diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-0.txt | 2853 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-0.zip | bin | 57988 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h.zip | bin | 1592711 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/66090-h.htm | 3083 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 254455 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_001.jpg | bin | 80397 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_003.jpg | bin | 254541 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_018.jpg | bin | 186876 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_049.jpg | bin | 246127 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_068.jpg | bin | 237384 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_094.jpg | bin | 252245 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/i_096.jpg | bin | 2912 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090-h/images/title.jpg | bin | 21794 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66090.txt | 1 |
17 files changed, 17 insertions, 5937 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e01291b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66090 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66090) diff --git a/old/66090-0.txt b/old/66090-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9d49ff4..0000000 --- a/old/66090-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2853 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Man in the Zoo, by David Garnett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: A Man in the Zoo - -Author: David Garnett - -Illustrator: Rachel A. Garnett - -Release Date: August 20, 2021 [eBook #66090] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MAN IN THE ZOO *** - - - - - A MAN IN THE ZOO - - - - - A - MAN IN THE ZOO - - by - - DAVID GARNETT - - Illustrated with wood engravings - by R. A. GARNETT - - [Illustration] - - TORONTO - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF - CANADA LIMITED - - 1924 - - - _SPECIAL EDITION - FOR SALE ONLY IN CANADA_ - - - _PRINTED IN ENGLAND - ALL RIGHTS - RESERVED_ - - - TO - HENRIETTA BINGHAM - AND - MINA KIRSTEIN - - - - - AUTHOR’S NOTE - - -I have to thank Mr. Arthur Waley for permission to quote from his -translation of a poem by Wang Yen-shou, which appears in “The Temple and -other Poems,” published by Messrs. Allen & Unwin. - -I also wish to say that the Royal Zoological Society has always been the -object of my respect and admiration, and that in this story, neither -explicitly nor implicitly, is anything intended that could be regarded -as derogatory to the Society in any sense. - - - - -[Illustration] - -A MAN IN THE ZOO - -[Illustration] - - -John Cromartie and Josephine Lackett gave up their green tickets at the -turnstile, and entered the Zoological Society’s Gardens by the South -Gate. - -It was a warm day at the end of February, and Sunday morning. In the air -there was a smell of spring, mixed with the odours of different -animals--yaks, wolves, and musk-oxen, but the two visitors did not -notice it. They were lovers, and were having a quarrel. - -They came soon to the Wolves and Foxes, and stood still opposite a cage -containing an animal very like a dog. - -“Other people, other people! You are always considering the feelings of -other people,” said Mr. Cromartie. His companion did not answer him, so -he went on: - -“You say somebody feels this, or that somebody else may feel the other. -You never talk to me about anything except what other people are -feeling, or may be going to feel. I wish you could forget about other -people and talk about yourself, but I suppose you have to talk of other -people’s feelings because you haven’t any of your own.” - -The beast opposite them was bored. He looked at them for a moment and -forgot them at once. He lived in a small space, and had forgotten the -outside world where creatures very like himself raced in circles. - -“If that is the reason,” said Cromartie, “I do not see why you should -not say so. It would be honest if you were to tell me you felt nothing -for me. It is not honest to say first that you love me, and then that -you are a Christian and love everybody equally.” - -“Nonsense,” said the girl, “you know that is nonsense. It is not -Christianity, it is because I love several people very much.” - -“You do not love several people very much,” said Cromartie, interrupting -her. “You cannot possibly love people like your aunts. Nobody could. No, -you do not really love anybody. You imagine that you do because you have -not got the courage to stand alone.” - -“I know whom I love, and whom I do not,” said Josephine. “And if you -should drive me to choose between you and everybody else, I should be a -fool to give myself to you.” - - +--------------------------+ - | DINGO ♂ | - | _Canis familiaris var._ | - |NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA| - +--------------------------+ - -“Poor little Dingo,” said Cromartie. “They do shut up creatures here on -the thinnest pretexts. He is only the familiar dog.” - -[Illustration] - -The Dingo whined, and wagged his tail. He knew that he was being spoken -of. - -Josephine turned from her lover to the Dingo, and her face softened as -she looked at it. - -“I suppose they have got to have everything here, every single kind of -beast there is, even if it turns out to be nothing but an ordinary dog.” - -They left the Dingo, walked to the next cage, and stood side by side -looking at the creature in it. - -“The slender dog,” said Josephine, reading the label. She laughed, and -the slender dog got up and walked away. - -“So that is a wolf,” said Cromartie, as they stopped six feet further -on. “Another dog in a cage.... Give yourself to me, Josephine, that -sounds to me as if you were crazy. But it shows anyway that you are not -in love with me. If you are in love it is all or nothing. You cannot be -in love with several people at once. I know because I am in love with -you, and other people are all my enemies, necessarily my enemies.” - -“What nonsense!” said Josephine. - -“If I am in love with you,” Cromartie went on, “and you with me, it -means that you are the only person who is not my enemy, and I am the -only person who is not yours. A fool to give yourself to me! Yes, you -are a fool if you fancy you are in love when you are not, and I should -be a fool to believe it. You do not give yourself to the person with -whom you are in love, you are yourself instead of being dressed up in -armoured plate.” - -“Has this place got nothing in it besides tame dogs?” asked Josephine. - -They walked together towards the lion house, and Josephine took John’s -arm in hers. “Armoured plate. It doesn’t seem to me to make sense. I -cannot bear to hurt the people I love, and so I am not going to live -with you, or do anything that they would mind if they found out.” - -John said nothing to this, only shrugged his shoulders, screwed up his -eyes, and rubbed his nose. In the lion house they walked slowly from -cage to cage until they came to a tiger which walked up and down, up and -down, up and down, turning his great painted head with intolerable -familiarity, and with his whiskers just brushing the brick wall. - -“They pay for their beauty, poor beasts,” said John, after a pause. “And -you know it proves what I’ve been saying. Mankind want to catch anything -beautiful and shut it up, and then come in thousands to watch it die by -inches. That’s why one hides what one is and lives behind a mask in -secret.” - -“I hate you, John, and all your ideas. I love my fellow creatures--or -most of them--and I can’t help it if you are a tiger and not a human -being. I’m not mad; I can trust people with every feeling I have got, -and I shall never have any feelings that I shouldn’t like to share with -everybody. I don’t mind if I am a Christian--it’s better than suffering -from persecution mania, and browbeating me because I’m fond of my father -and Aunt Eily.” - -But Miss Lackett did not look very browbeaten as she said this. On the -contrary her eyes sparkled, her colour was high and her looks imperious, -and she kept tapping the toe of her pointed shoe on the stone floor. Mr. -Cromartie was irritated by this tapping, so he said something in a low -voice on purpose so that Josephine should not be able to hear it; the -only word audible was “browbeating.” - -She asked him very savagely what he had said. John laughed. “What’s the -use of my talking to you at all if you fly into a rage before you have -even heard what I have got to say?” he asked her. - -Josephine turned pale with self-control; she glared at a placid lion -with such fury that, after a moment or two, the beast got up and walked -into the den behind his cage. - -“Josephine, please be reasonable. Either you are in love with me or else -you are not. If you are in love with me it can’t cost you much to -sacrifice other people to me. Since you won’t do that it follows that -you are not in love with me, and in that case you only keep me hanging -round you because it pleases your vanity. I wish you would choose -someone else for that sort of thing. I don’t like it, and any of your -father’s old friends would do better than me.” - -“How dare you talk to me about my father’s old friends?” said Josephine. -They were silent. Presently Cromartie said, “For the last time, -Josephine, will you marry me, and be damned to your relations?” - -“No! You silly savage!” said Josephine. “No, you wild beast. Can’t you -understand that one doesn’t treat people like that? It is simply wasting -my breath to talk. I’ve explained a hundred times I am not going to make -father miserable. I am not going to be cut off with a shilling and -become _dependent_ on you when you haven’t enough money to live on -yourself, to satisfy your vanity. My _vanity_, do you think having you -in love with me pleases my _vanity_? I might as well have a baboon or a -bear. You are Tarzan of the Apes; you ought to be shut up in the Zoo. -The collection here is incomplete without you. You are a -survival--atavism at its worst. Don’t ask me why I fell in love with -you--I did, but I cannot marry Tarzan of the Apes, I’m not romantic -enough. I see, too, that you do believe what you have been saying. You -do think mankind is your enemy. I can assure you that if mankind thinks -of you, it thinks you are the missing link. You ought to be shut up and -exhibited here in the Zoo--I’ve told you once and now I tell you -again--with the gorilla on one side and the chimpanzee on the other. -Science would gain a lot.” - -“Well, I will be. I am sure you are quite right. I’ll make arrangements -to be exhibited,” said Cromartie. “I’m very grateful to you for having -told me the truth about myself.” Then he took off his hat and said -“Good-bye,” and giving a quick little nod he walked away. - -“Miserable baboon,” muttered Josephine, and she hurried out through the -swing doors. - -They were both of them in a rage, but John Cromartie was in such a -desperate rage that he did not know he was angry, he only thought that -he was very miserable and unhappy. Josephine, on the other hand, was -elated. She would have enjoyed slashing at Cromartie with a whip. - -That evening Cromartie could not keep still. When the chairs presumed to -stand in his path he knocked them over, but he soon found that merely -upsetting furniture was not enough to restore his peace of mind. It was -then that Mr. Cromartie made a singular determination--one which you may -swear no other man in like circumstances would ever have arrived at. - -It was somehow or other to get himself exhibited in the Zoo, as if he -were part of the menagerie. - -It may be that a strange predilection which he had for keeping his word -is enough to account for this. But it will always be found that many -impulses are entirely whimsical and not to be accounted for by reason. -And this man was both proud and obstinate, so that when he had decided -upon a thing in passion he would brave it out so far that he could no -longer withdraw from it. - -At the time he said to himself that he would do it to humiliate -Josephine. If she loved him it would make her suffer, and if she did not -love him it would not matter to him where he was. - -“And perhaps she is right,” he said to himself with a smile. “Perhaps I -am the missing link, and the Zoo is the best place for me.” - -He took his pen and a sheet of paper and sat down to write a letter, -though he knew that if he achieved his object he would be bound to -suffer. For some little while he thought over all the agonies of being -in a cage and held up to the derision of the gaping populace. - -And then he reflected that it was harder for some of the animals than it -would be for himself. The tigers were prouder than he was, they loved -their liberty more than he did his, they had no amusements or resources, -and the climate did not suit them. - -In his case there were no such added difficulties. He told himself that -he was humble of heart, and that he resigned his liberty of his own free -will. Even if books were not allowed him, he could at all events watch -the spectators with as much interest as that with which they watched -him. - -In this manner he encouraged himself, and the thought of how terrible it -was for the tigers touched his heart so much that his own fate seemed to -him easier to contemplate. - -After all, he reflected, he was so unhappy at that moment that nothing -could be worse whatever he did. He had lost Josephine, and it would be -easier to bear that loss in the discipline of a prison. Strengthened by -these considerations, he shook his pen and wrote as follows:-- - - DEAR SIR, - - I write to lay before your Society a proposal which I hope you will - recommend to them for their earnest consideration. May I say first - that I know the Society’s Gardens well, and much admire them? The - grounds are spacious, and the arrangement of the houses is at the - same time practical and convenient. In them there are specimens of - practically the whole fauna of the terrestrial globe, only one - mammalian of real importance being unrepresented. But the more I - have thought over this omission, the more extraordinary has it - appeared to me. To leave out man from a collection of the earth’s - fauna is to play Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. It may seem - unimportant at first sight, since the collection is formed for man - to look at, and study. I admit that human beings are to be seen - frequently enough walking about in the Gardens, but I believe that - there are convincing reasons why the Society should have a specimen - of the human race on exhibition. - - Firstly, it would complete the collection, and, secondly, it would - impress upon the mind of the visitor a comparison which he is not - always quick to make for himself. If placed in a cage between the - Orang-outang and the Chimpanzee, an ordinary member of the human - race would arrest the attention of everyone who entered the Large - Ape-house. In such a position he would lead to a thousand - interesting comparisons being made by visitors for whose education - the Gardens do in a large measure exist. Every child would grow up - imbued with the outlook of a Darwin, and would become aware not - only of his own exact place in the animal kingdom, but also in what - he resembled, and in what he differed from the Apes. I would - suggest that such a specimen be shown as far as possible in his - natural surroundings as he exists at the present time, that is to - say in ordinary costume, and employed in some ordinary pursuit. - Thus his cage should be furnished with chairs and a table and with - bookcases. A small bedroom and a bathroom at the back would enable - him to retire when necessary from the public gaze. The expense to - the Society need not be great. - - To show my good faith I beg to offer myself for exhibition, subject - to certain reservations which will not be found of an unreasonable - nature. - - The following particulars of my person may be of assistance:-- - - Race: Scottish. - Height: 5 feet 11 inches. - Weight: 11 stone. - Hair: Dark. - Eyes: Blue. - Nose: Aquiline. - Age: 27 years. - - I shall be happy to furnish any further information which the - Society may require. - - I am, Sir, - Your obedient Servant, - JOHN CROMARTIE. - -When he had gone out and posted this letter Mr. Cromartie felt at peace, -and he prepared for the reply with much less anxiety than most young men -would have felt in such a situation. - -It would be tedious to describe at any length how this letter was -received by a deputy in the absence of the secretary, and how it was by -him communicated to the working committee on the following Wednesday. It -may, however, be of interest to note that Mr. Cromartie’s offer would in -all probability have been rejected had it not been for Mr. Wollop. He -was a gentleman of advanced years who was not popular with his fellow -members. Mr. Cromartie’s letter, for some reason, threw him into a -paroxysm of rage. - -This was a deliberate insult, he declared. This was no laughing matter. -It was a matter which must and should and should and must, without -question, be wiped out by legal proceedings. It would expose the Society -to ridicule if they took it lying down. This and much more in the same -strain gave the rest of the committee time to turn the thing over in -their minds. - -One or two first took the opposite view from Mr. Wollop from mere habit; -the Chairman observed that the presence of such an interesting -correspondent as Mr. Cromartie could not fail to be a great attraction -and would increase the gate-money; it was not, however, until Mr. Wollop -threatened to resign that the thing was done. - -Mr. Wollop withdrew, and a letter was drafted to Cromartie informing him -that the committee were inclined to accept his proposal, and asking for -a personal interview. - -This interview took place the following Saturday, by which time the -committee had become convinced that a specimen of _Homo sapiens_ ought -certainly to be acquired, though it was not convinced that Mr. Cromartie -was the right man, and Mr. Wollop had retired to Wollop Bottom, his -rustic seat. - -The personal interview was entirely satisfactory to both sides, and Mr. -Cromartie’s reservations were accepted without demur. These dealt with -food and drink, clothing, medical attention, and one or two luxuries -which he was to receive. Thus he was to be allowed to order his own -meals, see his own tailor, be visited by his own doctor, dentist, and -legal advisers. He was to be allowed to administer his own income, which -amounted to about £300 a year, neither was objection to be raised to his -having a library in his cage, and writing materials. - -The Zoological Society on their side stipulated that he should not -contribute to the daily or weekly press; that he should not entertain -visitors while the Gardens were open to the public; and that he should -be subject to the usual discipline, as though he were one of the -ordinary creatures. - -A few days served to prepare the cage for his reception. It was in the -Ape-house, behind which a larger room was furnished for his bedroom, -with a bath and lavatory fixed behind a wooden partition. He was -admitted on the following Sunday afternoon, and introduced to his keeper -Collins, who also looked after the Orang-outang, the Gibbon, and the -Chimpanzee. - -Collins shook hands and said that he would do all he could to make him -comfortable, but it was obvious that he was embarrassed, and strangely -enough this embarrassment did not diminish as time went on. His -relations with Cromartie always remained formal, and were characterised -by the most absolute politeness, which, needless to say, Cromartie -scrupulously returned. - -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.” - -“Why he’s just like Uncle Bernard,” said the little girl. - -They looked at Cromartie with an offended stare, and then went on at -once to the Orang-outang, who was an old friend. The grown-up people who -came in during the afternoon read the notice in a puzzled way, sometimes -aloud, and more than once after a hurried glance they went out of the -house. They were all embarrassed except a jaunty little man who came in -just before closing time. He laughed, and laughed again, and finally he -had to sit down on a seat, where he sat choking for three or four -minutes, after which he took off his hat to Cromartie and went out of -the house saying aloud: “Splendid! Wonderful! Bravo!” - -The next day there were rather more people, but not a great crowd. One -or two men came and took photographs, but Mr. Cromartie had already -learnt a trick that was to serve him well in his new situation--that of -not looking through the bars, so that often he would not know whether -there were people watching him or not. Everything was made very -comfortable for him, and on that score he was glad enough that he had -come. - -Yet he could not help asking himself what did his surroundings matter to -him? He was in love with Josephine, and now he had parted from her for -ever. Would the pain he felt on that account ever die away? And if it -did, as he supposed it would, how long would it take to do so? - -In the evening he was let out, and walked round the Gardens alone. He -tried to make friends with one or two of the creatures, but they would -not take notice of him. The evening was cool and fresh, and he was glad -to be out of the stuffy Ape-house. He felt it very strange to be alone -in the Zoo at that hour, and strange to have to go back to his cage. The -next day, just after breakfast, a crowd began pushing into the house, -which was soon packed full. The crowd was noisy, some persons in it -calling out to him very persistently. - -It was easy enough for Cromartie to ignore them, and never let his eyes -wander through the wire-netting, but he could not prevent himself from -knowing that they were there. By eleven o’clock his keeper had to fetch -four policemen, two standing at each door to keep the crowd back. The -people were made to stand in a queue, and to keep moving all the time. - -This went on all day, and in fact there were thousands waiting to see -“The Man” who had to be turned away before they could get a sight of -him. Collins said it was worse than any bank-holiday. - -[Illustration] - -Cromartie did not betray any uneasiness; he ate his lunch, smoked a -cigar, and played several games of Patience, but by tea-time he was -exhausted, and would have liked to go and lie down in his bedroom, but -it seemed to him that to do so would be to confess weakness. What made -it worse, because more ridiculous, was that the Chimpanzee and the -Orang-outang next door, each came to the partition walls and spent the -whole day staring at him too. No doubt they were only imitating the -public in doing so, but they added a great deal to poor Mr. Cromartie’s -unhappiness. At last the long day was over, the crowds departed, the -Gardens were closed, and then came another surprise--for his two -neighbours did not go away. No, they clung to the wire partitions and -began to chatter and show their teeth at him. Cromartie was too tired to -stay in the cage, and went and lay down in his bedroom. When he came -back after an hour the Chimpanzee and the Orang were still there, and -greeted him with angry snarls. There was no doubt about it--they were -threatening him. - -Cromartie did not understand why this should be until Collins, who had -come past, explained it to him. - -“They are wild with jealousy,” he said, “that you should have drawn such -a large crowd.” And he warned Mr. Cromartie to be very careful not to go -within reach of their fingers. They would tear his hair out and kill him -if they could get at him. - -At first Mr. Cromartie found this very hard to credit, but afterwards, -when he got to know the characters of his fellow captives better, it -became the most ordinary commonplace. He learnt that all the monkeys, -the elephants, and the bears felt jealous in this way. It was natural -enough that the creatures that were fed by the public should feel -resentment if they were passed over, for they are all insatiably greedy, -and the worse they digest the food given them the more anxious they are -to glut themselves with it. The wolves felt a different jealousy, for -they were constantly forming attachments to particular persons among the -crowd, and if the chosen person neglected them for a neighbour they -became jealous. Only the larger cats, lions, and panthers seemed free -from this degrading passion. - -During his stay Mr. Cromartie gradually came to know all the beasts in -the Gardens pretty well, since he was allowed out every evening after -closing-time, and very often was allowed to go into other cages. Nothing -struck him more forcibly than the distinction which most of the -different creatures very soon drew between him and the keepers. When a -keeper came past every animal would pay some attention, whereas few of -them would even look round for Mr. Cromartie. He was treated by the vast -majority with indifference. As time went on he saw that they treated him -as they treated each other, and it struck him that they had somehow -learnt that he was being exhibited as they were themselves. This -impression was so forcible that Mr. Cromartie believed it without -question, though it is not easy to prove that it was so, and still more -difficult to explain how such a piece of knowledge could have spread -among so heterogeneous a collection of creatures. Yet the attitude of -the animals to each other was so marked, that Mr. Cromartie not only -observed it in them, but very soon came to feel it in himself for them. -He could not describe it better than by calling it firstly “cynical -indifference,” and then adding that it was perfectly good-natured. It -was expressed usually by total indifference, but sometimes by something -between a yawn of contempt and a grin of cynical appreciation. It was -just in these slight shades of manner that Mr. Cromartie found the -animals interesting. Naturally they had nothing to say to him, and in -such artificial surroundings their natural habits were difficult to -ascertain, only those living in families or colonies ever seeming -perfectly at their ease, but they all did seem to reveal something of -themselves in their attitude to each other. To man they showed quite -different behaviour, but in their eyes Mr. Cromartie was not a man. He -might smell like one, but they saw at once that he had come out of a -cage. - -There is in this a possible explanation of the often recorded fact that -it is particularly easy for convicts to make friends with mice and rats -in prison. - -For the rest of that week crowds collected round the new Ape-house every -day, and the queue for admittance was longer than that at the pit of -Drury Lane Theatre on a first night. - -Thousands of people paid for admission to the Gardens and waited -patiently for hours in order to catch a glimpse of the new creature -which the Society had acquired, and none were really disappointed when -they had seen him, although many professed to be so. For everyone went -away with what people are most grateful for having--that is, a new -subject for conversation, something that everyone could discuss and have -an opinion about, viz., the propriety of exhibiting a man. Not that this -discussion was confined to those who had actually been successful in -catching a glimpse of him. On the contrary it raged in every train, in -every drawing-room, and in the columns of every newspaper in England. -Jokes on the subject were made at public dinners, and at music-halls, -and Mr. Cromartie was referred to continually in _Punch_, sometimes in a -facetious manner. Sermons were preached about him, and a Labour member -in the House of Commons said that when the working classes came into -power the rich would be put “alongside the Man in the Zoo, where they -properly belonged.” - -What was the strangest thing was that everyone held the view either that -a man ought to be exhibited, or that he ought not to be exhibited, and -that after a week’s time there were not half a dozen men in England who -believed no moral principle to be involved in the matter. - -Mr. Cromartie cared less than nothing for all these discussions of which -he was the subject; it was no more to him indeed what men said about him -than if he had been the ape in the cage beside his own. Indeed it was -really less, for had the ape been able to understand that thousands of -people were talking about it, the creature would have been as much -puffed up with pride as now it was mortified with jealousy that its -neighbour should draw so vast a crowd. - -Mr. Cromartie told himself he cared nothing for the world of men now. As -he looked through the meshes of his cage at the excited faces watching -him, it cost him an effort to listen to what was being said of him, and -after a while his attention wandered even against his will, for he cared -nothing for mankind and cared nothing for what they said. - -Yet while he told himself that with some complacency, something came -into his mind which threw him into such disorder that he looked about -him for a minute as if he were distracted, and then ran as if in terror -into his hiding-place, his place of refuge, his bedroom, which he had -not sheltered in before, at least not in that way. - -“What if I should see Josephine among them?” he asked himself aloud, and -the thought of her coming was so actual to him that it seemed as if she -were at that moment entering the house, and then were there at the bars -already. - -“What can I do?” he asked himself. “I can do nothing. What can I say? I -can say nothing. No, I must not speak to her, I will not look at her. -When I see her I will sit down in my armchair and look on the floor -until she is gone, that is, if I have the strength. What will become of -me if she should come? And perhaps she will come every day and will be -always there watching me through the bars, and will call out and insult -me as some do already. How could I bear that?” - -Then he asked himself why should she come at all, and began to persuade -himself that there was no reason why she should visit him, and that it -was the most irrational fear that could seize hold of him--but it would -not do. - -“No,” said he at length, shaking his head, “I see she is bound to come. -She is free to go where she likes, and one day when I look up I shall -see her there, staring into my cage at me. Sooner or later it is bound -to happen.” Then he asked himself what errand would send her there to -look at him? Why would she come? Would it be to mock at him and torment -him, or would it be because now that it was too late she repented of -sending him there? - -“No,” he told himself, “no, Josephine will never repent, or if she -should, she would not own to it. When she does come here it will be to -hurt me more than she has done already; she will come to torture me -because it amuses her and I am at her mercy. Oh, God, she has no mercy -in her.” - -At this Mr. Cromartie who was so proud only a half-hour ago, saying he -cared nothing for mankind now and nothing for what they said, began to -cry and whimper like a baby, staying hidden all the while in his little -bedroom. He sat there on the edge of his bed with his face buried in his -hands for a quarter of an hour, and the tears running through his -fingers. And all the while he was busy with this new fear of his, and -saying to himself first that his life was no longer safe, that Josephine -would bring a pistol and shoot him through the bars; and then his -thoughts fetching about, that she cared nothing for him, and would not -come to hurt him, but from mere love of notoriety and to get herself -talked about by her friends or in the newspapers. At last he pulled -himself somewhat together, washed his face and bathed his eyes, and then -went back into his cage, where you may be sure the crowd was pretty -impatient to see him after being kept waiting so long. - -Once again you could see how this Mr. Cromartie “cared nothing for -mankind and what they said.” For the moment that he stepped into his -cage in full view of the public, from being an abject creature with his -face comically twisted up to keep back his tears, he became at once -quite calm and self-possessed and showed no trace of any feeling. Yet -did this assumed calm show that he cared nothing for mankind? Was it -because he cared nothing for mankind that he made these efforts, -swallowing down the lump that was risen in his throat, holding back the -tear that would have started to his eye, and strolling in with a serene -smile, then knitting his brows with an affectation of thought; and was -all this because he cared nothing for mankind? - -The strange thing was that Mr. Cromartie should have taken three weeks -to think that Josephine would certainly come and pay him a visit. For -three weeks he had been thinking at every moment of the day of this girl -Josephine, and, indeed, dreaming of her almost every night, but it had -never come into his head that he would ever see her again. He had told -himself a thousand times, “We are parted for ever,” and had never asked -himself, “Why do I say this?” He had, one evening, even retraced their -steps as they had wandered from one cage to another on the day that they -had had their final rupture. But now all these sentimental ideas were a -thousand miles away from him, who, though he lay back, yawned, and -negligently cut the pages of a book from Mudie’s, was all the same -terrified at the question he kept asking himself: - -“When will she come? Will she come now, to-day, or perhaps to-morrow? -Will she not come till next week, or not for a month?” - -And his heart shrank within him as he understood that he would never -know when she was coming and he would never be prepared for her. - -But with all this flutter Mr. Cromartie was like a countryman coming -into town a day late for the fair, for Josephine had already paid him a -visit that day two hours before he had ever thought that she might do -so. - -When she had come Josephine did not know at all certainly why she found -herself there. Every day since she had heard of the “loathsome thing” -John had done she had vowed that she would never see him again, and -would never think of him again. Every day she spent in thinking of him, -and every day her anger drove her to walk in the direction of Regent’s -Park, and all her time was occupied in thinking how she could best -punish him for what he had done. - -At first it had been insupportable for her. She had heard the news from -her father at breakfast while he was reading _The Times_, and had learnt -it in fragments as he chanced to read it out to her while she sat silent -with the coffee machine and the egg machine in front of her, for her -father stickled for his eggs being boiled very exactly. When breakfast -was over she found _The Times_ and read the account of the “Startling -Acquisition by the Zoo Authorities.” She told herself then that she -could never forgive or forget the insult to which she had been -subjected, and that while she sat at breakfast she had grown an old -woman. - -As time went on Josephine’s fury did not slacken; no, it became -greater; and it passed through a dozen or more phases every day. Thus at -one moment she would laugh with pity for such a poor fool as John, in -the next marvel that such a creature should have the sense to know where -he belonged, then turn all her rage on the Zoological Society for -causing such an outrage to decency to occur in their grounds, and -reflect bitterly on the folly of mankind who were ready to divert -themselves at such a sorry spectacle as the degraded John--reducing -themselves indeed to his level. Again, she would exclaim at the vanity -which led him to such a course; anything would do so long as he got -himself talked about. No doubt he would see that she, Josephine, was -talked about too. Indeed, John, she declared, had done it solely to -affront her. But he had gone the wrong way to work if he thought he -would impress her. She would indeed go to see him and show him how -little she cared for him; no, what was better, she would go visit the -other ape next door to him. That was the way by which she could best -show him her indifference to him, and her superiority to the vulgar mob -of sightseers. Nothing would induce her to look at such a base creature -as John. She could not regard his action with indifference. It was a -calculated insult, but fortunately he would alone suffer for it, for as -for herself she had never cared in the least for him, and her complete -indifference was not likely to be ruffled by his latest escapade. Indeed -it meant no more to her than any other creature being exhibited. - -Thus Miss Lackett drove round and round in circles, vowing vengeance at -one time and the next moment swearing that it was all one to her what he -did, she had never cared for him and never would. But do what she might -she could think of nothing else. At night she lay awake saying to -herself first one thing and then another, and changing her mind ten -times for every time she turned her head on the pillow, and thus she -spent the first three or four days and nights in misery. - -Yet in all this there was something that wounded Miss Lackett more even -than the fact itself, and that was the consciousness of her own -worthlessness and vulgarity. Everything she felt, everything she said, -was vulgar. Her preoccupation with Mr. Cromartie was vulgar, and every -emotion connected with him which she now felt was degrading. In fact, -after the first few days this weighed on her so heavily that she was -almost ready to forgive him, but she could never forgive herself. All -her self-respect was gone for ever, she told herself; henceforward she -knew that she was never disinterested. She had offended herself more -than any number of Cromarties would ever do. She was, she said, deeply -disappointed in herself, and wondered how it had come about that this -side of her nature should have been so long unsuspected by her. - -It was this turning off of her rage and indignation against herself that -finally allowed of her going to see him, or rather of her going to see -the Chimpanzee next him, for she repeated to herself that she would not -look at him, that she could not endure to see him, and so on, though at -moments this decision was modified by the reflection that she only hoped -he would feel properly punished when he saw her give him one glance of -cool contempt. - -Miss Lackett found the event different from her expectations. In front -of the Ape-house a crowd was collected, and directly she had joined it -she found herself caught up in a queue of people waiting to see “The -Man.” On all sides she heard jokes about him, and those of the women -(who were in the majority) struck her as being barely decent. Progress -was extremely slow and very exhausting. - -At last, when she found herself in the building itself, it was -impossible for her to carry out her intention of looking only at the -apes, for she suddenly became overcome at the thought of seeing them and -closed her eyes lest she should see an ape and be overcome by nausea. In -a few minutes she found herself in front of Cromartie’s cage, and gazed -at him helplessly. At that moment he was engaged in walking up and down -(which occupation, by the way, took up far more of his time than he ever -suspected). But she could not speak to him, indeed she dreaded that he -should see her. - -Back and forth he walked by the wire division, with his hands behind his -back and his head bent slightly, until he reached the corner, when up -went his head and he turned on his heel. His face was expressionless. - -Before she got out Miss Lackett was to have another shock, for, leaving -Mr. Cromartie’s cage, she let her eyes wander and suddenly was looking -straight into the mug of the Orang. This creature sat disconsolately on -the floor with her long red hair matted and entangled with straws. Her -close-set brown eyes were staring in front of her and nothing about her -moved but her black nostrils, that were the shape of an inverted heart -and set in a mask of black and dusty rubber. This, then, was the -creature that her lover resembled! It was to this melancholy Caliban -that everyone compared him! Such a hideous monster as this ape was -thought a suitable companion for the man with whom she had imagined -herself in love! For the man whom she had considered marrying! - -Miss Lackett slipped silently out of the house, sick with disgust and -weighed down with shame. She was ashamed of everything, of her own -feelings, of her weakness in caring what happened to John. She was -ashamed of the spectators, of herself, and of the dirty world where such -men, and beasts like them, existed. Mixed with her shame was fear which -grew greater with every step she took. She was alarmed lest she would be -recognised, and looked at everyone she passed with nervous apprehension; -even after she had got out of the Gardens she did not feel safe, so that -she got herself a taxi and climbed in almost breathlessly, and even then -looked behind her through the pane of glass in the back. Nothing -followed her. - -“Thank God, it is all right. There is no danger,” she said to herself, -though what the danger was of which she spoke she could not have said. -Perhaps she was afraid that she might be shut up in a cage herself. - -The next day Miss Lackett had somewhat shaken off the painful -impressions caused by her visit, and her chief emotion was a sensible -relief that it had turned out no worse. - -“Never again,” she said to herself, “shall I be guilty of such folly. -Never again,” she repeated, “need I run such an awful risk. Never again -shall I think of that poor fellow, for I shall never need to. Out of -justice to him I had to see him, even though at a distance, and without -his seeing me. It would have been cowardly not to have gone, it would -not have been in keeping with my character. But it would be cowardice in -me to go again. It would be weak. After all I had to indulge my -curiosity, it would have been fatal to have suppressed it. Now I know -the worst and the affair is closed for ever. If I were to go again it -would be painful to me and unjust to him, for I might be recognised; if -he heard that I had been twice it would fill him with false hopes. He -might conclude that I wished to speak with him. Nothing, nothing could -be farther from the truth. I think he is mad. I feel sure he is mad. -Talking to him would be like those interviews that people have to have -once a year with their insane relatives. But fortunately for me my duty -coincides with my inclinations--I ought not to see him and I abhor the -thought of doing so. There is no more to be said.” - -It was not often that Miss Lackett was so consistent in her thoughts, -neither, we may add, was she often quite so prim. She managed to repeat -such phrases over and over again to herself throughout the week, but -somehow she did not succeed in forgetting all about Mr. Cromartie, or -even in putting him out of her thoughts for more than an hour or two at -a time. - -On the fourth day after her visit it so happened that General Lackett -gave a dinner-party at which his daughter acted as hostess. Several of -the guests were young, and one or two of them not very well to do. It -was natural in these circumstances, as the General had rather -thoughtlessly dismissed his chauffeur for the evening, that his daughter -should offer to drive some of her young friends home. One of them lived -in Frognal, two others in Circus Road, St. John’s Wood. On the outward -journey Miss Lackett took the ordinary route from Eaton Square, that is, -by Park Lane, Baker Street, Lord’s, and the Finchley Road as far as -Frognal, afterwards bringing her other companions back to Circus Road. - -It was then, after saying good-bye, and good-bye again as she drove -away, that she gave way to a feeling of unrest. She drove slowly to -Baker Street station, but by that time she was thinking of Mr. -Cromartie. This caused her, almost mechanically, to swing her car round -to the left, and shortly afterwards to take the Outer Circle. As she -drove, her mind was almost blank; she was driving in that direction -merely to dissipate a mood. All she was conscious of was that Cromartie -was there--in the Zoo. She was tired, and driving distracted her. In a -few moments she was passing the Gardens. She pulled up just over the -tunnel, before reaching the main entrance. At this point she was as -close as she could get to the new Ape-house, which lay, as she knew, -under the shadow of the Mappin Terraces. She got out of the car and -walked up to the palings. They were too high for her to look over, and -when she pulled herself up by her hands there was nothing to be seen but -the black shadows of evergreens and, through one break in them, a corner -of the Mappin Terraces--a silhouette of black against the moonlight. As -she looked it came into her head that it was like something familiar to -her. Her wrists ached and she jumped down. - -“John, John, why are you in there?” she said aloud. In a few moments she -saw a policeman approaching her, so she got back into her car and drove -on slowly. - -As she passed the main entrance she turned again, and again she saw the -Mappin Terraces. - -“The Tower of Babel, of course,” she said aloud, “in Chambers’s -Encyclopedia. It’s like Noah’s Ark, too, I suppose, as it’s a menagerie, -and--Oh, curse! Oh, damn!” There were tears in her eyes, and the street -lamps had become little circular rainbows. But what she said to herself -was that it was awkward driving. - -That night she could not sleep, and could find none of the ordinary -defences against unhappiness. That is to say, she was unable to affect -any kind of superiority to her troubles, besides which she saw them -exactly as they were, in their naked horror, and was not able to put -them in conventional categories. For could Miss Lackett have said to -herself: “I have been in love with John, now I find he is mad. This is a -terrible tragedy, it is very painful to think of people being mad, for -me it is a disappointment in love. Such disappointments are the most -painful to which a girl in my position can be exposed,” and so on--if -she could have done this then Miss Lackett would have found a sure way -to reduce her suffering to a minimum. For by putting forward such -general ideas as madness and disappointment in love she could very soon -have come to feel only the general emotion suited to these ideas. But as -it was she could only think of John Cromartie, his face, voice, manners, -and way of moving; of the particular cage in which she had last seen -him, the smell of apes, the swarm of people staring at him and laughing, -and of her own loneliness and misery which John had deliberately caused. -That is to say she thought only of her pain, and did not cast about to -give it a name. And naming a sorrow is a first step to forgetting it. -About three o’clock in the morning she got out of bed and went down to -the dining room, where she found a decanter of port, another of whiskey, -and some Bath Olivers. She poured herself out a glass of port and -tasted it, but its sweetness disgusted her, so she put it down and -helped herself to the whiskey. After she had got down half a wineglass -of the spirit, taking it neat as it came from the bottle, she felt much -calmer. She drank another glass of it and then went up to her room, -threw herself on her bed, and at once fell into a heavy, drunken sleep. - -During these days Mr. Cromartie had by no means got rid of his -apprehensions of seeing Josephine. The thought which tormented him most -was that he was at her mercy, that is to say, that she was at liberty to -visit him whenever she liked, and to stay away as long as she chose. The -material conditions of his life did not change in any degree, though -there was no longer a vast crowd anxious to see him at all times; and -from four policemen, two were soon thought to be enough to regulate his -visitors. After another week the two were reduced to one, but though the -crowd was scantier each day this policeman was left permanently, more as -a protection for Mr. Cromartie than anything else, for certain persons -had shown themselves very disobliging to him. Indeed, Mr. Cromartie had -had to complain on two occasions, and that not only of abusive language. -But during this time very little had changed in his material -surroundings; this is not saying there was no alteration in Mr. -Cromartie’s state of mind. In that respect there were two forces at -work. One was that he was now continually thinking of Josephine and -expecting a visit from her, and, that as his circle of ideas grew -smaller in solitude, he became more and more taken up by imagining how -she would come, what she would say, and so forth. Thus he was -continually rehearsing scenes with Josephine, and this habit interfered -with his daily reading and at times even alarmed him about his sanity. -In the second place, perhaps because thinking so much of Josephine made -him withdraw into himself, he became shy, was annoyed by the spectators, -and felt something approaching a repulsion for the animals in the -menagerie. - -This feeling was naturally intensified in regard to his immediate -neighbours, the female Orang and the Chimpanzee. In their case he was -indeed only making a slight return for the ill will they bore him, which -seemed to increase with every day. Mr. Cromartie was really much to -blame for an aggravation of their natural and, one may say, reasonable -dislike of him. For not only did he draw a larger crowd than fell to -their share, but he persistently ignored them, and so neglected ordinary -civilities that he would have made himself exceedingly unpopular had his -neighbours been human beings like himself. This was due to a singular -defect of imagination in him rather than to natural want of manners, for -in ordinary life he always showed himself perfectly well bred. If an -excuse can be found for his conduct it is that he believed that the -proper thing for him to do was to ignore the very existence of his -neighbours, and also that Collins, his keeper, never set him right on -this point. The fact is that Collins was never perfectly easy with Mr. -Cromartie, and that he was the kind of man to take offence himself. -Indeed, he was more jealous of the feelings of his old favourites, the -two apes, than he was quite aware of. Besides this he had lost the -Gibbon, which had been given to another keeper when Mr. Cromartie had -come, and there is no hiding the fact that Collins would have liked to -have the Gibbon back in Mr. Cromartie’s place. For one thing the ape had -given him less work, and for another, it had never been at any time in -its life his social superior. Besides that, Collins had, for we should -do him justice, a very positive affection for the animal. One evening, -after a day passed in a most desultory way, Mr. Cromartie was sitting in -his cage sucking his pipe, when suddenly he saw Miss Lackett come into -the empty house. - -This was the evening of the day after her troubled night. In the morning -she had resolved to settle the question whether Cromartie were mad or -not, to make a judgment on the subject that would be impartial and -definitive, for she felt convinced that if she could not settle the -question of his sanity one way or the other, there would be no doubt of -her losing hers. - -But when she had got into the Gardens she found it impossible to see Mr. -Cromartie alone. A crowd, though not as large as formerly, was still -clustered round the Ape-house the whole of the morning. Between one and -two there were always some persons before his cage whose presence -rendered it impossible for her to speak with him. She saw then that the -only thing was for her to wait till last thing at night and to hurry in -just at closing time. All this delay upset the arrangements of her day. -The knowledge that she had promised to call for her old schoolfellow, -Lady Rebecca Joel, and to go on and take tea at Admiral Goshawk’s, and -to go out afterwards with them, worried her excessively. At the last -minute she sent messages pleading headache and indisposition, and then -found nothing to do until closing time at the Zoo. To stay in the -Gardens for so long was intolerable. To add to her discomfort the sky -clouded over and a sharp storm came on, the air soon being filled with -sleet, snowflakes and hailstones. She ran out of the Gardens, getting -wet as she did so, and it was some moments before she could find a taxi. -When once inside there was the absolute necessity of telling the man -where to take her. - -“Baker Street,” said she. For Baker Street is a central point from which -she could easily go wherever she wished. This was the reason, it will be -remembered, that made the great detective Holmes choose to have his -rooms in Baker Street, and to-day it is still more central. All -Metro-Land is at one’s feet. - -But the time taken between the Zoo and Baker Street Tube station is -short, and Miss Lackett arrived with no clearer idea of where to go or -what to do than she had when she first ran out of the Gardens. To be -sure the rain had stopped for the time being, and she walked briskly -along the Marylebone Road. For she belonged to the order of society -which cannot loiter in the street. She marched away without any purpose, -wondering what she would do with herself, when on came the storm again -with a sudden gush of rain. Josephine looked about her and found a -refuge offered by the gates of a large red-brick building, which she -entered. It was Madame Tussaud’s. - -She had never as a child visited the celebrated collection of wax-work -effigies, and she was at once interested in what she saw there. Some -internal voice bade her make the most of this casual opportunity, to -throw aside her temporary unhappiness, and enjoy herself. - -She fell into a peaceful state of mind, and for several hours in -succession gave herself up to the pleasure of gazing at the formal -figures of the most celebrated persons of this and former ages. For the -most part they were the great Victorians and dated from last century. -There were but few other visitors, but the great saloons are always -crowded, and everywhere that she looked she found familiar faces. - -Josephine had been presented at Court, but had not been impressed by the -experience. Madame Tussaud’s seemed to her like a more august -presentation at an Eternal Levee. - -At one end of the room there were indeed the royal families of Europe in -their coronation robes. There was an air of formality, a stiffness, and -a constraint in all present which seemed to her natural in guests -waiting for their host to come in. And perhaps in another moment a -curtain would be brushed aside, and the Host of Hosts would appear. - -Josephine did not wait any longer, but ran downstairs to the Chamber of -Horrors. - -Before it seemed possible it was time to go back to the Gardens, if she -were to see Cromartie before closing time. She walked quickly into the -house, and found Cromartie sitting near the front of his cage as if he -were expecting to see her. As she came up to the cage he put down the -pipe he had been holding in his mouth and stood up, seeming then to -overshadow her, the floor of his cage being higher than the corridor in -which she stood. - -“Please sit down,” she said, and then was silent, finding nothing of all -the things she had come to tell him ready to her tongue. - -He obeyed her. - -They looked then at each other for some little while in silence. At last -Josephine summoned up her resolution and said to him, speaking in a low -voice: - -“I think that you are mad.” - -Cromartie nodded his head; he had huddled himself up in his chair and -apparently was unable to speak. - -Josephine waited and said: “I was very worried about you, because I -thought at first that something I had said to you might have made you -behave in this idiotic way, but it is now quite clear to me that even if -what I said did have any influence, you are quite mad, and that I need -not think about you any more.” - -Cromartie nodded his head again. She noticed with some surprise that he -was weeping, and that his face was wet with tears which were falling on -to the floor of his cage. The sight of his tears and his determined -silence made her harden her heart. She felt suddenly angry. - -The bell began ringing for closing time, and she heard someone, probably -the policeman, with his hand on the door talking to another man outside. -Josephine turned away, but a moment afterwards came back to the cage. -Cromartie was walking away from her blowing his nose. - -“You must be mad,” she called after him; then the door opened and the -policeman came in. - -“Hurry up, Miss, or you’ll have to stay here all night, and you know -that would never do,” she heard him say as she hurried away. - -Though Josephine’s visit had been painful, it did not succeed in -distressing Cromartie for very long. Indeed, after a short time he -recovered himself completely, and reasoning upon what she had said, and -the reasons of her coming at all, he found much with which to comfort -himself. In the first place, all the secret doubts he had had in the -last week of his own sanity were now dissipated. He was not going to -believe that he was mad, he said to himself, simply because Josephine -Lackett told him so. Besides which, he felt sure that she only affirmed -that he was mad because it suited her to believe it. If he were actually -insane it would relieve her of any necessity of thinking of him, and -that she had felt any such necessity to exist was in itself extremely -gratifying. Furthermore, he felt certain that if Josephine had really -been convinced of his insanity she would not have paid him a visit in -order to tell him of it. Even Josephine would not find any satisfaction -in such useless inhumanity. If she felt bound to take any steps in the -matter she would have gone to the officers of the Society and insisted -that he should be examined by a mental doctor, and if necessary -certified as a lunatic. And with these very satisfactory reasons Mr. -Cromartie assured himself that he was not really mad, or even in any -danger of becoming so, though he did not doubt that Josephine would -readily persuade herself to the contrary. - -Happiness and misery are purely relative, and Mr. Cromartie was now -raised into a state of the highest spirits by considerations which would -not ordinarily produce such a result. But after the condition of -complete despair in which he had been plunged for several weeks, he -could hardly imagine any greater bliss than knowing that Josephine was -having to persuade herself that he was mad in order to be able to -dismiss him from her thoughts. - -But it must not be concluded from this that Mr. Cromartie indulged in -any sort of hope. He did not even consider the possibility of escaping -from the Zoo or of winning Josephine’s love, because he had never had -any ambition to do either. Such thoughts would have seemed to him not -only ridiculous but also dishonourable. He had taken his course with his -eyes open, and the question whether he should abide by it or not was not -even open to consideration. In this respect the Zoological Society were -indeed fortunate in their selection of a man. For though there is little -doubt that Mr. Cromartie would have been given his liberty whenever he -asked for it, without his having recourse to extreme measures such as -refusing food or imploring the aid of visitors in rescuing him, yet -letting him go would have been a cause of vexation to the Society. It is -not to be supposed that there would have been any difficulty in -replacing him by another specimen of his species. No, the reason why -they would have felt his loss such a severe blow is because the public -readily attaches itself to the individual animals in the Zoo, and is not -to be consoled when such a favourite dies, or disappears, even if it is -instantly replaced by an even finer specimen of the same species. Many -persons habitually resort to the Gardens in order to visit their -particular friends, Sam, Sadie and Rollo, and not merely to