26 THE HORSE OF MR. VON OSTEN 



Some tried to explain the whole thing on the basis of 

 purely mechanical memory and would thus allow the 

 title " learned " but not " intelligent " Hans. If, for in- 

 stance, he was able to indicate the component of a clang 

 of three tones, it was not because he had the power to 

 analyze the tone-complex, but because he was able to 

 see the stops of the harmonica and was accustomed to 

 give one tap for every stop which was closed. If he 

 was able to tell time by the watch, it was not because 

 he read it, but because he was always asked at the same 

 hour of the day (which, of course, was contrary to fact) 

 and because he had learned by heart the necessary 

 number of taps. They also said that his manifold arith- 

 metical achievements were merely the expression of a 

 remarkable memory; that in the animal brain, lying 

 fallow for centuries, there was stored up a tremendous 

 amount of energy, which here had been suddenly 

 released. They justified their point by calling to mind, 

 in this connection, the wonderful memory of primitive 

 races. The authors of the two monographs already, 

 mentioned, Zell and Freund, adopted this ' mnemo- 

 technic ' interpretation, and the latter considered that he 

 had disposed definitely of the problem in designating the 

 horse — a " four-legged computing machine." 



Another group would not even allow Hans the glory 

 of a wonderful memory. He knew nothing. Rather 

 was he to be regarded as a stupid Hans, and totally 

 dependent upon signs or helps given by his master. 

 Only a very few believed, however, that such signs — the 

 nature of which was quite unknown or regarding which 

 only vague unsubstantiated suppositions were advanced 

 — were given unintentionally. Most of the critics openly 

 averred that we here had to do with intentional control,' 



