114 



V ERTEBRATA, 





The following "Estimate of the Moral Character of Monkeys," by a clergyman, Rev. 

 \Y. Join s, designed as a satire on men-monkeys rather than on the true simice, is not only very 

 lively and witty, but an excellent moral application of the subject we are discussing: 



•• A _ mtleman whose premises were infested by a large breed of sparrows, said they were birds 

 nciple. < >f all monkeys it may be said, with much more propriety, that they are beasts of 

 rinciple, fur they have every evil quality, and not one good one. They are saucy and inso- 

 lent, always making an attempt to bully and terrify people, and biting those first who are most 

 afraid of them. An impertinent curiosity runs through all their actions; they never can let th 



. but must know what is going forward. If a pot or a kettle is set on the fire, and the cook 



turns her hack, the monkey whips off the cover to see what she has put into it, even though he 



at it withoul g his feet upon the hot bars of the grate. 



'■ Mimicry is another of the monkey's qualities. "Whatever he sees men do, he must affect to 



do tin' like himself. lie seems to have no rule of his own, and so is ruled by the actions of men 



or beasts — as weak people follow the fashion of the world, whether it be good or bad. No nion- 



bas an} of gratitude, but takes his victuals with a snatch, and then grins in the face ot 



that u r iv.s it him, lest he should take it away again; for lie supposes that all men will 



h away what they can lav hold of, as all monkevs do. Through an invincible selfishness, no 



monkey considers any individual but himself, as the poor cat found to her cost, when the monkey 



burned her paws with raking his chestnuts out of the fire. They can never cat together without 



quarreling or plundering one another. 



•• 1. •• ry monkey i in mischief, and cannot help doing it when it is in his power. If any 



thing he takes hold of can be broken or spoiled, he is sure to find the way of doing it; and he 

 chatters with p when he hears the noise of a china vessel smashed to pieces upon the pave- 



up nt If he takes up a bottle of ink, he empties it upon the floor. He unfolds all your pap 

 and th. in about the room, and what he cannot undo be tears to pieces ; and it is wonder- 



ful to see how much of this work he will do in a few minutes, when he happens to get loose. 

 E rybody bas heard of the monkey whose curiosity led him to the mouth of a cannon to see 

 how it went off, when he paid for his curiosity with the loss of his lead. 



" In a ship where a relation of mine was an officer, while the nun were busy in fetching powder 

 from below, and making cartridges, a monkey on board took up a lighted candle, and ran down 

 t<> the powder-room to see what they were about; hut happily was overtaken just as be got to 

 the lantern, and thrown out at the nearest port-hole into the sea with the lighted candle in his 

 hand. r lost his life by the spirit of mimicry : he bad seen his master shaving bis own 



