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SECTION XIX.

I.

87. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.

WOULD not enter on my list of friends,

I manners and fine sense

(Yet wanting sensibility), the man

Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
An inadvertent' step may crush the snail
That crawls at evening in the public path;
But he that has humanity, forewarned,
Will tread aside, and let the reptile live.

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2. The creeping vermin, loathsome to the sight,
And charged perhaps with venom, that intrudes,
A visitor unwelcome, into scenes

Sacred to neatnèss and repose, the ǎl'cove,'
The chamber, or refectory, may die :

A necessary act incurs no blame.

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3. Not so, when, held within their proper bounds,
And guiltless of offense, they range the air,
Or take their pastime in the spacious field.
There they are privileged; and he that hunts
Or harms them there, is guilty of a wrong,
Disturbs the economy of Nature's realm,
Who, when she formed, designed them an abode.
4. The sum is this: If man's convenience, health,
Or safety interfere, his rights and claims
Are paramount," and must extinguish theirs.
Else they are all-the meanest things that are-
As free to live, and to enjoy that life,

As God was free to form them at the first,
Who in his sovereign wisdom made them all.

1 In`ad vert'ent, not turning the mind to a matter; heedless; careless. 2 Loath' some, exciting disgust; sickening.

3 Al' cōve, a recess of a library, or a room; any shady recess.

'Re fec' to ry, a room where refreshment is taken.

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Economy, prudent arrangements, or plans.

'Păr a mount, superior to all others.

5. Ye, therefore, who love mercy, teach your sons
To love it too. The spring-time of our years
Is soon dishonored, and defiled in most,

By budding ills that ask à prudent hand

To check them. But, alas! none sooner shoots,
If unrestrained, into luxuriant growth,

Than cruelty, most devilish of them all.

6. Mercy, to him that shows it, is the rule
And righteous limitation of its act,

By which Heaven moves in pardoning guilty man;
And he that shows none, being ripe in years,
And conscious of the outrage he commits,
Shall seek it, and not find it, in his turn!

WILLIAM COWPER,

S

II.

88. SENSIBILITY.

INCE trifles make the sum of human things,
And half our misery from our foibles' springs;
Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease,
And though but few can serve, yet all may please ;
O let the ungentle spirit learn from hence,
A small unkindness is a great offense.

2. To spread large bounties, though we wish in vain,
Yet all may shun the guilt of giving pain.

To bless mankind with tides of flowing wealth,
With rank to grace them, or to crown with health,
Our little lot denies; yet liberal' still,

God gives its counterpoise' to every ill;
Nor let us murmur at our stinted* powers,
When kindness, love, and concord' may be ours.

3. The gift of ministering to others' ease,
To all her sons impartial Heaven decrees ;
The gentle offices of patient love,
Beyond all flattery, and all price above;

1 Foi' bles, weak points; failings;
faults not of a serious character.
2 Lib'. er al, free; generous.
• Coun' ter poise, that which com-

pensates or balances; equal weight. • Stint' ed, restrained; kept small. Concord, (kong' kård), a state of agreement; harmony; union.

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The mild forbearance at a brother's fault,

The angry word suppressed, the taunting thought:
Subduing and subdued the petty strife,
Which clouds the color of domestic life;
The sober comfort, all the peace which springs
From the large aggregate' of little things;
On these small cares of daughter, wife, and friend,
The almost sacred joys of Home depend:

There, Sensibility,' thou best mayst reign,-
Home is thy true, legitimate' domain."

HANNAH MORE.

III.

89. LOVE OF COUNTRY AND OF HOME.

T

HERE is a land, of every land the pride,

Beloved by heaven o'er all the world beside;
Where brighter suns dispense' serener light,
And milder moons imparadise' the night:
A land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth,
Time-tutored age, and love-exalted youth.
2. The wandering mariner, whose eye explores
The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores,
Views not a realm so bountiful and fair,
Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air;
In every clime, the magnet of his soul,

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Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole :
3. For in this land of heaven's peculiar grace,
The heritage of nature's noblèst race,
There is a spot of earth supremely 10 blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest,

1 Ag'gre gāte, the sum or amount. • Sěn`si bĭl' i ty, delicacy of feelIng; that feeling which leads us to perceive and feel the troubles and misfortunes of others.

