A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AN INFANT. 201 



Here surprise was the chief cause of the amusement, as is the case 

 to a large extent with the wit of grown-up persons. I believe that 

 for three or four weeks before the time when he was amused by a face 

 being suddenly uncovered, he received a little pinch on his nose and 

 cheeks as a good joke. I was at first surprised at humor being appre- 

 ciated by an infant only a little above three months old, but we should 

 remember how very early puppies and kittens begin to play. When 

 four months old, he showed in an unmistakable manner that he liked 

 to hear the pianoforte played; so that here apparently was the earliest 

 sign of an aesthetic feeling, unless the attraction of bright colors, which 

 was exhibited much earlier, may be so considered. 



Affection. — This probably arose very early in life, if we may 

 judge by his smiling at those who had charge of him when under two 

 months old; though I had no distinct evidence of bis distinguishing 

 and recognizing any one, until he was nearly four months old. When 

 nearly five months old he plainly showed his wish to go to his nurse. 

 But he did not spontaneously exhibit affection by overt acts until a 

 little above a year*old, namely, by kissing several times his nurse who 

 had been absent for a short time. With respect to the allied feeling of 

 sympathy, this was clearly shown at six months and eleven days by his 

 melancholy face, with the corners of his mouth well depressed, when his 

 nurse pretended to cry. Jealousy was plainly exhibited when I fondled 

 a large doll, and when I weighed his infant sister, he being then 

 fifteen and one half months old. Seeing how strong a feeling jealousy 

 is in dogs, it would probably be exhibited by infants at an earlier age 

 than that just specified, if they were tried in a fitting manner. 



Association of Ideas, Reason, Etc. — The first action which ex- 

 hibited, as far as I observed, a kind of practical reasoning, has already 

 been noticed, namely, the slipping his hand down my finger so as to 

 get the end of it into his mouth; and this happened on the 114th day. 

 When four and a half months old, he repeatedly smiled at my image and 

 his own in a mirror, and no doubt mistook them for real objects; but 

 he showed sense in being evidently surprised at my voice coming from 

 behind him. Like all infants, he much enjoyed thus looking at him- 

 self, and in less than two months perfectly understood that it was an 

 image; for if I made quite silently any old grimace, he would suddenly 

 turn round to look at me. He was, however, puzzled at the age of 

 seven months, when being out of doors he saw me on the inside of a 

 large plate-glass window, and seemed in doubt whether or not it was 

 an image. Another of my infants, a little girl, when exactly a year 

 old, was not nearly so acute, and seemed perplexed at the image of a 

 person in a mirror approaching her from behind. The higher apes 

 which I tried with a small looking-glass behaved differently; they 

 placed their hands behind the glass, and in doing so showed their 



