The Hyena.
I am a very good-natured person; apt to see things in a favorable light; fond of picking out pleasant objects to contemplate, and am usually able to find agreeable qualities in every body and every thing. But I must confess, that, with all my disposition to be pleased, I can see very little that is pleasant in the countenance of the hyena. What a horrid fierce look he has! His countenance seems to bespeak perpetual hunger and thirst for blood; he looks as if his supper would taste all the better if it were attended by the agonized struggles and cries of the victim upon which he feasts! He really looks as if pain and distress would be but as pepper and spice to his meal.
But the fact is, no animals are cruel; that is, fond of inflicting pain from mere malice. Even the tiger slays but to eat, and the hyena, ill-favored as he is, has his part assigned to him by nature, and this is a useful one to man and beast. He is a native of the warm parts of Africa, and the southern part of Asia. He seldom kills an animal except when pressed by want, preferring to feed upon the carcasses of those he may find slain. It is a horrid part of the story of this creature, that he will sometimes go into a grave-yard and dig up the remains of people buried there; and he will, also, follow the march of an army to feast upon the slain after a battle.
Living in hot countries, and feeding upon the decayed flesh of animals, the hyena is useful by removing putrid masses of flesh that would otherwise infect the air with pestilence. He is thus a scavenger, and shares with the vulture the task of delivering the countries they inhabit from fruitful causes of fatal disease. Though we may not admire the face of the hyena, still we perceive that the world could not well do without him.
There is a common notion that the hyena is so wild in his nature as to be untamable; but this is a mistake. The creature is frequently tamed in India, and then lives quietly about the house like a dog. He is attached to those who are kind, but is spiteful and revengeful to those who abuse him.
This change in the character made by training, is a strong proof of the force of education; for not only is the tamed hyena made gentle in reality, but his countenance is actually rendered mild and inoffensive. This shows that the character is written in the face, and bids young people beware how they let their passions mark themselves upon their countenances.
Jewish Women.
We do not read that a Jewess was to be seen among the crowds of priests and the rabble who insulted the Son of man, scourged him, crowned him with thorns, and subjected him to ignominy and the agony of the cross. The women of Judea believed in the Savior; they loved, they followed him; they assisted him with their substance, and soothed him under afflictions. A woman of Bethany poured on his head the precious ointment which she kept in a vase of alabaster; the sinner anointed his feet with a perfumed oil, and wiped them with her hair. Christ, on his part, extended his grace and mercy to the Jewesses; he raised from the dead the son of the widow of Nain, and Martha’s brother Lazarus; he cured Simon’s mother-in-law, and the woman who touched the hem of his garment. To the Samaritan woman he was a spring of living water. The daughters of Jerusalem wept over him; the holy women accompanied him to Calvary—brought balm and spices, and, weeping,
sought him at the sepulchre. His first appearance, after his resurrection, was to Mary. He said unto her, “Mary!” At the sound of that voice, Mary Magdalene’s eyes were opened, and she answered, “Master!” The reflection of some very beautiful ray must have rested on the brow of the Jewesses.