WELCOMING A GORILLA. 139 



So the frame was put together behind the scenes, ready 

 to be carried on and fastened at a moment's notice, 

 and at the appointed time the curtain rose, and at 

 the appointed time it fell. The lectures were duly 

 delivered, the audiences were most appreciative, and 

 the officials ready and willing to render all the assist- 

 ance possible. So that when, after the last lecture, we 

 packed up the frame and drove away, we left the 

 building with quite a feeling of regret. 



Meanwhile, however, other lectures had been going 

 on at the Crystal Palace ; but these need a few words 

 of introduction. 



On the 18th of August my father had received a 

 sudden visit from two of the leading Crystal Palace 

 officials (we were then living at Norwood). A baby 

 gorilla, it appeared, had been safely brought to Eng- 

 land, had been secured for exhibition at the Palace, and, 

 together with a young chimpanzee to which it was 

 passionately attached, was to arrive at the Palace that 

 evening. Would my father, as a lover of animals, 

 like to be present upon the occasion, and supervise the 

 removal of the animal from the railway station to its 

 temporary quarters within the building ? 



Of course he was only too delighted at having the 

 opportunity of welcoming a stranger of such rarity 

 (two living gorillas only having previously been brought 

 to England), and at about a quarter before ten he and 

 I set out, escorted by a number of officials and workmen, 

 through the dark, silent Palace, looking very grim and 

 ghostly by the light of the lanterns, down to the Low 



