MORAL DUTY TO BE KIND 24 1 



Plutarch teaches the Christian world a beautiful 

 lesson on this subject in the following words : " A 

 good man will take care of his horses and dogs, not 

 only while they are young, but when old and past 

 service. "We ought certainly not to treat living 

 beings like shoes and household goods, which when 

 worn out with use, we throw away." 



Are not the innocent and helpless birds, which, 

 in the beautiful language of Scripture, " sing among 

 the branches," stoned, shot, wounded, and murdered, 

 to exercise the ingenuity of the youth ? In read- 

 ing the life of Rev. Dr. Channing there is one inci- 

 dent recorded of his early youth that impressed it- 

 self more upon my mind than anything pertaining 

 to his personal habits, and yet it may be regarded 

 by some persons as being of too little consequence 

 to be mentioned. "When he was a little boy, one 

 day on his way to school, he found in a bush a nest 

 full of young birds. As they opened their mouths 

 and begged for something to eat, he gave them a 

 part of his dinner. So every day he prepared some 

 food for his birds. The old birds seemed to under- 

 stand it and were delighted at his kindness. But 

 alas, the evil hour came. One day he went to the 

 nest ; there it lay on the ground, torn and bloody, 