look at any -polar bear, orang, or king penguin. And this applies quite as forcibly -to the Fellows of the Society as to the outside public. It was natural, -therefore, that they should entertain hopes that the new acquisition to -the Gardens should remain in it for the rest of his natural life, and -though he could not vie with the other creatures in general popularity -when once the vulgar curiosity about him had worn off, yet it was to be -hoped that in time he would develop as much personality as if he were a -bear or an ape. - -While Sir James Agate-Agar was being shown over the house by the -curator, he referred to Cromartie as “your local Diogenes.” The name was -immediately on the lips of everyone who moved in Zoological circles. -There was opportunity here for Mr. Cromartie had he been disposed to -take it. When once the vulgar publicity which had attended his -installation had passed, there were many persons in the upper ranks of -London society who were anxious to make Mr. Cromartie’s acquaintance, -and had he known enough to take up the part marked out for him, there is -no doubt but that he could have had as much society as he cared for, and -that of persons of the very front rank, all of whom were animated by the -most genuine interest in him and friendliness towards him, though -naturally not without the expectation that they would in exchange be -entertained by his remarks, for such a man as the Diogenes of the Zoo -must surely be a great oddity. - -But though Mr. Cromartie had every intention of remaining for the rest -of his life in the cage provided for him, he had no idea of the social -opportunities which doing so would afford him, and he appreciated them -so little that he most steadily repulsed all overtures of the kind, and -betrayed an obvious reluctance to enter into conversation with anyone, -even the curator himself. At the time in question, however, this was set -down to a not unnatural self-consciousness in the new situation in which -he found himself, and also to the disturbing effect of being exhibited -daily to a large crowd, among whom there were persons whose offensive -behaviour excited the greatest indignation. - -It was several days after this first interview before he was to see Miss -Lackett again. During this period he had much to think of, but his -spirits remained high; for the first time for ten days he took a walk -round the Gardens from pleasure, and not from a feeling that he must -have some fresh air if he were to keep well. For several evenings he sat -motionless for half an hour or more near the beavers’ and the otters’ -pools, and was frequently rewarded by a glimpse of the former, though -only on one occasion by the latter. Whatever creatures in the Gardens -had most retained their native wildness were sure to attract him. They -seemed to him, in his rather warped state of mind, to have preserved -their self-respect. It was to accomplish this in his own particular case -which was his chief concern, though of course he was perfectly well -aware that it did not consist in behaving with any shyness. On the -contrary, Mr. Cromartie’s self-respect depended upon his maintaining an -appearance of unruffled calm, together with the utmost civility in all -his relations with those with whom he had any business. - -One evening as he was watching for the foxes, the keeper of the small -cats’ house came up to him and entered into conversation. After a few -trivial remarks which served their ordinary purpose--that is they let -Mr. Cromartie know that the keeper was a pleasant fellow and -well-disposed to him--he said: - -“I think it would be a good plan if you were to make a pet of one of the -animals, that is, if you would like to. It seems a waste for you to be -here and not make one of the out-of-way kind of pets.” - -Mr. Cromartie had been thinking that day that perhaps the greatest -disadvantage under which he lay in his situation, was that he could not -have any familiar friend. His former life had been utterly renounced and -was now closed to him, so that it was no use his looking backwards for -one. At the same time he was so utterly cut off from the ordinary run of -humanity that he would not care to risk having any intercourse with his -fellows lest he should be exposed to pity, or to an offensive curiosity. - -The suggestion of this keeper could not have come at a better time, for -he saw that though he might not care for a _pet_ he might make a -_friend_. In any case, he reflected, equality of circumstances is an -excellent basis for any acquaintanceship, and he could nowhere share the -circumstances of an animal’s life so well as he could here in the Zoo. -Had he gone into a tropical jungle it would have been no closer, for -there, though the animals would have been at home, he would not. - -He followed the keeper into the small cat house, and talked with him for -a little while longer. - -It so happened that one of the beasts directly under the care of this -man had attracted Mr. Cromartie when he went into the house before. For -in the Caracal he saw an unhappiness to match his own, combined with -beauty. The Caracal, poor creature, never stopped moving, holding its -face to the bars of its little cage. It moved back and forth with -tireless rapidity, and a monotony which seemed inspired by unutterable -sorrow. - -At his request the keeper now took out the Caracal for him to speak to -it. - -For several days after this Mr. Cromartie never failed to pay the -Caracal a visit every evening, and while making very few overtures to -it, he showed the creature that he was more disposed to be friendly than -most of its fellow captives. This persistence was not thrown away, for -after five or six days the Caracal would stop his sad motions before his -bars when Cromartie came in, and would look after him with evident -regret when the time came for him to go away. - -The keeper, on his side, was mightily pleased at his Caracal’s getting -such a companion, and perhaps the more so as it was not his own -favourite; in particular the man gave himself all the credit for -advising Mr. Cromartie to make a pet of some beast or other. It was not -long before he spread the news of it, telling the curator and others of -the staff who might be interested. - -The upshot of all this was that one evening as Cromartie was sitting -reading, locked in for the night, suddenly he heard the door unlocked -and beheld the curator come to pay him a visit. - -“Oh, I just stepped in, Mr. Cromartie,” said the curator in the most -friendly way, “for a word or two. The keeper of the small cats’ house -tells me that you have made quite a pet of the Caracal.” - -At these words Cromartie turned a little pale, and said to himself: “The -fat is in the fire now. He is going to forbid us continuing our -friendship; I ought to have expected it.” - -The next words the curator said quite undeceived him, for he went on: -“Now how would you like, Mr. Cromartie, to have that fellow in your--in -with you here, I mean? You need not have him unless you like, of course, -and you need not keep him a day longer than you want to. I am not trying -to save space, I assure you.” - -Mr. Cromartie accepted the suggestion thankfully, and it was agreed that -the Caracal should come and pay him a trial visit for a few days. - -The next evening he went as usual to the small cat house, but this time -when the Caracal was let out he invited him to come back with him, and -with very little demur the creature followed him and then walked with -him by his side, and then, his confidence increasing, the cat ran before -him a few yards, stopping every now and then as if to ask him: - -“Which way shall we go now, comrade?” - -[Illustration] - -Then as Cromartie came up with him he shook the tassels of his tufted -ears and again ran on before. You may be sure that the poor Caracal did -not suffer from nostalgia for his little cage. No, indeed, he ran into -his friend’s more commodious quarters as if he would be content to stay -in them for ever, and after he had trotted all round them four or five -times and leapt up on to the table and down off each of the chairs, he -settled down as if he were at home, and perhaps indeed he was so for the -first time since he was come to the Gardens. - -This pretty kind of cat, for such he found the Caracal to be (not but -what it had some virtues for which cats are not usually famous), proved -a very great solace to him in his captivity. For the creature had a -thousand playful tricks and pretty ways which were a delight to him. For -so long he had not been able to see anything all day except his -neighbours the sordid apes, and the staring faces of a crowd which -seemed to share all the qualities of those apes (and with less excuse -for being there), that it was a rare kind of happiness for him to have a -graceful and charming creature beside him. Moreover it was his -companion, the friend of his choice, and the sharer of his misfortunes. -They were equals in everything, and there was in their love none of that -fawning servility on the one side and domineering ownership on the other -that makes nearly all the dealings of men and animals so degrading to -each of the parties. Though it may seem fanciful, there was actually a -strong resemblance in the characters of these two friends. - -Both were in their nature gay and sportive, with pleasant manners which -admirably concealed the untamed wildness of their tawny hearts. But the -resemblance lay chiefly in their excessive and stubborn pride. In both -of them pride was the mainspring of all their actions, though -necessarily the quality must show itself very differently in a man and -in a rare and precious kind of a cat. In imprisonment, though in one -case it was voluntarily made, and in the other case forced, neither -would fawn or make utter and complete submission. - -For though Mr. Cromartie always showed a complete resignation and -exemplary obedience, yet it was only a feigned submission after all. - -The visit of his new friend was to the liking of both parties, and in -general