DO ANIMALS TALK? 221 



which the animal intends to be taken as expressing 

 a want, while it indicates what it wants by showing 

 the object. The greatest difficulty is when the object 

 wanted, or required to be dealt with, is not present. 

 The animal has then to induce you to follow and see 

 the thing, and this often leads to great ingenuity both 

 in the use of voice and action. This form of request is 

 practised more or less successfully by a considerable 

 number of the animals kept as pets or servants of man. 

 Various monkeys, geese, a goat, a ewe with a lamb, 

 elephants, cats very commonly, and dogs innumerable, 

 are credited with c accosting ' persons, and bringing to 

 their notice by vocal means the objects they desire or 

 the actions they wish done. A most ingeniously con- 

 structed request of this kind was made a few years ago 

 by a retriever dog late one night in London. The 

 streets were empty; and the dog came up and, after 

 wagging his tail, began to bark, using not the rowdy 

 bark which dogs employ when jumping at a horse's 

 head or when excited, but the persuasive and con- 

 fidential kind of bark which is used in requests and 

 reproaches. He was very insistent, especially when a 

 small, dark passage was reached, up which he ran, still 

 barking. As this did not answer, the dog ran back, 

 took the writer's hand, in which he was carrying his 

 glove, in his mouth, and gave a gentle pull in the direc- 

 tion of the passage. As this did not meet with the 



