the unknown guest-第23章

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；　the　critics　of　the　miracle　found　themselves　faced　by　a　new　adversary；　young　and　high…spirited；　endowed　with　remarkable　scientific　instinct；　quick…witted；　scholarly　and　well　able　to　defend　himself。

His　educational　methods　also　differ　materially　from　Von　Osten's。　It　was　a　strange　thing；　but　deep　down　in　the　rather　queer；　cross…grained　soul　of　the　old　enthusiast　there　had　grown　up　gradually　a　sort　of　hatred　for　his　four…legged　pupil。　He　felt　the　stallion's　proud　and　nervous　will　resisting　his　with　an　obstinacy　which　he　qualified　as　diabolical。　They　stood　up　to　each　other　like　two　enemies：　and　the　lessons　almost　assumed　the　form　of　a　tragic　and　secret　struggle　in　which　the　animal's　soul　rebelled　against　man's　domination。

Krall；　on　the　other　hand；　adores　his　pupils；　and　this　atmosphere　of　affection　has　in　a　manner　of　speaking　humanized　them。　There　are　no　longer　those　sudden　movements　of　wild　panic　which　reveal　the　ancestral　dread　of　man　in　the　quietest　and　best…trained　horse。　He　talks　to　them　long　and　tenderly；　as　a　father　might　talk　to　his　children；　and　we　have　the　strange　feeling　that　they　listen　to　all　that　he　says　and　understand　it。　If　they　appear　not　to　grasp　an　explanation　or　a　demonstration；　he　will　begin　it　all　over　again；　analyze　it；　paraphrase　it　ten　times　in　succession；　with　the　patience　of　a　mother。　And　so　their　progress　has　been　incomparably　swifter　and　more　astounding　than　that　of　old　Hans。　Within　a　fortnight　of　the　first　lesson　Mohammed　did　simple　little　addition　and　subtraction　sums　quite　correctly。　He　had　learnt　to　distinguish　the　tens　from　the　units；　striking　the　latter　with　his　right　foot　and　the　former　with　his　left。　He　knew　the　meaning　of　the　symbols　plus　and　minus。　Four　days　later；　he　was　beginning　multiplication　and　division。　In　four　months'　time；　he　knew　how　to　extract　square　and　cubic　roots；　and；　soon　after；　he　learnt　to　spell　and　read　by　means　of　the　conventional　alphabet　devised　by　Krall。

This　alphabet；　at　the　first　glance；　seems　rather　complicated。　For　that　matter；　it　is　only　a　makeshift；　but　how　could　one　find　anything　better？　The　unfortunate　horse；　who　is　almost　voiceless；　has　only　one　way　in　which　to　express　himself：　a　clumsy　hoof；　which　was　not　created　to　put　thought　into　words。　It　became　necessary；　therefore；　to　contrive；　as　in　table…turning；　a　special　alphabet；　in　which　each　letter　is　designated　by　a　certain　number　of　blows　struck　by　the　right　foot　and　the　left。　Here　is　the　copy　handed　to　visitors　at　Elberfeld　to　enable　them　to　follow　the　horse's　operations：

　1　　2　　3　　4　　5　　6　10　E　　N　　R　　S　　M　　C　20　A　　H　　L　　T　　A：　CH　30　I　　D　　G　　W　　J　SCH　40　O　　B　　F　　K　　O：　　50　U　　V　　Z　　P　　U：　　60　EI　AU　EU　X　　Q　　

To　mark　the　letter　E；　for　instance；　the　stallion　will　strike　one　blow　with　his　left　foot　and　one　with　his　right；　for　the　letter　L；　two　blows　with　his　left　foot　and　three　with　his　right；　and　so　on。　The　horses　have　this　alphabet　so　deeply　imprinted　in　their　memory　that；　practically　speaking；　they　never　make　a　mistake；　and　they　strike　their　hoofs　so　quickly；　one　after　the　other；　that　at　first　one　has　some　difficulty　in　following　them。

Mohammed　and　Zariffor　Zarif's　progress　was　almost　equal　to　that　of　his　fellow…pupil；　though　he　seems　a　little　less　gifted　from　the　standpoint　of　higher　mathematics…Mohammed　and　Zarif　in　this　way　reproduce　the　words　spoken　in　their　presence；　spell　the　names　of　their　visitors；　reply　to　questions　put　to　them　and　sometimes　make　little　observations；　little　personal　and　spontaneous　reflections　to　which　we　shall　return　presently。　They　have　created　for　their　own　use　an　inconceivably　fantastic　and　phonetic　system　of　spelling　which　they　stubbornly　refuse　to　relinquish　and　which　often　makes　their　writing　rather　difficult　to　read。　Deeming　most　of　the　vowels　useless；　they　keep　almost　exclusively　to　the　consonants；　thus　Zucker；　for　instance；　becomes　Z　K　R；　Pferd；　P　F　R　T；　or　F　R　T；　and　so　on。

I　will　not　set　forth　in　detail　the　many　different　proofs　of　intelligence　lavished　by　the　singular　inhabitants　of　this　strange　stable。　They　are　not　only　first…class　calculators；　for　whom　the　most　repellent　fractions　and　roots　possess　hardly　any　secrets：　they　distinguish　sounds；　colours；　and　scents；　read　the　time　on　the　face　of　a　watch；　recognize　certain　geometrical　figures；　likenesses　and　photographs。

