Uncle Thomas concludes Stories about Instinct with several
Interesting Illustrations of the Affections of Animals,
particularly of the Instinct of Maternal Affection, in the course
of which he narrates the Story of the Cat and the Black-Bird; the
Squirrel's Nest; the Equestrian Friends; and points out the
Beneficent Care of Providence in implanting in the Breasts of each
of his Creatures the Instinct which is necessary for its Security
and Protection.
"Good evening, Uncle Thomas? We were so delighted with the adventures of
Kees, that we wish to know if you have any more such amusing stories to
tell us."
"Oh yes, Boys, plenty such, but it is now time to bring these STORIES
ABOUT INSTINCT to a close. I am therefore going to conclude by narrating
one or two stories about the affections of animals. I wish to impress
your minds with feelings of kindness towards them, and I think that the
best way to do so is to exhibit them to you in their gentleness and
love; to show you that they too partake of the kindlier emotions by
which the heart of man is moved, and that the feelings of maternal
affection, and of friendship, and of fidelity, are as much the
prerogatives of the lower animals as they are of man himself. Perhaps
one of the most amiable lights in which the affections of animals are
exhibited is their love and attachment to their offspring. You have all
seen how regardless of danger a domestic hen, one of the most timid and
defenceless of animals, becomes when she has charge of a brood of
chickens. At other times she is alarmed by the slightest noise--the
sudden rustle of a leaf makes her shrink with fear and apprehension.
Yet, no sooner do her little helpless offspring escape from the shell,
than she becomes armed with a determination of which even birds of prey
stand in awe."
"Oh yes, Uncle Thomas, I have often seen a hen attack a large dog and
drive it away from her chickens."
"It marks the wisdom of the omnipotent and all-wise Creator, Boys, that
he has implanted in the hearts of each of his creatures the particular
instincts which were necessary for their safety and protection. Thus, in
the case I have just spoken of, the instinctive courage with which the
mother is endowed, you will find to be the best security which could
have been devised. In some other birds this instinct exhibits itself in
a different way. If you happen to approach the nest of the lapwing, for
instance, the old birds try every means to attract your attention, and
lure you away from the sacred spot. They will fly close by you, and in
an irregular manner, as if wounded; but no sooner do they find that
their stratagem has been successful, and that you have passed the nest
unobserved, than they at once take a longer flight, and soon leave you
behind."
"How very singular, Uncle Thomas! Does the lapwing defend its young with
as much courage as the hen?"
"I am not aware that it does, Frank, though I think it is not at all
unlikely. As its instinct teaches it to finesse in the way which I have
told you, however, I should not expect to find that it does so with
equal spirit. Even the pigeon, the very emblem of gentleness and love,
boldly pecks at the rude hand which is extended towards its young,
during the earlier stages of their existence. If you come by chance on
the brood of a partridge, the mother flutters along, as if she were so
much wounded that it was impossible to escape, and the young ones squat
themselves close by the earth. When by her cunning wiles she has led you
to a little distance, and you discover that her illness was feigned, you
return to the spot to seek for the young, and you find that they too are
gone: no sooner is your back turned than they run and hide themselves in
some more secret place, where they remain till the well-known call of
the mother again collects them under her wing.
"I lately heard a most interesting story of the boldness of a pair of
blackbirds in defence of their young. A cat was one day observed mounted
on the top of a railing, endeavouring to get at a nest which was near
it, containing a brood of young birds. On the cat's approach the mother
left the nest, and flew to meet it in a state of great alarm, placing
herself almost within its reach, and uttering the most piteous screams
of wildness and despair. Alarmed by his partner's screams, the male bird
soon discovered the cause of her distress, and in a state of equal
trepidation flew to the place, uttering loud screams and outcries,
sometimes settling on the fence just before the cat, which was unable to
make a spring in consequence of the narrowness of its footing. After a
little time, seeing that their distress made no impression on their
assailant, the male bird flew at the cat, settled on its back, and
pecked at its head with so much violence that it fell to the ground,
followed by the blackbird, which at length succeeded in driving it away.
Foiled in this attempt, the cat a short time after again returned to
the charge, and was a second time vanquished, which so intimidated her
that she relinquished all attempts to get at the young birds. For
several days, whenever she made her appearance in the garden, she was
set upon by the blackbirds, and at length became so much afraid of them,
that she scampered to a place of security whenever she saw them
approach."
"That was very bold indeed, Uncle Thomas. Birds seem to be all very much
attached to their young."
"Very much so, Harry; but perhaps not more so than many quadrupeds. Here
is a story of the squirrel's affection, which, though it does not
exhibit an instance of active defence against its enemies, affords one
of endurance equally admirable.
"In cutting down some trees on the estate recently purchased by the
crown at Petersham, for the purpose of being annexed to Richmond park,
the axe was applied to the root of a tall tree, on the top of which was
a squirrel's nest. A rope was fastened to the tree for the purpose of
pulling it down more expeditiously; the workmen cut at the roots; the
rope was pulled; the tree swayed backwards and forwards, and at length
fell. During all these operations a female squirrel never attempted to
desert her new-born young, but remained with them in the nest. When the
tree fell down, she was thrown out and secured unhurt, and was put into
a cage with her young ones. She suckled them for a short time, but
refused to eat. Her maternal affection, however, remained till the last
moment of her life, and she died in the act of affording all the
nourishment in her power to her offspring.
