SACRED BABOONS. 



the knee and search his cheek-pouches before dismiss- 

 ing him. 



By dint of much persuasion the doctor once induced 

 the major-domo of the monkey-castle to postpone the 

 usual time of the morning meal for an hour and a half; 

 and the consequences fully justified the reluctance of the 

 official. A few minutes after eight o'clock the young 

 baboons became fidgety, and some of the elders, after 

 strutting up and down in sullen silence, walked to the 

 gate and began to shake the latch-handle, gently at first, 

 but by and by with fierce impatience. Then, stepping 

 back, the sachems held a council of war, chattering at 

 each other with protruded lips, and grunting indignantly 

 whenever they looked at the still unopened gate. Some 

 of the frivolous youngsters were roughly handled, like- 

 wise the dhevadar's dog, who had mocked their grief 

 with his ill-timed familiarities. Seeing a man approach 

 from the direction of the village, they gathered around 

 him, evidently in hopes of entering the gate in his wake; 

 but when he pursued his way they vented their dis- 

 appointment in howls that made the man stop and look 

 back with surprise. After another consultation, they 

 tried the gate once more, scrutinized the smooth mas- 

 onry of the wall, and then made for a high tamarind-tree 

 that overlooked the yard of the mahakhund. With 

 some difficulty, but with grim resolution, the fat pres- 

 byters ascended to the very top-branches and began to 

 challenge their landlord with louder and louder ac- 



