CHAPTER XXXIII.

COMMISSION OF ERROR (continued).

THERE is a whole group of errors of sufficient interest to require special consideration-those connected with the confounding of resemblance with reality. They include mistakes connected with

1. Mirrored images.

2. Pictorial representations.

3. Other representations-such as animal-like toys.
4. Stuffed animals or their skins.

5. Shadows.

6. What have latterly been called the natural 'protective resemblances,' or 'disguises,' of plants and animals.

The dog or parrot, that sees its own image reflected in a looking-glass, naturally mistakes that image for another individual of the same species, who may become its rival or playfellow; and equally naturally, if it be an intelligent animal, not morbidly irascible, it goes to the other side of the mirror in order to find its alter ego. The result is usually a varying degree of bewilderment, with perhaps repeated attempts-by re-inspection and re-investigation-to explain the puzzle. It may go the length of experiment-pawing, or hitting at, its image, and finding simply a non-retaliating surface and a figure that repeats provokingly and exactly every movement and even look of its own.

The dog, for instance, puts to the test the exact nature of the puzzling image by one of his modes of experimenting -by sniffing at it-by smell. He does not long remain deceived, because he corrects the error of his vision and imagination by his sense of smell; he trusts at all times more to

the latter than to the former sense. The Mexican parrot, on the other hand, is deceived only when it is freshly caught or inexperienced (Houzeau).

The kitten plays with its own mirrored image. But the result is very different in some other animals. Immediate and intense pugnacity is more frequently developed. It was so, for instance, in the case of a common Australian parrot, into whose cage I caused to be introduced, for experimental purposes, a small hand-mirror, while a nut was given it to eat. The effect was immediate. There was no wonder or hesitancy, no investigation or fear, no curiosity, no desire for companionship. The animal at once violently and viciously assaulted its own image, and, failing to produce any injury on the smooth, hard surface of the glass, and on the mirrored image that reflected all its own violence in look and action, it seized the edge of the mirror with its bill, attempting to break it.

The fighting fish of Siam, too, is so irritable in temper that it will even butt against its own shadow in a lookingglass.' The sight of this supposed other individual creates as much excitement and pugnacity as the presence of a real opponent would do (Baird). The goat does the same thing -butts at its own mirrored image (Percy Anecdotes '). The Elizabethan poet, Chapman, speaks of elephants shunning

clear springs

Lest they behold their own deformities
And start at their grim shadows.

On the other hand, the mirror is unquestionably used by other animals, as it is by women, for the purposes of selfadmiration, though even in such cases there is always a danger of the animal's forgetting-if it ever realised that it is looking only at itself, and of its suffering itself to be tormented with the pangs of jealousy of an imaginary rival. Thus a siskin belonging to a friend is fond of looking at itself in a mirror, as so many other animals obviously are, peering, however, behind and over the mirror, apparently in order to see its supposed neighbour. But at last it loses temper, and fights its alter ego as the Australian parrot did.

A correspondent of the Animal World' thus writes of the effect of a mirror on a parrot; and the incident is here given as it illustrates how cheaply and easily amusement may sometimes be procured for bird-pets: She showed such intense pleasure and excitement at her own reflection in a looking-glass, and called so long after it when removed, that I bought a very small one for her and hung it outside the cage at the end of her perch. For a long time she sat with her bill touching this, and making cooing sounds, and still it is the dearest spot in the world to her. She is never lonely while she has that companion in the looking-glass. She runs to it with all her joys and sorrows. She rattles the frame and talks to it when her cover is put on for the night. And, if the back of the glass should be turned towards her, she does all she can to set it right. Moreover, at this season she feeds the children she sees in there. It has attached her so much to the cage that when it is being cleaned she calls loudly for it, and runs to meet it when she sees it coming into the room.'

Pleasure is taken in its own mirrored image by the goldfinch, the result, apparently, of personal vanity (Baird). And other birds frequently gaze at themselves in mirrors, whatever be their motive (Darwin). The orang, too, shows gratification at its personal appearance in a mirror (Pierquin).

