delivering the gods and Brahmans from the oppressions of the Rakshasa;
and that he ultimately assembled an army of monkeys, who were the progeny
of the gods, and led them against the strong-hold of Ravana at Lanka, and
delivered the world from the tyrant Rakshasa, whilst obtaining ample
revenge for his own personal wrongs.

One other point seems to demand consideration, namely, the possibility of
such an alliance as that which Rama is said to have concluded with the
monkeys. This possibility will of course be denied by modern critics, but
still it is interesting to trace out the circumstances which seem to have
led to the acceptance of such a wild belief by the dreamy and marvel
loving Hindi. The south of India swarms with monkeys of curious
intelligence and rare physical powers. Their wonderful instinct for
organization, their attachment to particular localities, their occasional
journeys in large numbers over mountains and across rivers, their
obstinate assertion of supposed rights, and the ridiculous caricature
which they exhibit of all that is animal and emotional in man, would
naturally create a deep impression.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} Indeed the habits of monkeys well
deserve to be patiently studied; not as they appear in confinement, when
much that is revolting in their nature is developed, but as they appear
living in freedom amongst the trees of the forest, or in the streets of
crowded cities, or precincts of temples. Such a study would not fail to
awaken strange ideas; and although the European would not be prepared to
regard monkeys as sacred animals he might be led to speculate as to their
origin by the light of data, which are at present unknown to the
naturalist whose observations have been derived from the menagerie alone.

Whatever, however, may have been the train of ideas which led the Hindu to
regard the monkey as a being half human and half divine, there can be
little doubt that in the Ramayana the monkeys of southern India have been
confounded with what may be called the aboriginal people of the country.
The origin of this confusion may be easily conjectured. Perchance the
aborigines of the country may have been regarded as a superior kind of
monkeys; and to this day the features of the Marawars, who are supposed to
be the aborigines of the southern part of the Carnatic, are not only
different from those of their neighbours, but are of a character
calculated to confirm the conjecture. Again, it is pr