Chapter 5

BEARS, MONKEYS, RATS.

Now, I think, you are laughing at the heading of this chapter, and wondering what I can have to say about such creatures; but wait a little, and you will find I am not afraid to put in a good word for them. You must know that I once had a young bear, a mere cub, which was given to me by one of the wild Indians, as they are called. These Indians, by the way, are not half so wild as some boys of my acquaintance, who are a great deal better taught; and they were very fond of me--merely because it pleased God to keep me mindful of a gracious command which he has given us. You will find it in the first Epistle of Peter, chap. ii., verse 17: "Honour all men." Man, whether he be black, or white, or tawny; whether he be rich or poor, bond or free; man was at first made in the image of God, and would have kept the image if Adam had not sinned and lost it; so that none of his posterity are now born in that holy, happy state in which Adam was created. But then, lost as man is, and deprived of all honour, it pleased the eternal Son of God to take upon Him the name and the nature of man, free from all its sinfulness, though deprived of its first glory, and this he did that he might, by suffering death, atone for the sin of the world. So now, as there is no person so miserable, so despised, or even so sinful, that by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ, and believing in Him alone, he may not have his sins blotted out, and himself made an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, I am sure that every man ought to be treated with some respect, as one of that race whom God created, and for whom Christ died. Indeed, it would be enough for me, if only the Bible said, "Honour all men," without my being able to see why I ought to do so. It is my duty to obey every one of my Lord's commands: but it is very pleasant to think about his gracious commandments, and to see, as we must then do, how very lovely they are. Now you know why I treated the wild Indians of the woods with gentle, kind respect; and they felt it, and loved me greatly, and used to bring me their little gifts. One day, two rough Indian men came to me, in their very strange dresses, with their stiff black hair hanging down, never having been combed in their lives, I should think. They each brought a young bear into my large kitchen; and while I told them to sit down and eat something, the two cubs began to examine the place for themselves. It was a funny sight, so I will tell you about it.

Under a table, there lay a good long barrel on its side, and two very friendly cats had each got some kittens in it. They had made themselves little beds in the straw, one near the mouth of the barrel, the other farther in. So one young bear, (they were but a few weeks old, poor little animals!) in the course of his travels about the kitchen, poked his nose into this barrel, and out flew the old gray cat, in a great rage, or fright, I hardly know which, and began to spit most furiously at the cub, who ran away as fast as he could, into a distant corner, followed by puss. She did not choose to go too near such an odd-looking creature; but sat watching him, to prevent his leaving that corner.

Meantime, the other cub, thinking, I suppose, that, "as the cat was away, the bear might play"--at least with the kittens, went boldly close to the barrel, when lo! out sprang the tortoise-shell cat from the farther end, and this master Bruin was not slower than his brother in scampering away, the cat following him also. No harm was done; none of them had any wish to fight, and the scene was so droll that the servants were in fits of laughter; while the Indians, who I must tell you are very grave, and even sad-looking people, and seldom seen to smile, for once laughed heartily too. I took pity upon the frightened cub, at whom the gray cat was still growling and spitting, and took him up my arms; for which he seemed so thankful, that I continued to stroke his shaggy coat, until one of the Indians, with a grin, offered to give him to me. I accepted him, making a present in return; and for some days I took delight in my bargain; for he was a most innocent little creature, and played merrily with a puppy dog: but those who understood the nature of a bear better than I did, persuaded me to give him up; because they had known a young lady who was killed by a tame bear in a sudden passion.

But I want to convince you how wrong we are in treating any animal as if it could not feel attachment to us. Some soldiers' wives used to pet my little cub, even with tears in their eyes; and they told me the reason. They said, that a short time before, the regiment to which they belonged was quartered in Canada, and the soldiers had a bear, which they brought up tame. This creature had a strange office--he was nurse to all the babies in the barrack. So great was his love for them, that whenever the mothers wanted to have their infants well taken care of, they would place them under this animal's charge, who was delighted to smooth for them the clean soft straw that they gave him; and whose tender care over the babes was, they told me, the most beautiful thing ever seen. The poor bear was always trying to help and oblige his friends; and on washing days he had plenty of babies to mind, when the weather was mild enough to have them out of doors; but one cold day they were all left within, and the bear had nothing to do. So, seeing a woman leave her washing-tub, which she had just filled with boiling water, he thought he would do some of her work, and put his paws into it: the pain made him snatch them out, and in so doing he upset the tub--all the scalding water fell over him--and his agonies were such that, in mercy, some soldier shot him dead at once. The women, when they told me this, sobbed with grief, saying, "He was so kind to our babies! he would have died in their defence, poor fellow!" I assure you, that when I see a poor bear led through the streets, chained, beaten, and made to dance, as they call it, which it is taught to do by cruel tortures, I always remember this story; and think, how much love and gratitude might that miserable sufferer feel, and how happy he might be made, if those who have taken him from his native woods, and made a slave of him, would only show mercy now instead of such barbarity! We often hear the expression, "As savage as a bear;" but, I fear, in general, the man is the greater savage of the two.

MONKEYS are diverting creatures; and if you saw their fun and frolic where they have liberty among the boughs of a tree, you would not know how to leave off laughing. It is a different thing, however, to see them also chained, and beaten, and with their limbs confined in unnatural clothing, forced by fear, and hunger, and pain, to play the antics which they would do of their own accord if treated differently. I never could understand how people can be amused by any thing that causes pain to the creature doing it. They must either be very stupid, or very hard-hearted. Want of thought is a great cause of needless cruelty, I know; and I am trying to put some kind thoughts into your heads, which you may be thankful for when you are older. I can tell you one thing, which is, that it is impossible for a cruel man to be happy: it is entirely IMPOSSIBLE. He may laugh and shout, and sing, and dance, and tell you that he is very happy; but it is not so. There is in his heart something always whispering, "Your turn will come. The great God, the holy, just, merciful God, whose creatures you now torment, sees it all, knows it all; and he will punish you. Every one of us must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to give an account of the things done in the body; and you will be forced to own all your cruelties, before angels and men: and then what follows? 'HE SHALL HAVE JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY WHO HATH SHOWN NO MERCY!'" A bad man will never confess to you that such is his feeling: for bad men always will try to make you as bad as themselves: but now, mind, after what I have told you, if you have not the same terror of God's vengeance coming over you when you do a cruel thing. If not, it is because you are already hardened by Satan; but I should grieve to think it was so with you. Oh! remember that the blessed Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil; and pray to him now to deliver you from the power of that evil one. He will hear, and help, and save.

Even as to animals that we may destroy when they injure us, we should not forget the good they also do: as an instance, the RAT may be mentioned. It is, indeed, a very troublesome and sometimes dangerous creature: it will kill and carry off young chickens, pigeons, and other defenceless things; besides making sad havoc among the grain and eatables of every sort. It is often more than a match for a grown kitten, or even a weak cat: and where they are in numbers, they have been known to overpower a man. I confess, the rat is a very disagreeable enemy, whom we may fairly get rid of when we can. But when it is necessary to kill them, we should do it mercifully; do not put them to needless pain. Why should you? Is it manly? Is it generous? Is it what you think God will approve? Will it make you wiser, or better, or happier to feel that you are giving pain to a poor creature?