THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 5 



I felt inspired with the belief that I could learn 

 them, and felt that the "key to the secret cham- 

 ber" was within my grasp. 



I regarded the task of learning the speech 

 of monkeys as very much the same as learning 

 that of some strange race of mankind — more 

 difficult in the degree of its inferiority, but less 

 in volume. 



Year by year, as new ideas were revealed to 

 me, new barriers arose, and I began to realize 

 how great a task was mine. One difficulty was 

 to utter the sounds I heard, another was to recall 

 them, and yet another to translate them. But 

 impelled by an inordinate hope and not discour- 

 aged by poor success, I continued my studies 

 as best I could in the gardens of New York, 

 Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Chicago, and with 

 such specimens as I could find from time to time 

 with travelling shows, hand-organs, aboard some 

 ship, or kept as a family pet. I must acknowl- 

 edge my debt of gratitude to all these little 

 creatures who have aided me in the study of 

 their native tongue. 



Having contended for some years with the 

 difficulties mentioned, a new idea dawned upon 

 me, and after maturely considering it, I felt 



