Canine Guests. 31 



dogs, by which he made them understand which card they 

 ought to take, and this gentleman believed that he had 

 detected the most important signal of all. " When M. du 

 Rouil means no he advances towards the table, and when 

 he meansjj/^j he retires from it." Another observer, younger 

 and much less intelligent, had told me that M. du Rouil, 

 having been a teacher of the deaf and dumb, simply used 

 signs with his fingers, which the dogs had learned to read. 

 These two theories may be disposed of very summarily. 

 When the entertainment began with the literary examina- 

 tion of Bianca, M. du Rouil stood on the hearth-rug, with his 

 back to the fire, and did not advance or retreat one inch ; 

 whilst at the conclusion, when she gave the plural to the 

 word feu, I myself occupied M. du Rouil's place, and he 

 was seated in an arm-chair, like the other spectators, and 

 with his back to the table. It is clear, therefore, that the 

 theory about advancing and retreating is not an explana- 

 tion. Now, as for the other theory, that he communicates 

 with the dogs by means of manual signs, like those used 

 with the deaf and dumb, I need only observe that M. du 

 Rouil's hands were as motionless as his feet. When we 

 began with fromage, pferd, etc., he held a tray in his right 

 hand, the arm being pendent by his side, whilst the left hand 

 was behind his back, the fingers closed, and as motionless as 

 those of a bronze Napoleon on a chimney-piece. He did 

 not even reserve to himself such liberty of motion as might 

 have been secured by taking the letters from the dog, for 

 when I proposed to take the letters myself he made no 

 objection whatever, but sat down quietly and let me do the 

 showman's work. It is certain that the communication 

 was not made by any motion of the body ; this, at least, I 

 can affirm quite positively. Was it done by the expression 

 of the eyes .' At first we thought that this might be just 



