A MONKEY TRICKS. 47 
managed to get into the yard where his mistress kept a few pet bantam fowls, and after 
robbing them of their eggs, he secured one of the poor hens, with which he proceeded to 
the kitchen, and then commenced plucking it. The noise that the poor bird made brought 
some of the servants to the rescue, but they found it in such a pitiful and bleeding state, 
that in mercy it was at once killed. 
“ After this outrageous act, Mr. Monkey was chained up, which humiliated him so 
much that he steadily refused his food, and soon died.” 
Tn their native woods these animals are very amusing if they can be watched without 
exciting their anger or fears. They chase one another about the branches, screaming, 
chattering with delight when they have succeeded in playing off a practical joke on a 
comrade, and anon shrieking with anger when suffering from a joke played on themselves. 
Not only do they chase the members of their own race, but wage a constant war against 
the tail-feathers of the brilliant and noisy parrots that inhabit the same country. 
The motives that incite the monkeys to pluck out these feathery trophies are twofold, 
each of them dear to the very soul of the mischievous creature. The first and most 
obvious motive is that of sheer mischief, but the second is of rather a more complex 
character. When an immature feather is recently drawn from a bird, its quill portion is 
generally soft, and filled with the material by which the feather is supplied with nourish- 
ment. The monkeys take ereat delight in sucking these soft feathers ; and in order to pro- 
cure a supply of this curious dainty, chase the poor parrots, even to the tops of the trees. 
At first sight, it would appear that the legs and arms of the monkey would have little 
chance of winning a prize defended by the beak and wings of the parrots, which sit 
exultantly screaming on twigs that bear their weight easily enough, but are too slender 
even for the monkeys to venture upon. But the restless vigilance and quick hand of the 
monkey often win the day ; and while the parrot is shrieking defiance to an enemy in 
front, it is suddenly startled from its fancied security by the loss of its tail, which has 
been snatched away by a stealthy foe from behind. The deafening din which is occasioned 
by the joint voices of parrots and monkeys, may be easier imagined than described. 
That the monkeys should take an interest in so singular a game, and should play it 
with such spirit, is no matter of wonder, inasmuch as they have nothing to lose in case of 
failure, and a pleasant little reward in case of success. But the parrots seem to be 
actuated by very strange motives when they consent to hazard so valuable a stake upon 
their own alertness ; and even if they win the game, can gain nothing but the retention 
of their own tails. A stroke or two of their wings would carry them beyond the reach of 
the most agile monkey that ever tenanted a tree; but they prefer to measure their own 
agility and vigilance against that of their four-handed antagonists, and often pay the 
penalty of so witless a pastime. 
Were the parrots capable of connected reasoning, they might sometimes find cause for 
alleviating the pangs of defeat, by vindictive satisfaction in seeing their foes succumb to 
a still worse fate than that which had been inflicted on themselves. If the monkey likes 
to suck the bleeding trophies snatched painfully from the bird’s person, there are many 
animals which feel a great partiality for the monkey, not as a pleasant companion, but as 
an agreeable article ae diet. Some of these foes, such as the leopards and snakes, have 
been already mentioned ; but there is one enemy who is more to be dreaded than serpent 
or pard, and this foe is man. 
Monkey flesh forms a favourite article of food with the human inhabitants of the same 
country, and is said to be tolerably good eating, though extremely dry and sapless. Part 
of this fault seems, however, to lie with the ver 4 primitive style ‘of coc kine which is pre- 
valent in those regions, and which is achieved by running a sharp stake through the 
animal’s body, and letting it roast before the fire. 
Europeans find a difficulty in accustoming themselves to the sight of broiled monkey ; 
for it presents an appearance so unpleasantly suggestive of a toasted child, that horrid 
ideas of cannibalism arise in the mind, and even a stomach sharpened by hunger revolts 
from the unsightly banquet. 
The well-known Mona monkey belongs to the same genus as the foregoing animals. 
All the long-tailed African monkeys are termed Monas “by the Moors. On account of 
