if it is allowed to go dry by scratching at it, till someone fills it with
fresh water.
May knows a very pretty story in verse about a little dog called Music, who
did all she could to save a greyhound, Dart, from drowning, when he had
gone down beneath the ice while trying to cross a frozen river. It must
have been a touching thing to see her standing on the broken edge, and
stretching out her paw, like a hand, to save him, while she as the poem
says,
"... makes efforts and complainings, nor gives o'er
Until her fellow sank, and reappeared no more."
Faithful, loving little Music failed to save her friend; but a Scotch dog
was the means of saving the life of his master, as he was crossing a river
on the ice. When the crash came, and he sank, he had the presence of mind
to support himself by means of his gun, which lay across the broken ice.
The dog, after making attempts to save his master, seemed to understand
that the only thing he could do for him was to leave him, and go in search
of help. So off he ran to the next village, and pulled at the coat of the
first man he saw, so earnestly, that he got the man to follow him, and was
in time to save the life of the drowning man.
But more remarkable still is the story of a strange dog who seems to have
been sent by God to protect a poor miner's house in his absence.
In a very lonely place in Cornwall, the house of a miner is situated among
the rocks. Only he and his wife lived there, and the poor woman was often
left alone far into the night, as her husband's work kept him very late.
One evening a large dog came up the hill to this cottage, and began to make
himself at home there, and to make friends with the miner's wife. At first
she petted him, but when it began to grow dark, she thought he ought to be
going to his own home, and used every effort to send him away. But the dog
would not be turned out, and at last the lonely woman allowed him to stay
with her. Late at night, a noise of footsteps was heard, and she ran to
open the door, as she thought, to her husband. But the dog sprang past her
into the darkness, and she heard the sound of a great struggle, and then
the footsteps again passing down the path. The dog presently came back to
her, but after a time she began to be alarmed lest he should have attacked
and frightened--perhaps injured--her husband, as he was returning home.
Lighting a lantern, she unbarred the door, and went out into the dark
night, still attended by the strange dog, who seemed resolved not to
leave her. They soon met the miner on his way home, and the dog, far from
springing upon him, went up to him, and then--without a word, I was going
to say--disappeared into the darkness. The miner's wife could never find
out anything about him, but she felt quite sure that it was God who had
sent this strange protector to take care of her in her loneliness.
Now this must be nearly our last Dog-story, or we shall never have done,
for there is no end to the wonderful tales which are told of the sense
and kindliness and courage and faithfulness of these creatures who are so
rightly called the friends of man.
You remember that wolves, foxes, and jackals are placed in the Dog-family;
and if you notice the wolves at the Zoological Gardens, you will see in
how many respects they resemble dogs. It is when they go about in great
numbers, as they do in the east of Europe and Asia, that these animals are
such dreaded foes, and devour so many defenceless sheep and cattle.
Do you not think this a wonderful account of a traveller and a wolf taking
shelter together in a storm and lying down side by side? It is called
"FATHER'S STORY.
"'Little one, come to my knee!
Hark! how the rain is pouring
Over the roof, in the pitch-black night
And the wind in the woods is roaring.
"'Hush, my darling, and listen;
Then pay for the story with kisses;
Father was lost in a pitch-black night,
In just such a storm as this is!
"'High up on the lonely mountains,
Where the wild men watched and waited;
Wolves in the forest and bears in the bush,
And I on my path belated.
"'The rain and the night came together
Came down, and the wind came after,
Bending the props of the pine-tree roof,
And snapping many a rafter.
"'I crept along in the darkness,
Stunned and bruised and blinded,
Crept to a fir with thick set boughs,
And a sheltering rock behind it.
"'There, from the blowing and raining,
Crouching, I sought to hide me;
Something rustled, two green eyes shone,
And a wolf lay down beside me.
"'Little one, be not frightened;
I and the wolf together,
Side by side, through the long, long night,
Hid from the awful weather.
"'His wet fur pressed against me;
Each of us warmed the other;
Each of us felt in the stormy dark,
That man and beast was brother.
"'And when the falling forest
No longer crashed in warning,
Each of us went from our hiding place
Forth in the wild, wet morning.
