The cage had been thoroughly cleansed and disinfected, a plain carpet
had been laid down, and it was furnished with a table where Cromartie
had his meals, an upright chair, an armchair, and at the back of the
cage a bookcase. Nothing but the wire-netting front and sides separating
him from the Chimpanzee on one side, and the Orang-outang on the other,
distinguished it from a gentleman’s study. Greater magnificence
characterised the furniture of his bedroom, where he found that he had
been provided with every possible comfort. A French bed, a wardrobe, a
cheval glass, a dressing-table with mirrors in gilt and satinwood,
combined to make him feel at home.
John Cromartie employed Sunday evening in unpacking his belongings,
including his books, as he wished to appear an established institution
by the time visitors arrived on the Monday. For this purpose he was
given an oil lamp, as the electric wiring had not been completed for the
cage.
When he had been busy for a short time he looked about and found
something very strange in his situation. In the dimly-lit cage on his
right the Chimpanzee moved uneasily; on the other side he could not see
the Orang-outang, which must have been hiding in some corner. Outside,
the passage was in darkness. He was locked in. At intervals he could
hear the cries of different beasts, though he could rarely tell which it
was from the cry. Several times he made out the howl of a wolf, and once
the roar of a lion. Later the screaming and howling of wild animals
became louder and almost incessant.
Long after he had arranged all his books in the shelves and had gone to
bed, he lay awake listening to the strange noises. The clamour died
away, but he lay waiting for the occasional laugh of the hyæna or the
roar of the hippopotamus.
In the morning he was woken early by Collins, who came to ask him what
he would have for breakfast and during the day, and added that workmen
had come to fix a board at the front of his cage. Cromartie asked if he
might see it, and Collins brought it in.
On it was written:--
+-----------------------------------------------+
| _Homo sapiens_ |
| MAN ♂ |
| This specimen, born in Scotland, was presented|
| to the Society by John Cromartie, Esq. |
| Visitors are requested not to irritate the |
| Man by personal remarks. |
+-----------------------------------------------+
When Cromartie had had breakfast there was very little to do; he made
his bed and began reading “The Golden Bough.”
Nobody came into the Ape-house until twelve o’clock, when two little
girls came in; they looked into his cage, and the younger of them said
to her sister:
“What monkey’s that? Where is it?”
“I don’t know,” said the elder girl. Then she said: “I believe the man
is there to be looked at.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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