THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE HEMPSEED. 7

   

Gaucouis

This goodness on the part of Prince Hempseed was not
confined to his fellow-creatures: it extended to those beings
which many persons (wicked ones I admit) are not ac-
customed to treat with kindness. Prince Hempseed could
not conceive how people could be cruel to animals, who,
like ourselves, were created by a wise, just, and merciful
Providence: he could not understand how men could ill-
treat the dog, which protects the flock or guards the farm ;
the horse, which draws the heavy vehicle ; the patient and
docile ass, which carries to market the produce of our fields;
the cat, which prevents the mice from eating the corn; or
the bird, which enlivens with its song the solitude of the
house. He thought to himself, in the most sensible manner,
that since man has taken it upon himself to rule over
animals and deprive them of their liberty, he ought also to
perform the duty of lodging and nourishing them, and in
some measure endeavour to replace that Creator who allows
them to want for nothing in their state of freedom.

As the Castle of Orfano-Orfana was situated upon the
frontiers of Italy, it was constantly visited by those show-
men, strolling-actors, and mountebanks, who passed by on