STORY OF A MONKEY. 115 



the arrival of a cousin of Lord Ormond's, who is 

 lately returned from the East Indies. He brought 

 with him many curiosities^ as presents for the young 

 ladies. After the shawls^ chintz^ and taffeties had 

 been opened and sufficiently admired;, several birds 

 and a monkey were introduced. The latter, his 

 lordship did not choose to accept; because, he said, 

 he still bore the scar of a bite, given him, fifty years 

 ago, by one of the tribe in a fit of revenge. " The 

 animal," continued he, " was of that species called 

 montego : he was kept by a farmer, at a few miles' 

 distance from the village where I went to school. 

 It was a holiday; and a party of us directed our 

 walk to the farm, in order to amuse ourselves with 

 the tricks and grimaces of this monkey, which, being 

 the only one in that part of the country, was regard- 

 ed as a great rarity, and often visited by the boys 

 of our school. It was fortunate for me that he was 

 confined by a strong chain to the shed which was 

 built for his habitation, or he might have attacked 

 my throat, and done me a more serious injury. All 

 my companions had furnished their pockets with nuts, 

 apples, and gingerbread, which they had provided for 

 his refreshment ; a precaution that I alone had for- 

 gotten. Being very unwilling to approach Jacquot 

 with an empty hand, I offered him a cockle-shell 

 that I had picked up on the sea-shore: he seized 



