THE HORSE OF THE PRESENT AND THE PAST 473 



him he exercises his intellect and imao-ination in clrawincj conclusions from 

 the facts which come under his observation. 



It is true that some difference may exist between the mental processes 

 of the expert and those of the unscientific observer, but it is only one of 

 decrree. The scientist is a trained, and therefore a keen investioator, and 

 his imagination is active as well as critical. Small matters which an 

 ordinary looker-on may pass by, the expert seizes and does not allow to 

 escape until he has exhausted their teaching. The method of Zadig is the 

 one which he, perhaps unconsciously, adopts in all his enquiries. What 

 that method is most people know, but as it may have been known and 

 forgotten, it may be well to follow Huxley's example in his lectures on 

 evolution and quote the short story of the sage entire. 



According to Voltaire, Zadig, whose country, indeed whose existence, 

 is problematical, dwelt on the banks of the Euphrates, and occupied his 

 lonely life in the close study of nature. Thus by degrees he acc[uired a 

 marvellously keen power of observation and profound sagacity, of which 

 the following example may be given : — 



" One day walking near a wood," so the story is told, " he saw hastening 

 that way one of the queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials, 

 who appeared to be in the greatest anxiety, running hither and thither, 

 like men distraught, in search of some lost treasure. 



" ' Young man,' cried the eunuch, ' have you seen the queen's dog?' 

 Zadig answered modestly, ' A bitch, I think, not a dog.' ' Quite right,' 

 replied the eunuch; and Zadig continued, 'A very small spaniel, who has 

 lately had puppies; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears.' 

 'Ah! you have seen her, then,' said the breathless eunuch. 'No,' 

 answered Zadig, ' I have not seen her; and I really was not aware that 

 the queen possessed a spaniel.' 



" By an odd coincidence, at the very same time the handsomest horse 

 in the king's stables broke away from his groom in the Babylonian jjlains. 

 The grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much 

 anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel; and the grand huntsman 

 asked Zadig if he had not seen the king's horse go that way. 



"'A first-rate galloper, small-hoofed, 5 feet high, tail 3f feet long; 

 cheek-pieces of the bit of twenty-three -carat gold; shoes silver?' said 

 Zadig. 



" ' Which way did he go? Where is he?' cried the grand huntsman. 



" ' I have not seen anything of the horse, and I never heard of him 

 before,' replied Zadig. 



" The grand huntsman and the chief eunuch made sure that Zadig had 

 stolen both the king's horse and the queen's spaniel, so they haled him 



