, each having a book before him. And the angel to the right marks down all the good, however little or weak, which man strives to do while he lives on earth; that angel is always smiling a heavenly smile. But the angel on the left is full of weeping, as he notes down the evil deeds of men. And at the last day, when the great reckoning has come, a voice is heard from the throne-' Give up the boolks!' And then our deeds are examined; if there is more evil than good, and we have not repented of it humbly, and received forgiveness of sin, it will go ill with us! Auntie's story troubled me greatly. I pressed my hand together closer and closer, feeling at the same time as though a live coal were burning my palm. It was conscience which burned. The poor moth must have been dead long before, yet I felt as though it were still fluttering within my grasp, trying to free itself from the unkind hold. God seeth all things, said auntie, and we must answer to Him for all our deeds at the last day! Self- control was at an end; a flood of tears came to the rescue; and, unable to say a single word, I held out my palm to Aunt Betty, the crushed moth witnessing against me. She understood at once, and drawing me to her heart she first pointed to the wing of cruelty; but added her own sweet words of consolation, that God would forgive me if my tears could tell Him I was sorry. But I was not able at once to grasp this assurance, sobbing piteously. Never was there anything more tender, more full of love, than Aunt Betty's ways when comfort was needed. It was she who prayed, I repeating the words after her. But they came from my heart, and never was there more sincere re- pentance. * * As for the poor moth we buried it sorrowfully in one of auntie's flowerpots. We gave it a coffin of rose leaves, so that the mangled corpse need not be touched by the cover- ing earth. -From the Danish. Duty of Training Animals. Next to the duty to supply the wants of dependent ani- mals is the special duty of wisely training, so far as we may, the animals which are in any sense committed to our care. That this is a duty to the animals themselves is obvious from their capacity to be educated by such train- ing, and to gain more or less enjoyment from the discipline which follows. Few men are aware how wide and various are the opportunities, and how imperative is the duty to en- hance the enjoyment of the animals with which they are associated by means of wise and judicious and patient training. The domestic animals of a household, which is controlled by a spirit of order and kindness, in this part icu- lar seem almost to belong to another species than those of a family in which conscience or skill in this service is absent. 'It would almost seem as though the horses and herds and fowls of the one came from a different stock as compared with those of the other, especially if the disci- pline of gentleness and method has been tried from the birth of the animals in question, and been re-enforced by a physiological heredity. That men need to be awakened to a sense of their defects and opportunities in respect to this class of duties is obvious. That, when they are aroused to any just estimate of both, and are quickened to heed the suggestions of wisdom and the voice of conscience, the ani- mals which haunt the houses and are seen in the streets of men will be in a sense transformed by sympathy with their masters, cannot be doubted. - President Porter's Elements of Moral Science.

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