592 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



During a temporary absence of their mother he once succeeded in de- 

 ceiving the children by these symptoms of distress ; they loosened his 

 chain-strap an inch or two, but happily took the precaution to shut the 

 house-door and the cellar-gate. But they had forgotten the poultry- 

 house ; and when the lady returned in the evening her sixteen hens 

 had been converted into Platonic homunculi " bipeds without feathers 

 and without the power of volitation." On another occasion he came 

 near setting the house on fire by drenching the cat with the contents 

 of a large kitchen-lamp. Still, after trying sundry other four-handers, 

 the lady declined to part with her monasso, though she lamented his 

 utter want of principle, like the Devin du Village : 



" H61as ! que les plus coupables 

 Toujours sont les plus aimables! " 



The anthropoid apes are a somewhat taciturn race, but a chim- 

 panzee's murmur of affection is very expressive, and quite different 

 from his grunt of discontent. A sick orang-outang sheds tears, moans 

 piteously, or cries like a pettish child ; but such symptoms are rather 

 deceptive, for the orang, as well as the chimpanzee, is a great mimic, 

 not of men only, but of passions and pathological conditions. Two 

 years ago I took temporary charge of a young chimpanzee who was 

 awaiting shipment to the Pacific coast. His former landlord seemed 

 to have indulged him in a penchant for rummaging boxes and coffers, 

 for whenever I attempted to circumscribe the limits of that pastime 

 my boarder tried to bring down the house, metaphorically and liter- 

 ally, by throwing himself upon the floor and tugging violently at the 

 curtains and bell-ropes. If that failed to soften my heart, Pansy be- 

 came sick. With groans and sobs he would lie down in a corner, pre- 

 paring to shed the mortal coil, and adjusting the pathos of the closing 

 scene to the degree of my obstinacy. One day he had set his heart 

 upon exploring the letter department of my chest of drawers, and, after 

 driving him off several times, I locked the door and pocketed the key. 

 Pansy did not suspect the full meaning of my act till he had pulled at 

 the knobs and squinted through the key-hole, but, when he realized 

 the truth, life ceased to be worth living : he collapsed at once, and 

 had hardly strength enough left to drag himself to the stove. There 

 he lay, bemoaning his untimely fate, and stretching his legs as if the 

 rigor mortis had already overcome his lower extremities. Ten min- 

 utes later his supper was brought in, and I directed the boy to leave 

 the basket behind the stove, in full sight of my guest. But Pansy's 

 eyes assumed a fai'-off expression ; earth had lost its charm ; the in- 

 humanity of man to man had made him sick of this vale of tears. 

 Meaning to try him, I accompanied the boy to the staircase, and the 

 victim of my cruelty gave me a parting look of intense reproach as I 

 left the room. But, stealing back on tiptoe, we managed to come 

 upon him unawares, and Pansy looked rather sheepish when we caught 

 him in the act of enjoying an excellent meal. 



