560 WILD ANIMALS. 



sometimes lie came on to the deck, either to enter into conversation 

 with the persons of the embassy, whom he knew very well, or to 

 tease a young Manillase negrito, who had been given to M. de 

 Lagrene : this negrito was his dearest friend. Some people 

 pretended that the sympathetic ties which united these two 

 beings were based on consanguinity. However that may be, 

 Tuan had a profound contempt for monkeys ; he never con- 

 descended to notice one, and preferred the society of a dog or a 

 sheep to that of one of these quadrumana. 



"Tuan acquired the habits of a gourmet whilst on board; he 

 drank wine, and had even become deeply learned in the art of 

 appreciating that liquid. One day two glasses were offered him, 

 one half full of champagne, the other half full of claret. When 

 he had a glass in each hand, some one tried to deprive him of that 

 containing the champagne. To defend himself, he hastily brought 

 his disengaged hand up to the one which had been seized hold of, 

 and having, by a dexterous effort, succeeded in freeing it, he 

 poured the sparkling liquid into the glass of which he had undis- 

 turbed possession. He then held out the empty glass to the 

 person who had tried to deprive him of it. 



" This act, so well conceived, and so difficult to execute, was 

 followed by one no less remarkable. Tuan was among the ropes, 

 and would not come down in spite of my reiterated orders. I 

 showed him a glass of beer to persuade him to come to me. He 

 looked a long while at what I offered him, then, not trusting 

 perfectly to what he saw, he took a rope, and with admirable 

 precision directed its end into the glass, he then drew up the rope, 

 put the end he had dipped into the liquid into his mouth, and 

 having made sure of the flavour, hastened down to share the 

 beverage with me. 



" It is false that ourang-outangs have ever been taught to smoke ; 

 Tuan, and all those I have seen, were unable to execute that act. 

 The pictures representing these quadrumana smoking hookas with 

 their masters are stereotyped lies. 



" When I arrived at Manilla, Tuan and I took up our abode in 

 a Tagal house, and we lived in common with the family inhabiting 

 it, consisting of the father, mother, two girls of fourteen and 



