169 



a large mango tree he beheld the snake, with the monkey nearly 

 three parts down his gullet, the tail and hind legs only being visible. 

 Striking the snake with the spear as near as possible to what might 

 be his spine, the effect was extraordinary by a violent reaction of 

 the deglutiug muscles, if I may so call them, the body of the mon- 

 key was ejected with considerable force, and the python then 

 turned his attention to his assailants, and was killed with some 

 difficulty. The curious part of the story is, that the gardener 

 declared most solemnly, that he saw the snake take up its position 

 at the stem of the tree, on which the monkeys were stealing the 

 fruit ; that it raised itself up the stem about half its length, and as 

 he described it, looked at the monkeys ; that they raised a wonder- 

 ful hubbub, chattering and screaming as if frightened out of their 

 lives, skipping about from branch to branch, and, all the time, one 

 of the monkeys the gardener deliberately asserted descended the 

 tree, until within reach of its dread foe, and then and there gave 

 herself (brave female) up to the rescue of her bewildered family. 

 Now, was this fascination ? it looks like it certainly. The gardener 

 persisted in his tale, and I tell it as it was told me ; and what is 

 more, I am disposed to have faith in it." 

 Page 5, No. 4. 



Sir William Jones in the interesting account of the lemur 

 kept in captivity by him, referred to by Jerdon at page 15, 

 mentions that " it was called by Hindoos the bashful ape, and that 

 the Mussulman's retaining " the sense of the epithet give it the 

 absurd appellation of a cat." The Burmese name monkey's con- 

 cubine, is however, I think, far more descriptive than either of 

 these. 



Jerdon gives the following description of the " slow-paced lemur 

 and of the slender lemur, tardigradus and gracilis : 



Jerdon, No. 10, page 14, Nycticebus tardigradus. 

 " The Slow-paced Lemur. 



Description. " Dark ashy-gray with a darker band down the 

 middle of the back ; beneath, lighter gray ; forehead in some dark, 

 with a narrow white stripe between the eyes, disappearing above 

 them ; ears and round the eye, dark ; tail, very short ; length of 

 one, 14^ inches ; tail fths of an inch j another was 16 inches long. 



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