THE LOVE OF ANIMALS FOR MAN AND FOR EACH OTHER.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 281, 29 June 1860, Page 4

THE LOVE OF ANIMALS FOR MAN AND FOR EACH OTHER.

Tee following paper was read by Mr. Jesse, so many years known as a devoted disciple in the field of natural history, at Brighton, to the members of the "Fisherman's Home," in that town: — When that fearful curse was pronounced upon man "the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the field and fowl of the air," leading creatures to avoid mankind as their worst enemiesi, one exception seems to have been made in the case of the dog. This faithful animal • cleaves to his. master through poverty, distress, hunger, and even death itself. Nothing destroys his love and attachment. We have instances when officers have been killed in battle, a loving dog has remained close to the body of his master, howling his distress, refusing all food and comfort, following the body to the grave, and expiring upon it,—-thus showing his affection to' the last. Another affecting instance is related of a dog, Who followed his master to his grave,., which was in one of the London church-yards, and "Was overlooked by several houses. On this grave the dog scratched a hole and lay in it. One of the kind-hearted inhabitants of the ihouses brought it some food; but there it re-' Jtaained day after days but eating what was tirought to it. At last, some one erected a email shed over it, to shelter it from the:weather. There the dog might be seen year attar ■ year, protected aud sympathised with by every one ifrho knew the circumstance of its remarkable attachment, till death—and nothing but death — released it from its fidelity to the master it jjoved. But, before I proceed with my anecdotes of these affectionate animals, I must" express my Surprise that so many unfeeling illusions should constantly be made to these noble creatures. Whm we hear of a* lazy dog'—a' drunken dog* —a 'dirty dog'—-a 'shabby dog'—of leading a « clog's life '—of a «dogged temper.' We call a dandy a ' puppy,' and sometimes another man a'eur.' All these are epithets misapplied as far as the dog is concerned, and I think you will agree with me when you here the following anecdote:A young gentleman of the name of Gough, of considerable talents and of an amiable disposition, lost his way when wandering, without a guide, on the mountain Hellvellyn, in Cumberland. He was accompanied by a terrier bitch, his constant attendant during frequent solitary rambles through the wilds of Westmorland and Cumberland. Trying to reach the top of the mountain by a difficult pass, he fell down a , precipice called ' Stridenedge,' and was killed. His remains were not discovered until three mouths afterwards, when they were found guarded jby his faithflul dog. Although the 3body had been so long a time exposed to the attacks of the numerous wild birds of prey,, and also the foxes which abound in that region, it ■was found untouched and undefaced by them, so strictly had it been watched over and protected. How the dog procured his food is a mastery which has never been discovered, but the fact of his remaining, near the body of his master is. undoubted. The celebrated Sir Walter Scott, a great lover of dogs, and who frequently visited a friend in Cumberland, wrote & beautiful poem, called Hellvellyn^ on the incident I have just related. It is too long [to quote the whole of it, but I will give you an extract from it. Sir Walter Scott says he had seen the place where the wanderer had died, and ihen adds— *' Dark green was the spot mid the brown mountain heather, . Where the Pilgrim of Nature, lay Btretch'd in decay, Like the corpse of an outcast abandoned to weather, L 'Till the mountain-winds wasted the tenantless clay; . . ; 3flor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended, For, faithful in death, his mute fav'rite attended, The much-lov'd remains of her master defended, And ohas'd the hill fox and the. raven away. '*'How long didst thou think that his silence was slumber ? _ When the wind wav'd his garment, how oft didst thou start ? How many long days and long weeks didst thou slumber, • ■ ' : Ere he faded before thee, the friend of thy heart P 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 stretch'd belore him— ■ Unheeded the Pilgrim from life should depart." I am sure you will all thank me for relating this beautiful and affecting anecdote of the love and fidelity of a poor dumb animal to his master, whose remains were interred in the burialground attached to a Quaker's meeting-house near the foot of the mountain. A poor woman, returning one winter's evening from a market, where she had purchased her loaf of bread, a bit of bacon, and a small piece of mutton, and accompanied by a small dog, was overtaken by a violent snow-storm, as she was passing along a narrow lane. She was unable to proceed, and at the end of three Or four days was found dead. Her dog had survived, and was discovered close 'to his mistress and the basket of food, which was untouched, althoughtbe poor animal must have foeen nearly starved, from having had nothing to eat for so long a time. . . I will now relate another anecdote of the Jove and affection in dumb animals,, which I am sure will please you. Mr. 'Morritfc well-known to the readers of the life of the celebrated; Sir Walter Scott, as his intimate and confidential friend, and two terriers of the pepper and mustard breed, or, rather, for it 'is a character I always delight in, the Dandy Dinmont breed. These dogs,—-for it is as well to leave,.out the feminine; appellatidh,-r-wer^. much attached to their kind hearted master, and he to them. They w,ere mother and daughter, and each produced a litter of puppies about the same time. Mr. Morritt was seriously ill at this period, and confined to his bed. Fond as these dogs were, of their.puppiesj.they had an equal affection for their master, and they accordingly showed this In the following manner. They conveyed their two litters of puppies' to one place,, andl while one of the, mothers remained to suckle and-take care of them, the'cither went into Mr. Morritt's feed-room, and continued there from morning unto evening. When theevening arrived, she went and relieved the other -dog, who-then came into the bedroom,; and'remaitfed;]iuie'tly »H night by theiideof the \b^d;aid%tif .they • continued to dpi, iday'after day in succession,. until Mr. Morritt iecov^red,r.: This charming anecdote -was communicated to me from a quarter .which.; need not- leave a doubt of its authenticity,-and' affords -an 'affecting. jjroof of Jove and gratitude in animals, who, I 'ain'sorry' to gay, are too often aUseated.

