is beautifully laid out with walks
and drives, and is rendered picturesque by means of rocky hills,
miniature lakes, and occasional fountains.

"We afterwards went to the Carlton Gardens and also to the Zoological
Garden, the latter being situated in the Royal Park. The 'Zoo,' as it is
popularly called, contains a fine collection of animals from all parts
of the world, including elephants, lions, tigers, and the like, and also
specimens of the animals of Australia. Of course it has a cage full of
monkeys,--what Zoo is ever without them?--and they look just exactly
like the collections of monkeys that we have elsewhere in various parts
of the world.

"There is a very fair collection of birds, and we were particularly
interested in the specimens of the birds of Australia. And that reminds
me of an amusing experience, as we came around to where the aviary
stands.

"We heard somebody laughing very loudly, and a queer sort of a laugh it
was. Ned remarked that somebody must be feeling very happy, and I agreed
with him. Our host smiled, and so did Dr. Whitney, but nothing further
was said, as the laugh died away.

"When we got close to the door we again heard the laugh, which came from
the inside of the bird house.

"'The fellow is at it again,' said Ned. 'Wonder if we can't share in the
fun?'

"I said that I hoped so, as I had not seen anything to laugh at since we
started out from the hotel. When we got inside we looked around for the
man who had been making the noise, but there was nobody visible except a
very solemn-faced keeper, who did not look as if he had laughed for a
month.

"I remarked to Ned that the old fellow had put on a serious face now
because company had come in, to which Ned nodded assent. Just as he did
so the laughing began again, and it was such a funny laugh that both of
us joined in it.

"The old fellow's face did not move a muscle, and we saw that he was not
the humorous one of the place. We looked in the direction of the
laughter and saw that it came, not from a man, but from a bird. In spite
of our astonishment we burst out laughing, and the doctor and our host
joined us in doing so.

"Our host then explained that the bird which was amusing us was known as
the 'laughing jackass.' We had heard of the creature before, but this
was our first view of him. We took a good look, and while we were doing
so he laughed again, right in our faces. The laugh is almost exactly
like that of a human be