Pretty brown and yellow snake,
Whom the sun doth gently wake
In the lap of nature,
Here is room for weed and brake—
Room for every creature.
Teach us, Nature, how to love,
Not the flower and bird alone,
Gracious man and woman—
Not the beautiful alone,
Whether brute or human.
Teach us, that we may not wound
Even a striped snake on the ground,
Sunshine all around him!
We will go without a sound—
Leave him as we found him.
Mary R. Whittlesey.
MONKEYS.
BEFORE the advent of man, and with him civilization, monkeys were spread over a much larger portion of the earth than at present. They lived in the south of Europe, in England, and in France. Except a few of the Paviane, those of the present time are found only in warm climates, and are very sensitive to cold.
Monkeys belong to the liveliest and most active of the mammalia. As everything eatable is acceptable to them, there is always something to catch, to dig, to gather—insects, fruits, roots, nuts, succulent herbs, buds, leaves, eggs, &c.
Many stories are told about the orang-outang, or pongo, an inhabitant of the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. It is the largest of the apes, being, in some cases, seven feet high.