104 Musmgs by Camp-Fire and Wayside 



man. If this last, then they are endeavoring to 

 establish the hope of immortal life on foundations 

 that will not sustain it. There is absolutely no 

 basis for such a hope other than that of participa- 

 tion in the divine life brought to light by Jesus 

 Christ. If this be illusory, then Paul well exclaimed, 

 "We are of all men most miserable." The fact 

 that it has pleased God to endow the animals below 

 us with intellectual and moral natures, and the 

 pleasures derived from them, is only a further illus- 

 tration of his all-embracing benevolence. 



The evidences that the lower animals are think- 

 ers, that they are endowed with intellectual faculties, 

 are too many and too obvious to require argument. 

 Do they possess moral natures? The phenomena 

 of moral existence are love, benevolence, gratitude, 

 fidelity; with their opposites — hatred, revenge, 

 cruelty, malice, and such complex passions as grief, 

 remorse, shame, hope, and despair. Most of these 

 phenomena are as obvious to the casual observer in 

 the lower animals as they are in man; while all are 

 perceived by those who are more interested in the 

 study of the habits and characters of our humble 

 friends. It would extend this paper beyond the 

 brief limits intended to cite and describe specific 

 illustrations; nor, as I have said, is it necessary. 

 Personal observations have found their way into 

 literature until they have become the most plentiful 

 as well as the most pleasing illustrations of a topic 

 in which every reader takes great interest. Suffice 