Following　on　these　more　and　more　conclusive　experiments　and　especially　after　the　publication　of　Krall's　great　work；　Denkende　Tiere；　a　model　of　precision　and　arrangement；　men's　minds　were　faced　with　clear　and　definite　problem　which；　this　time；　could　not　be　challenged。　Scientific　committees　followed　one　another　at　Elberfeld；　and　their　reports　became　legion。　Learned　men　of　every　countryincluding　Dr。　Edinger；　the　eminent　Frankfort　neurologist；　Professors　Dr。　H。　Kraemer　and　H。　E。　Ziegler；　of　Stuttgart；　Dr。　Paul　Saresin；　of　Bale；　Professor　Ostwald；　of　Berlin；　Professor　A。　Beredka；　of　the　Pasteur　Institute；　Dr。　E。　Clarapede；　of　the　university　of　Geneva；　Professor　Schoeller　and　Professor　Gehrke；　the　natural　philosopher；　of　Berlin；　Professor　Goldstein；　of　Darmstadt；　Professor　von　Buttel…Reepen；　of　Oldenburg；　Professor　William　Mackenzie；　of　Genoa；　Professor　R。　Assagioli；　of　Florence；　Dr。　Hartkopf；　of　Cologne；　Dr。　Freudenberg；　of　Brussels；　Dr。　Ferrari；　of　Bologna；　etc。；　etc。；　for　the　list　is　lengthening　dailycame　to　study　on　the　spot　the　inexplicable　phenomenon　which　Dr。　Clarapede　proclaims　to　be　〃the　most　sensational　event　that　has　ever　happened　in　the　psychological　world。〃

With　the　exception　of　two　or　three　sceptics　or　convinced　misoneists　and　of　those　who　made　too　short　a　stay　at　Elberfeld；　all　were　unanimous　in　recognizing　that　the　facts　were　as　stated　and　that　the　experiments　were　conducted　with　absolute　fairness。　Disagreement　begins　only　when　it　becomes　a　matter　of　commenting　on　them；　interpreting　them　and　explaining　them。

4

To　complete　this　short　preamble；　it　is　right　to　add　that；　for　some　time　past；　the　case　of　the　Elberfeld　horses　no　longer　stands　quite　alone。　There　exists　at　Mannheim　a　dog　of　a　rather　doubtful　breed　who　performs　almost　the　same　feats　as　his　equine　rivals。　He　is　less　advanced　than　they　in　arithmetic；　but　does　little　additions；　subtractions　and　multiplications　of　one　or　two　figures　correctly。　He　reads　and　writes　by　tapping　with　his　paw；　in　accordance　with　an　alphabet　which；　it　appears；　he　has　thought　out　for　himself；　and　his　spelling　also　is　simplified　and　phoneticized　to　the　utmost。　He　distinguishes　the　colour　in　a　bunch　of　flowers；　counts　the　money　in　a　purse　and　separates　the　marks　from　the　pfennigs。　He　knows　how　to　seek　and　find　words　to　define　the　object　or　the　picture　placed　before　him。　You　show　him；　for　instance；　a　bouquet　in　a　vase　and　ask　him　what　it　is。

〃A　glass　with　little　flowers；〃　he　replies。

And　his　answers　are　often　curiously　spontaneous　and　original。　In　the　course　of　a　reading…exercise　in　which　the　word　Herbst；　autumn；　chanced　to　attract　attention；　Professor　William　Mackenzie　asked　him　if　he　could　explain　what　autumn　was。

〃It　is　the　time　when　there　are　apples；〃　Rolf　replied。

On　the　same　occasion；　the　same　professor；　without　knowing　what　it　represented；　held　out　to　him　a　card　marked　with　red　and　blue　squares：

〃What's　this？〃

〃Blue；　red；　lots　of　cubes；〃　replied　the　dog。

Sometimes　his　repartees　are　not　lacking　in　humour。

〃Is　there　anything　you　would　like　me　to　do　for　you？〃　a　lady　of　his　acquaintance　asked；　one　day。

And　Master　Rolf　gravely　answered：

〃Wedelen；〃　which　means；　〃Wag　your　tail！〃

Rolf；　whose　fame　is　comparatively　young；　has　not　yet；　like　his　illustrious　rivals　of　the　Rhine　Province；　been　the　object　of　minute　enquiries　and　copious　and　innumerable　reports。　But　the　incidents　which　I　have　just　mentioned　and　which　are　vouched　for　by　such　men　as　Professor　Mackenzie　and　M。　Duchatel；　the　learned　and　clear…sighted　vice…president　of　the　Societe　Universelle　d'Etudes　Psychiques；＇1＇　who　went　to　Mannheim　for　the　express　purpose　of　studying　them；　appear　to　be　no　more　controvertible　than　the　Elbenfeld　occurrences；　of　which　they　are　a　sort　of　replica　or　echo。　It　is　not　unusual　to　find　these　coincidences　amongst　abnormal　phenomena。　They　spring　up　simultaneously　in　different　quarters　of　the　globe；　correspond　with　one　another　and　multiply