7 HE LAWS OF SPEECH. 199 



be made of the fact that many lower animals hear and understand 

 what is said to them. Here, again, the analogy between the infant's 

 appreciation of what is said to it, in the absence of any power, of 

 speech, and the understanding of the speechless dog, is too close to 

 escape even casual notice. As respects the mere power of articulation, 

 an intelligent parrot, magpie, or starling will speak with a clearness 

 which often deceives humanity into the belief that a " brother man " 

 is addressing it. To say that such a power is merely that of accurate 

 imitation, neither explains the acquirement of this faculty by the bird, 

 nor elucidates what is an undeniable fact, namely, that a well-trained 

 parrot will frequently ask questions, give replies, or make remarks in 

 a fashion as appropriate as if its words were dictated by a human 

 understanding. Numerous verified accounts of such faculties are to 

 be found in the records of natural history. The writer remembers 

 seeing an old gentleman much perturbed, whilst in the act of wiping 

 a bald head with a banana handkerchief, by hearing a gruff voice 

 exclaim, " My ! what a head ! " The remark proceeded from a 

 parrot sitting on a perch close by. The owner of the bird being 

 duly interrogated, declared that the expression was one by no 

 means frequently used by the bird, but which had of course been 

 suggested by the sight of the hairless cranium. This bird was 

 also accustomed to discriminate in a highly remarkable fashion 

 between its other remarks, producing, as a rule, from its repertoire, 

 which was of a highly extensive nature, suitable answers for each 

 occasion. Mr. Darwin tells us that a parrot, of which he had 

 a verified account, was accustomed to call certain members of 

 its household and visitors by their names, and to say "Good 

 morning " and "Good night" at K the proper times without con- 

 fusing the occasion and the expression. After the death of his 

 owner, a short sentence invariably spoken after the salutation " Good 

 morning " was never once repeated. Of a starling, nearly the same 

 remarks hold good, this bird saying " Good morning " and saluting 

 its visitors on leaving with unvarying correctness. In the case of 

 these birds, there must exist the power of associating sounds with 

 ideas, a power which in its highest development may be said to 

 confer upon man all the peculiarities and special features of the 

 human mastery of speech. If, as has been remarked, " the language 

 which expresses discrimination and judgment is a testimony for 

 mind," a parrot judged by this standard cannot be regarded as 

 destitute of mental powers. As " an index of mental procedure," 

 the language of the parrot is indicative of a stage in the use of that 

 procedure far behind the development of the average human 

 intellect, it is true, but comparable, in certain of its phases, with the 

 low developments of association, discrimination, and speech met 

 with in the most primitive races of men. 



