palm, then every finger separately, then between all the fingers, as if anxious to leave no part of it unsaluted. Finding him extremely tractable*, I made it my custom to carry him always after breakfast into the garden, where he hid himself generally under the leaves of the bushes, sleeping or dreaming till evening.

I had not long accustomed him to this state of liberty, before he began to be impatient for the return of the time when he might enjoy it. He would invite me to the garden by drumming upon my knee, and by a look of such expression as it was not possible to misinterpret.† If this language did not immediately succeed, he would take the skirt of my coat between his teeth, and pull it with all his force.

Thus Puss might be said to be perfectly tamed; the shyness of his nature was done away, and, on the whole, it was made clear and visible by many signs, that he was happier in human society than when shut up with his natural companions.

Not so Tiney; upon him the kindest treatment had not the least effect. He, too, was sick, and in his sickness had an equal share of my attention; but if after his recovery I took the liberty to stroke him, he would grunt, strike with his forefeet, spring forward, and bite. He was, however, very entertaining in his way; even his surliness was matter of mirth. In his play, too, he preserved such an air of gravity, and performed his feats with such solemnity of manner, that in him as well I had an agreeable companion.

Bess, who died soon after she was full grown, and whose death was occasioned by her being turned into her newlywashed box while it was yet damp, was a hare of great fun and drollery. Puss was tamed by gentle usage; Tiney

* Tractable, docile, manageable.

† Misinterpret,to interpret erroneously; not to understand aright.

was not to be tamed at all; but Bess had a courage and confidence that made her tame from the beginning.

I always admitted them into the parlor after supper, when, the carpet affording their feet a firm hold, they would frisk and bound, and play a thousand gambols. In these, Bess, being remarkably strong and fearless, was always the cleverest. One evening, the cat, being in the room, had the hardiness to pat Bess upon the cheek, insult which she resented by drumming upon his back with such violence that he was happy to escape from under her paws and hide himself.

an

I describe these animals as having each a character of his own. Such they had in fact; and their countenances were so expressive of that character, that, when I looked on the face of either, I immediately knew which it was. It is said that a shepherd, however numerous his flock, soon becomes so familiar with their features that he can distinguish each from all the rest; and yet to a common observer the difference is hardly perceptible. I doubt not that the same thing would hold good with reference to hares and other animals.

These creatures have a singular sagacity in discovering the minutest alteration made in the place to which they are accustomed, and instantly apply their nose to a new object. A small hole being burnt in the carpet, it was mended with a patch, and that patch in a moment underwent the closest scrutiny. They seem, too, to be very much directed by the sense of smell in the choice of their favorites: to some persons, though they saw them daily, they could never be reconciled, and would even scream when they attempted to touch them; but a miller engaged their affections at once: his powdered coat had charms that were irresistible. Cowper.

MONKEYS.

I ONCE had a favorite monkey. From the first day she was given to me her attachment was remarkable, and nothing would induce her to leave me at any time. In fact, her affection was sometimes ludicrously annoying. As she grew up she became more sedate, and was less afraid of being left alone. She would sit and watch whatever I did, with an expression of great intelligence; and the moment I turned my back, she would attempt to imitate me.

One day, while engaged in reading a book in which I was much interested, "Lemdy" was, as usual, seated beside me. At times she occupied herself in surveying me quietly, occasionally in catching a fly, or in jumping on my shoulder, endeavouring to pick out the blue marks tattoed * there. At last I left the room for some purpose, and on my return, behold, she had taken my seat, with the book on her knee! With a grave expression of countenance she was turning over the leaves, page by page, as she had observed me do. Not being able to read their contents, she turned one after the other as quickly as possible, tearing them from top to bottom in the operation. During my momentary absences she would often take my pipe, and hold it in her mouth till I came back, when she would restore it to me with the utmost politeness.

Once a monkey was exhibited to me who was said to be a dexterous † thief. In proof of this the keeper begged me to watch him for a few minutes. Presently he led him to a spot near a date-seller, who was sitting on the ground

*Tattoed, designs or figures pricked into the skin with an indelible ink.

† Dexterous, clever, artful, cunning.

with a basket beside him. Here his master put him through his movements; and though I could perceive that the monkey had an eye to the fruit, yet he so completely disguised his intentions that no careless observer would have noticed it. He did not at first appear to care about approaching the basket, but gradually brought himself nearer and nearer, till at last he got quite close to its

owner.

In the middle of one of his tricks he suddenly started up from the ground, on which he had been stretched in apparent lifelessness. Uttering a cry of pain and rage, he fixed his eyes full at the face of the date-seller, and then, without moving the rest of his body, stole as many dates as he could hold in one of his hind-hands. The date-man, being stared out of countenance, and his attention diverted by this extraordinary gaze, knew nothing about the theft till a bystander told him of it. Then he joined heartily in the laugh that was raised against him.

The monkey, having very adroitly popped the fruit into his cheek pouches, had moved off a few yards, when a boy pulled him sharply by the tail. Conscience-stricken, the monkey fancied it had been done by the date-seller whom he had robbed; and so, passing close by the true offender, he fell on the unfortunate fruiterer, and would, no doubt, have bitten him severely but for the interference of his master, who came to the rescue.

M. Parkyns.

AN AFFECTIONATE

OURANG-OUTAN.

A GENTLEMAN was out hunting with a party in Sumatra, when, in some trees removed from the forest, a female Orang-outan, with a young one in her arms, was discovered, and the chase commenced. In the heat of the moment, and excited by the hope of possessing an animal so rare, the gentleman forgot everything but the prize before him, and urged on his men by the promise of reward.

Thus excited they followed up the chase. the animal, encumbered by her young one, and making prodigious ef forts to gain the dark thickets of the wood, springing from tree to tree, and endeavouring by every means to elude* her pursuers. Several shots were fired, and at length one

took fatal effect, the ball piercing her chest.

Feeling herself mortally wounded, and the blood gushing from her mouth, the animal from that moment took no care of herself, but with a mother's feelings summoned up all her dying energies to save her young one. She threw it onwards over the tops of the trees, and from one branch to another, taking the most desperate leaps after it herself. Thus she continued to aid its progress until the thickets of the forest being nearly gained, its chances of success were sure.

All this time the blood was flowing from the mother, yet her efforts were unabated; and it was only when her young one was on the point of reaching a place of safety that she rested on one of the topmost branches of a gigantic tree. True to her ruling passion even in death, she turned for a moment to gaze after her young one; then reeled, and fell head-foremost to the ground. The sight was so touching that it left a deep impression of the maternal tenderness and selfdevotion of the Ourang-Outan.

Anecdotes in Nat. Hist.

* Elude, escape from; avoid by artifices; baffle.