A vessel was driven by a storm on the beach of Lydd, in Kent, a place some of yoa are probably .acquainted' with. The surf was rolling furiously, and eight men were calling for help; but not a boat-could be got off to their assis-. tance; although, I' have', no, doubt but that some of you now present would have tried, for the Brighton fishermen have done many brave things. However, a gentleman at length came on the beach, accompanied by his _ Newfoundland dog. He directed the attention of the noble animal to the vessel, and put a short stick into his mouth. The dog understood his meaning, and sprang into the sea, fighting his way through the roaming waves. He could not, however, get close enough to the vessel to deliver the stick he was charged with, bat the crew joyfully made fast a rope to another piece of wood and threw it towards him. The sagacious dog saw the whole business in an instant —he dropped his own piece, and. immediately seized that which had been cast to him, and then, with a degree of strength and; determination almost incredible, he dragged it through the surge and delivered it to his master. In this way, a line of communication was formed, and every man on board was saved. Does not this anecdote make you love dogs? It ought to do so. I will now give you an instance or two of the love and kindness of animals to each other, :My home is at East Sheen^ in Surrey1; but; a short distance from it there resides an amiable and excellent gentleman, who, like many others, has his cows, pigs, and poultry, and one of his pigs produced a large litter. As is generally the case, the youngest of the litter was a small weakly pig, and was pushed away when he attempted to feed with the others* Being thus without food, he gave utterance tS his plaintive feeble cries. These attracted the sympathy of a kind-hearted ben in the yard, who sheltered and warmed it under her wings. The pig was subsequently fed by artificial means, but. the hen continued her care of it till it no longer required her protection. '■'.:;..< I will give you another instance of animal kindness which occurred under my own .observation. The late Earl of Albemarle, when Master of the Horse to the Queen; lived at the Stud House in Hampton Court Park. He had a fine breed of black and tan spaniels, one of which produced a litter of puppies and died in bringing them forth. Their plaintive • ories, like those of the pig I have mentioned, induced a young female of the same breed, who never had puppies of her own, or was in the way of having any, to foster and warm them. They attempted to suckle her, milk came in consequence, and she was thus enabled to bring them all up. I have often seen her employed at her task, and nothing could exceed the affectionate way in which she performed it. You shall hear of an instance of friendship in animals. When the German Legion was actively engaged in the Peninsular War, two horses were always picketed together and served side by side in the same troop. One of these horses at last died. His,companion refused all food, and pined aWay and expired—a victim to his affection for his constant companion. Birds, also, that have been kept together in cages have been known to die when they have lost a companion : so capable are animals of showing love and affection. But let me return to the dog; for I like to dwell on his noble qualities. It was a pleasing remark of Sir Edwin Lanseer, whose pictures of dogs approach so near to the life, that the Newfoundland dog was a " distinguished member of the Humane Society." Indeed, we see in Sir Edwin's pictures faithfully poutrayed, honesty, fidelity, courage and sense—no exaggerationno flattery. He makes us feel that his dogs will love us without selfishness, and defend us at the risk of their own lives; that though friends may forsaka us, they never will; and that in misfortune, poverty, and death their af- " fection will be unchanged and, their gratitude unceasing. A gentleman, while bathing in the sea near Portsmouth, was in the greatest danger,of being drowned. Assistance was loudly called for; but no boat was ready, and although many persons were looking on, no one could be found to go to his help. . In this predicament, a Newfoundland dog rushed of his own, accord into the sea and was the means of saving the life of the gentleman. He afterwards purchased the dog for a large sum, treated it as long as he lived with .great kindness, and had the following words worked on his table-cloths and napkins —" Vimm extuli mari ;" which may be thus translated —■" I have rescued a man from the sea." :''.' ■■ " ' ' .V- V..;- !

