14 PREFACE 



question about any other suffering being. There 

 are kind-hearted people who do not believe the 

 Bible, and consequently do not believe that either 

 man or lower animals have souls ; yet they recog- 

 nize the moral law of kindness to all living crea- 

 tures as much as some Christians, and, many times, 

 even more. 



If the Church was more active and liberal in ex- 

 tending the knowledge of God's attributes of good- 

 ness and mercy over all His creatures, she might 

 have more friends and adherents. 



The spirit of charity has been so carefully ob- 

 served throughout this volume that I believe there 

 is not a sentence or word used which will tend to 

 lower or reflect upon the dignity of any animal or 

 its mode of life. 



No mention is made of animals preying one upon 

 another, as I regard this state of depravity in the 

 same light as the preying of men upon each 

 other ; namely, the result of the original sin of 

 man, which caused the fall of all living beings from 

 primeval peace and happiness. In order to make 

 this work of a permanent nature, I have avoided 

 the use of such events as I thought might become 

 trite and out of date. 



