pe rs. 



185 



difficulty of employing the abilities of a superior species 

 for the benefit of an inferior one. Against the resources 

 of the constructive two-hander some of his poor fellow- 

 creatures are unable to hold their own, and they would 

 lean on a brittle reed if they had to rely on his Christian 

 forbearance or on his recognition of their, perhaps some- 

 what recondite, usefulness. But the pet-mania solves 

 the problem, — an instinct with an egotistical mask, but 

 all its caprices shrewdly calculated to offset the effects 

 of our destructive propensities. Helpless creatures can 

 hardly be useful ones, but their dependence flatters our 

 self-esteem, so we protect them, and Nature's purpose 

 is answered. Finely organized animals need more care 

 than others ; we make them our special favorites, ap- 

 parently on account of such incidental qualities as their 

 playfulness and intelligence. We prefer rare pets, plaus- 

 ibly because of our fondness for out-of-the-way things, 

 esoterically because they probably represent a species 

 in danger of extinction. For instance, when the ur-ox, 

 the ibex, and the bustard {Otis tarda) were on the point 

 of being exterminated, they became such favorites with 

 preserve-owners that their survival is now abundantly 

 insured. There is a strange virtue in rarity. I suppose 

 that our buffaloes, too, will become objects of vertu in 

 time to save them from utter extirpation. 



Curiosity-hunters sometimes dote upon creatures that 

 would rather dispense with that honor ; but, on the 

 whole, protectors are in greater demand than proteges ; 



