settlers; and there I indeed beheld my wife, my beloved Agnes,
standing ready to receive me, with little William in her right hand, and
a beautiful chubby daughter in her left, about two years old, and the
very image of her mother. The two children looked healthy and beautiful,
with their fur aprons, but it struck me at first that my beloved was
much altered: it was only, however, caused by her internal commotion, by
feelings which overpowered her grateful heart.

As soon as Agnes was somewhat restored, I proposed that we should
withdraw from the camp of her savage colony; but she refused, and told
me, that she behoved to part with her protectors on good terms, and that
she must depart without any appearance of compulsion, which they might
resent; and we actually rested ourselves during the heat of the day in
the shades erected by those savage inhabitants of the forest. My wife
went to her hoard of provisions, and distributed to every one of the
pongos his share of fruit, succulent herbs, and roots, which they ate
with great composure.

Agnes then stood up and made a speech to her subjects, accompanying her
expressions with violent motions and contortions, to make them
understand her meaning. They understood it perfectly; for when they
heard that she and her children were to leave them, they set up such a
jabbering of lamentation as British ears never heard. We then formed a
close circle round Agnes and the children, to the exclusion of the
pongos that still followed behind, howling and lamenting; and that night
we lodged in the camp of the Lockos, placing a triple guard round my
family, of which there stood great need. We durst not travel by night,
but we contrived two covered hurdles, in which we carried Agnes and the
children, and for three days a considerable body of the tallest and
strongest of the ourang-outangs attended our steps.

We reached our own settlement one day sooner than we took in marching
eastward; but then I durst not remain for a night, but getting into a
vessel, I sailed straight for the Cape.

My Agnes's part of the story is the most extraordinary of all. The
creatures' motives for stealing and detaining her appears to have been
as follows:--

These animals remain always in distinct tribes, and are perfectly
subordinate to a chief or ruler, and his secondary chiefs. For their
expedition to rob our gardens, they had brought their sovereign's sole
heir along with them, as they never leave any o