rd and hyena. The leopard, however, retaliates, and
when he finds one alone springs on it, and seldom fails to come off the
victor.

The mandrills are another species of baboon who inhabit this region.
They are remarkable for the brilliancy and variety of their colour.
Often their cheeks are striped with violet, scarlet, blue, and purple,
which looks not unlike artificial tattooing; the nose is blood-red; the
loins, which are almost bare, are of a violet-blue colour, gradually
verging into a bright blood-red; the tail is short, and carried erect.
Though very fierce in their wild state, they are more easily tamed than
the other baboons. I had seen one in a London menagerie, who went by
the name of Jelly, and who really knew how to behave himself, as he
could sit upon a chair, and drink out of a pewter can, and smoke a pipe
as if he enjoyed it.

Every day we met with various small monkeys in whole troops, skipping
about the trees, and looking down upon us wherever we went. Kate was
much alarmed when she heard of the boys' encounter with the baboons, and
entreated them in future not to go from the Castle without a third
person well-armed.

"But," said Leo, "give me a gun or Stanley's pistols, and I will fight
as well as anybody."

"And I will back him up," said Natty.

"Yes; but Leo might miss the wild beast, and you might hit Leo, and so I
am afraid you would have a very unsatisfactory account to give of
yourself when you got home," said Stanley.

"By which observation, Captain Hyslop, I conclude you are descended from
an Irishman," observed Senhor Silva; "for if Natty was to kill Leo, and
a wild beast was to carry off Natty, I do not see how they could come
and give an account of themselves."

"Had poor Terence O'Brien uttered the expression, I should not have been
surprised," said Kate, laughing at her brother. "But I hope such a
dreadful event will not occur, and that Leo and Natty will be content
not to make use of firearms till they are a little more accustomed to
them."

"There I have you, sister," said Stanley. "How are they to be
accustomed to them unless they use them? Well, as we are brother and
sister, it is not surprising that you should make such a remark; and I
believe our dear mother comes from Ireland, which I suppose will fully
account for the same. However, in my opinion, the sooner the boys learn
to use firearms, under the circumstances in which we are placed, the
better. It is very i