THE DIANA MONKEY . 
107 
the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s Park usually pay much attention to this most determined and 
pretty romp. 
THE DIANA MONKEY * 
This native of Western Africa inhabits the woods of the Guinea Coast, and of the banks of the 
Congo, and it is found in the island of Fernando Po. It was known to European naturalists before the 
year 1700, and it has always been prized for its pretty fur and gay temper. 
The goddess Diana has been honoured by being associated with this Monkey on account of a 
crescent-shaped white band of long liaij- stretching across the forehead (she being goddess of the crescent- 
shaped moon). It is about eighteen inches long when full grown, and the tail is longer than the 
body, and the fur is very pretty. The crescent of white hairs has dark edges, and the top of the head is 
broad and dull grey, spotted with green ; the ears are dark and the face also ; and the beard and whiskers 
are white, and the first of these projects like a goat’s. The broad and upper chest is white, and this 
colour is continued under the arms, which at their termination are black-grey. The middle of the 
back is a dark red-brown, and the belly is white with orange tints, and these colours are continued 
down the inside of the thighs. Outside these and the hanks are ash-grey and greenish. As another 
Monkey from the same region has a white band across the forehead, the Diana has been confounded 
with it, and hence very different descriptions of the colouring will be obtained by reading different 
authors, and even F. Cuvier jumbled the Diana and this Diadem Monkey together. Very little is 
known about them in their wild state, and in captivity they show very adverse dispositions ; some- 
times they are gay and fidl of fun, and at others morose and snappish. Wc once saw one of them in 
its cage in the Zoological Gardens pull its mate, a small Sykes’ Monkey, from the top to the bottom 
by a well-directed pull of the tail, and the proceeding reminded one of a very energetic mistress, whose 
servants were inattentive, tugging at a bell-rope. The puller was chattering and grimacing at his 
visitors all the time that the pulled was hanging on to everything that came in its way during its 
forced descent j and when it came to the bottom it scrambled about and rushed up to its little house 
again as if it were a frequent and unwilling exercise. The Diana also stole its companion’s food, such 
as a piece of apple, by putting her arms around its neck, and squeezing the morsel against its nose, so 
that it was obliged to drop it. 
Mrs. Bowditeh, in describing her voyage home from Western Africa, gives an interesting account 
of a Diana Monkey which was on board. “ We made acquaintance,” she says, “ very suddenly, and, 
to me, disagreeably, for I had not till then conquered the foolish aversion with which these animals 
always inspired me. It was a dead calm, the wheel was lashed, and all, save myself, below — nothing 
round us but sea and sky, and I had sheltered myself witli a book in a corner protected from the 
equatorial sun. Suddenly, and without noise, something leaped upon my shoulders, and the tail which 
encircled my throat convinced me that Mr. Jack was my assailant. My first impulse was to beat him 
off, in which case I should probably have received some injury ; but fortunately I sat perfectly still, 
and twisting himself round he brought his face opposite to mine and stared at me. I endeavoured to 
speak kindly to him, upon which he grinned and chattered, seated himself on my knees, and carefully 
examined my hands, lie then tried to pull off my rings, and was proceeding to a bite for this purpose 
when I gave him some biscuit which happened to lie beside me, and making a bed for him with a 
handkerchief he settled himself comfortably to sleep, and from that moment we were sworn allies. 
Hie amusement afforded to me and others by Jack made him tolerated when his mischievous propen- 
sities would otherwise have condemned him to perpetual confinement. He was often banished to an 
empty hen-coop, but as this made no impression upon him I always tried to prevent it, which he knew 
so well that when he had done wrong he either hid himself or sought refuge near me. Much more 
efiect was produced by taking him within sight of the Panther, who always seemed most willing to 
devour him. On these occasions I held him by the tail in front of the cage, but long before I reached 
it, knowing where he was going, he pretended to be dead — his eyes were closed quite last, and every 
limb was as stiff as if there were no life in him. When taken away he woidd open one eye a little to 
see whereabouts he might be, but if he caught a glimpse of the cage it was instantly closed, and he 
became as stiff as before. He clambered into the hammocks, stole the men’s knives, tools, handker- 
Cercopithecus Diana , . 
