The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-08-17
The Dignified Monkey.

monkey and his funny tricks. When
those miserable looking foreigners
came about with the red jacketed and
jaunty-capped fellows, who swept with
cunning little broom, danced on q
small table, took off their caps and
bowed like gentlemen, and performed
all sorts of tricks, Willie was always
overjoyed, and would almost empty lis
pockets of pennies for the fun of seeing
the monkey jump for them and put
them in his pocket. When he grew to
be o man he still had the same liking
for the cute, knowing animals, and was
interested in their performances. When
he was In London he, of course, visited
the Geological Gardens-or the Zoo,
as they call it there-and, although
there were animals of all kinds, from
all quarters of the globe, he was most
entertained in the home of the mon
keys.
And what kind of house do you
think they had? Why, nothing more
nor less than real crystal pal
ace - house made all of glass,
about 200 feet square and sixty feet
high. In it were several large trees,
and monkeys of all kinds and all
sizes were frisking about, climb
ing the trees, swinging from the
branches, hanging by their tails, jump
ing across from one tree to another,
chasing each other in all directions, and
having the best time possible. OF
course, the monkeys could not feel at
home way fromtrees, and, if there had
been large forest in which they could
climb and chatter, they would doubt
less have been satisfied. L said there
were all kinds of monkeys in this glass
house, and you know there is great
variety even of the smaller sizes. They
had been bIou yht from Asia and Africa,
and the forests of tropical America.
There were bowling monkeys, with
pointed heads and bearded faces, which
make night hideous with their fearful
noises; there were little olive-green,
wild-eyed monkeys, which sat back in
some quiet corner, and grinned slightly
ut the antics of the boisterous ones !;
there were reddish-brown monkeys,
with long hair and beard, and dismal,
| blue-black faces; there were Jet black
monkeys, which swing so much by the
tail from the trees that they are called
the spider monkey; there were monkeys
with short, bushy tails like squirrels I;
there were others with long, slender
caudal APPENDICES, sometimes much
| longer than their bodies; there were
some pretty, gray monkeys, with we'll
formed hands, who are great climbers,
and others with the four fingers, and
no thumbs. There were olive-brown
monkeys, with black crown like a
monks cap, above their eyes, and so
called Capuchins, after the monks of
that order in Italy.
There were other fierce-looking fell
lows with claws, who eat meat as well
as vegetables and insects, like the 9TH
ers. There were narrow-nosed mon
keys from America, and great broad
nosed fellows from Asia; there were
proboscis monkeys, with noses several
inches long, and faces that resemble
foxes; there were short-legged and
long-legged monkeys, and several of
the King monkeys, which have long,
coarse, flowing hair on the head, their
bodies shining black and their tails pure
white; and there were green monkeys
with white bands over their heads.
They all looked 80 knowing, and
played so many good tricks on each
other, that it was very amusing to
watch them. Most of them were very
lively and playful, but we noticed one
old fellow, very large and stout, with
yellow hair and gray, shaggy beard,
who looked upon the frolics of the
others as though he thought they were
a wonderfully silly set of monkeys, and
he, off in his corner, would sit up IN
the most dignified manner possible,
with an air of conscious superiority,
glancing occasionally at their sports,
and then turn away in disdain, as
though he thought to himself: What
! frivolous creatures these are, to spend
all their time in frolic and play, while
my mind is occupied with high and
mighty thoughts about onr race and its
wonderful development and future pos
sibilities. We shall one day rule the
universe, just as these men, who are
only little in advance of us, do now"
Two risky little fellows, who seemed
to appreciate the situation, chartered
to each other, and seemed to plan to
take down this old fellow and make
him laugh in spite of his dignified man
ner. Then, looking very knowing, they
stole up softly behind him, each bit him
on the ear and jumped quickly back.
But old Mr.. Dignity did not deign to
look around, not he. He would pay no
attention to such triAing creatures; his
great thoughts were not to he inter
rupted by them They stood behind
him n moment or two, then, winking to
each other, crept up slyly again and
pulled his long hair. Still he took no
notice of these juvenile intruders, any
more than if fly had lighted on his
Majesty. They chartered away to each
other behind him, and soon walked
quietly toward him and bit his ear with
considerable spite and fierceness. That
was carrying q joke little too far, and,
as quick as thought, the old fellows
great hand was lifted, and he gave them
such broadside across their faces as
sent them squealing to the top branch
of one Of the trees. guess no mon
keys ever made quicker time on a
climbing expedition.
They were still sitting there, chatter
ing away to each other, putting their