Chapter I: Preface

The compiler of this little book has often heard inquiries by teachers of schools, for selections suitable for reading and recitations by their scholars, in which the duty of kindness to animals should be distinctly taught.

To meet such calls, three successive pamphlets were published, and a fourth consisting of selections from the Poems of Mr. Longfellow. All were received with marked favor by the teachers to whom they became known.

This led to their collection afterwards in one volume for private circulation, and now the volume is republished for public sale, with a few omissions and additions.

All who desire our children to be awakened in their schools to the claims of the humbler creatures are invited to see that copies are put in school libraries, that they may be within the reach of all teachers. And this, not for the sake of the creatures only.

As Pope has said, "Nothing stands alone; the chain holds on, and where it ends, unknown."

Many readers may be surprised to find how many of the great poets have been touched by the sufferings of the "innocent animals," and how loftily they have pleaded their cause.

The poems in the collection are not all complete, because of their length in some cases, and, in others, because a part only of each was suited to the end in view. A very few, however, like "Geist's Grave" and "Don," could not be divided satisfactorily.

To all who have aided in this humble undertaking, heartiest thanks are given, and especially to its publishers who have accorded to it their coveted approval and the benefit of their large facilities for making the volume widely known.

May the lessons of kindness and dependence here taught with so much poetical beauty and with such mingled justice, pathos and humor, find a permanent lodgment in the hearts of all who may read them!

A. F.

BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A., June, 1883.

CONTENTS BY TITLES.

Introduction A Prayer He Prayeth Best Our Morality on Trial Sympathy Mercy Results and Duties of Man's Supremacy Justice to the Brute Creation Can they Suffer? Growth of Humane Ideas Moral Lessons Duty to Animals not long recognized Natural Rights "Dumb" Upward Care for the Lowest Trust Say Not See, through this Air The Right must win Animated Nature Animal Happiness No Grain of Sand Humanity, Mercy, and Benevolence Living Creatures Nothing Alone Man's Rule Dumb Souls Virtue Little by Little Loyalty Animals and Human Speech Pity Learn from the Creatures Pain to Animals What might have been Village Sounds Buddhism Old Hindoo Truth Our Pets Egyptian Ritual Brotherhood A Birthday Address Suffering To Lydia Maria Child Vivisection Nobility Acts of Mercy The Good Samaritan Love Children at School Membership of the Church Feeling for Animals Heroic Effect of Cruelty Aspiration The Poor Beetle The Consummation Persevere A Vision Speak Gently Questions Heroes For the Sake of the Innocent Animals Ring Out Fame and Duty No Ceremony True Leaders Be kind to Dumb Creatures Action "In Him we Live" Firm and Faithful Heart Service Exulting Sings In Holy Books The Bell of Atri Among the Noblest The Fallen Horse The Horse The Birth of the Horse To his Horse Sympathy for Horse and Hound The Blood Horse The Cid and Bavieca The King of Denmark's Ride Do you know The Bedouin's Rebuke From "The Lord of Butrago" "Bay Billy" The Ride of Collins Graves Paul Revere's Ride Sheridan's Ride Good News to Aix Dying in Harness Plutarch's Humanity The Horses of Achilles The War Horse Pegasus in Pound The Horse From "The Foray" On Landseer's Picture, "Waiting for Master" The Waterfowl Sea Fowl The Sandpiper The Birds of Killingworth The Magpie The Mocking-Bird Early Songs and Sounds The Sparrow's Note The Glow-Worm St. Francis to the Birds Wordsworth's Skylark Shelley's Skylark Hogg's Skylark The Sweet-Voiced Quire A Caged Lark The Woodlark Keats's Nightingale Lark and Nightingale Flight of the Birds A Child's Wish The Humming-Bird The Humming-Bird's Wedding The Hen and the Honey-Bee Song of the Robin Sir Robin The Dear Old Robins Robins quit the Nest Lost--Three Little Robins The Terrible Scarecrow and Robins The Song Sparrow The Field Sparrow The Sparrow Piccola and Sparrow Little Sparrow The Swallow The Emperor's Bird's-Nest To a Swallow building under our Eaves The Swallow, the Owl, and the Cock's Shrill Clarion in the "Elegy" The Statue over the Cathedral Door The Bird let Loose The Brown Thrush The Golden-Crowned Thrush The Thrush The Aziola The Marten Judge You as You Are Robert of Lincoln My Doves The Doves of Venice Song of the Dove What the Quail says Chick-a-dee-dee The Linnet Hear the Woodland Linnet The Parrot The Common Question Why not do it, Sir, To-day To a Redbreast Phoebe To the Stork The Storks of Delft The Pheasant The Herons of Elmwood Walter von der Vogelweid The Legend of the Cross-Bill Pretty Birds The Little Bird sits The Living Swan The Stormy Petrel To the Cuckoo Birds at Dawn Evening Songs Little Brown Bird Life's Sign A Bird's Ministry Of Birds Birds in Spring The Canary in his Cage Who stole the Bird's-Nest Who stole the Eggs What the Birds say The Wren's Nest On Another's Sorrow The Shepherd's Home The Wood-Pigeon's Home The Shag The Lost Bird The Bird's must know The Bird King Shadows of Birds The Bird and the Ship A Myth Cuvier on the Dog A Hindoo Legend Ulysses and Argus Tom William of Orange saved by his Dog The Bloodhound Helvellyn Llewellyn and his Dog Looking for Pearls Rover To my Dog "Blanco" The Beggar and his Dog Don Geist's Grave On the Death of a Favorite Old Spaniel Epitaph in Grey Friars' Churchyard From an Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog The Dog Johnny's Private Argument The Harper "Flight" The Irish Wolf-Hound Six Feet There's Room enough for all His Faithful Dog The Faithful Hound The Spider's Lesson The Spider and Stork The Homestead at Evening The Cattle of a Hundred Farms Cat-Questions The Newsboy's Cat The Child and her Pussy The Alpine Sheep Little Lamb Cowper's Hare Turn thy Hasty Foot aside The Worm turns Grasshopper and Cricket The Honey-Bees Cunning Bee An Insect The Chipmunk Mountain and Squirrel To a Field-Mouse A Sea-Shell The Chambered Nautilus Hiawatha's Brothers Unoffending Creatures September The Lark The Swallow Returning Birds The Birds Thrush Linnet Nightingale Songsters Mohammedanism--The Cattle The Spider and the Dove The Young Doves Forgiven Prayers Dumb Mouths The Parsees Hindoo The Tiger Value of Animals Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals