and small stones were sticking to various parts of her body, as if they had been forcibly driven into the flesh."

I lifted her up, and for an instant thought her dead, but she was only in a swoon; I made her smell, and afterwards swallow, a few drops of some spirituous liquor, and she was soon sufficiently recovered to indicate by her signs, at least I understood them so, that she had fallen from the top of a high tree, or down a precipice. Thanks to her care, there was still a little fire burning outside of the hut; I immediately warmed some wine and washed her wounds. The poor little creature opened her pretty gazelle-eyes, and looked at me during the operation with an air of gratitude; I afterwards bruised, between two stones, some herbs, with which I made compresses to apply to the wounds; but, on examining them, I found, to my utter astonishment, that Jocko herself had already partly filled up the wounds with medicinal herbs, which she had chewed for that purpose; but she had not extracted the thorns and small sharp stones which had sunk into her flesh, probably on account of the pain it would have occasioned her. This I now endeavoured to do, as carefully and as lightly as I possibly could; and having succeeded, I tightly bound the compresses on the wounds by means of bandages made of strips of handkerchiefs. I then covered her with fresh banana-leaves, and sat down by the side of my little patient, who sighed and moaned so softly, and at the same time so piteously, that I could not, in spite of myself, refrain from shedding tears.

I would have given the world to stay by her all night, but I was afraid of the uneasiness which my absence would occasion at home. The poor animal was in a high fever; I felt her pulse frequently, and each time she readily extended her arm towards me to enable me to do so. At last, when I found that I could not remain any longer, I placed upon a table near her bed several glasses of water, some slightly tinctured with wine, and the others sweetened with a little sugar, explaining to her by signs that she was to drink of each alternately, and arranged under her head pillows made of moss covered with banana-leaves. She held my hand and pulled it towards her, as if to ask of me

not to leave her; then she licked the tips of my fingers with her little tongue, which was now burning hot-and when I went out of the hut she heaved a deep sigh. The next morning, as soon as daylight appeared, I hastened to her. I found her without fever, but so weak that she was unable to rise from her bed. It was apparent that she had perfectly understood what I had endeavoured to explain to her by signs, and that she had used the beverage I had prepared for her on the table to quench the parching thirst which the fever gave her, as not a single drop remained in any of the glasses. In her turn she now made some signs to me, which were then quite unintelligible, but which, as will be seen presently, were explained in a few days after. She showed me her wounds, moaned, and then turned her eyes towards the chest of drawers which I had given her.

I did not like to dress the wounds whilst she was yet so weak, lest I should hurt her too much on taking off the compresses; and therefore merely gave her a biscuit dipped in water, to which I had added a drop of wine. She took it, and licked the ends of my fingers, which was one of her usual ways of manifesting pleasure or returning thanks; I then left her, after having filled the glasses on her table with sugar and water, with a slight mixture of wine. It is needless to say that I returned in the afternoon; Jocko was asleep when I arrived, and I did not disturb her; and she appeared highly pleased to see me by her side when she opened her

eyes.

As twenty-four hours had now elapsed since her wounds had been first dressed, I thought it advisable to examine them; which I did, taking every precaution not to hurt her too much in tearing off the applications.

Fortunately, my poor Jocko was only slightly bruised about the head, and although all her limbs were frightfully mangled, there was no fracture in any of them. I had brought with me some lint and agarick, with which I made fresh compresses, and bound up the wounds anew. The fever had entirely left her, and I therefore began to allow her to eat again some vegetables, fruits, and biscuits or cakes; meat she had never tasted, and I intended that she

never should adopt a habit so pernicious. I could see that she was voraciously hungry, but I would not yet let her satisfy her appetite, fearing the conse quences; neither had I much difficulty in making her refrain from food, for, however incredible it may appear, even when in full health, she never would touch any of the provisions of any kind that I might leave in the hut, if I had once pointed at them, and made a sign to forbid her to take them; the next day I invariably found every thing as I had left it.

She now began gradually to recover, and at the end of a few days she was able to sit up on her bed; but she was still so weak, that having endeavoured to stand on her legs she fell down.

On one of the following days I took it into my head to bring a guitar with me, to observe the effect which music would produce upon her. At first she was frightened, particularly when, after having passed her fingers over the chords, she heard the sound produced by their vibration; she hastily withdrew her hand, and, with an air of curiosity and uneasiness at the same time, looked first behind the guitar, then inside, and lastly at me, with inquiring eyes.

I took the instrument from her hands, and sang with accompaniment a Venetian barcarole, and afterwards the beautiful music of Raph, to these words:

Solitario bosc' ombroso,
A te vien l' afflitto cuore.