"'Now, darling, kiss me in payment,
And hark! how the wind is roaring;
Surely home is a better place,
When the stormy rain is pouring!'"
The Fox, as you know, is found in most parts of England, and in many other
countries. He is a sly, clever hunter, living by day in the hole which
he hollows out for himself, and prowling about at night, stealing from
hen-roosts, or pouncing upon some unwary hare or rabbit. The Jackal, which
is perhaps more like a wolf than a fox, and lives in Africa and parts of
Asia, is also a great devourer of game and poultry.
[Illustration: A FOX TAKING TO THE WATER.]
The Arctic-fox, which is found in the far north, is grey during the summer,
but turns white as snow in winter, and its coat then becomes so thick as to
cover even the soles of its feet. It is interesting to notice that those
creatures whose home is in the far north are clad in grey or white, for
animals which are hunted either as prey or for the sake of their fur, often
take the colour of the ground, whether it be covered with snow, as in the
Arctic regions, or brake and heather, as upon the moors and furzy coverts
where our own hares and foxes hide.
Now we come to the bears, which are found all the world over except in
Africa. The Brown bear, which is a peaceable creature, feeding on honey or
fruits, is still met with in the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the north
of Europe, but it has not lived in England since before the Conquest, at a
time when wolves were quite common with us; especially in Wales.
The Grizzly bear is a very different animal; its home is in North America,
and it will hunt down a man with such determination that it is very much
dreaded by the fur-hunters. The white or Polar bear belongs entirely to
the Arctic regions, so that I have often wondered that the great creature
which looks so innocent as it dives for the bread which is thrown to it by
visitors at the Gardens, or plays with its ball in the water, does not die
during our hot summer months. I have heard that the reason why the soles
of its feet are so hairy is because in its northern home it is constantly
travelling over icefields, sometimes climbing the lofty bergs--and the
long hair prevents it from slipping. If so, this is but one more instance
showing how perfectly the animals are fitted for the life which they live
in their natural state.
And now we must pass from this group to another great Division of the
Mammalia--the Herbivorous animals, which live, not on the flesh of birds or
beasts, which they hunt for themselves, but upon grass and green things.
In the first class the Gnawing creatures are placed; you can always know
them by their teeth. Perhaps you remember how different the front teeth of
a rabbit are from those long, sharp ones which pussy shows now and then
when she yawns. By constantly gnawing their food, the teeth of squirrels,
hares, rats, mice, dormice, and all animals called Rodents, or Gnawers,
would soon be worn away, but that, unlike our teeth, they never cease
growing while the creature lives. The most interesting of these creatures
is the Beaver, with its webbed hind feet and broad tail. I hope you will
some day read about the mud-built houses, and the clever dams which beavers
make across the rivers. Mr. Wood says that when they have been tamed they
will still go on building dams across one corner of the room in which they
are, and collecting boots, brushes, books, all sorts of things, and putting
them together industriously; for they still have in captivity the same
instinct which teaches them to dam the stream where they build, so that
the entrance to their houses may always be below the surface, and never be
barred by the ice, during frost.
The teeth of horses are differently formed from those of the gnawing
animals: at the back they are massive, and act like grindstones, crushing
the grain which they eat. The Horse-family includes the patient Ass, and
the beautifully marked Zebra of South Africa. I need not tell you that all
these animals have only one toe, with that hard and strong toe-nail which
is called the hoof.
The Ruminants, or animals that chew the cud, are cows, sheep, and goats,
deer, giraffes, and camels.
You have often noticed a Cow when lying down in the field, going on eating,
although she seems to have no food before her. This is because she has
already eaten plenty of grass, very fast, and now that she is resting, she
brings what she has, as it were, laid up in store, back into her mouth, and
chews it over again.
I think there are no animals so often mentioned in the Bible as oxen,
sheep, and lambs, goats and kids; and they are the only creatures, except
the turtle dove and the pigeon, which were offered as sacrifices, from the
time when Eve's second son brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of
the fat thereof, "and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering."
