*

The tail which has become less and less prehensile in the genera last noticed, becomes in Callithrix no longer capable of use as a support. The pretty playful little Siamiri, whose length hardly exceeds ten inches exclusive of the tail, which reaches thirteen or fourteen, winds that appendage like a boa round its body and limbs, reminding the zoologist in some degree of the mode in which the white-fronted Lemurf disposes of his; and we now begin to observe, moreover, traces of insectivorous and carnivorous appetite. The Macavacahow,t at the sight of a bird, is roused at once from its apparent apathy; darting on its victim like a cat, it secures the prize, and swallows it in an instant, with all the actions that mark the beast of prey.

In the Dourocouli,§ the Cara rayada of the missionaries, we observe traces of the cat in appearance, voice, and manners. This curious animal is nine inches in length; and its tail, which is hairy, but not prehensile, is about fourteen; the head is large and round: the muzzle short; the eyes very large; but there is no apparent external ear. Three dark stripes are drawn on the head, and come down in front, the centre stripe on the forehead and the two lateral ones reaching to the rounded corners of the eyebrows.

The animal is, during the day, a huge sleeper,' whence its name Mono Dormillon.' Humboldt, notwithstanding the warning of the natives, that the Dourocoulis will tear out the eyes of slumbering men, kept one in his bed-room. It slept regularly from nine in the morning till seven at night; and sometimes it went to sleep at daybreak. It hated the light, and, when disturbed, the lethargic animal could scarcely raise its heavy white eyelids; and its large eyes, which, at nightfall, were lighted up like those of the owl, were lustreless. It must have been but a

restless companion for the night: then it was all exertion and activity, made wild noises, and was constantly jumping up against the walls. It lived for five months, but all attempts to tame it were fruitless.

The Dourocoulis are captured during the day by the natives, when they are fast asleep in some hollow tree. The male and female are often taken in the same hole, for they live in pairs. In a state of nature they pursue small birds and insects, not neglecting vegetables, almost every kind of which they will eat. Humboldt's specimen was very fond of flies, which it caught dexterously, and would even sometimes rouse itself for this chase on a gloomy day. Its night-cry resembled that of the Jaguar, and it is thence called Titi-tigre. The mewing notes which it occasion

ally sends forth remind the hearer of a cat, and this resemblance is heightened when the head of a Dourocouli in a state of irritation swells, and the animal hisses or spits, throws itself into the position of a cat when attacked by a dog, and strikes quick and cat-like with its paw. Its voice is very powerful for its size. In the Leoncito,* whose body does not exceed seven or eight inches in length, we have much of the appearance of a tiny lion.

But it is in the genus Pithecia that we have the nearest approach to human likeness. There are some strong resemblances in the Couxio ; but, as Humboldt well observes, of all the monkeys of America, the Capuchint of the Orinoco bears the greatest similitude in its features to man. There are the eyes with their mingled expression of melancholy and fierceness; there is the long thick beard; and, as this last conceals the chin, the facial angle appears much less than it really is. Strong, active, fierce, the Capuchin is tamed with the greatest difficulty, and, when angered, he raises himself on his hinder extremities, grinds his teeth in his wrath, and leaps around his antagonist with threatening gestures. If any malicious person wishes to see this Homunculus in a most devouring rage, let him wet the Capuchin's beard, and he will find that such an act is the unforgiveable sin. There is one point, indeed, wherein our monkey differs from civilized man-he very seldom drinks; but, when he does, the similarity returns. Unlike the other American monkeys, which bring their lips to the liquid, the Capuchin lifts the water in the hollow of his hand, inclines his head upon his shoulder, and carrying the draught to his mouth in the cup of Diogenes, drains it with great deliberation. This appears to be his mode of drinking in a state of nature; and Humboldt thinks that it is adopted to prevent the wetting of the beard which renders the animal furious, and which could not be avoided if the lips were applied in the usual Simian mode. Our friend the Capuchin is about two feet nine, bushy tail and all, of a brownish red colour, the hair of the body being long, and that on the forehead having a direction forwards. The beard, which arises below the ears, is brown, inclining to black, and covers the upper part of the breast. His large sunken eyes are overarched with well-marked brows, and his nails are bent, with the exception of those on his thumbs. He is not gregarious, and is seldom found in company with his female.

We must not omit to notice another of these Pithecia with black face and hands and a shorter tail, having a good deal of the general aspect in miniature of one of those respectable, ancient, withered negroes, who, after a long life of slavery, find themselves,

❤ Midas leonina.

† Pithecia Satanas.

