348 Life and Immortality. 
also when they are brought into contact with him. They 
must possess a language of some kind, whereby they can un- 
derstand each other, can comprehend human language, and 
make themselves intelligible to man. All these conditions 
are fulfilled in the lower animals, but there is one distinction 
between the capability of understanding their own language 
and that of man, and that is, that they are born with the one 
and have to learn the other. Newly-hatched chickens, 
although they have only entered the world an hour or so 
ago, understand perfectly well their mother. They know 
what to do when she calls them to find what food she has un- 
earthed, and they know what to do when she warns them 
of danger. Who has not heard them talktoher? But how 
different are their tones under various circumstances. The 
little piping notes of content when all is going on well can 
never be confounded with the cry of alarm when they have 
lost their way or are otherwise frightened. 
Wasps, as everybody knows who has studied these insects, 
carry out one of the first principles of military art. They 
always have the gate oftheir fortress guarded by a sentinel. 
Should danger be imminent, the alarm is given by the senti- 
nel,and out rush the inhabitants to wreak vengeance upon 
the offender. Out of a full-sized nest, consisting of many hun- 
dred wasps, it is evident that the individual who is to act as 
sentinel must be selected, and its task appointed. How the 
selection is made, noone knows. But that such is done, there 
can be no question, for the rest of the community acknowl- 
edge their sentinel, trust to it for guarding the approaches of 
the nest, while they busy themselves with the usual task of 
collecting food for the young and new material for the nest. 
Nearly related to wasps are the ants. Some of their per- 
formances are truly astonishing. They have armies com- 
manded by officers, who issue orders, insist on obedience, 
and will not permit, while on the march, any of the privates 
to stray from the ranks. There are other ants which till the 
ground, weed it, plant the particular grain on which they 