You will be amused with the following anecdote, for it something in, your way as sailora. There was a Newfoundland dog on-board H.M.S. Bellona, which not only kept the deck at the bloody battle of Copenhagen, but ran backwards and forwards with so much courage and apparent anger at the foes, that, he becama a greater,favorite than ever with the crew. When.the ship was paid off, after the Peace of Amiens,1 the sailors had a parting dinner on shore. Victor, the dog was placed in the chair and fed with roast beef and plum-pudding, his health^ drank, and the bill made out in Victor's name. , .'■■

A kitten, pnly.a few days old, had been put into a pail of water in the stable-yard of an inn for the purpose of drowning it. It had remained there for a minute or to, until it was to all appearance dead, when a female terrier,' attached to the stables, took the kittten from the water and: carried it off in her; mouthy She suckled and watched; over it with great' care, and it lived and thrived. She had at. the time: a puppy of her own. : . ..-.', '■ -:>

I will; - now tell you something of ;the_ turnspit. In my very • young '- days" I was at a school where large joints of meat were turned by two of these -dogs, one on' one day and' the other on the next. 'When you consider that a joint of beef would t'ake ; at )east three hours to'roast,: you may suppose 'that; the, poor dogs had no easy task' to perform, v The consequence was that, as the dinner-hour drew near,, they would often hide themselves^ and, ijhave been told that if one of them was found,; and it was not his turn to be put into the wheel, he would point out the retreat of his companion showing that they had not only calcuia'ted time, but are clever, sensible dogs^

Dogs have been known to die from .exbelss of joy at seeing;;their masters after, a long .absence., AtfEnlglisn pffijer had a lar^e. dog! which he left with his "family in England while he_ accompanied! an expedition to America during the wars of the colonies. Throughout 4 his absence^ the'animal appeared, verj; fliucK^dejectel,^ Wheil the dfiaoerreturyd b^ine,;Ae dog,- who happenjed "be lying"afef the^cior^pf!, an. apart* iiient'into which tiis master was about to enter, immediately recognized him, leapt upon his

neck, licked his face, and, in a few minutes, fell dead at his feet. A favorite spaniel of a lady recently, died on seeing his beloved mistress after a long absence. I have now given you some anecdotes of the affection, sense, and strong attachments of animals, either to man or to each other, especially of the dog. lam convinced that the more the character of this animal is known, the better treatment he will receive, and a stronger sympathy will be excited for him. In fact, be is a friend so faithful—a protector so disinterested and courageous—that he deserves all the kindaess and affection which can be shown to him. A French writer has boldly affirmed that, with the exception of women, there is nothing on earth so agreeable, or so necessary to the com* . forjt of man, as a dog. However this may be, it is certain that if we were deprived of the 'companionship and the services of the dog, man would, be solitary, and, in many respects, a helpless being. The dog has died in defence of his master—saved him from drowning— warned him of approaching danger, and, if deprived of sight, has gently and faithfully led him about. If his master wants amusement in the field or the woods, he is delighted to have , an opportunity ofprocuring it for him. If he finds himself in solitude, his dog will be a cheerful companion ; and may be, when death comes, he will be the last, as we,have seen, to forsake the grave of bis beloved.' In'.facjt, he is fond, intelligent, and grateful. I will here quote some lines, by Lord Byron, on his dog.'— "When some proud son of man returns to earth, Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth, The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp ot woe, And storied urns record who rest below; Not what he was, but what he should have been. But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Whose honest heart is still'his master's own, - Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone, Unhonor'd falls. * * * Ye, who perchance behold this simple urn, Pass on—it honors none you wish to mourn; To mark, a friend's remains these stones arise— I never knew but one, and here he lies." I have now done with my lectures for the present. You wished, when I last met you, to have one more, and I need not tell you that this has been a hurried one. I have only to say that I quit you with much regret, for I have been listened to with kindness and attention ; and, what has gratified me much more, I have been assured that I have both pleased and instructed you. Be quite certain that I shall never forget you, or cease to feel a deep interest in your welfare. Do not forget your ,!" Home." It Is a place for rational enjoyment and improvement, equally a place also for an honest,. sober man, as well as a Christian. And now farewell, and may God bless you ■all.