Pithecia chiropotes.

in their old age, transmuted, by legislative magic, into apprentices. This species. which is termed the Cacajao,* is hardly more than a foot long. It is voracious, weak, very lazy, mild, easily frightened, and lives in troops in the forests.

In Callithrix and Aotes, the carnivorous propensity and character are, as we have seen, joined to the general habits of the monkey; and we proceed to finish this imperfect sketch of the American Simiada, by calling the reader's attention to forms distinguished by a union of that character and propensity with squirrel-like manners. Such are the genera Hapales and Midas. To the latter belong the pretty diminutive Marikina or Silky Monkey and the Leoncito before alluded to. These, though their way of life is but little ascertained, are supposed hardly ever to quit the trees.

Of the debonnaire Ouistiti or Sanglaint much more is known. This small, delicate creature. with its rich pale gray coat, and pale grayish-white ear-tufts, like the ailes de pigeon of the old beau of other days, feeds in its native woods not only on fruits, roots, and seeds, but also indulges occasionally in insects and little birds. In captivity the Sanglains are great pets, and Edwards relates a curious instance of the craving for something that possessed life breaking out in one that was the favourite of a lady. Once, when he was let loose, he snatched a gold fish from its 'watery glass,' and instantly killed and devoured it. The lady, upon this, made him a present of some live eels, and, as the little fellow was not more than eight inches long without his tail, these lively gifts frightened him at first a good deal by twisting round his neck when he seized them. His carnivorous nature. however, prevailed, and, without a well sanded hand, he soon mastered and ate them.

M. F. Cuvier had an opportunity of observing their domestic arrangements in a conjugal state. He had a pair who were blest with three young ones; but it seems to have been the Lady Sanglain's first accouchement, and she had no experienced female friend to direct her; so after regarding her interesting progeny, she proceeded to bite off the head of one of them; the other two, in the mean time, took to the breast, and the moment the mother felt them she was all affection. The papa was even more affectionate than the mamma, and assiduously assisted in the nursery. The favourite position of the young ones was upon the back or bosom of the mother; and, when she was tired of nursing, she would come up to her mate with a shrill cry, which said as plainly † Midas rosalia. Hapales lacchus, Illiger. Iacchus vulgaris, Geoffroy.

*Pithecia melanocephala.

as cry could speak, 'Here! do take the children.' He, like a goodnatured father, immediately stretched forth his hands and placed his offspring upon his back or under his body, where they held on while he carried them about, till they became restless for want of that which he could not give them; and then he handed them back to his partner, who, after satisfying their hunger, again turned them over to their papa.

Cuvier seems to think that their intelligence is inferior to that of many of the smaller monkeys. That their attachment to each other is sometimes great, the following anecdote, related by a lady, who kept a couple of them, and who could never tell the story unmoved, will prove.

These playful Sanglians, had not, indeed, any family, but they were very happy and were all in all to each other. One of them, unfortunately, died. The other seemed to be unwilling to believe the change that had taken place, and continued to caress the body until it became absolutely necessary to remove it. Everything was done to console the survivor that its fond and distressed mistress could think of: but, as soon as its mate was taken away, the poor widowed Sanglian pressed its little hands to its eyes, refused to be comforted, and remained pining in that attitude till death relieved it from its sufferings.

mar

APES AND MONKEYS OF THE OLD CONTINENT.

'Almost a man in size and look."

GAY'S FABLES.

VOLTAIRE'S Vieux Solitaire, speaking of those lofty systematists, 'qui ont créé l'univers avec leur plume'-they are not altogether extinct in our day-notices two zoological theories.

One of these taught that the mountains and man were produced by the waters of the sea. At first, it seems, there were charming marine men, who afterwards became amphibious, and then their fascinating forked tail (how the conservative belles of those days must have deplored the change) became transformed into the lower extremities, on which the great biped has walked ever since. The age of King Saleh, and of his daughter Queen Gulnare, evidently formed an epoch in this transition.

The second Treatise' demonstrated that the race of men were bastard slips of a tribe of baboons.

The controversy seems to have waxed as warm as that between the Big-endians and the Little-endians; but the worthy Solitaire appears to have been daring enough to entertain doubts of the correctness of both genealogies, and does not show any very marked preference for either of these systems :-'J'aimai,' says his manuscript, 'autant descendre d'un poisson que d'un singe.'

And yet there have not been wanting philosophers, as we have seen, to advocate the cause of the latter pedigree, which is involved in the theory of gradual development. Notwithstanding, however, the different phases which Tiedemann and others have clearly shown to take place in the formation of the human brain before birth, ascending, as they do, from the structure of that organ in the lower animals to that of fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammiferous quadrupeds, till, during the last period of gestation it receives the finish which distinguishes the encephalon of man;