58 



ZOOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 



The gibbons, baboons, Bhunder monkeys, and all the 

 larger macaques fly into a passion at the mere sight of a 

 young biped. The much-plagued menagerie apes might 

 plead a legitimate reason for this aversion ; but the same 

 peculiarity may be observed in monkeys that never had 

 an opportunity to make the acquaintance of a French 

 cabin-boy or American Sunday-school excursionist. It 

 may be jealousy, an envious rancor against the natural 

 competitors for the affection of their master, — akin to a 

 lap-dog's malice toward a rival pet; or else it is perhaps 

 a manifestation of a secret antipathy to the gens humana 

 in general, — a misanthropical penchant restrained in the 

 presence of the dread king-ape, but exploding against 

 the saucy princes, as a man might be tempted to sup- 

 press a young Cyclops before his attainment of a dan- 

 gerous age. A monkey will risk a good deal for the fun 

 of teasing an homunculns. I never saw an old macaque 

 miss an opportunity of that sort. Buddha, especially, 

 was the terror of my young visitors. In a crowd of half- 

 grown boys he contented himself with defiant gestures 

 and a volley of chattering imprecations, but with young- 

 sters under five he at once proceeded to active hostilities, 

 pulling their ears or biting them in a way that could not 

 be mistaken for a practical joke. The son of a German 

 colonist in New Freiburg, Brazil, was once attacked by 

 a swarm of Mycetes monkeys whom he had noways 

 offended ; and an English traveller mentions a case of a 

 little child being killed by a troop of Ceylon wanderoos : 



