“Kees was always the first awake in the morning, and when it was the proper time he awoke the dogs, who were accustomed to his voice, and, in general, obeyed without hesitation the slightest motions by which he communicated his orders to them, immediately taking their posts about the tent and carriage, as he directed them.”

“What a delightful companion Kees must have been, Uncle Thomas!”

“He must at least have been an amusing one, Frank, and not an unuseful one either.  There are, however, great variations in this respect among the monkeys; some of them are most lively creatures, seldom sitting still for a couple of minutes, while others are retired and gloomy in their dispositions, and some are most fickle and uncertain.  The fair monkey, though one of the most beautiful of the tribe, is of the latter description, as the following story will testify:—­

“An animal of this class, which from its extreme beauty and gentleness was allowed to ramble at liberty about a ship, soon became a great favourite among the crew, and in order to make him perfectly happy, as they imagined, they procured him a wife.  For some weeks he was a devoted husband, and showed her every attention and respect.  He then grew cool, and became jealous of any kind of civility shown her by the master of the vessel, and began to use her with much cruelty.  His treatment made her wretched and dull; and she bore the spleen of her husband with that fortitude which is characteristic of the female sex of the human species.  And pug, like the lords of the creation, was up to deceit, and practised pretended kindness to his spouse, to effect a diabolical scheme, which he seemed to premeditate.  One morning, when the sea ran very high, he seduced her aloft, and drew her attention to an object at some distance from the yard-arm; her attention being fixed, he all of a sudden applied his paw to her rear, and canted her into the sea, where she fell a victim to his cruelty.  This seemed to afford him high gratification, for he descended in great spirits.”

“Oh, what a wretched creature, Uncle Thomas.  I wonder the sailors did not throw him into the sea also.”

“Stay, Frank, you are somewhat too hasty.  He deserved certainly to be punished; but I doubt whether it would have been proper to have put him to death for his misdeed.  All monkeys are not, however, equally cruel; some of them, indeed, are remarkable for the instinctive kindness which they evince towards their young.  When threatened by danger, they mount them on their back, or clasp them firmly to their breast, to which the young creatures secure themselves, by means of their long and powerful arms, so as to permit of their parent moving about, and springing from branch to branch, with nearly as much facility as if she were perfectly free from all incumbrance.”

“Oh, I can readily believe that, Uncle Thomas.  One day lately, at the Zoological Gardens, I saw two monkeys clasping a young one between them, to keep it warm.  They seemed so fond of it.”