All creatures that chew the cud have two toes, or are what is called
cloven-footed. The Camel, whose home is in the dry and thirsty desert, has
the power of storing up water, and bringing it back into its mouth for
several days after it has drunk it. This enables it to make long journeys,
without needing a brook by the way. Its feet, too, are just fitted for
the sandy wastes which it has to tread. The one-humped camel is found in
Africa, and the two-humped, or Bactrian camel, in Asia. The Llama of South
America is like the camel in some respects, but, as you know, is very much
smaller; I knew one which had a disagreeable habit of spitting at those who
came to call upon him, and I have read or others doing the same. We read
of Abraham having camels, and of John the Baptist wearing clothes made of
camel's hair, and that King Solomon had deer.
The beautiful Giraffe, found only in South Africa, is like the camel in
some respects, and the deer in others. That long neck which it arches so
gracefully when you offer it a bun, enables it in its forest-home to feed
upon the leaves of trees; so you see it is for use, not only for beauty.
There could hardly be a greater contrast to the giraffe than the Elephant,
with its short neck and large body; but what the giraffe can do with its
long neck, that, and a great deal more, the elephant can do with the
wonderful trunk which is his nose, his hand, his trumpet, and we might
almost say his mouth, as he could neither reach his food nor drink except
by its help, his neck being so short.
There are only two kinds of elephants, the Asiatic and the African, the
latter having very large ears, and the former only being tamed; the African
elephant is hunted merely for the sake of its ivory tusks.
In a delightful story book, called _Friends in Fur and Feathers_, we had
all read a very interesting account of a young elephant called Kornegalle
Jack, which became exceedingly attached to his master. I wonder whether
you know it? If you do not, perhaps you might have the book for your next
birthday present, and read a great deal about elephants, as well as other
animals, whose names only we have time, to mention now.
But you will say, perhaps, that we have forgotten one kind of animal, for
we have not said a word about Pigs. Well, Piggie has not been forgotten;
but it seems difficult for him to find just his own place among the classes
of Mammalia, for he is like several of the quadrupeds in some particular,
but unlike any one of them altogether. You cannot put him with the
Ruminants, and yet he has cloven feet; he has the same number of teeth as
the horse, and his snout is rather like, in a small way, the trunk of the
elephant; then, in his wild state, he might almost be reckoned among the
beasts of prey, for the wild Boar, with its terrible tusks, is a most
formidable creature to encounter.
Of all the families of the Mammalia, that of Rats and Mice is the most
numerous. There are two kinds of rats, the black and the brown. I do not
know to which kind Willie's "Ratto" belongs, but I have heard many stories
of his clever tricksy ways, and of how well he knew his name, and obeyed
his master.
A rat, however clever, is not an animal which I should care to pet and
tame; but I know a very interesting story of one which seemed to be the
means of taming a poor man who was so wild and miserable that he cared for
nobody. This man had been transported for life, for some of his wicked
deeds, and he was so savage that even the companions who worked with him
were afraid of him, and hardly dared speak to him.
Once, as he was at work in the woods near Port Philip, felling trees, with
a heavy chain around him lest he should escape, a rat, chased by some
boys, ran towards him, and nestled inside his shirt. There the frightened
creature lay, in its place of refuge, close to that hard heart which cared
for no fellow-man; and as the poor lonely convict felt its fluttering, a
strange feeling came over him towards the trembling thing which had thus
trusted him. He asked leave to keep it as a pet, and from that time the rat
followed its protector everywhere, faithful and loving as a dog; and from
caring for his little rescued friend, the man who had been so savage and
hard, became more gentle, and no longer needed to be chained, and kept
almost as if he had been a wild beast. There is a sad ending to this story,
for at last the rat was killed by a bough falling upon it, and its death
caused such grief to its master that he never spoke again; but I do not
know his history to the very end, and I hope that even through seeing the
gratitude and faithfulness of one of the creatures whom God had made, he
may have learnt that the God against whom he had so hardened himself was
ready to forgive and to receive him, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ,
who came "to seek and to save that which was lost."