It is not a little interesting to note that savage men, when first brought in contact with a mirror, behave very much as the lower animals do. Thus, when a jungle Vedda was shown a looking-glass, says Hartshorne, 'he appeared at first to be terrified and annoyed; but afterwards looked behind it and round about in a puzzled and wondering manner, with his hand upon his axe, as if preparing to defend himself. Five or six others to whom the glass was successively shown displayed similar gestures.'

Capt. Moresby tells us that the women of New Guinea 'would start back affrighted on a looking-glass being presented to them.' A correspondent of the Scotsman' (newspaper) says of the inhabitants of Fishers Island, in the middle passage between New Guinea and Australia, 'One fellow having got a looking-glass, turned it round and round,

1

1 Of July 20, 1876.

up

and down, just like a monkey, wanting to see the inside. I shall never forget the laugh he gave when at last he saw his own black face in it. The more he laughed the more his likeness laughed. He could not make it out. He imagined there was some one at the back of the glass.' The Patagonians do the same.

But these effects of the mirror on the imagination of man are by no means confined to savage man. They occur, under exceptional circumstances, among ourselves, in races the most highly civilised. Thus Galton writes:-'No less than nine anecdotes have reached me of a twin seeing his or her reflection in a looking-glass and addressing it in the belief it was the other twin in person.'

Certain startling assertions have been made regarding the effect of pictorial representations of persons, other animals or things, on the lower animals-assertions involving the highest possible compliments to the painter's skill—and the fidelity with which he copies nature. A type of these statements is to be found in the old classical story of the Greek artist, Zeuxis, outvying nature, in so far as birds preferred his painted grapes to real ones! The story itself is of course a poetical and complimentary exaggeration. But it is a fact that this celebrated Athenian excelled in the accuracy of his pictorial imitations of natural objects; that in Athens the works of the painters were often exhibited in the theatre, in the open air; and that the evidence of such modern artists as Millais shows that there is no improbability connected with the supposition that birds may have pecked at the painted grapes of Zeuxis, mistaking them for real ones.

Pierquin tells us that recognition of the portraits of masters, mistresses, or children-playfellows is common in the dog or cat, which show their identification of the resemblance with the original by licks or caresses. They lick the painted faces or hands of a dead master, just as they show a joyful recognition of the resemblance while he is alive, when, for instance, the portrait and the original are in the same room or stand side by side. But they also mistake portraits for their originals (Lee).

Such mistakes occur more usually, however, in relation

to the portraits of other animals of the same or of other species or genera. The marmozet (monkey) recognises pictorial representations of its own species or of other animals (Audouin), identifying them with the originals. The picture of a cat or wasp creates alarm, and it commits the error of snatching at painted representations of insects (Cassell). The Titi, too, commits the perhaps excusable mistake of regarding engravings as realities, showing thereby its recognition of likeness in the pictured representations of persons, animals or things (Humboldt). The performing dog Minos that was brought to London for exhibition in May, 1875, was said to be able to trace a likeness between photographs' and their originals. Hogg's dog Lion mistook a portrait of another dog for a real animal, and allowed itself to be excited thereby to angry rivalry, just as certain animals are annoyed at or with their own mirrored image. A correspondent of 'Science Gossip' mentions a Pomeranian dog that was excited by an almost life-size portrait. In short, according as the portraits are those of friends or foes, the resultant impression and expression are those of joy or fear.

Various statements have been made of parrots and other birds, and of certain insects, being deceived by painted representations of flowers or fruits. They are led into error apparently by the impressions on their sense of vision not being corrected by those of other senses. They are said to express their sense of the fidelity of the representation-to show the reality of their mistake, by the display of gratification, complacency, self-admiration, aversion, attack, fear, flight, or attempts to feed upon the tempting objects. The evidence at my command not being sufficient to convince myself in one direction or another, I ventured to apply to various distinguished painters, begging them to favour me with the results of any personal experience they might have had on the subject. Two replies reached me-fortunately representing opposite views-from artists whose names are a sufficient guarantee for the value of their remarks-Mr. Millais representing the affirmative and Mr. Hamerton the negative. The statements made in both cases are of sufficient interest to warrant my giving them in extenso.