D4 THE MAGOT. 
To drive away the monkeys is almost an impossible act on the part of the native pro- 
prietor ; for the monkeys consider themselves as quite on an equality with any dark- 
skinned human being, and decline to move an inch. So the only resource is to beg a 
European to undertake the task; and the monkeys, knowing that a white man is not so 
scrupulous as a black one, take the hint, and move off. 
One ready-witted Englishman succeeded in keeping the monkeys away from his plan- 
tation for more than two years, and that without using any violence, or offending the pre- 
judices of the natives. 
He had planted a patch of sugar-canes, and had seen his growing crops eaten by 
elephants, swine, deer, monkeys, and other animals, without being able to guard the 
ground from the robbers. The heavier animals he excluded by means of a deep trench 
surrounding the cane-patch, and a strong palisading of bamboos just within the ditch. 
But the monkeys cared nothing for moat or wall, and carried off whole canes in their 
hands, eating them complacently as they proceeded to the shelter of the trees. 
For a long time this state of things continued, and the planter was doomed to see the 
ripening canes devoured in his very presence, and the chewed fragments spit in his face 
by the robbers. This last insult proved too great a strain for his patience to endure, 
and after some thought, he hit upon a stratagem which answered even beyond his 
expectation. 
He chased a flock of the monkeys into a tree, which he then felled ; and by the help 
of his assistants, captured a number of the young, which he conveyed home 
He then mixed some treacle with as much tartar-emetic as could be spared from the 
store, and after painting all the young monkeys with this treac sherous mixture set them 
free. Their anxious parents had been watching for their offspring, and carried them 
away out of danger. The liberated captives were then surrounded by the whole troop, 
who commenced licking the treacle from their fur. Before very long, the expected 
effects made their appearance, and the poor monkeys presented a most pitiful 
appearance. 
The result of the affair was, that the monkeys were so terrified at the internal 
anguish which their depredations had caused them to suffer, that they fled the place, 
and not a monkey was seen in that locality until long afterwards. 
In captivity they are most mischievous, and are always on the watch for an 
opportunity of exhibiting a little malice. 
They tear pieces out of the dress of anybody who may happen to approach near 
their cage; they snatch at any ornament that strikes their quick eyes; they grin and 
chatter with exultation when they succeed in their mischief, and scream with rage 
when they are foiled. They prefer to exercise these abilities on human sufferers ; 
but in default of man, whom they consider their legitimate game, they are not above 
playing practical jokes upon each other, and, better still, upon the inhabitants of 
neighbouring cages. 
Some are of so jealous a disposition that the sight of another monkey eating a nut 
will throw them into a state of angry irritation, which is not always pacified even 
by the gift of a similar or even a better article. 
The skin of this monkey is very loose about the throat and abdomen, and generally 
hangs in folds. 
The animal which is shown in the following engraving is one of the best known 
of the monkey tribe; as it is tolerably hardy, it endures the changeable and chilly 
European climates better than most of its race. 
As its name implies, it is a native of Barbary, where it is found in great numbers, 
but has also been naturalized upon the rock of Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Macorts are 
frequently mentioned in books of travel, and display great ingenuity in avoiding 
pursuit and discovering food. They keep to the most ‘inaccessible portions of the 
rock, and scamper away hurriedly on the slightest alarm. But with the aid of a 
moderately : good telescope, their movements may “be watched, and are very amusing. 
When in their native wilds, the Magots live in large flocks, each band seeming 
to be under the orders of some chosen leader. They are very intelligent, and possessed 
