Fowle's New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

The Force of Education.

The force of education is not so prevalent perhaps among mankind, as among brutes, which can be taught almost any thing that doth not require abstraction. Burnet, in his travels to Italy, tells us of an elephant that played at tennis: the snakes of India are taught to dance in regular cadence to music: and we have lately seen a town besieged (in form) by dogs, and defended by monkies, upon the Little Theatre in the Hay-Market. But to all the changes which I ever saw wrought upon animals by education, that effected by a lady whom I was lately to visit, struck me with most surprize. She had by great industry, and no doubt no small difficulty, taught a dog, a cat, a sparrow, and a mouse, to live together in amity, like brother and sister. Whether they were in reality friends from the heart, I will not take upon me to say; but apparently they were the very best neighbours in the world.

These four animals slept on the same bed, and eat from the same plate. The dog however, took care always to serve himself first, and generally like a glutton; but yet he did not forget the cat; who, in her turn, was civil enough to leave the mouse several little fat bits, with which it seemed greatly pleased; while the sparrow was contented with the crumbs of bread which the rest scarce thought worth taking. After they had eaten, they then began to divert themselves. The dog licked the cat, and it purred, and seemed extreamly satisfied. The mouse on its side amused itself with playing with the cat's claws; who always kept the nails within the natural sheath. As for the sparrow, it hopped up and down, and now picked at one of them, now at another, without the least anger on their side. In short, there was such perfect harmony among this little society, that nothing like diffidence, distrust, or apprehension was seen among them.

The same assiduity, laid out upon real acquisitions, might be of much use to society.