make my toilette. When I had dressed, instead of going into the drawing-room, I thought I should like to have one more look at my dinner-table, and went softly into the dining-room. What a sight met my eyes! No servant was there, he had gone off to smoke his hubble-bubble the moment my back was turned, and the table was surrounded by monkeys, who had got in by the trees which grew close to the windows. They had not contented themselves only with eating up my fruit and cakes, but they had upset the glass dishes, and smeared the preserves all over the table-cloth; they had broken the water-bottles, knocked the heads off half my little china boys; in short, you never saw such a mess in your life, and there they stood grinning and chattering, hardly moving even when I rushed at them brandishing my fan as if it had been a poker. I rang the hand-bell furiously, and that frightened them more than anything else. In a moment the old khansamah, or butler, and half-a-dozen other servants came up. I pointed to the table, for I was too

angry to speak; and the kansamah, bowing low, joined his hands, and tried to console me by saying in Hindoostanee, 'Pearl of the Universe, it is the will of Heaven.' I could not stop to argue this point with him, as my guests were arriving, so I told him to get dinner ready in the usual way as quickly as possible, and went to the drawing-room feeling very much as if I should like to have a good cry over the ruin of all my pretty things. In conclusion, I may tell you that we did not get any dinner at all for more than an hour, and that it was extremely nasty when it came, for everything was over-cooked and spoiled; so I think, considering all things, I have a right to feel angry with langours whenever I remember that unfortunate evening.

We have just five minutes more before nurse comes, so I will end with a short story my father told me, of something which happened many years ago in Jamaica. A new Governor was expected to arrive by the following steamer: he was coming from Demerara, where monkeys abound; his wife

was very fond of these pets, and had sent on before her a large iron cage full of monkeys of all sorts and sizes, in charge of a servant. These animals

created great excitement on their arrival in Spanish Town, especially among the negroes, who had never seen a monkey, and fancied they were inferior beings of the same class as themselves. The cage was fastened outside the King's House' (where the Governor was to live), and for a few days all went well. I must explain to you that the next house to this was one where the President of the Council lived, and was only separated from it by a large garden. Owing to the carelessness of the servant, the cage door was found open one morning, and the monkeys were disporting themselves in the President's garden, making sad havoc among his fruits and flowers. They were all captured after a little time, except one huge baboon, who climbed into a high tree, and hid himself so cleverly that he could not be found. When the coast was clear, Mr. Monkey came down, and set out on his travels,

making his first visit to the President. The black hall-porter was so astonished and alarmed at this unwonted visitor, that he hastily ran upstairs, the baboon following him closely, flung the door of the breakfast-room open, and said in trembling tones: 'One lilly black genlemans to see massa,' and then retreated as fast as he could, shutting the door behind him. Now the poor old President had only one leg, and his wooden substitute lay on a chair near him, for he never put it on unless he wanted to move about. He was very indignant at the impudence of his uninvited guest, who immediately began to help himself to the dainties on the table, and he flung his wooden leg at the intruder, never reflecting that he could not stir without its help. When my father happened to look in an hour afterwards he found the old gentleman speechless with rage, still helpless on his chair, and the monkey scrimmaging all over the room, upsetting inkstands, breaking china, and creating the greatest havoc among the President's books and papers.