UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN LANGUAGE. 355 



accepts, by acting upon, the danger signal of the dog and 

 many other animals. According to De la Brosse, two West 

 African chimpanzees on a voyage, ' at table, when they 

 wanted anything .... easily made themselves understood 

 to the cabin boy.' The signal barks of their dogs, and the 

 significance of these various signals or barks, are known only 

 to the smuggler or brigand, or master, who has learned their 

 significance by careful study (Watson). 



One of the results of this is that men and other animals 

 that study each other's language arrive, in course of time, afc 

 such a kind and degree of mutual understanding as is of im- 

 portance to both in their daily intercourse. For instance, 

 man on the one hand, and the dog, horse, elephant, monkey, 

 and, as a general rule, all ' performing' and domestic animals 

 on the other, have a common understanding, which again 

 involves what are really various forms of conversation, not 

 necessarily in either party by voice or by sound. Hogg 5 

 in one of his tales 6 A Shepherd's Wedding ' describes the 

 shepherd, accompanied by his two collies, at tea in a minis- 

 ter's manse parlour. ' He conversed with his dogs in the 

 same manner as he did with any of the other guests. Nor 

 did the former ever seem to misunderstand him, unless in his 

 unprecedented and illiberal attempt to expel them from the 

 company,' the two animals never before having lost sight of 

 their master, in-doors or out. 



One of the many advantages of this mutual understand- 

 ing between a horse and its rider is that the animal, accus- 

 tomed to and fond of a particular master, learns to know the 

 meaning of his least movement of the inclination even of his 

 body and it acts accordingly, without word, whip, or spur. 



Sir Walter Scott was of opinion that the intercommunica- 

 tion of thought between man and the dog is capable of great 

 improvement, a belief in which I heartily share. The sub- 

 ject, however, belongs more properly to the chapters on 

 ' Education.' 



The dog at least distinguishes between man's pretence 

 and reality, or seriousness, whether of intention or action 

 (Watson) ; it knows what is jest and what earnest. Not only 

 does it understand man's gestured threat, but by rapid re- 



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