“These meals were prepared punctually four times a day, a custom which has become of a second nature to the chimpanzee and continues to the present time. The first meal was in the morning, and a lunch followed about ten o'clock; between one and two he was given his dinner, and his supper hour was at five, after which he invariably indicated a desire to retire to his blanket and dispose of himself for the night. The lunch in the morning and the supper were often varied with fruit, an orange or a banana, which was first carefully prepared by peeling. Otherwise his diet was quite plain; all sweetmeats, candies and dainties being positively prohibited.
“During the fall of 1884, his weight, increasing at more than a pound a month, reached forty pounds. His height and strength developed proportionately. The coat of hair that had begun to appear upon his body was black and glossy. It was brushed daily, an operation which he seemed to enjoy; about the head, where it grew longer, a natural inclination was discovered to part in the center, and for better effect the hair was brushed down over his forehead and kept trimmed and banged, imparting a more civilized appearance when he was presented to visitors.
“On being permitted to view himself in a glass, Crowley expressed his entire approbation of this fashion. He displayed much vanity and did not soon tire of admiring himself. When he grasped a policeman's club that was in the room and paraded up and down with it for a cane, his appearance was striking. The natural stoop of his shoulders became profoundly English, and taken in conjunction with the cane, so thick and heavy in proportion to Crowley's figure, the resemblance was most perfect.
“He was quite conscious of his increasing importance, and took great pleasure in receiving visitors. He submitted to the cleaning of his nails and the scrubbing of his teeth, but the washing of his hands and face was always extremely distasteful to him. He never became entirely reconciled to that practice, and after he became older he discarded it almost entirely.
“A small chair and a table of solid oak were made for him, both articles being sufficiently heavy to withstand an outburst of animal spirits that he sometimes indulged in after a meal. For the same reason his dishes were of the heavy ware used in down-town restaurants. He had previously learned to drink from a cup and sip his milk with a spoon. Now he was instructed in the use of knife and fork, and in the absence of meat or other solid food, he carved into slices the bananas and other fruits given him, and conveyed these slices to his mouth on the fork.
“One admirer sent him a napkin enclosed in a plated silver ring. The ring was engraved, 'Remus Crowley, Esq.,' and a corner of the napkin had also the name embroidered on it. After inspecting both with grave deliberation, he grunted his appreciation, and proceeded to thrust the napkin into his mouth. Much patient persevering was required to impress upon him the importance of laying the napkin on one knee, or of folding it over his chest while eating, and that its function was to keep his mouth and chin clean, but repeated instructions at last instilled these precepts on his mind.
“The chimpanzees are keen, observant animals, and Crowley inherited the full gifts of his race. Little that transpired around him escaped his attention, while his understanding was not less ready and intelligent. In a few days he learned to lock and unlock the doors of the room in which he lived, and to hide the key which was used to lock him in the apartment. More care was needed with him than for a child of live years. If he could not express himself intelligently in speech. He was neither deaf nor dumb, and he had a vocabulary of his own made up of gutteral monosyllables, which his attendant professes to understand quite well, though to the uninitiated it is more than Greek or Sanscrit.”
