on, an admirable observer, assures us with confidence
that the struggle for existence leaves them much leisure and famous
spirits. "In the animal world," he exclaims,[15] "what happiness reigns!
What ease, grace, beauty, leisure, and content! Watch these living
specks as they glide through their forests of algae, all 'without hurry
and care,' as if their 'span-long lives' really could endure for the
thousand years that the old catch pines for. Here is no greedy jostling
at the banquet that nature has spread for them; no dread of each other;
but a leisurely inspection of the field, that shows neither the pressure
of hunger nor the dread of an enemy.

"'To labour and to be content' (that 'sweet life' of the son of
Sirach)--to be equally ready for an enemy or a friend--to trust in
themselves alone, to show a brave unconcern for the morrow, all these
are the admirable points of a character almost universal among animals,
and one that would lighten many a heart were it more common among men.
That character is the direct result of the golden law 'If one will not
work, neither let him eat'; a law whose stern kindness, unflinchingly
applied, has produced whole nations of living creatures, without a
pauper in their ranks, flushed with health, alert, resolute,
self-reliant, and singularly happy."

It has often been said that Man is the only animal gifted with the
power of enjoying a joke, but if animals do not laugh, at any rate they
sometimes play. We are, indeed, apt perhaps to credit them with too much
of our own attributes and emotions, but we can hardly be mistaken in
supposing that they enjoy certain scents and sounds. It is difficult to
separate the games of kittens and lambs from those of children. Our
countryman Gould long ago described the "amusements or sportive
exercises" which he had observed among Ants. Forel was at first
incredulous, but finally confirmed these statements; and, speaking of
certain tropical Ants, Bates says "the conclusion that they were engaged
in play was irresistible."

SLEEP

We share with other animals the great blessing of Sleep, nature's soft
nurse, "the mantle that covers thought, the food that appeases hunger,
the drink that quenches thirst, the fire that warms cold, the cold that
moderates heat, the coin that purchases all things, the balance and
weight that equals the shepherd with the king, and the simple with the
wise." Some animals dream as we do; Dogs, for instance, evidently dr