of those animals are also expressive of emotion. There is also noticed
among them an exhibition of emotion by corporeal action. This is the
class of gestures common to them with the earliest made by man, as
above mentioned, and it is reasonable to suppose that those were made
by man at the time when, if ever, he was, like the animals, destitute
of articulate speech. The articulate cries uttered by some animals,
especially some birds, are interesting as connected with the principle
of imitation to which languages in part owe their origin, but in the
cases of forced imitation, the mere acquisition of a vocal trick,
they only serve to illustrate that power of imitation, and are without
significance. Sterne's starling, after his cage had been opened, would
have continued to complain that he could not get out. If the bird had
uttered an instinctive cry of distress when in confinement and a note
of joy on release, there would have been a nearer approach to language
than if it had clearly pronounced many sentences. Such notes and
cries of animals, many of which are connected with reproduction and
nutrition, are well worth more consideration than can now be given,
but regarding them generally it is to be questioned if they are so
expressive as the gestures of the same animals. It is contended that
the bark of a dog is distinguishable into fear, defiance, invitation,
and a note of warning, but it also appears that those notes have been
known only since the animal has been domesticated. The gestures of
the dog are far more readily distinguished than his bark, as in his
preparing for attack, or caressing his master, resenting an injury,
begging for food, or simply soliciting attention. The chief modern
use of his tail appears to be to express his ideas and sensations. But
some recent experiments of Prof. A. GRAHAM BELL, no less eminent from
his work in artificial speech than in telephones, shows that animals
are more physically capable of pronouncing articulate sounds than has
been supposed. He informed the writer that he recently succeeded by