"We are too apt, Boys, to overlook the admirable lessons which such
stories as these inculcate. They should teach us kindness to each
other--kindness, indeed, not only to those of our own species, but
kindness to all created creatures. If the lower animals love each other
so warmly and affectionately, how much more ought man, to whom the
Creator has been so beneficent, to love his fellow creatures. But though
the attachment of animals to their offspring is an admirable mode of its
developement, it is far from being the only one. After all the STORIES
ABOUT DOGS--their love of their master--their fidelity--their
sagacity--which I will relate to you at a future time, it is hardly
necessary for me to bring forward evidence in favour of this position.
Here is an instance of friendship, as it is called, between horses,
which was so strong as to terminate fatally.
"During the Peninsular war, two horses, which had long been associated
together, assisting to drag the same piece of artillery, and standing
together the shock of many battles, became so much attached to each
other as to be inseparable companions. At length one of them was killed.
After the battle in which this took place, the other was picquetted as
usual, and his food brought to him. He refused, however, to eat, and was
constantly turning round his head to look for his companion, sometimes
neighing as if to call her. All the attention which was bestowed upon
him was of no avail; though surrounded by horses he took no notice of
them, but incessantly bewailed his absent friend. He died shortly after,
having refused to taste food from the time his former companion was
killed!
"Such is but one solitary instance. But there are many such scattered up
and down in the ample records of nature, bearing silent but emphatic
testimony to the kindness and beneficence of the Creator. Let them but
be searched for in a proper and gentle spirit, and they are sure to be
found.
"Not a tree,
A plant, a leaf, a blossom, but contains
A folio volume: we may read, and read,
And read again, but still find something new--
Something to please, and something to instruct,
E'en in the noisome weed."
THE END.
Mary Howitt's Story-Book.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
CONTENTS.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
STORY OF LITTLE CRISTAL.
MABEL ON MIDSUMMER-DAY.
THE CHRISTMAS-TREE.
A DREAM.
PICTURE OF THE VIRGIN.
BOY OF THE SOUTHERN ISLE.
BIRDS AND THE GUINEA-PIGS.
CORN-FIELDS.
THE PIGEON-HOUSE.
THE SPIRIT'S QUESTIONINGS.
THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT.
LITTLE CHILDREN.
THE YOUNG TURTLE DOVE OF CARMEL.
THE JOY OF ENGELE.
MARIEN'S PILGRIMAGE.
PAINTER'S LITTLE MODEL.
MAN IN A WILDERNESS.
BLIND BOY AND HIS SISTER.
THE CHRISTMAS DINNER.
OLD CHRISTMAS.
TWO FRIEND'S COUNSEL.
THE CHILDREN.
BEGINNING AND END OF MRS.
MUGGERIDGE'S WEDDING-DINNER.
COMING SPRING.
THE TAX-GATHERER'S VISIT.
[Illustration]
"Mary Howitt's Stories for Children are with many preferred above all
the other works of that charming writer, to true and genial is the
sympathy she shows for the young, and to healthy the tone of her gently
insinuated moral."--Mrs. Kirkland.
C.S. FRANCIS & CO., 252 BROADWAY.
HANS ANDERSEN'S STORY BOOK.
_One thick Volume, with Illustrations, and a Memoir of the Author by
Mary Howitt._
Price 75 cents; extra gilt, $1.
CONTENTS.
MEMOIR OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.
A PICTURE-BOOK WITHOUT PICTURES.
MY BOOTS.
SCENES ON THE DANUBE.
PEGASUS AND POST-HORSES.
EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES.
THE SWINEHERD.
THE REAL PRINCESS.
THE SHOES OF FORTUNE.
THE FIR-TREE.
THE SNOW-QUEEN.
THE LEAP-FROG.
THE ELDER-BUSH.
THE BELL.
THE OLD HOUSE.
THE DROP OF WATER.
THE HAPPY FAMILY.
THE STORY OF A MOTHER.
THE FALSE COLLAR.
THE SHADOW.
THE OLD STREET LAMP.
THE DREAM OF LITTLE TUK.
THE NAUGHTY BOY.
TWO NEIGHBORING FAMILIES.
THE DARNING NEEDLE.
THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL.
THE RED SHOES.
TO THE YOUNG READERS.
"We have placed Andersen's name at the head of our list, in gratitude
for the delight and amusement his stories for children have afforded us.
When Fairy-land seemed lost to us, or peopled by a new race of
utilitarians, who spoke its language and tried its spells in mere
slavish imitation, without comprehending their use and meaning; a Poet
from the North has made fresh flowers bloom there, and brought it back
again to our hearts and eyes in brighter colors and stronger outlines
than before."--_Christian Remembrancer._
"There is a child-like tenderness and simplicity in his writings--an
elevation and purity of tone--which is the secret of the extreme charm
his celebrated stories have for children. They are as simple and as
touching as the old Bible narratives of Joseph and his Brethren, and the
little lad who died in the corn field. We wonder not at their being the
most popular books of their kind in Europe."--_Mary Howitt._
Published by C.S. FRANCIS & Co., New York.
Transcriber's Note:
The following typographical errors have been maintained in this text:
Original
page
vii "at the of Good Hope, Calsoaep" should read:
"at the Cape of Good Hope, also"
23 powererful for powerful
50 , for . in "valuable medicines, Storms"
60 seige for siege
67 "There is one or two" should read "There are..."
96 , for . in "favourite cat, When the"
113 ocassion for occasion
143 Missing close quotes at end of chapter
174 "Where do such animals come from, Uncle Thomas." should end with ?
189 "prehensile tales" for "prehensile tails"
190 "more about" should read "move about"
195 "Good evening, Uncle Thomas?" should end with !
200 developement for development
The following word is spelled inconsistently:
colour / color