ied in the same way. I was quite
delighted at such an unexpected exhibition of tenderness.

"Some of the monkeys which are natives of the American continent have
the singular characteristic of prehensile tales; that is, of tails which
they can more about, and lay hold of branches of trees with nearly as
much ease as they can with their hands. The facilities which this
affords them for moving about with celerity among the branches of trees
is astonishing. The firmness of the grasp which it takes of the tree is
no less surprising, for if it makes a single coil round a branch, it is
quite sufficient, not only to support the weight of the animal, but to
enable it to swing in such a manner as to gain a fresh hold with its
feet."

"That is very curious, Uncle Thomas. Is there any other animal which has
this power in the tail."

"Oh, yes, Frank, several of the lizards have the power, as well as some
other animals; the little harvest mouse, for instance; but none of them
are possessed of it in so high a degree as the American monkeys.

"I have now pretty well exhausted my stories about the monkey tribe. I
recollect only one more at present, and it occurred to the same
traveller to whom Kees belonged.

"In one of his excursions he happened to kill a female monkey, which
carried a young one on her back. The little creature, as if insensible
of its mother's death, continued to cling to the dead body till they
reached their evening quarters; and even then it required considerable
force to disengage it. No sooner, however, did the little creature feel
itself alone, than it darted towards a wooden block, on which was placed
the wig of Le Vaillant's father, mistaking it for its dead mother. To
this it clung most pertinaciously by its fore paws; and such was the
force of this deceptive instinct, that it remained in the same position
for about three weeks, all this time evidently mistaking the wig for its
mother. It was fed, from time to time, with goat's milk; and, at length,
emancipated itself voluntarily, by quitting the fostering care of the
peruke. The confidence which it ere long assumed, and the amusing
familiarity of its manners, soon rendered it a favourite. The
unsuspecting naturalist had, however, introduced a wolf in sheep's
clothing into his dwelling: for, one morning, on entering his chamber,
the door of which had been imprudently left open, he beheld his young
favourite making a hearty breakfast on a very noble colle