46 MAMMALS

way to unscrew the handle, and having done that, he
immediately began to try to find out the way to
screw it in again. This he in time accomplished.
At first he put the wrong end of the handle into the
hole, but turned it round and round the right way for
screwing. Finding it did not hold, he turned the
other end of the handle and carefully stuck it into
the hole, and began again to turn it the right way.
It was of course a very difficult feat for him to per-
form, for he required both his hands to hold the
handle in the proper position, and to turn it between
his hands in order to screw it in, and the long bristles
of the brush prevented it from remaining steady or
with the right side up. He held the brush with his
hind hand, but even then it was very difficult for him
to get the first screw to fit into the thread. He
worked at it, however, with the most unwearying per-
severance until he got the first turn of the screw to
catch, and he then quickly turned it round and round
until it was screwed up to the end. The most re-
markable thing was that, however often he was dis-
appointed in the beginning, he never was induced to
try turning the handle the wrong way; he always
screwed it from right to left. As soon as he had
accomplished his wish he unscrewed it again, and
then screwed it in again, —and amused himself till he
was tired. ‘The desire to accomplish a chosen task,’
continues the diarist, ‘seems a sufficient inducement
to lead him to take any amount of trouble. This
seems a very human feeling, such as is not shown, I
believe, by any othet animal. It is not the desire of
praise, as he never notices people looking on; it is