338 NOTES OF THE MONTH. 



shores of the Bosphorus, the Troad, and the coasts of Syria : he will 

 then continue his journey to Jerusalem, Palmyra, and, if possible, Bal- 

 bec ; and from thence he will pass into Egypt, sailing up the Nile to 

 Thebes. He intends to winter at Smyrna, and in the spring to visit 

 the isles of the Archipelago and Greece. t( This," says M. Lamartine, 

 is the plan of my route. I go to seek inspiration upon this great theatre 

 of religious and political revolutions. I go to read, before I die, the 

 most beautiful pages of the material creation. If poetry shall discover 

 any new images or inspirations, I shall content myself with gathering 

 them up in the silence of my heart, to colour the short literary future 

 which may be allotted to me/' 



" WRITE ME DOWN AN Ass \" One of the officers employed by the 

 Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals, lately charged a 

 policeman, at Bow- street, with having ill treated a calf. He stated that 

 he saw a calf lying on the ground, unable to move, while a set of vaga- 

 bond lads were beating it with sticks most cruelly, the skin having been 

 torn off the poor animal's thigh. Looking on, amidst the crowd, stood 

 the aforesaid policeman, who, on being requested by the officer of the 

 society to bear witness to the brutal way in which the calf had been 

 used, told him "he had better mind his own business," and began 

 twisting the calf's tail violently, " which he almost bent double." The 

 officer then hired a truck, on which to convey away the jaded and mal- 

 treated object of his pity, when the policeman called out that he was an 

 informer, which caused the owner of the truck to refuse him the use of 

 it. " At length," says the report, " by the extreme torture of twisting 

 the tail, the calf was forced on." The policeman said he had been a 

 butcher himself, and that " there was no other method of making a beast 

 go, than the common one of twisting the tail." 



The case being brought before Mr. Halls, he was pleased, first, to 

 express his doubts, " whether calves were protected under the act !" 

 but, on reference, he conceived that they were, to wit, under the words 

 ' ' other cattle" He was pleased, however, to add, that sticking a spur in 

 a horse was also cruelty ; and that he thought the case extremely frivp- 

 lous, which he therefore dismissed, with costs on the plaintiff! 



Now we are at a loss whether most to admire the learning the 

 humanity or the justice of this expounder of penal law. His learning, 

 it is true, speaks for itself; and so deeply had he studied the act of 

 parliament for the prevention of cruelty to the dumb part of the animal 

 creation, that he doubts if calves are protected ! but, on reference, 

 " conceives" (parturient monies nascitur mus) they must be included 

 by the words " other animals." Then for his humanity. 'Tis somewhat 

 strange that he has not a spark of sympathy for a weak and helpless 

 animal, so nearly allied, in its talents and general habits, to some gentle- 

 men who have been named "justice o'peace and quorum;" but the 

 worthy magistrate doubtless denies the doctrine of Pythagoras. One 

 thing, however, is clearly established by the worshipful Mr. Halls, that 

 it shall from henceforth be lawful for his majesty's liege subjects, to twist 

 the tails of all animals whatsoever, as long as the said animals shall, 

 from fatigue or inability, refuse to travel, or bear, or draw, any burden, 

 calves being evidently included we beg Mr. Halls' pardon " con- 

 ceived" to be included ; and that it shall henceforth be declared highly 



