322 ANIMALS AT WORK AND PL A Y 



and at last lived in the village streets like a pariah- 

 dog, going every night into the jungle. A third 

 boy, caught near Hasanpur, could walk upright, but 

 preferred to go on all-fours, and ran so fast in that 

 position that no one could catch him. He could 

 not talk, but was induced to wear clothes. But he 

 still remained so inhuman, that few people would 

 keep him for any time ; and for three nights in 

 succession wolves were seen to come up and awake 

 him. In each case the boy played with the wolves 

 who capered round him and licked him. 



We will not attempt to frame a theory from 

 the cases we have quoted. No doubt it will be open 

 to those who hold with the late Professor Garratt, 

 that man was the first of the animals to stand 

 upright, and that he has not yet learned to do this 

 properly, or he would not be subject to spontaneous 

 internal injuries such as rupture from which quad- 

 rupeds are generally exempt, to see in these accounts 

 instances of a return to a primitive state. Others will 

 fairly argue that the degradation of Relapsed Man so 

 far transcends all known instances of man in his lowest 

 natural state, as merely to be an example of corruptio 

 optimi pessima. But, in any case, we may infer from 

 the instances which we have quoted, that Relapsed 

 Man walks and runs well and by preference on all-fours 

 cannot speak lives on raw food, fears his own 



