What gives to life its glory? it is the smile of Him who formed the clouds to water the earth with rain, and to refresh all plants and herbs.
It is He who gives to life’s morning its bright joys; who in manhood’s prime, exalts us and sustains; who in the storm and darkness, like the rainbow, smiles upon us; and who, at even time, when death would draw his curtains round us, brightens the soul with hope.
Orang-Outang.
This animal possesses a countenance more nearly allied to man than that of any other. The frame is less like the human frame than that of the chimpanse, a large species of ape found in Africa. It is capable of walking nearly erect, but the usual gait on the ground is like a cripple who supports himself on his hands, and draws his body forward. It is probable that it seldom walks on the ground in its native state, its home seeming to be on the trees.
A young orang-outang was brought to Boston, in 1831, from Borneo, and was exhibited in the country for nearly two years, when it died. It had very much the appearance of an unhappy little negro, who was sick of the world, and wished to have as little to do with its inhabitants as possible. Another species was brought here recently, which also died.
The orang-outang belongs to the family of apes; it has four hands, long arms, long fingers, with a thumb on each hand; all the fingers and the thumbs of the four hands are furnished with nails. He is covered with a thin coat of reddish-brown hair. He lives upon fruits, and in a wild state is fierce and formidable, being sometimes six or seven feet tall. When tame, he appears to acquire a quiet disposition, and has a grave, melancholy air. He is easily taught to sit in a chair, to drink in a cup, and to perform many actions in imitation of those around him. In the island of Borneo he grows to the size of a man: he then appears to possess great strength, and sometimes he is very savage.
The Siberian Sable-Hunter.
CHAPTER XIV.
The ship Czarina continued to pursue her southerly course, and soon came in sight of Corea, a large peninsula, separated from China by the Yellow Sea, and from the Japanese islands by the straights of Corea. It is four hundred miles long, and one hundred and fifty broad, and inhabited by a tall, brave and polite race, who appear to live much after the fashion of the Chinese. The country is finely cultivated, and though traversed by a range of mountains, many portions are very fertile. Kingkitao, an inland town, is the capital. The king of Corea pays a small tribute to the emperor of China, but he is in most respects independent. The government here appears to exclude strangers from the country with the same jealous care, as in China and Japan.