od to eat, and his evident motive was to secure a like reward. After
this I always gave him some food in acknowledgment of his efforts, and I
observed from day to day that he improved in making this sound, until at
last it could scarcely be detected from the sound made by Puck. This was
accomplished within a period of less than six weeks from my first visit.
In this case, at least, I have seen one step taken by a monkey in
learning the tongue of another. This was most interesting to me in view
of the fact that I had long believed, and had announced as my belief,
that no monkey ever acquired the sounds made by another species, or,
indeed, ever tried to do so. I admit, however, that this one instance
alone is sufficient to cause me to recede from a conclusion thus
rendered untenable, and the short time in which this one feat was
accomplished would indicate that the difficulty was not so great as I
had regarded it. [Sidenote: SPEECH USUALLY LIMITED] I still regard it as
a rule, however, that monkeys do not learn each other's speech, but the
rule is not without exceptions. I have observed, and called attention to
the fact, that when two monkeys of different species are caged together,
that each one will learn to understand the speech of the other, but does
not try to speak it as a rule. When he replies at all, it is always in
his own vernacular. I wish to impress the fact, that monkeys do not
generally carry on a connected conversation. Their speech is usually
limited to a single sound or remark, which is replied to in the same
manner; and to suppose that their conversations are elaborate or of a
highly social character, is to go beyond the bounds of reason. This is
the respect in which the masses fail to understand the real nature of
the speech of monkeys or other animals.

CHAPTER V.

Five little Brown Cousins: Mickie, Nemo, Dodo, Nigger, and
McGinty--Nemo apologises to Dodo.

During the past winter there lived in Central Park a bright, fine,
little monkey by the name of Mickie. He did not belong to the Park, but
was merely kept as a guest of the city during the absence of his master
in Europe. Mickie is a well-built, robust, good-natured monkey of the
Capuchin variety. He does not talk much except when he wants food or
drink, but he and I are the best of friends, and I frequently go into
his cage to have a romp with him and his four little cousins.

When I first began to visit the Park in the fall of 1