COMMUNICATION BY MEANS OF CAEDS. 279 



" ham," one " bag," and one " brush." I said re- 

 proachfully, " Oh, Van ! bring " food," or « tea ; " on 

 which he looked at me, went very slowly, and brought 

 the "tea" card. But when I put some tea down as 

 usual, he would not touch it. Generally he greatly 

 enjoyed a cup of tea, and, indeed, this was the only 

 s^time 1 ever knew him refuse it. 



A definite numerical statement always seems to me 

 clearer and more satisfactory than a mere general 

 assertion. I will, therefore, give the actual particulars 

 of certain days. Twelve cards were put on the floor, 

 one marked "food" and one "tea." The others had more 

 or less similar words. I may again add that every time 

 a card was brought, another similarly marked was put 

 in its place. Van was not pressed to bring cards, but 

 simply left to do as he pleased. 



2 

 3 



4 



5 



6 



7 



8 



9 



10 



11 



12 



80 



31 



Thus out of 113 times he brought food 80 times, tea 

 31 times, and the other 10 cards only twice. Moreover, 

 the last time he was wrong he brought a card — namely, 

 "door" — in which three letters out of four were the 



same as in " food." 

 14 



