THE HALF-MONKEY. 



63 



" oof ! " or u woof ! " When anxious to get out 

 of his cage the grunt was double, like the draw- 

 ing in and blowing out of the breath in the same 

 tone. His bark even was of a piggish quality. 

 When angry or hurt, he gave a squeal and grunt 

 together, impossible to describe ; and if rubbed 

 and caressed, he showed his pleasure by a loud, 

 rough purr. His cry of loneliness was truly pit- 

 eous ; I heard it occasionally through the regis- 

 ter. It was a sobbing, dismal sound, sometimes 

 half a howl, sometimes with a retching quality. 

 In uttering this he opened a small round hole of 

 a quarter-inch diameter, in the front of his very 

 flexible lips. If this cry is common with his tribe 

 in the wilds of Madagascar, I do not wonder 

 that the people are superstitious about them, and 

 call them " spectres." No lament can be ima- 

 gined more weird and heart-rending. At first, 

 when I heard my pet cry thus, I ran hastily 

 downstairs, thinking something dreadful had 

 happened ; but the instant his eye fell upon me, 

 the rogue changed his wails into the grunt of 

 recognition, and a demand to be let out. 



