\"TherewereSimlareasons，certainly，\"hereplied。\"ButyouthinkIcamehereforsolitude!SOLITUDE!\"herepeated，withalaugh。
\"Why，Iholddailyconversationswithanyblessedthinginthishouse，fromtheverandatothechimney—stack，withanystickoffurniture，fromthefootstooltothetowel—horse。IgetmoreoutofitthanthegabbleattheClub。Youlooksurprised。Listen!I
tookthisthingupinmyleisurehoursintheDepartment。Ihadreadmuchabouttheconversationofanimals。Iarguedthatifanimalsconversed，whyshouldn’tinanimatethingscommunicatewitheachother？Youcannotprovethatanimalsdon’tconverse——neithercanyouprovethatinanimateobjectsDONOT。See？\"
Iwasthunderstruckwiththeforceofhislogic。
\"Ofcourse，\"hecontinued，\"therearedegreesofintelligence，andthatmakesitdifficult。Forinstance，amahoganytablewouldnottalklikearush—bottomedkitchenchair。\"Hestoppedsuddenly，listened，andreplied，\"Ireallycouldn’tsay。\"