Brighteyes then gave a fresh squeak from the violence of his pain.
The gentleman then turning hastily round, exclaimed eagerly,
'What, is it alive?' 'Yes, sir,' said the boy. 'And how can you,
you wicked, naughty, cruel boy,' replied the gentleman, 'take
delight in thus torturing a little creature that never did you any
injury? Put it down this moment,' said he, at the same time
giving him a severe stroke with his horse-whip across that hand by
which he held my brother. 'Let it go directly,' and again
repeated the blow: the boy let go the string, and Brighteyes fell
to the ground; and was instantly snapped up by the cat, who
growling, ran away with him in her mouth, and, I suppose, put a
conclusion to his miseries and life together, as I never from that
moment have heard any account of him.

As soon as he was thus taken out of the room, the gentleman sat
down, and, taking hold of his son's hand, thus addressed him:
'Charles, I had a much better opinion of you, than to suppose you
were capable of so much cruelty. What right, I desire to know,
have you to torment any living creature? If it is only be cause
you are larger, and so have it in your power, I beg you will
consider, how you would like, that either myself, or some great
giant, as much larger than you as you are bigger than the mouse,
should hurt and torment you? And I promise you, the smallest
creature can feel as acutely as you, nay, the smaller they are,
the more susceptible are they of pain, and the sooner they are
hurt: a less touch will kill a fly than a man, consequently a
less wound will cause it pain; and the mouse which you have now
been swinging by the tail over the cat's mouth, has not, you may
assure yourself, suffered less torment or fright than you would