"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."

"Yes, Frank, I have also seen them occupied in the same way. I was quite
delighted at such an unexpected exhibition of tenderness.

"Some of the monkeys which are natives of the American continent have
the singular characteristic of prehensile tales; that is, of tails which
they can more about, and lay hold of branches of trees with nearly as
much ease as they can with their hands. The facilities which this
affords them for moving about with celerity among the branches of trees
is astonishing. The firmness of the grasp which it takes of the tree is
no less surprising, for if it makes a single coil round a branch, it is
quite sufficient, not only to support the weight of the animal, but to
enable it to swing in such a manner as to gain a fresh hold with its
feet."