THE MONKEY FAMILY. 15 



apes to the rock of Gibraltar, and left them there 

 to propagate their kind. If so, the existence of 

 apes on this stupendous fortress, may safely be 

 accounted for, without any particular stretch of 

 imagination on our part. 



But, I believe, there is nothing on record to 

 shew, that this establishment of an apish colony 

 had ever taken place. 



Still, curiosity is often on the alert to discover 

 how this ape found its way to the rock of Gibraltar; 

 and by what means it has managed to protect and 

 support itself in a locality so devoid of forest, and 

 so exposed to the rush of commerce, and the roar 

 of cannon. It is an ape in form and feature, 

 possessing the same powers of mimicry, so noto- 

 rious throughout the whole family of the monkey; 

 nor is there anything observable in its nature to 

 warrant a suspicion, that it would deviate from the 

 habits of its congeners, were it placed, like them, 

 in the unbounded regions of freedom and repose. 



At present, the ape of Gibraltar, is a prisoner at 

 large, just as far as the rock extends. For want of 

 original documents concerning its ancestors, we 

 must have recourse to speculation, in order to 

 obtain a faint ray of light upon the history of 

 an animal whose habits, in one or two respects, 

 differ widely from those of all other apes in the 

 known world. 



