108 Beason or Listinct. 



place where the old horse died ; " and some artist — name 

 (of course) forgotten— painted a picture which was in the 

 first left-hand room of the Royal Academy in 1850, I 

 think, called " Near Home." I wonder if any reader hap- 

 pens to have that picture ; and if it was engraved. In the 

 bxokground was an old ivy-clad church, and churchyard, 

 with grand old trees, and on a bench sat a venerable old 

 huntsman, pulling the ears of a worn-out old hunter, and 

 by him sat a very old foxhound looking up in his face. 

 Those pictures are sermons for life. 



Now reverting to animals. The best friend they ever 

 had was an Irish M.P. who ruined himself, as it was said 

 inter alia by fighting the County of Gal way against Lord 

 Gort. His name was Martin of Cromartin, owner of 

 Ballynahinch, County Galway. He was the originator of 

 the " Martin Act " for prevention of cruelty to animals, 

 which, passed in 1822, has been carefully fostered and 

 carried on from time to time by the Royal Society for Pre- 

 venting Cruelty to Animals, than which no more Christian 

 institution exists, for it carries out the first principles of the 

 creation of dumb creatures, the condition precedent to 

 which was that man should exercise his dominion over them 

 Avith kindness and humanity. Aye, and men and women 

 have learnt, too, that kindness and persuasion are far above 

 the law in protecting dumb animals, as people like Lady 

 Burdett-Coutts, Lord Shaftesbury, and the writers and 

 artists in su3h works as the " British Workman," " Rab 

 and his Friends," and other do2r books, not fororettins: Miss 



' 7 



Edgeworth's stories of " Little Dog Trusty " and " Lazy 

 Lawrence," in which Jem's horse Lightfoot holds a pro- 

 minent place, have taught men and boys the benefit of 

 kindness. The Donkey Show alone, which was first held 

 in 1834 at the Agricultural Hall, placed Lady Burdett- 

 Coutts and Lord Shaftesbury on the throne of the coster- 



