1 8 LEMURS. 



amongst the books in the library, in order to find 

 out all that could be learned about the nature of 

 these animals, until I found myself speculating as 

 to whether it would not, after all, be possible to 

 make them happy. 



Lemurs are inhabitants of the island of Mada- 

 gascar, where they live in the woods, feeding on 

 fruits. All accounts agree in describing them as 

 quiet, gentle creatures, very agile in their move- 

 ments and nocturnal in their habits. 



The word lemur was employed by the ancients 

 to describe the unbodied spirits of men, whether 

 beneficent or malignant ; the festivals called 

 lemuria were appointed for the appeasing and 

 " laying " of ghosts. The animals received their 

 name from their almost noiseless movements ; 

 they must, I suppose, look very ghastly and un- 

 canny as they flit about on the tree-branches at 

 night. 



The more I read about them the more it 

 appeared to me that I must not lightly pass by 

 such an opportunity of obtaining rare subjects for 

 naturalistic study. So the lemurs were accepted, 

 and I sent a man to the other side of London 



