square by an inch thick, and this she took and mounted her perch. Balancing the block on the perch she held it with the left foot, while with her right foot she held on to the perch, and with her tail wound through the meshes of her cage to steady herself, she carefully adjusted the match-box in her hands in such a manner as to protect her fingers from the blow. Then striking the spring against the block of wood the lid flew open, and she fairly screamed with delight, and held the box up with pride, wanting me to close the lid again, in order that she might open it. Finding that the late hours which I kept were beginning to tell on Nellie, and that during the day from time to time I would catch her taking a little nap, I concluded to use some curtains around her cage to avoid disturbing her rest. I drew them around the cage, lapped them over, and pinned them down in front. Then I turned down the light and kept quiet for a while to allow her to go to sleep. After the lapse of a few minutes, I slowly turned up the light and resumed my writing. In an instant I heard the curtains rustle, and looked around, and there I saw her little brown eyes peeping through the folds of the curtains, which she held apart with her little black hands. When she saw what it was that caused all this disturbance, she chattered to me in her soft rich tones, and tried so hard to pull the curtains apart that I removed them from her cage so that she could look around the room. To see her holding the curtains apart in that graceful manner, turning her head from side to side, peeping and smiling at me, and talking in such low tones, was so much like a real flirtation that one who has not seen the like cannot fully appreciate it. And only those who have experienced the warm and unselfish friendship of these little creatures can realise how strong the attachment becomes. When once you enjoy the confidence of a monkey, nothing can shake it, except some act of your own, or one at least which they attribute to you. Their little ears are proof against gossip, and their tongues are free from it. [Sidenote: THE LOVE OF MONKEYS]