134 _ BEASTS AND MEN 
master. This is of course the first and easiest stage of their 
education ; but even as early as this, many turn out to be 
unfit for the work through viciousness or other fault. Punish- 
ment in these cases would be of no use. It would only make 
the animals more stubborn than before ; and if they were kept 
in the troupe their fellow-pupils would soon be spoilt by the 
bad example. There is nothing for it but to replace them by 
more promising animals. The next thing to be done is to 
teach the tricks with which the public is to be astonished. 
The living pyramid has to be constructed over and over 
again. The tiger needs many lessons before he can stand 
upon his rolling barrel. The reader may easily perceive how 
great is the strain on the temper of the animal trainer, when 
he understands how many hundreds of times each small move- 
ment has to be gone through, and that the slightest loss of 
self-control on his part would ruin the whole of the proceedings. 
But while he is careful to keep his temper, he must at the same 
time maintain the strictest discipline. As he leads them up- 
ward step by step in their difficult task, he must imbue them 
with the feeling that disobedience is an impossibility. I need 
hardly say that the arduous labour involved in training wild 
animals can only be successfully carried out by one who is 
really fond of them. A genuine affection is needful for the 
establishment of mutual confidence between teacher and pupils. 
Courage too is most essential, for it must never be forgotten 
that however domesticated they may appear to be, they are yet 
at heart wild animals, and in all wild beasts there remains— 
deep down, perhaps, but there all the same—some remnant 
of their primitive ferocity. There is therefore always a chance 
of some savage outburst of temper, and the teacher has to 
watch with a never-tiring eye for the smallest indication of 
any change in behaviour of any of his fearsome pupils. And 
this liability to outbreaks of temper increases with advancing 
age. e 
If the few cardinal principles which I have mentioned be 
carefully followed out, the danger ought to be very slight. 
