IMAGINATION. 157 



have felt the same oppressive and alarming sense of the 

 mysterious which uncultured persons feel under similar cir- 

 cumstances. But further, in the case of this terrier, we are 

 not left with a 'priori inferences alone to settle this point, for 

 another experiment proved that the sense of the mysterious 

 in this animal was sufficiently strong in itself to account for 

 his behaviour. Taking him into a carpeted room, I blew a 

 soap-bubble, and by means of a fitful draught made it inter- 

 mittently glide along the floor. He became at once intensely 

 interested, but seemed unable to decide whether or not the 

 fitful object was alive. At first he was very cautious, and 

 followed it only at a distance ; but as I encouraged him to 

 examine the bubble more closely, he approached it with ears 

 erect and tail down, evidently with much misgiving, and the 

 moment it happened to move he again retreated. After a 

 time, however, during which I always kept at least one bubble 

 on the carpet, he began to gain more courage, and the scientific 

 spirit overcoming his sense of the mysterious, he eventually 

 became bold enough slowly to approach one of the bubbles, 

 and nervously to touch it with his paw. The bubble, of 

 course, immediately burst, and I certainly never saw astonish- 

 ment more strongly depicted. On then blowing another 

 l)ii bl ile, I could not persuade him to approach it for a good 

 while ; but at last he came, and carefully extended his paw 

 as before, with the same result. But after this second trial 

 nothing would induce him again to approach a bubble, and 

 on pressing him he ran out of the room, which no coaxing 

 would persuade him to re-enter. 



" ( )ne other example will suffice to show how strongly 

 developed was the sense of the mysterious in this animal. 

 When alone with him in a room I once purposely tried the 

 effect on him of making a series of hideous grimaces. At 

 first be thought 1 was oidy making fun ; but as I persistently 

 disregarded his caresses and whining while I continued unna- 

 turally to disturb my features, he became alarmed; slunk 

 away under some furniture, shivering like a frightened child. 

 Be remained in this condition till some other member of the 

 family happened to enter the room, when he emerged from 

 his biding place in great j<>y at seeing me again in my right 

 mind. In this experiment, of course, I refrained from making 

 any sounds or gesticulations, that might had him to think I 

 was angry. His actions therefore can only he explained by 

 his horrified surprise at an)- apparently irrational behaviour, 



