e idea. I only wonder that so few broken heads and
dislocated joints bear witness to the falseness of such philosophy. I am
quite sure, that, if _I_ should give the chickens such merciless
impulses, they would not recover from the effects so speedily. Unlike
human mothers, too, she has no especial tenderness for invalids. She
makes arrangements only for a healthy family. If a pair of tiny wings
droop, and a pair of tiny legs falter, so much the worse for the poor
unlucky owner; but not one journey the less does Mother Hen take. She is
the very soul of impartiality; but there is no cosseting. Sick or well,
chick must run with the others, or be left behind. Run they do, with a
remarkable uniformity. I marvel to see the perfect understanding among
them all. Obedience is absolute on the one side, and control on the
other, and without a single harsh measure. It is pure Quaker discipline,
simple moral suasion. The specks understand her every word, and so do
I--almost. When she is stepping about in a general way,--and hens always
step,--she has simply a motherly sort of cluck, that is but a general
expression of affection and oversight. But the moment she finds a worm
or a crumb or a splash of dough, the note changes into a quick, eager
"Here! here! here!" and away rushes the brood pell-mell and topsy-turvy.
If a stray cat approaches, or danger in any form, her defiant, menacing
"C-r-r-r-r!" shows her anger and alarm.

See how, in Bedford jail, John Bunyan turned to good account the lessons
learned in barn-yards. "'Yet again,' said he, 'observe and look.' So
they gave heed and perceived that the hen did walk in a fourfold method
towards her chickens. 1. She had a _common call_, and that she hath all
day long; 2. She had a _special call_, and that she had but sometimes;
3. She had a _brooding note_; and, 4. She had an _outcry_. 'Now,' said
he, 'compare this hen to your king, and these chickens to his obedient
ones. For, answerable to her, himself has his methods which he walketh
in towards his people: by his _common call_ he gives nothing; by his
_special call_ he always has something to give; he has also a _brooding
voice_ for them that are under his wing; and he has an _outcry_ to give
the alarm when he seeth the enemy come. I chose, my darlings, to lead
you into the room where such things are, because you are women, and they
are easy for you.'" Kind Mr. Interpreter!

To personal fear, as I have intimated, the hen-mother is a