"
"But, papa, babies can't talk at first," said I; "they have to be
taught."
Now by good luck for my argument there stood near us a country woman
with a child in her arms to whom she was holding out a biscuit,
repeating as she did so, "Ta!" in that expectant tone which is
supposed to encourage childish efforts to pronounce the abbreviated
form of thanks.
"Now look, papa!" I cried, "that's the way I should teach a monkey. If
I were to hold out a bit of cake to him, and say, 'Ta,'"--(and as I
spoke I did so to a highly intelligent little gentleman who sat close
to the bars of the cage with his eyes on my face, as if he were well
aware that a question of deep importance to himself was being
discussed)--
"He would probably snatch it out of your hand without further
ceremony," said my father. And, dashing his skinny fingers through the
bars, this was, I regret to say, precisely what the little gentleman
did. I was quite taken aback; but as we turned round, to my infinite
delight, the undutiful baby snatched the biscuit from its mother's
hand after a fashion so remarkably similar that we all burst out
laughing, and I shouted in triumph,
"Now, papa! children do it too.
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