HABITS. 
55 
another part of the building. On her lap he was perfectly at his ease, and it seemed to me that he 
considered her as occupying the place of his mother. He was constantly reaching up with his hand 
to the fold of her neckerchief, though when he did so she checked him, saying, 4 No, Tommy, you 
must not pull the pin out/ When not otherwise occupied, he would sit quietly in her lap, pulling his 
toes about with his fingers, with the same passive ah' as a human child exhibits when amusing himself 
in the same manner. I wished to examine his teeth ■ and when his nurse, in order to make him open 
his mouth, threw him back in her arm and tickled him just as she would a child, the caricature was 
complete. 
“ I offered him my ungloved hand. He took it mildly in his, with a manner equally exempt from 
forwardness and fear, examined it with his eyes, and perceiving a ring on one of my fingers, submitted 
that, and that only, to a very cautious and gentle examination with his teeth, so as not to leave any 
mark on the ring. I then offered him my other hand with the glove on. This lie felt, looked at it, 
turned it about, and then tried it with his teeth. At length it became necessary for his kind nurse 
to leave him, and after much remonstrance on his part she put him on the floor. He would not leave 
her, however, and walked nearly erect hy her side, holding by her gown just like a child. At last she 
got him away by offering him a peeled raw potato, which he ate with great relish, holding it in his 
right hand. His keeper, who is very attentive to him, then made his appearance, and spoke to him. 
Tommy evidently made an attempt to speak, gesticulating as he stood erect, protruding his lips, and 
making a hoarse noise like ‘ lioo ! hoo ! ’ He soon showed a disposition to play with me, jumping on 
his lower extremities opposite to me like a child, and looking at me with an expression indicating a 
wish for a game at romps. I confess I complied, and a capital game we had. On another occasion v 
and when he had become familiar with me, I caused, in the midst of his play, a looking-glass to be 
brought and held before him. His attention was constantly and strongly arrested : from the utmost 
activity he became immovably fixed, steadfastly gazing at the mirror with eagerness, and something 
like wonder depicted in his face. He at length looked up at me, then again gazed at the glass. The 
tips of my fingers appeared on one side as I held it ; he put his hands and then his lips to them, then 
looked behind the glass, and finally passed his hands behind it, evidently to feel if there were anything 
substantial there. I presented him with a cocoa-nut, to the shell of which some bark was still 
adhering ; the tender bud was just beginning to shoot forth — this he immediately bit off and ate. He 
then stripped off some of the bark with his teeth, moving it by the crust of adhering fibres round Ids 
head, darted it down, and repeatedly jumped on it with all his weight. A hole was bored in one of 
the eyes, and the nut again given to him, and lie immediately held it up with the aperture downwards, 
applied his mouth to it, and sucked away at what milk there was with great glee. As I was making 
notes with a paper and pencil, he came up and looked at me inquisitively, testing the pencil with 
his teeth when he had it given to him. A trial was made of the little fellow’s courage ; for when Iris 
attention was directed elsewhere, a hamper containing a large snake, called Python, was brought in and 
placed on a chair near the dresser. The lid was raised, and the basket in which the snake was 
enveloped was opened, and soon after Tommy came gambolling that way. As he jumped and danced 
along the dresser towards the basket he was all gaiety and life ; suddenly he seemed to be taken aback, 
stopped, and cautiously advanced towards the basket, peered or rather craned over it, and constantly, 
with a gesture of horror and aversion and the cry of ‘hoo ! hoo!’ recoiled from the detested object, 
jumped back as far as he could, and then sprang to liis keeper for protection. Tommy does not like 
confinement, and when he is shut up in his cage, the violence with which he pulls at and shakes the 
door is very great, and shows considerable strength ; but I have never seen him use this exertion 
against any other part of the cage, though his keeper has endeavoured to induce him to do so, in order 
to see whether he would make the distinction. When at liberty he is extremely playful ; and in his 
high jinks, I saw him toddle into a corner where an unlucky bitch was lying with a litter of very 
young pups, and lay hold of one of them, till the snarling of the mother and the cries of the keeper 
made him put the pup down. He then climbed up to the top of the cage where the Marmosets were, and 
jumped furiously upon it, evidently to astonish the inmates, who huddled together, looking up at the 
dreadful creature over their heads. Then he went to a window, opened it and looked out. 1 was 
afraid that he might make his escape ; but the words ‘Tommy, No ! ’ pronounced by the keeper in a 
mild but firm tone, caused him to shut the window and to come away. He is, in truth, a most docile 
