The Sun. — 1866-03-26 (London, England)

BUCKLAND'S 11.10NKEr.—I lately had a little monkey who was such a great thief that if he bad been a human being he would have been transported over and over again for numerous acts of petty larceny. however, turned his thieving propensities to good account. Master Jack (after I had had him some time) showed evident symptoms of phthisis or consumption, and I prescribed cod liver oil. It was placed openly before him on the dining-room table, but ho refused it with symptoms of disgust and sundry tail-shakings. I then poured a little into a saucer, and placed it in such a position that master Jack should find it for himself, while I pretended to be reading and not to notice what was going on. The trap took; Jack, thinking he was stealing the oil, sucked up the prescribed dose, making a face, not implying nausea, but rather high glee at his own cleverness. This " deceit," however, was after a time discovered by the artful creature, and ono day I found my friend with his long tail and arms tightly coiled round the table lamp, and stealing the colza oil as it dropped down from the wick. He managed to get one of his long spider-leg-like fingers through the brass work of the lamp, and held it till a drop of oil fell on it ; he then put it in his mouth and sucked off the oil like a child sucking sugar candy. how ho could manage to gaze at the intense light, which ono would have thought would have hurt his oyes when so near the lighted wick, I know not. I fancy, however, that the light bothered him somewhat, for he used to frown dreadfully when he was waiting for the oil to drop on his finger. I placed colza oil before him ; no, ho would not touch it ; but no vertheless he had no objection to it when ho stole it for himself from the lamp. Ho was certainly better and fatter for his medicine, which was so sweet because stolen, and I really think it saved his life. The engraving by Mr. Carpondale represents Jack taking his medicine. Jack, too, had a marvellous prospensity for picking things to pieces, and smashing articles that came in his way; strange to say he never tore a useless bit of paper, or broke a common or valueless bit of goods. One day he sneaked out of his cage, and had a good morning's work to himself, tearing off the leather and pulling out the lining of an old arm-chair. He was, after an hour or two, discovered in the act, and taken into custody to be duly chastised for his mischief. Ho cried " Murder" when he saw preparations made to punish him, but at the same time he held out his hand, firmly closed upon something in it. His pickers and stealers were unclasped, and in the palm of his hand was discovered a halfsovereign, which he had most certainly found and picked out of the chair, and which probably had been buried in the lining of the chair (an old second-hand one) for years. His proffered ransom got him off his punishment ; but his investigations into the structure of watches, books, ink, and cruet-stands, writing-desks, MS. notes, &c, have elai2non-t since produced equally valuable discoveries. _ac. pleased Jack so much as to make his escaipe,c h he was kept Sheppard fashion, from the wire carriage in t le loose. If skeleton-like fingers, till he found mthewshialep he was at work, by the kitchen fire. He would pick and pick,b with his long, anybody happened to look round at b and pretend to be asleep., he would drop instantly on the but push open as gently and not bolt out in a moment, e IT would then sneak out, and the gradually as a burgli his chin on his tail to prevent When he managed to get the dooray .utnfastened, he would carry cunning rascal woulddetecting his toroom, object Was to get my and onlooking pranks. His so quietly that I did not know he had escaped it rattling nestled inside the fonder. He came on the stones, and the servants found my friend into cage till he called my attention by a friendly chatter,an much as to say—" I've got loose so cleverly, you really must not scold me for it."—Frank Buckland's Curiosities of Natural Ilistory. fromthe roomhis