3 Le git' i mate, rightful; lawful. Do mãin', dominion; empire; territory over which one's authority extends.

portions or parts; distribute.
"Se ren'er, clearer; more soothing
Im păr'a dise, make very happy;
render like Paradise.

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Măg net, the loadstone; that which attracts.

'Her'it age, inheritance; portion; an estate devolved by succession.

10 Su prēmely, in the highest

' Dis pěnse', deal or divide out in degree.

Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and scepter, pageantry and pride,
While, in his softened looks, benignly' blend
The sire, the son, the husband, father, friend.
4. Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife,
Strews with fresh flowers the narrow way of life',
In the clear heaven of her delightful eye,
An angel-guard of loves and graces lie;
Around her knees domestic duties meet,
And fireside pleasures gambol' at her feet.
Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?
Art thou a man? a patriot? look around;
Oh! thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
That land thy country, and that spot thy home.

JAMES MONTGOMERY.

I

IV.

90. THE WIFE.

PART FIRST.

HAVE often had occasion to remark the fortitude' with which women sustain the most overwhelming reverses of fortune. Those disasters which break down the spirit of a man, and prostrate him in the dust, seem to call forth all the energies of the softer sex, and give such intrepidity and elevation to their character, that at times it approaches to sublimity."

2. Nothing can be more touching than to behold a soft and tender female, who has been all weakness and dependence, and ǎlīve to every trivial roughnèss, while treading the prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental force to be the comforter

Be nign' ly, graciously; kindly. ' Găm bol, dance and skip about in sport; play in frolic, like boys and lambs.

3 Pa' tri ot, a person who loves his country, and zealously supports and defends it and its interests.

4 For ti tude, that firmness or strength of mind which enables a

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person to meet danger with coolness and courage, or to bear pain or misfortune without murmuring or losing spirit.

" Sub lim' i ty, elevation; that which is so elevated or lofty in appearance or character as to produce a feeling of astonishment and awe.

" Měn' tal, belonging to the mind.

and support of her husband under misfortune, and abiding, with unshrinking firmness, the bitterèst blasts of adversity.1

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3. As the vine, which has long twined its graceful foliage ǎbout the oak, and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is rifted' by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs, so it is beautifully ordered by Providence, that woman, who is the mere dependent and ornament of man in his happier hours, should be his stay and solace when smitten with sudden calamity; winding herself into the rugged recesses of his nature, tenderly supporting the drooping head, and binding up the broken heart.

4. I was once congratulating a friend, who had around him a blooming family, knit together in the strongest affection. "I can wish you no better lot," said he, with enthusiasm, “than to have a wife and children. If you are prosperous, there they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you."

5. And, indeed, I have observed that a married man, falling into misfortune, is more apt to retrieve his situation in the world than a single one ;-partly because he is more stimulated to exertion by the necessities of the helplèss and beloved beings who depend upon him for subsistence; but chiefly because his spirits are soothed and relieved by domestic endearments, and his self-respect kept alive by finding, that, though all abroad is darkness and humiliation, yet there is still a little world of love at home, of which he is the monarch. Whereas a single man is apt to run to waste and self-neglect,-to fancy himself lonely and abandoned, and his heart to fall to ruin, like some deserted mansion, for want of an inhabitant.

6. These observations call to mind a little domestic story of which I was once a witnèss. My intimate friend, Leslie, had married a beautiful and accomplished girl, who had been brought up in the midst of fashionable life. She had, it is true, no forune; but that of my friend was ample, and he delighted in the anticipation of indulging her in every elegant pursuit, and administering to those delicate tastes and fancies that spread a

'Ad ver si ty, that which opposes plant by which it clings to any desire or success; distress. substance.

'Rift' ed, split; shattered.

'Těn ́ drils, the fine shoots of a

'Retrieve', recover make bet ter; make amends.

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