THE MONKEYS. MAMMALIA. THE DIANA MONKEY. 



31 



and preserved its gentleness even after it had arrived 

 at maturity. This specimen exhibited wonderful ad- 

 dress in getting at any object that pleased him ; he 

 would open cupboards by turning their keys, or undo 

 knots, and had acquired an adroitness in pocket-picking 

 that would have done credit to a pupil of Mr. Fagin, 

 performing this operation with so much delicacy that 

 his hand could not be felt, although the person whose 

 pockets were under examination might be perfectly 

 aware of what was going on. 



THE DIANA MONKEY ( Cercopithecus Diana) which 

 is said to be called the Roloway on the Gold Coast, and 

 Exquima in Congo, is a larger and stouter species 

 than either of the preceding, but is still distinguished 

 amongst the monkeys of this genus by the elegance of 

 its form, and the gentleness and playfulness of its char- 

 acter. Its general colour is a mixture of black and 

 grey, with the face, the hands, and the extremity of 

 the tail deep black ; down the back runs a broad band 

 of a deep chestnut- red colour; on the forehead there is a 

 white band, curved so as to form a very open crescent 

 a character which induced Linnaeus to give the species 

 the name of the goddess of the chase ; and the whiskers 

 and beard are also pure white. The latter appendage 

 forms one of the most curious characters of this mon- 

 key ; it is very long and pointed, resembling, as Mr. 

 Ogilby says, " the formal cut of the peaked beard which 

 we see in some old paintings about the time of Henry 

 VIII.;" and the monkey appears to regard it as highly 

 ornamental, taking great care to keep it trimmed and 

 neat, and holding it in his hand when he is about to 

 drink, to prevent it from coming in contact with the 

 water. Mr. Ogilby says that the first time he observed 

 this strange action, the ludicrous effect of the creature's 

 solicitude about his beard made him laugh outright ; 

 the monkey, after looking up for a moment as if in 

 astonishment at this sudden explosion, appeared all at 

 once to discover its cause, and no doubt regarding it as 

 a personal insult, flew at the offender most viciously, 

 and was only prevented by the shortness of his chain 

 from inflicting a severe and summary punishment upon 

 him. 



As a general rule, however, the diana monkey is 

 exceedingly good-tempered, and very lively and play- 

 ful. A most interesting account of a specimen of 

 this species was communicated by Mrs. Bowdich to 

 London's Magazine of Natural History, vol. ii. This 

 monkey, which had received the name of Jack, 

 belonged to the cook of the ship in which Mrs. Bow- 

 dich returned from Africa. Teasing was one of his 

 principal accomplishments, and he seems to have 

 brought the art to a great state of periection. He 

 would pull off the men's caps and throw them into 

 the sea, a habit which is said to be common in 

 nautical monkeys; he would knock over the parrot's 

 cage for the pleasure of drinking the water as it 

 trickled along the deck, steal the tea out of the sailors' 

 mugs, or abstract the pieces of biscuit which the men 

 had put between the bars of the grate to toast, and carry 

 off the carpenter's tools. But his favourite amusement 

 consisted in riding the pigs, in which he was a great 

 adept. " Whenever the pigs were let out to take a 

 run on deck," says Mrs. Bowdich, " he took his station 



behind a cask, whence he leaped on the back of one of 

 his steeds as it passed. Of course the speed was 

 increased, and the nails he stuck in to keep himself on 

 produced a squeaking; but Jack was never thrown, 

 and became so fond of the exercise that he was obliged 

 to be shut up whenever the pigs were at liberty." 

 Several smaller monkeys were on board the ship, and 

 of these he was very jealous, going so far as actually 

 to throw two of them into the sea. On a third he 

 exercised his spite in a most ludicrous fashion. The 

 sailors had been painting the ship's side with a streak 

 of white, and on going down to dinner left their paint 

 and brushes on deck. This excellent opportunity was 

 not lost upon Jack ; he called a little black monkey to 

 him, and when the poor little beast came and crouched 

 at the feet of his superior, the latter seized him by the 

 nape of the neck, dipped the brush into the paint, and 

 immediately covered his victim with white from head 

 to foot. This absurd spectacle caused Mrs. Bowdich 

 and the steersman, who h^l both been watching his 

 proceedings, to burst into a laugh, upon which Jack 

 dropped the whitened monkey and scampered up into 

 the rigging, whilst the unhappy little subject of this 

 practical joke began licking himself, and was only pre- 

 served from being poisoned by a thorough washing 

 with turpentine. During this operation, the author of 

 the mischief was peeping down through the bars of the 

 maintop, with evident enjoyment of the commotion 

 that he had occasioned. Fear of punishment, however, 

 kept him aloft for three days, until hunger compelled 

 him to come down, when he dropped suddenly into 

 Mrs. Bowdich's lap, as if to seek for protection. The 

 skin of the diana monkey forms a beautiful fur, and is 

 frequently used for that purpose. 



THE WHITE-NOSED MONKEYS (Cercopithecus Nic- 

 titans and Petaurista), which are also nearly related to 

 the mone, and inhabit the same countries, are distin- 

 guished by having a large white spot upon the nose. 

 The best known of these is the Lesser White-nosed 

 monkey (C. Petaurista), which is one of the quietest 

 and most playful species of the group ; and from its 

 familiarity and amusing habits is always a great 

 favourite with the visitors to our menageries. 



THE CALLITHEIX (Cercopithecus Sabceus), so called 

 because Buffon supposed it to be identical with the 

 Callithrix of the ancients, belongs to a section of the 

 genus in which the form is more robust, and the cha- 

 racter generally far less amiable, than in the preceding 

 species. It is also called the Green monkey, and the 

 Cape de Verd monkey, the latter name indicating one 

 of its dwelling-places ; it also occurs in Senegal. It is 

 a handsome species, about the size of a large cat ; the 

 fur of the back and sides is of an olive-green colour, 

 mixed with brown, that of the belly is yellow, and the 

 whiskers are yellowish. It is very hardy, and is con- 

 sequently common in menageries, where its restless 

 playfulness renders it attractive ; but its temper becomes 

 uncertain as it grows older, and the adult males are 

 often very spiteful. 



THE GEIVET (Cercopithecus Griseus) is a nearly- 

 allied, but smaller species, which is also frequently 

 imported into Europe. It is a native of Nubia and of 

 several provinces of Abyssinia, where it is a favourite 



