THE MONKEY FAMILY. 



Monkeys would be poorly off indeed, if they had 

 to seek for their daily food on the ground. 



Supposing, for an instant, which, by the way, 

 is not the case, that their daily food does attach 

 to the ground, pray tell me how are they to acquire 

 it ? They have not snouts like those of swine, 

 formed particularly to root up the earth ; — nor feet 

 like badgers which will penetrate it to almost any 

 depth. Their fingers and their nails are nearly 

 similar to our own. Say then, how could we, by 

 the bare use of our hands, get at a root of a 

 horse-radish, or of aconite ? — Ah, that poisonous 

 root aconite ! Poor young Mackenzie perished by 

 it. Well did I know him. Not a more virtuous, 

 nor a more amiable, nor a more charitable young 

 gentleman could be found throughout the extent of 

 Scotland's wide domain. Better fate did he deserve 

 than to have lost his valuable life, through the 

 blundering mistake of a culinary menial — who 

 having been sent to the garden for a root of horse- 

 radish, most unfortunately brought back with him 

 a handful of aconite, commonly known by the 

 name of monk's-hood or wolf's-bane ; and it served 

 to garnish a dish of roast beef for dinner. 



I trust, that my young readers will have formed 

 by this time, a competent idea of the beauty and 

 grandeur to be observed in the evergreen forests of 



