THE MONKEY FAMILY. 



II 



in concert," rejoined the preacher monkey, "is 

 most absurd. Tis the invention of a wag, — 

 believed and handed down in writing, by some 

 closet-naturalist or other. Gentlemen of this last 

 description, seldom possess discrimination enough 

 to distinguish truth from error. They will just 

 as soon, (most unintentionally no doubt,) offer 

 husks, left by swine, for sound corn. Had one 

 compiler not referred his readers to a work, written 

 by a man, whom he styles 'an eccentric writer,' 

 the public would still be ignorant of my true 

 history. Now, that ' eccentric writer ' disdaining 

 information acquired in the closet, dashed boldly 

 into the heart of our tropical forests, and there 

 convinced himself that one solitary individual of 

 my tribe, produces by his own efforts alone, all 

 those astounding sounds, which naturalists have 

 attributed to a whole bevy of monkeys assembled 

 on the trees to howl in concert. But you, 

 Mr. ant-bear, if reports be true, are said to 

 get your daily food from ants' nests, high up in 

 the forest trees?" "Mr. howler," replied the 

 ant-bear, "if writers on natural history, bring 

 you to the ground from the tops of the trees, 

 in order that you may find your daily food, I 

 dont see why these gentlemen should not elevate 

 me to the tops of trees, in quest of mine/' 