We must not forget the Toothless animals, of which the Ant-eater is the
best known. They live upon insects, chiefly white ants, which they catch by
tearing open their houses with their strong claws, and then rolling their
long tongues among them. The tongue of the ant-eater is covered with a kind
of gum, to which the ants stick, and when there is room for not one more,
the living mouthful is swallowed.
Perhaps your cousins in Australia sometimes tell you about the great
Kangaroo, or "Old man," as they call him in that part of the world. By
means of his very long and powerful hind legs, and strong tail, he can leap
great distances, so rapidly as to outstrip a greyhound. There are many
species of kangaroos, but they are all much alike, and belong to the order
of Pouched animals; so called because instead of rearing her young in a
nest which she has made for them, the mother carries them in a bag. The
little creatures at their birth are more helpless than most young animals,
and this pouch is their home for some time, and their refuge in danger,
even after they have grown beyond the need of her constant care.
Australia has no animals like those of other parts of the world, except
the dog and the bat; but only one of these pouched animals--the Opossum of
America--is not found there. This creature is very like a monkey, and the
one best known in the southern states of America is about the size of a
cat, and very mischievous--as it sleeps during the day and prowls about at
night, in search of birds, eggs, and fruit. It has the power, which some
animals possess, of pretending to be dead, when in danger of being caught;
and thus it often escapes.
Seals and Whales must also be classed among the Mammalia, although they are
especially formed to live in the water.
Whales, though so much like fishes that they used to be classed with them,
have warm blood and do not breathe through gills; so they have to come
to the surface of the water every now and then, in order to get air.
By-and-by, when you read more, you will understand how it is that the
whale, though it breathes as you do, is able to stay under water as long as
half an hour at a time.
Now, at the end of this long chapter about the Mammalia, let us see what we
have been noticing about them.
They are put first in the Vertebrate Group, though we have spoken of the
birds and fishes before them, because they were made on the Fifth Day.
They are generally--for we must not forget the whale--covered with hair or
fur, and they feed their young with milk. First of the classes into which
the Mammalia are divided, we place the Four-handed creatures--apes and
monkeys.
Second, the Hand-winged; the bats.
Third, the Flesh-eaters; many of them beasts of prey of the Cat-kind and of
the Dog-kind.
Fourth, the Herbivora; animals which feed upon grasses.
Fifth, the Horse-tribe.
Sixth, the Ruminants; animals which chew the cud.
Seventh, Elephants.
Eighth, the Pig-kind, including the Hippopotamus which is believed to be
the creature called Behemoth.
Ninth, the Pouched animals.
Tenth, Seals, including the Walrus.
Eleventh, the Whale-tribe.
In saying "good-bye for the present" to this wide field of interest, shall
we make up our minds to observe for our own selves the animals which we see
every day, and to notice particularly how beautifully they are formed so as
to live in the way which is, as we say, suited to their nature; and also to
read some of the many interesting books on Natural History, where we shall
find pictures of the different "orders" of animals, and learn all sorts of
curious things about their habits?
God does not tell us what we do not need to know, just how he fed the
beasts of prey, and all the flesh-eating creatures which, in their present
state, live upon birds or animals which they catch alive; but God does not
say either that there was any death in the Garden of Eden, or that the
creatures which He had just made, each "after its kind," and all "very
good," preyed upon those weaker and smaller than themselves. It has been
found that it is possible _now_ for those beasts whose claws are fitted for
catching their prey--and their long sharp teeth for tearing to pieces what
they have caught--to live upon green things; and we know from the chapter
we have been reading together that God at the first gave them "every green
herb for meat."
Perhaps some of us have already read this beautiful poem in _Scattered
Seed_, but I will copy it for others who may not know it.
"GOD IS LOVE.
"All the earth, about us,
All the world above,
Tell the old sweet story,
Whisper, 'God is Love.'
Every wayside blossom
Lifts its little voice,
Every bright-eyed daisy
Bids our heart rejoice.
"Surging, seething torrent,
Bubbling, sparkling spring,
Hum of insect nature,
Birds upon the wing,
Evening's flush of beauty,
Morning's streaks of light,
Noonday's radiant glory,
All in praise unite.
"See His kind provision
Waving in the grain,
Shining in the sunbeams,
Falling in the rain;
Parching days of summer,
Cool the dewy fall,
Hoary frost of winter,
Sheltering snow o'er all.
