THE MONKEY. 17 



mometer as low as from 42 to 36 Fahr. ; and the monkey eat 

 little or nothing, and was quite inactive. 



" When I got him ashore, I kept him for some days in a warm 

 room ; he gradually recovered his nimbleness, running about 

 the room, and dragging his kennel after him. Even then he 

 would not eat any insects, and his food consisted of milk and 

 bread-crumbs ; he was particularly fond of any sweet preserve, as 

 jelly, &c., and of fresh ripe fruits. From London I brought him 

 with me to Edinburgh last November, and have kept him here 

 till now (May, 1828). During all this time he has thriven 

 perfectly well 5 he is considerably plumper than he was, and his 

 tail is now completely covered with long darkish hair. Linnaeus 

 says this animal is a great enemy to cats , so far, however, is 

 this from being the case with the present one, that he feeds 

 and sleeps with the cat, and they are on the best terms imagin- 

 able. 



" Though now much tamer than he was, he is by no means 

 tractable or docile ; he will allow himself to be patted, or gently 

 stroked, but all attempts to handle or play with him are quite 

 unsuccessful. When teased or enraged, he exhibits a most 

 ludicrous physiognomy of passion ; the white hairs on his 

 cheeks are erected ; he grins and shows his teeth ; he dilates 

 his nostrils, and his little eyes beam with the most passionate 

 fury. Though he does not possess any of that imitative play- 

 fulness, which is so amusing in many of the monkeys, there is 

 a something, an air of intelligence, a look of observation, which 

 we search for in vain in animals lower in the scale of animated 

 nature."* 



The most extraordinary account I have met with respecting 

 this species, is the following from the fifteenth volume of the 

 Mirror: " On February 21, 1830, died, much lamented, 

 Jenny, a favourite ring-tailed monkey, aged thirty- seven years. 

 She was brought to England from Oporto, by Mr. George 

 Holland, of Great Bircham, Norfolk, in whose family she 



* Abridged from the Magazine of Natural History, vol. i. p. 18. 



c 



