420 
ON INSTINCT. 
whose formation Nature would seem to liave amused herself in 
rudely caricaturing the human figure- 
Other animals exhibit a more simple and regulated constitu¬ 
tion :—the lion is bold and ferocious, but he is regularly so; the 
sheep, on the other hand, is mild and inoffensive, and he is al¬ 
ways so;—but monkeys vary in their tempers almost as much as 
mankind. In the ourang outan and the chimpanzee, where the 
approximation to the human face and form is most remarkable, 
there is the greatest degree of intelligence, of gravity, and doci¬ 
lity. There is nothing malignant nor disgusting about their 
characters, whilst in other breeds some are distinguished for pe¬ 
tulance, some for mischief, some for malice, and, again, some 
are mild and harmless, and others exhibit sportive playfulness and 
innocent frolic. All of them, more or less, possess a great deal 
of cunning. Their natural instincts are very circumscribed, be¬ 
ing chiefly confined to the rearing of their young, procuring their 
food, and defending themselves from enemies. 
There is a species of monkey that has established itself on the 
rocks of Gibraltar, and though apparently without a tail, it has 
nevertheless a small tubercle in the place of that organ. This is 
the ape that figures so often in fable, both ancient and modern; 
and it is extremely probable that it was this species that led some 
French philosophers to believe that the race of men were bas¬ 
tard slips” of a tribe of baboons. 
Some of my hearers may not have heard an old story setting 
forth how a strong party of these apes, headed by a knowing old 
cheiraped, gave so much annoyance to a certain regiment in gar¬ 
rison on the rock, that at last they set their wits to work, and 
succeeded in capturing the ringleader. They shaved him close, 
both head and face; they then let him go. Away he scam¬ 
pered to his party, who had been watching him at a distance, 
eager, no doubt, to place himself again at their head, and lead 
them down to vengeance. He was received with a volley of 
sticks and stones by his own troop, who treated him so roughly, 
that he was forced to fly for his life. In this deplorable and de¬ 
graded state he was fain to creep back to his old enemies, and 
presented himself at their quarters so wobegone, and with such 
a rueful visage, “ all shaven and shorn,” that there was no 
resisting the appeal. He was admitted, and remained with his 
new allies, whom he served with fidelity, upon the same principle 
that secures the faith of all other allies,—because he couldn’t 
help it*. 
* Monthly Magazine, Colburn’s. 
