larly abound. They dwell amid the branches of trees, living

on fruits and vegetables, with the addition of insects, lizards, and the eggs and young of birds. Many of them use the tail as an instrument for laying hold of the branches (Fig. 245), and thus passing with ease from

Fig. 246.-CHIMPANZEE.

tree to tree, or swinging in full activity suspended from the boughs.

The Monkeys of the Old World are distinguished in common phraseology by the names of Apes, Monkeys, and Baboons. Like those of the American continent, they are limited to the torrid regions, and are, therefore, natives of Asia and Africa. To this there is only one exception, the Barbary Baboon, a native of Northern Africa, which has established a colony on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Among the Apes we find the Orang Outan and the Chimpanzee (Fig. 246). The number of anecdotes recorded of them, establish their intelligence and docility. Here we find the nearest approach to man that is permitted to the inferior animals; but vast and impassable is the barrier of separation.

MAN.

BIMAN A.

"Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall,
Godlike erect, with native honour clad,
In naked majesty seem'd lords of all;
And worthy seem'd; for in their looks divine
The image of their glorious Maker shone."
PARADISE LOST.

MILTON, in these lines, has described one of the most striking external characteristics of Man, his erect gait. The zoologist points to the human hand as presenting another mark of distinction. In man only can the thumb be applied with such precision and power, to each of the fingers, as to seize the most minute objects. So much superior is it to the anterior extremity in Monkeys, that Sir Charles Bell remarks:-"We ought to define the hand as belonging exclusively to Man." Of all animals, the term Bimana, or two-handed, is applicable to Man alone. He stands in the scale of the animal creation apart and unapproachable, gifted with dominion over "the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea."

It is not intended in this little book to enter into the Natural History of Man; but only to show the place he occupies in the classification of the animal kingdom, and the external peculiarities by which he is distinguished.

Reference to his intellectual and moral faculties would here

be out of place.

66

But ere I part with the youthful readers for whom this volume is intended, I would say to them, that, if they have found it at times dull and unattractive, let them blame the author, and not the subject, and go forth and examine for themselves the happy tribes of the air, the earth, and the waters. Should they do so, they will never find a whole holiday" tedious, nor have cause to say that they feel dull or languid for want of something to do. The pursuits to which I would direct them give enjoyment to youth, relaxation to manhood, and occupation to age. They furnish pleasant thoughts and healthful exercise; and they teach us to read the volume of Nature with a constant reference to its great and beneficent AUTHOR.