"Swift o'er trackless region
Runs the lurid flash,
Sounds from hill to moorland,
Deep resounding crash,
Towering peak and cranny,
Eagles' dizzy height,
Dignity and splendour,
All reveal His might.
"Nature's varied voices
Chant the sweet refrain,
Echo o'er the mountain,
Linger on the plain,
Thunder in the ocean,
Whisper in the shell,
Murmur in the breezes,
Sighing in the dell.
"Shall our lips be silent?
Shall our lives be still?
Tune our hearts, O Father,
To perform Thy will;
Fill our souls with rapture,
Fill our hearts with praise,
Give us grace to follow
Gladly all our days."
M. A. E.
THE SIXTH DAY
THE CROWN OF GOD'S CREATION.
"_The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given
me life._"--JOB xxxiii. 4.
"_In Him we live, and move, and have our being ... for we are also His
offspring._"--ACTS xvii. 28.
"_I will praise Thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made._"--PSALM
cxxxix. 14.
"_Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body._"--1 COR.
vi. 20.
Before we speak of the last work of God upon the last of those wonderful
days of which we are told in the first chapter of the Bible, let us read
the verses about it, from the twenty-sixth to the end of that chapter, and
to the tenth verse of the next. And then let us read the eighth Psalm,
unless indeed you can repeat it, as my little scholars once could--and I
hope they have not forgotten it now.
I think the first thing we noticed as we read was, that after the verses
which speak of the beasts and creeping things which God made on the SIXTH
DAY, there is, as it were, a close to the history, and then a fresh
beginning.
We read, "And God saw that it was good." There is a full stop there; and
again we read--now for the eighth time--the three words, "And God said."
But this is not all; a very wonderful expression, which had not been used
in connection with any part of the work of God, is employed to tell us of
the creation of the man who was placed by God as the head of all that He
had made, the one to whom He gave dominion, after He had made the earth,
and brought it all into order.
God had said, "Let the waters bring forth.... Let the earth bring forth"
living creatures. "And God made the beast of the earth"; but before man was
created He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."
Of no other creature could it be said that he was made in the likeness of
God, and of no other do we read that he was "formed" by God "of the dust of
the ground," and that the Lord God "breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life"; then, and not till then, did man become a "living soul." The body
was made of earth, but the soul came immediately from God.
The more we learn about our own body, that wonderful and beautiful house in
which we live, the more we shall see, in what God thus formed from the dust
of the ground, to call forth our admiration; but the body of the first man,
although fashioned with such perfection in all its parts, did not _live_
until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Let us never forget how great a difference God has put between man, about
whose creation He took thought, and who was made in His image, to whom
He has given speech, reason, and a deathless soul, and all the creatures
concerning which we read none of these things.
And now let us learn just a very little about the way in which God has
formed what His word speaks of as our "house" or "tent"--the dwelling-place
of the soul and spirit.
It would be strange indeed if we did not care to know something about our
own home; but our body is not only the house in which we live, it is also
the means, through those five senses--the eye, the ear, and the organs of
touch, taste, and smell--which have been so well called "the five gateways
of knowledge," by which we learn all that can be known by us of the world
outside us.
More than this, it is the wonderfully perfect instrument, and implicitly
obedient servant, by which all that we do is performed.
But the science that teaches us all that is known about our bodies is a
very difficult study, and there are many hard names to master, even at
the very outset. For instance, when we speak of the bony framework--that
skeleton which, as you know, belongs to us in common with the vertebrate
animals--there is a great deal which you would find very difficult to
remember.
Still, as I daresay you have found out, the more we learn, even of
difficult sciences, the more we _can_ learn, and little May (though, to
be sure, she is now four years older than she was when you first made her
acquaintance) _has_ learnt a good many of the hard words. She could show
you upon her own round arm, just where the bone which reaches from the
shoulder to the elbow begins and ends, and tell you its name, and the
names of the two bones which reach from the elbow to the wrist, and of the
wrist-bones, and of those which you can feel in the palm of your hand, and
the finger-bones.