No! I cannot possibly describe the surprise, the delight, of poor Jocko! All her faculties seemed suspended she scarcely breathed. But of a sudden, waking as from a dream, she hastily rose, ran towards her chest of drawers, opened the drawer to which she had a few days before endeavoured by signs to direct my attention, and brought me -O, ineffable surprise!-several shells of various colours, and amongst them about thirty of the largest diamonds I had ever seen, similar to those found at the foot or in the clefts and craggs of Mount Orixa!

At the sight of these treasures the sordid feelings of the European prevailed over those of the man of nature;

**

base avarice, unquenchable thirst of riches, in an instant fired my breast. I took Jocko in my arms, I pressed her against my heart with transport; I kissed the diamonds one after the other to show her how much I was pleased with them, I imitated her own favourite gesture, extending my hand towards her, and shaking them as she used to do when wishing for more biscuits or cakes, and taking her by the arm, I advanced towards the door with eager step, pulling her after me.

She looked at me with surprise, but seeing that I again persisted in my intention, and observing my gesture, half entreaty and half commanding, which I repeated more than once, she hung down her head, showed me her wounds with an air of dismay, and sat down upon the ground, leaning her head upon the edge of her bed.

I raised her up, gave her some of the sweetmeats which she liked best, and a glass of liqueur to recruit her strength; and taking my guitar, though extremely agitated, I sung two or three notturni, which soon restored the little animal to her former composure, and produced the same impressions of delight as before.

What will my friends say to this? A man singing and playing the guitar to amuse a pongo! Ah! I, on the contrary, felt proud of my attentions to my poor little patient; and thought that by procuring her a few moments of innocent joy, I in part atoned for the unworthy feelings of cupidity which I had been unable to suppress.

In less than a fortnight Jocko was quite well; and we resumed our evening meals, our walks, and I had almost said, our reading, for, as I have already mentioned, whenever I took a book she immediately took one also, and mimicked all my actions with the most ludicrous gravity. After we had eaten our eggs, our sweetmeats, and our little cakes, she would wistfully, but timidly, look at me, watching my motions, and on the first sign indicative of my consent, would run for my guitar and bring it to me. I would then play on it for a while and sing an air or two, and Jocko's delight and ecstasy were always as great as the first time she had heard me.

It will be easily imagined that I did not abandon the ambitious views suggested by my cupidity; I repeatedly showed Jocko the diamonds she had brought me, I kissed them, I caressed them with my hand, I suspended them to my coat, and afterwards put them back into my pocket with particular demonstrations of care, hoping thus to make her understand the value I set upon them, and my covetous desires. And it seems that the little creature did understand me perfectly well, for she would immediately hang down her head and look disheartened.

One day, having arrived later than usual, I did not find Jocko in the hut, nor any thing prepared outside. In general the table was arranged, the chairs placed, and a fire lighted. I began to be rather uneasy, and went as far as the outskirts of the forest, looking right and left with some degree of anxiety. In about half an hour I saw her running towards me: she appeared breathless, exhausted with fatigue, and in a few minutes fell senseless at my feet. A bundle covered with bananaleaves, and containing something which seemed very heavy, hung on her right arm; I immediately endeavoured to take it from her, and the effort having brought her to her senses again, she herself tore off the leaves. O! how shall I express my feelings at that moment? my eyes swam in my head, I almost sunk to the ground, when, after having placed before me several magnificent shells of various colours, which the innocent creature seemed to prefer to all the rest, she gave me a quantity of diamonds at least triple the first. I raised Jocko from the ground; she was panting and halfchoked, either with fatigue or the rapidity of her steps. I could scarcely contain myself for joy; the present, the past, the future, all rushed to my mind at once, and as it were overflowed my heart. Reader! do not judge of me by this description; could you but know the whole history of my life, you would, perhaps, be convinced that the sordid European feelings which I here displayed were foreign to my natural and usual disposition. But I forget that I am not writing my memoirs, but merely a simple anecdote, a single circumstance of my life, sufficiently important, it is true, since it had the effect of changing

entirely the whole course of my destiny.

Jocko stood for a few minutes looking at me; after I had recovered a little from the transports of joy and exultation in which I had indulged, she shook her little hands to ask for something to eat. Nothing was ready; but I always had in the hut a good stock of dry fruit, sweetmeats, cakes, and sweet wine, which she preferred to the choicest liqueurs. She ate and drank with avidity; and this time she did not appear hurt; however, on examination, I found several bruises and scratches on different parts of her body.

The numerous observations which she had enabled me to make, had tended to confirm my system respecting the instinct of the brute creation-that most philosophical part of Nature's history. I had ever considered such observations, so pleasing and useful to minds engaged in the research of truth, as one of the subjects most worthy of arresting the attention of thinking and sensitive beings; in fine, as one of the most interesting chapters of the book of Nature.

