76 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



first heading are included the many instances which 

 from time to time are recorded of two animals, of 

 quite different species, becoming inseparable com- 

 panions ; and of all strange friendships that the 

 writer has known, none was more remarkable than 

 that between a little Kandt's monkey and a wom- 

 bat which lived together in perfect harmony at the 

 London Zoological Gardens. 



It has often been stated that people of just the 

 opposite dispositions agree with one another far 

 better than those of similar tastes, and, certainly, 

 this theory was fully borne out when applied to the 

 animals in question, for nothing could have been 

 more diametrically opposed than their respective 

 temperaments. The monkey, as might be expected, 

 was of a lively and mischievous disposition, and the 

 wombat was characterised by its solemn and digni- 

 fied bearing ; but notwithstanding this difference, 

 the two creatures never quarrelled, and the wombat 

 was always ready to act as a steed for its companion. 

 Many a ' joy-ride * did the monkey indulge in, as 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. 



The wombat, it may be mentioned, is an Austra- 

 lian marsupial, and its name invariably recalls to 

 the writer's memory a certain person who, some 

 years back, astonished the world by an account, 

 which was published in a popular magazine, de- 

 scribing his experiences after he had been ship- 

 wrecked and cast upon a desert island. The 

 narrative was full of the most wonderful incidents 

 (all guaranteed to be true), which followed the one 

 after the other in an unbroken sequence ; but, alas 



