The next day being Sunday was a day of repose, and as they had all
worked so hard, they felt the luxury of a day of rest. In the
afternoon, they agreed that on Monday they should make every preparation
for quitting the tents, and returning to the house at the bay. They
decided that the live stock should all be left there, as the pasturage
was so plentiful and good, with the exception of one goat, which they
would take back with them, to supply them with milk; and they also
agreed that the tents should be left standing, with some cooking
utensils, that in case William and Ready went round for the bananas or
yams, or to examine the live stock, they should not be compelled to
sleep in the open air, and should have the means of dressing their
dinner. William and Ready were to carry the beds, etcetera, round to
the bay in the boat, which they could do in two trips, and Mr and Mrs
Seagrave, with the family, were to walk through the woods after taking a
very early breakfast.
All these points being arranged, they had finished their supper, when
William again brought up the conversation about animals, as he was
delighted to bear Mr Seagrave talk on the subject. The conversation
had not commenced more than a few minutes, when William said--
"Papa, they always say `as stupid as an ass.' Is an ass such a stupid
animal?"
"No, William; it is a very sagacious one; but the character has been
given to the animal more on account of its obstinacy and
untractableness, than on any other account. It is usual to say, as
stupid as an ass, or as stupid as a pig, or a goose. Now, these three
animals are very much maligned, for they are all sagacious animals. But
the fact is that, as regards the ass, we have only very sorry specimens
of the animal in England; they are stunted and small, and, from want of
corn and proper food, besides being very ill-treated, are slow and
dull-looking animals. The climate of England is much too cold for the
ass; in the south of France and the Mediterranean, where it is much
warmer, the ass is a much finer animal; but to see it in perfection we
must go to the Torrid Zone in Guinea, right on the equator, the hottest
portion of the globe, where the ass, in its native state and in its
native country, is a handsome creature and as fleet as the wind; indeed,
supposed to be, and mentioned in the Scriptures as the fleetest animal
in creation. The fact is, that in Asia, especially in Palestine and
Syria, asses were in great repute, and used in preference to horses. We
must see an animal in its own climate to form a true estimate of its
value."
"Does climate, then, make so great a difference?" said William.
"Of course it does, not only with animals, but with trees, plants, and
even man, until he is accustomed to the change. With respect to
animals, there are some which can bear the different varieties of
climate, and even change of food. The horse, for instance, although
originally indigenous to Arabia, lives as well in the Temperate, and
even in the Frigid Zones it may be said, for they endure the hard
winters of Russia and North America; so will domestic cattle, such as
cows, sheep, pigs, etcetera. It is a curious fact that, during the
winter in Canada, a large proportion of the food of cattle consists of
_fish_."
"Fish, papa! Cows eat fish?"
"Yes, my dear boy, such is the fact. It is a remarkable instance of a
graminivorous or grass-eating animal being changed for a time into a
flesh-eating, or rather into fish-eating animal. But there are other
animals which can live under any temperature, as the wolf, the fox, the
hare, and rabbit. It is a curious provision,--that the sheep and goats
in the hottest climates throw off their warm covering of wool, and
retain little better than hair; while, removed to a cold climate, they
recover their warm covering immediately."
"But a goat has no wool, papa."
"What are Cashmere shawls made of, William?"
"Very true, papa."
"Most animals have a certain increase of covering as they recede further
from the warm climates to the cold ones. Wolves and foxes, hares and
rabbits, change the colour of their skins to white when they get far
north. The little English stoat, which is destroyed by the gamekeepers,
becomes the beautiful snow-white ermine in Russia and other cold
countries."
"Well, papa, I think it a great advantage to man, and a proof of the
Almighty's care of him and kindness to him, in permitting all the
animals most useful to him to be able to live in any country; but I
don't know whether I am wrong in saying so, papa: I cannot see why an
animal like the wolf should not have been kept to his own climate, like
the lion and tiger, and other ferocious animals."
"You have started a question, William, which I am glad you have done,
rather than it should have remained on your mind, and have puzzled you.
It is true that the shepherd might agree with you, that the wolf is a
nuisance; equally true that the husbandman may exclaim, What is the good
of thistles, and the various weeds which choke the soil? But, my dear
boy, if they are not, which I think they are, for the benefit of man, at
all events they are his doom for the first transgression. `Cursed is
the ground for thy sake--thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee--and by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,' was the
Almighty's sentence; and it is only by labour that the husbandman can
obtain his crops, and by watchfulness that the shepherd can guard his
flocks. Labour is in itself a benefit: without exercise there would be
no health, and without health there would be no enjoyment."
"I see now, papa. You have mentioned the animals which can live in all
climates; will you not tell us something about other animals?"
"There is but one remark to make, William, which is, that animals
indigenous to, that is, originally to be found in, any one portion of
the globe, invariably are so fashioned as to be most fit for that
country, and have the food also most proper for them growing or to be
obtained in that country. Take, for instance, the camel, an animal
fashioned expressly for the country to which he is indigenous, and
without whose aid all communication must have been stopped between Asia
and Africa. He is called the `Ship of the Desert;' for the desert is a
`sea of sand.' His feet are so fashioned that he can traverse the sands
with facility; he can live upon the coarsest vegetable food and salt
plants which are found there, and he has the capacity of carrying water
in a sort of secondary stomach, for his own supply where no water is to
be found. Here is an animal wonderfully made by the Almighty for an
express locality, and for the convenience of man in that country; for,
in England, or elsewhere, he would be of no value. But it is late, my
dear William; so we will first thank Him for all his mercies, and then
to bed."