I had often regretted that Jocko was deprived of the faculty of speaking; and that her language was confined to her looks, which were, it is true, most expressive, and to the sounds of voice which she frequently emitted and variously modulated. I had more than once examined, and pressed with my fingers, the lower and internal parts of her jaws, and the muscles of her throat, with a view to try whether I could make her pronounce her own name; and the poor little animal, guessing my intention, endeavoured with all her might to do so; but in vain-she never could utter more than the vowel, which is twice repeated in the word Jocko, and the two vowels which occur in my

name.

But to return to the diamond scene, and to Jocko, who, exhausted with fatigue, had fallen asleep. Having awoke, she remained some minutes motionless, as if benumbed and stiff in all her limbs from pain and exertion, but soon re-. covering again, she went as usual to fetch my guitar, and gave it to me, looking at me with an air of more than her wonted expression. It almost seemed to me as if the little creature guessed my thoughts, and knew that she was in

a great measure the cause of the melancholy reflections that assailed me. What to do with her in the event of my departure, or what steps to take, was more than I could resolve upon. To abandon her was an act of cruelty, which I could not even think of; and to take her away with me was open to a thousand objections and inconveniences. I could not hope for a considerable time after my arrival in Europe to be able to attend to her; and whether I should send her to my house in town, or to my country-house, she would unavoidably be neglected by the servants, and perhaps even become their sport; so that I could foresee nothing but misery for the poor animal-and she was the source of the immense fortune I was going to enjoy.

Will it be believed?-but, to my sorrow and shame be it stated-I tried by all possible means to make her understand that I wanted to know the place where she had found these treasures; and being unable to succeed, I was inhuman enough to be angry with her, and even to threaten her- -Oh, Europe! thy cold poisons pervert and stifle the best sentiments of the heart, and, like the scum that floats on the surface of the waters, they rise superior to every nobler feeling of our nature.

Every day added to my uneasiness respecting the future fate of poor Jocko; I could not look at her without a pang -I could only sing plaintive ditties. The anticipation also of what I had to expect on my return to the land of my birth, or the recollection of the sufferings that had obliged me to banish myself from it, and seek a refuge in another hemisphere, tended to increase the depression of my spirits, which became at last so visible that it struck all my friends.

One day, the 28th of December, 18-, propelled by a secret feeling of anxiety, I left home earlier than usual, and directed my steps towards the forest. I had taken a provision of those cakes and dry fruits which I knew my little Jocko loved best; and, impatient to arrive, I was proceeding at a quick pace ;-suddenly I heard at some distance a noise unknown to me. I hastened my steps -oh terror! the path is marked with traces of blood-I rushed forward, and presently saw before me an enormous

serpent, which I at first took to be of the boa species, but which I soon afterwards perceived to be one of those immense Java snakes, about eight or nine feet long, which are called yellow and blue, from their skin, variegated like a tiger's, and marked with squares traversed by a streak of the most brilliant

azure.

The horrible reptile had seized the unfortunate Jocko, whose limbs were already frightfully torn in the struggle, and exhibited large wounds, from which flowed torrents of blood.

I never went out alone without a double-barrelled pistol in my pocket. I took it aimed at the head of the monster, and wounded him. He immediately left poor Jocko; and raising his neck and bending backwards, was going to spring upon me, when a second shot put him to flight, and he went and expired about a quarter of a mile from the spot where this scene took place.

Jocko lay senseless on the ground, not only from the loss of blood, but also from the terror occasioned by the noise of the report of the pistol, without mentioning the natural horror which the sight of a serpent inspires in a monkey. I took her up, carried her to the hut, and laid her on her bed. She had, as usual, lighted a fire; I washed her wounds, which were dreadfully severe; I bruised certain herbs between two stones, as I had done on a former occasion. I made bandages of my pockethandkerchief, strongly bound up the wounds, and succeeded in stanching the blood; after which I gradually brought her back to her senses, by the use of salts and cordials. She was so pale that a shade of white seemed to have taken the place of the natural bister-colour of her skin, and in this state she was not unlike a being of the human race, and resembled a girl of fourteen. In a short time she opened her eyes, uttered a feeble groan, and closed them again. No! I am not ashamed to confess that I shed tears in abundance. I felt the pulse of Jocko; anxiously followed its movements, and could foresee from their intermittent acceleration and slowness, that she would in a few moments be attacked with a violent fever.

Could I have been calm at such a moment-had it been possible for me to think of any thing but my hopes and fears respecting the fate of this interest