"
"But that is all pure instinct, papa; now you said that animals had
reasoning powers. Will you point out to me how they show that they
have?"
"I will, my dear boy; but we had better defer it till another evening.
It is now time to go to bed."
Chapter LIV
The following day, being Sunday, was devoted to the usual religious
exercises. Tommy stole away out of the tent, while Mr. Seagrave was
reading a sermon, to have a peep at the turtle-soup, which was boiling
on the fire; however, Juno suspected him, and had hold of him just as
he was taking the lid off the pot. He was well scolded, and very much
frightened lest he should have no soup for his dinner; however, as it
was not a very heavy offence, he was forgiven.
In the evening, William requested his father to renew the conversation
about the reasoning powers of animals.
"With pleasure, William," replied Mr. Seagrave; "it is a fit discourse
for a Sunday evening. Let us, however, first examine the various mental
faculties discoverable in animals. In the first place, they have
memory, especially memory of persons and places, quite as tenacious as
our own. A dog will recognize an old master after many years absence.
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