ventional use of natural signs (a sign with a natural origin in tone and
gesture, whether spontaneously or intentionally imitative) to have admitted
of a totally free exchange of receptual ideas, such as would be concerned
in animal wants and even, perhaps, in the simplest forms of co-operative
action. Next I think it probable that the advance of receptual intelligence
which would have been occasioned by this advance in sign-making would in
turn have led to a development of the latter--the two thus acting and
reacting on each other until the language of tone and gesture became
gradually raised to the level of imperfect pantomime, as in children before
they begin to use words. At this stage, however, or even before it, I think
very probably vowel sounds must have been employed in tone language, if not
also a few consonants. Eventually the action and reaction of receptual
intelligence and conventional sign-making must have ended in so far
developing the former as to have admitted of the breaking up (or
articulation) of vocal sounds, as the only direction in which any
improvement in vocal sign-making was possible." Romanes continues his
sketch by referring to the probability that this important stage in the
development of speech was greatly assisted by the already existing habit of
articulating musical notes, supposing our progenitors to have resembled the
gibbons or the chimpanzees in this respect. Darwin in his great work on the
"Expression of the Emotions" points to the fact that the gibbon, the most
erect and active of the anthropoid apes, is able to sing an octave in
half-tones, and it is interesting to note that Dubois considers his
Pithecanthropus Erectus is on the same stem as the gibbon. But it has
lately been shown that some animals much lower in the scale than monkeys,
namely, rodents, are able to produce correct musical tones. Therefore the
argument loses force that the progenitors of man probably uttered musical
sounds before they had acquired the power of articulate speech, and that
consequently, when the voice is used under any strong emotion, it tends to
assume through the principle of association a musical character. The work
of anthropologists and linguists, especially the former, supports the
progressive-evolution theory, which, briefly stated, is--that articulate
language is the result of an elaboration in the long procession of ages in
which there occurred three stages--the cry, vocalisation, and articulat