THE BABOON. 201 



Stealing a dinner. 



cunningly steal up behind, and snatch away 

 whatever they can lay hold of; then running 

 to a little distance, will turn round, seat them- 

 selves on their posteriors, and with the most arch 

 grimaces, devour it before the man's face. They 

 frequently hold it out in their paws, as if to offer 

 it back again, and use such ludicrous gestures, 

 that, although the poor fellow loses his dinner, 

 he seldom can refrain from laughing. 



Mr. Lade has given a very accurate description 

 of their manners. " We traversed a great moun- 

 tain," says he, " in the neighbourhood of the 

 Cape of Good Hope, and amused ourselves with 

 hunting large apes, which are very numerous in 

 that place. I can neither describe all the arts 

 practised by these animals, nor the nimbleness 

 and impudence with which they returned, after 

 being pursued by us. Sometimes they would 

 allow us to approach so near, that I was al- 

 most certain of seizing them. But when I 

 made the attempt, they sprung at a single leap, 

 ten paces from me, and mounted trees with equal 

 agility, whence they looked at us with great in- 

 difference, and seemed to derive pleasure from 

 our astonishment. Some of them were so large, 

 that if our interpreter had not assured us they 

 were neither ferocious nor dangerous, our num- 

 ber would not have appeared sufficient to protect 

 us from their attacks. As it could serve no pur- 

 pose to kill them we did not use our guns. But 

 the captain levelled his piece at a very large one 



NO. v. 2 c 



