CONTENTS. Dedicatory Epistle to Mr. Charles Forbes Buchan, wherein ww The Messiah indebted to the beasts for his first cradle, www Man is enjoined to show lenity to the brutes, Brutes, not void of reason, www www. www Bougeant asserts that brutes are animated by devils, Bougeant's arguments in favour of his system, Cause of the pain and death of brutes, Brutes, not destitute of reason and reflection, www. www CONTENTS. Instances of the natural affection of brutes to their young, www. Instance of the power of memory in storks, www of the migration of the swallows, Man, indebted to the brutes for many useful discoveries, www. www of Louis XI. of France and the collier's ass, of a pig that was broke in to find game, www www wwww Remarks on the impropriety of ministers hunting, Le Clerc's opinion of the soul of brutes, www. www www Remarks on different texts of scripture, and the word DURING my residence in London, (where the greater part of the following sheets was written,) I was subject to very indifferent health; which, to avoid, I frequented as much as possible all the public places in the vicinity of London,and other popular cities and towns of England. On my way to and from these places, my feelings were often shocked to see many of the most useful, noble, but defenceless animals, patiently suffering under the most rigorous severity of a tyrannical, cruel, and merciless waggoner, carman, or coachman; while every limb,and every muscle were strained to obey the imperitive, but unreasonable demands of their brutish oppressor.How to ameliorate their sufferings I was at a loss to know:-Their pain gave me pain, and my mind entered into the state of their slavery with all the zeal in my power. Surely, I thought, if these noble animals, which are so useful to mankind, should rise in judg ment against their inhuman masters, what must be the consequence to them in an after world. Full of these imaginations, I began seriously to think of the matter, and to reflect on the many acts of kindess and gratitude I have, with many others, experienced from the brute creation. This gave rise to my first conception of their having souls, and of their souls being immortal. Since that time, I have found many passages of scripture to sanction and confirm my belief;also,many learned and respectable men of my opinion, from whose works I have occasionally given extracts, although not marked with inverted commas: For which reason, in the work, I have used the plural pronoun WE. My most ardent desire is, therefore, that it may have the desired effect of making many converts to my opinion, so as the misery to which the brutes is daily made subject, may be lessened thereby. Our wise legislature has passed an act for the punishment of cruelty to animals; but, I am sorry to say, it is so seldom enforced upon the guilty culprits, as to leave any solid or lasting impression. In the Dedicatory Epistle to my son, I flatter myself their will be found many things useful to the young and rising generation, if duly attended to. The characters whom he is requested to guard against, are but a too plentiful crop in the world, like the young pelicans in the wilderness, feeding on the blood of their parents. Although the characters alluded to be copied, in a great measure, from real life, no private person in particular is aimed at; so that if any think themselves aggrieved,and are in reality the guilty persons, I have no objections to their letting the public know, that they may also guard against them. THE AUTHOr. Dedicatory Cpistle ΤΟ MR. CHARLES FORBES BUCHAN. Y MY DEAR SON, OUR unwearied attention to the cause of truth, your indefatigable thirst after knowledge, and the rapid progress you have made in your education, with other good qualities you possess, induce me to select you from among your brothers, and from the world, as the most proper person to whom I shall DEDICATE the following work on PHILANTHROPY. In this Epistle, I also intend giving you a few parental advices, or directions, whereby you may govern yourself, your secular and religious concerns, in your journey through life. You have not yet attained to that age which is generally tainted with the sins and follies of youth; nor have you had that experience necessary to teach you to shun them; nor to guard against the deceit, the ingratitude, and tyranny of a world of envy, of sorrow, and of pain; which will render the few following hints more useful and acceptable to you, as they are founded on the scrutiny of many years' careful observation. In the first place, I shall give you a summary account of your birth and ancestors, (your parentage, for the two last generations, you know.) Your christian name, CHARLES FORBES, was given you at your baptism by the late Rev. Dr. George Moir, as a testimony of my respect for a gentleman of that name. Your surname, BUCHAN, is taken from the name of the district where you were born, and which was once a county over which an earl presided. The present DAVID STEUART ERSKINE, with whom I have the honour of being acquainted, enjoys that title. In the various histories and chronicles of Scotland, &c. that I have read, I have found this name spelt no less than eighteen different ways. To give you a list of the whole, would be but |