A CANINE MIND-READER.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3225, 20 June 1879, Page 4

A CANINE MIND-READER.

A veiy pretty illustrajjionof theoiueQllK ■cious suggestion upon which the succesles of "mind-reading," so called, have' been based, is furnished by the perfor-y nances of a clever dog belonging to the well-known spectroscopist aiod astrohonjer Dr Huggins. Tliisj' dog, a' mastiff of noble proportions, to whom had been given the name of Kepler, possessed many Tare gifts, which bad secured for him the admiration and regard, of:a large nuspbex; ( of scientific acquaintances ; and'among these was one which he was always readyto exercise for the entertainment of, visitors.! At the close of Inncheon'or din-*' r per, says a writer in the Edinburgh Review, Kepler used to march gravely and sedately ; into the room, and set himself down at hir master's feet. Dr Huggins then propounded to him a series of arithmetical questions, which the dog invariably solved ifwithputiifi'mistafce^ ..Square;(Wp|»||vere * eiCracted off-hand with the utmost readiness and promptness. If asked whah was the square *ojpt of 9, Kepler replied by 4bW ba*k« f> dr, if £he question whs r the c ,fqaare ; ppt^o? \6,« .by „,4^ v ,Tbfn < ? taribut questions followed in' which 5 niore complicated processes were involvedj-™ such, for instance, as " add 7 to 8, divide the sum; by 3, |nd ..multiply by |.'' To ■uch a question's tfiat^-Eieplel gave more consideration, and sometimes hesitated in '.i making up his mind aj^io whereiiis barks j iraght:finally to stop? Still, in the end his ,'v decision was always right. The reward for 'each .correct ahiweruwas a piece |of cake, which was held' before him during 'the exercise ; but until the solution was arrived; at, Kfepler never moved his eye ,from his master's face. ' ■ The instant the last bark was given, he '!' transferred Jus | attention to ; the cake. :Dr Hugging was 'perfectly', unconscious jof suggesting the proper answer to the dog, hut it i& beyond -all question that, he did < so. The, wonderful fact. is '■ that Kepler had acquired the habit of reading in his master's eye or countenance some indica- . tion that'was not known to Dr Huggins himself. The case was one ofthe cliss ■ which is distinguished by. physiologists as ■ that of expectant attention. ' ' ,'! |. Dr Huggins; was himself engßged iin .; working ou|'mentally' the various stages ■' of his arithmetical* processes as :he^'pro- - 1: pbtinded l!he number of Ke^lw^-aiid being, therefore,,, aware ; ' of,. wbai; the i" .answier should, be, "expected the. dog to .. r cease; barking ,wben ? that number;-was reached, and that expectation .suggested to his own brain.the unconscious signal < whiplirwas^apg^t^by Jhe-qujc.l^eye of the d'6g. ''" n \. , ■'; ■.- , " | The instance h strictly analogous |tothe well-known "pase,.in w|iich ' ißuspen^ed from ,a ( tliread and held by a finder near slo therim of' atlas's',' strikes the hour ofstbe day «s it? swings, and then Stops—that is provided the person who ■ holds thVbutton uimself knows the%ou'r.! ."» "The explanation of this occurrence is thst ' the^ hand which holds the button trembles

in^conßeqnencfr of itßcconstrainefllposition,' and in that wo'jr sets the button swinging „ - and ai, tbe. attention of the. experimeiitor .' Vis fixed upon the Vscttlatibn, in the ei>:pec-i tation,;that a definite nunabei of strokes ; upon tte glass will qccu,r, his own brain :■., take care that the movements > -of the finger shall be, in aocordanca: with that expectation. r ; The mathematical training of poor Kepler has, unfortunately, come to an untimely end. The interesting arithmetician/diedoi ; anJatftick of typhus fever, .to the gieat.Bprrowof",his large circle -of friends, at the beginning of last year, and he now" sleeps under the shadow of the telescopa at T'ulse hill. The memory of his high attainments and of the distinguished success with which he upheld the reputation of his name, however, re^i mains. ! ;