214 TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. 



him with his accustomed bellow. It struck him 

 that the animal might remember his kindness to 

 him the night before. He accordingly ventured, 

 by degrees, to approach him; and found that now, 

 so far from showing any dislike to him, he suffer- 

 ed him^ with the utmost gentleness, to scratch 

 his head. And, from that very day, he has con- 

 tinued to him as tame as a lamb ; suffering him 

 to play all manner of tricks with him, which no 

 other person about the farm dares attempt, and 

 seeming even to take pleasure in being noticed by 

 him. 



A more striking instance of a sudden transition 

 from hatred to affection can scarcely be found, and 

 one in which the cause was so clearly marked. It was 

 not the change of caprice, but of something like rea- 

 son, arising from gratitude to a benefactor. A prac- 

 tical lesson may be derived from this anecdote — 

 that even the most savage dispositions may be sub- 

 dued by gentle treatment. And yet, how seldom 

 it is attempted to manage animals by any thing but 

 harshness ! Does this arise from inhumanity, igno- 

 rance, thoughtlessness, or the love of tyrannic sway ? 

 From each of these causes, I believe ; and sorry I 

 am to say, that the same injudicious system is often 

 exercised towards children, whose tender disposi- 

 tions are changed to perverseness and obstinacy by 



