SIGHT 65 



so I let her have her own way, and am trying to 

 account for the cause of this quick glance by a closer 

 study. It was the same thing when I wrote down a 

 question her eye flew over the sentence in three or 

 four seconds, and the answer was given without a 

 second glance. People to whom I have not said any- 

 thing about this have stood behind me during these 

 tests, and have generally been more impressed by the 

 fact of her reading them than by the swiftness with 

 which it was done. But it is the latter that amazed 

 me most of all, for reading she and we have in common 

 and is indeed so far simpler a matter that there is no 

 reason for a dog not acquiring it but it is the compre- 

 hension of what it is doing, and the speed with which it 

 translates what it has seen into intelligent replies that 

 seem to me the most surprising part of all. Another 

 instance in connexion with what I term the " cursory 

 glance " may throw light upon this curious ability. 

 I had heard of the way in which Rolf was able to 

 count the flowers in a bunch, and so on the 16 April, 

 1917, I thought I would try something of the same 

 kind with Lola. For this lesson I took a sheet of 

 paper and peppered it with dots, without any thought 

 at regularity. 



Lola's first answer after looking at it for about four 

 seconds was "34." " Are you sure ? " I asked ; "tell 



