title="[Pg 23]"/> the windows of distant houses and the street urchins climbing about on neighboring roofs. He had an ear for the most subtle nuances of the voice. He caught every word,—no matter how softly it was spoken—so that we were not allowed to whisper the answer to a problem, even when standing at a distance of several yards, since it would be equivalent—so Mr. von Osten declared—to giving the result to the horse.

Musical ability also comes into the category of Hans' accomplishments. He possessed, not only an absolute tone consciousness—a gift granted to few of us in the human world—which enabled him to recognize a note sounded or sung to him as c, d, etc. (within the once accented scale of c-major), but also an infallible feeling for intervals, and could therefore determine whether two tones, sounded simultaneously, composed a third or fifth, etc. Without difficulty he analyzed compound clangs into their components; he indicated their agreeableness or disagreeableness and could inform us which tones must be eliminated to make consonance out of dissonance. C, d and e were given simultaneously and Hans was asked: "Does that sound pleasant?" He shook his head. "What tone must be omitted to make it pleasant?" Hans trod twice—indicating tone "d." When the seventh chord, d-f-a-c, was sounded, he shook his head disapprovingly. He evidently was old-fashioned in his musical tastes and not agreeably disposed toward modern music, so he indicated by tapping that the seventh, c, would have to be eliminated; thus changing the seventh chord to a minor chord in order to obtain harmony. When asked what tones might not be given simultaneously with the fourth and sixth, Hans indicated consecutively the third, fifth and seventh; that the first might be added, he was ready to admit. Finally, he was familiar with not less than thirteen melodies and their time.

Not only in the high degree of development of the senses and the intellect, but also in that of the feeling and the will, did Hans possess a decided individuality. Being of a high-strung and nervous temperament and governed by moods, he evinced strong likes and dislikes, and frequently displayed an annoying stubbornness,—a fact often dwelt upon by Mr. von Osten. He had never felt the whip, and therefore often persisted in wilfully answering the simplest questions incorrectly and a moment later would solve, with the greatest ease, some of the most difficult problems. Whenever any one asked a question without himself knowing the answer, Hans would indulge in all sorts of sport at the questioner's expense. We were told that the sensitive animal could easily perceive the questioner's ignorance and would therefore lose confidence in, and respect for, him. It was felt to be desirable, however, to have just such cases with correct responses. Often, too, Hans would persist in giving what seemed an incorrect reply, but which was later discovered to be correct. On the other hand it was useless to try to get answers upon topics of which he knew nothing. Thus he ignored questions put in French or Latin and became fidgety, thereby showing the genuineness of his achievements; but upon topics with which he was familiar he could not be led astray. Indeed, there was nothing but language lacking to make him almost human and the intelligent animal was declared by experienced educators to be at about the stage of development of a child of 13 or 14 years.

This wonderful horse, which in the opinion of its friends was the means of deciding in the affirmative the old, old, question of the rationality of the lower forms and thus changing radically the existing Weltanschauung, aroused world-wide interest. A flood of articles appeared in the newspapers and magazines, two monograph[1, 2] attempts at explanation were devoted to him.[F] He was made the subject of popular couplets, and his name was sung on the vaudeville stage. He appeared upon picture post-cards and upon liquor labels, and his popularity was shown by his reincarnation in the form of children's playthings. Many personages of note who had seen the horse's exhibitions, declared, some of them in public statements, that they were now convinced. Among these, besides Mr. Schillings, were naturalists of note; e. g.: the African explorer Prof. G. Schweinfurth, Dr. Heinroth and Dr. Schäff, the director of the zoological garden in Hanover; there were likewise horse-fanciers of first-rank, such as General Zobel, and the well-known hippological writer Major R. Schoenbeck. Again, the well-known zoölogist, K. Möbius, writing in the "National-zeitung" declared he was convinced of the horse's power to count and to solve arithmetical problems. He also said that he believed the horse's memory and acute power of sense-discrimination to be at the root of the matter. Those who gleaned all their knowledge of the horse from newspaper reading were satisfied to arrest judgment, or, on the other hand, became indignant at the supposed imposition on the part of the gentleman of leisure and at the gullibility of the public. Some would of course attempt explanations on the basis of older facts. Here we have two points of view.

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 instance, 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 arithmetical 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 'mnemotechnic' 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, in other words, with tricks. But not only did stupid orthodoxy dispose of the matter in this way, but also the enlightened, who believe everything unusual to be contrary to reason. They put the Hans problem on a level with spiritualism, and were convinced that if the veil were removed a crass imposition would be revealed. Professional trainers who regarded themselves as well informed did not hesitate to give expression