that all respect for their pastor was swallowed up in the scene before them, and they burst into a loud and continued roar of laughter. A friend of the preacher at length stepped up to him, and on pointing out the cause of this improper conduct, it was with the utmost difficulty he could command a serious countenance while he ordered the Ape to be taken away. Is commonly covered with black hair, a little intermixed with yellow. He has a canine face, the lower parts of which are of a bright vermilion; the snout resembles that of a hog, and the nails are flat, but sharp and very strong. We are told that he follows goats and sheep in order to drink their milk; partakes considerably of the human dexterity in getting the kernels out of nuts, and loves to be covered with garments; he stands upright, and imitates with ease many human actions. Baboons differ from the apes on the one hand, and the monkeys on the other, by having short tails. ARE bred in many countries, and are of various sorts and sizes. There are some in the East Indies beautifully spotted. This tribe is less in stature than the apes and baboons, but do more mischief, as they generally unite in great numbers for the sake of devastating a plantation, or of attacking and annoying some fiercer creatures, which they force away from their haunts by teasing and pelting them in all ways imaginable. Their natural food is vegetables, fruit of all sorts, corn, and even grass; but when domesticated, they learn to eat of all that is served on our tables. They are often seen in our streets, the unwelcome riders of the patient bear, and excite laughter by their cunning and their tricks. There are few persons that are not acquainted with the various mimicries of these animals, and their capricious feats of activity: anecdotes of this kind are too numerous for selection; we shall content ourselves by giving the following affecting account:-Captain Stedman, while hunting among the woods of Surinam for provisions, says, that he shot at two of these animals : but that the destruction of one of them was attended with such circumstances, as almost ever afterwards deterred him from going a monkey hunting. “Seeing me nearly on the bank of the river, in the canoe," says he, "the creature made a halt from skipping after his companions, and, being perched on a branch that overhung the water, examined me with the strongest marks of curiosity; while he chattered prodigiously, and kept shaking the boughs on which he rested with incredible strength and agility. At this time I laid my piece to my shoulder and brought him down from the tree: but may I never again be witness to such a scene! The miserable animal was not dead, but mortally wounded. I seized him by the tail, and taking him in both my hands, to end his torment, swung him round, and hit his head against the side of the canoe; but the poor creature still continued to live, and looked at me in the most affecting manner that can be conceived. I therefore knew no other means of ending his murder than to hold him under water till he was drowned: but even in doing this, my heart sickened on his account; for his little dying eyes still continued to follow me with seeming reproach, till their light gradually forsook them, and the wretched animal expired." The Mona, Green, and Fair Monkeys, represented above, are small species of the same class, and have all a long grasping tail, very useful to them when playing and jumping from branch to branch in the plantations of canes and cocoa trees. Is of a small size, not measuring more than seven inches; his tail near eleven; he weighs about six ounces; inhabits the Brazils, and, as others, lives entirely on vegetables. His face is almost naked, of a swarthy flesh colour, with a white spot above the nose : the tail is full of hair, and annulated with ash colour and black rings alternately; its nails are sharp, and its fingers like those of a squirrel. Has large, erect, square ears, and a swarthy fleshcoloured naked face; he is somewhat larger than the common squirrel, and his hair is soft, thick, and shaggy, of a well tempered mixture of orange and black. The hands and feet are of a light orange shade, and the tail is double the length of the body. He possesses, as well as the rest of the Monkey tribe, very quick eyes, and beautiful white teeth; but like some others, who, with him, are natives of America, he has no pouches in the mouth, and the hind part of his body is covered with hair as well as the rest. THE DOG. To no animal is mankind so much indebted for services and affection as to the Dog. Among all the various orders of brute creatures, none have hitherto been found so entirely adapted to our use, and even to our protection, as this. There are many countries, both of the old and new continent, in which, if man were deprived of this faithful ally, he would unsuccessfully resist the foes that surround him, seeking opportunities to destroy his labour, attack his person, and encroach upon his property. His own vigilance, in many situations, could not secure him, on the one hand, against their rapacity, nor, on the other, against their speed. The Dog, more tractable than any other animal, conforms himself to the movements and habits of his master. His diligence, his ardour, and his obedience, are inexhaustible; and his disposition is so friendly, that, unlike every other animal, he seems to remember only the benefits he receives: he soon forgets our blows; and instead of discovering resentment while we chastise him, he exposes himself to torture, and even licks the hand from which it proceeds. |