an attack of the enemy. The
night was dark and stormy, and the trained eyesight and keen hearing of
the Roman outposts failed to reveal the approach of the enemy. But, the
keen sense of the geese felt the presence of strange men, and they started
to cackle loudly, aroused the guard, and Rome was saved. Skeptical persons
have sought to explain this historical case by the theory that the geese
heard the approaching enemy. But this explanation will not serve, for the
Roman soldiers were marching about on their posts and guard-duty, and the
geese remained silent until they sensed the approach of the small number
of the enemy's scouts, when they burst into wild cries. The ancient
Romans, themselves, were under no illusion about the matter--they
recognized the existence of some unusual power in the geese, and they gave
the animals the full credit therefor.

Hunters in wild and strange lands have told us that often when they were
lying concealed for the purpose of shooting the wild animals when they
came within range, they have witnessed instances of the existence of this
strange faculty in the wild beasts. Though they could not see the
concealed hunters, nor smell them (as the wind was in the other direction)
all of a sudden one or more of the animals (generally an old female) would
start suddenly, and a shiver would be seen to pass over its body; then it
would utter a low warning note, and away would fly the pack. Nearly every
hunter has had the experience of watching his expected game, when all of a
sudden it would start off with a nervous jerk, and without waiting to
sniff the air, as is usual, would bolt precipitately from the scene.
Moreover, many beasts of prey are known to sense the presence of their
natural prey, even when the wind is in the other direction, and there is
no sound or movement made by the crouching, fearstricken animal. Certain
birds seem to sense the presence of particular worms upon which they feed,
though the latter be buried several inches in the earth, or in the bark of
trees.

Savage man also has this faculty developed, as all travellers and
explorers well know. They are as keen as a wild animal to sense the
nearness of enemies, or, in some cases, the approach of man-eating beasts.
This does not mean that that these savages are more highly developed than
is civilized man--quite the reverse. This is the explanation: when man
became more civilized, and made himself more secure from his wild-beast
e