they found none of the difficulties that sometimes attend -living at close quarters. It is true that the Caracal was no sleeper at -night, but spent all the early part of it prowling hither and thither; -still it was on very silent and padded feet, and by morning he would be -tired of roaming, so that on waking up Mr. Cromartie never failed to -find his friend curled up on the bed beside him. - -In all their relations the man never attempted to exercise any authority -over the beast; if the Caracal wandered away he did not call him back, -nor did he try to tempt him with any tit-bits from his table, nor by -rewards of any sort train him to new tricks. Indeed, to look at them -both together it would seem as if they were unaware of each other’s -presence, or that nothing but a total indifference existed between them. -Only if the Caracal trespassed too far on his patience, either by eating -his food before he had finished, or by playing with his pen if he were -writing, would he swear at him or give him a little cuff to show his -displeasure. Once or twice on such occasions the Caracal bared his teeth -at him and stretched out his sharp and wicked claws, but yet he always -thought again before using them on his big, slowly moving friend. Once -or twice, of course, as might have been expected, Mr. Cromartie got -scratched, but this was done in play or was merely accidental; indeed, -it almost always was when the Caracal, leaping up from the ground upon -his shoulder, held on lest he should over-balance. Only once was this at -all serious, and then because the Caracal, trying a higher jump than -usual, landed on his head and the nape of his neck. Mr. Cromartie cried -out in surprise and pain, and the Caracal drew in his claws instantly, -and by purring and many affectionate rubbings of his body against his -friend, sought to make amends for his misdeed. Mr. Cromartie was -bleeding from ten dagger wounds on his scalp, but after the first moment -he spoke gently to the cat and forgave him fully. All this was, however, -nothing when weighed against the happiness he had in having a companion -to be with him in his captivity, and a companion who was so much the -happier for having him. - -At Cromartie’s request the Caracal was now installed permanently with -him, and another board was attached to the front of the cage, beside his -own. It bore the inscription: - - +-----------------------------------------+ - | CARACAL | - | | - | _Felis Caracal._ ♂ Iraq. | - | | - | Presented by Squadron N, R.A.F., Basra. | - +-----------------------------------------+ - -There were no pictures attached of either Man or Caracal, as it was -taken for granted that visitors would be able to distinguish them. The -public showed a great appreciation of the Man’s sharing his cage with an -animal, and Mr. Cromartie suddenly became, what he had not been before, -extremely popular. The tide turned, and everybody found charming the -person who had so scandalised them. Instead of ill-natured remarks, or -even insults, Mr. Cromartie’s ears were assailed with cries of delight. - -This change was certainly one for the better, though Mr. Cromartie -reflected that in time it might become as tedious as ill-natured remarks -had been formerly. His defence was the same against each, that is, he -shut his ears, never looked through the netting if he could help it, and -read his books as if he were indeed a scholar working in his own study. - -He was sitting in this way reading “Wilhelm Meister,” with his companion -the Caracal at his feet, when he suddenly heard his name called and -looked up. - -There was Josephine, standing before him, looking in at him, her face -pale, her mouth rigid, and her eyes staring. - -Up jumped Mr. Cromartie, but as he was surprised his self-control was -gone for an instant. - -“My God! What have you come for?” he asked her in agitated tones. - -Josephine was taken aback for a moment by this greeting, and as he -strode to the front of his cage, stepped back away from him. For the -moment she was confused. Then she said: - -“I have come to ask you about a book. The second volume of ‘Les Liaisons -Dangereuses.’ Aunt Eily is fussing about it. She says the plates make it -a very valuable edition. She suspects me of reading it too, and thinks -it unsuitable....” - -As she spoke Cromartie began laughing, screwing up his eyes and showing -his teeth. - -“So my forgetfulness has got you into a scrape, has it?” he asked. Then: -“I’m most awfully sorry. I’ve actually got it here. I’ll post it to you -to-night. I can’t slip it through the wire netting, unfortunately. -That’s one of the drawbacks of living in a cage.” - -Josephine had not seen Cromartie looking so charming for a long time. -Her own expression changed also, but she still remained shy and awkward, -and was obviously afraid of someone coming into the Ape-house and -finding them together, talking. - -For a moment or two they were silent. She looked at the Caracal and -said: - -“I read in the paper about your having a companion. I expect it is a -very good plan. You are looking better. I’ve been having bronchitis, and -have been laid up for a fortnight since you saw me last.” - -But as Josephine spoke Cromartie’s face clouded over again. He noticed -her awkwardness and was annoyed by it. He remembered also her last -visit, and how she had behaved then. Recollecting all this he frowned, -drew himself up, rubbed his nose rather crossly, and said: - -“You must realise, Josephine, that seeing you is excessively painful to -me. In fact I am not sure I can endure being exposed to the danger of it -any longer. Last time you came to see me for the purpose of informing -me that you think I am mad. I don’t think you are right, but if I cannot -guard myself from seeing you I daresay I shall go mad. I must therefore -ask you in the interests of my own health, if for nothing else, never to -come near me again. If you have anything to say of an urgent nature--if -there should be another book of yours, or any reason of that sort, you -can always write to me. Nothing you can say or do can be anything but -extremely painful and exhausting, even if you felt kindly disposed -towards me; but from your behaviour I can only conclude you want to give -me pain and come here to amuse yourself by hurting me. I warn you I am -not going to submit to being tortured.” - -“I’ve never heard such nonsense, John. I hoped you were better, but now -I am sure you really are mad,” said Josephine. “I’ve never been spoken -to in such a way. And you imagine that I of all people want to see you!” - -“Well, I forbid your coming to see me in the future,” said Mr. -Cromartie. - -“Forbid! You forbid!” cried Josephine, who was now furious with him. -“You forbid me to come! Don’t you realise that you are being exhibited? -I, or anyone else who pays a shilling, can come and stare at you all -day. Your feelings need not worry us; you should have thought of that -before. You wanted to make an exhibition of yourself, now you must take -the consequences. Forbid me to come and look at you! Good heavens! The -impertinence of the animal! You are one of the apes now, didn’t you know -that? You put yourself on a level with a monkey and you are a monkey, -and I for one am going to treat you like a monkey.” - -This was said in a cold, sneering sort of way that was altogether too -much for Mr. Cromartie. The blood flew to his head, and with a face -distorted with almost insane rage he shook his fist at her through the -bars. When at last he was able to speak it was only to tell her in an -unnatural voice: - -“I shall kill you for that. Confound these bars!” - -“They have some advantages,” said Josephine coolly. She was frightened, -but as she spoke Mr. Cromartie lay down on the floor of his cage and she -saw him stuff his handkerchief into his mouth and bite it; there were -tears in his eyes, and sometimes he fetched a deep groan as if he were -near his end. - -All this frightened Josephine more even than his threatening that he -would murder her. And seeing him rolling there as if he were in a fit -made her repent of what she had said to him, and then she came right up -to the netting of his cage and began to beg him to forgive her, and to -forget what she had said. - -“I did not mean one word of it, dearest John,” said she in a new and -altered voice, which scarce reached to him, it was so soft. “How can you -think I want to hurt you when I come to this wretched prison of yours to -see you because I love you, and cannot forget you in spite of all that -you have done only on purpose to hurt me?” - -“Oh, go away, go away, if you have any pity left in you,” said John. His -own voice was now come back to him, but he sobbed once or twice between -his words. - -Meanwhile the Caracal, who had watched all this scene and listened to it -with a great deal of wonder, now came up to him and began to comfort him -in his distress, first sniffing at his face and hands and then licking -them. - -And before anything more could be said between Josephine and John, the -door opened and a whole party of people were come in to see the apes. At -that Josephine went out of the house and out of the Gardens, and getting -into a cab went straight home, all as if she were in a nightmare. As for -Mr. Cromartie, he struggled quickly on to his feet and hurried out of -his cage into his hiding-place to wash his face, comb his hair, and -compose himself a little before facing the public; but when he went back -the party were gone away and there was only his Caracal staring at him -and asking him as plain as words: - -“What is the matter, my dear friend? Are you all right now? Is it over? -I am sorry for you, although I am a Caracal and you are a man. Indeed, I -do love you very tenderly.” - -There was only the Caracal when he went back into his cage, only the -Caracal and “Wilhelm Meister” lying on the floor. - -That night Miss Lackett suffered every torment which love can give, for -her pride seemed to have deserted her now when she most wanted it to -support her, and without it her pity for poor Mr. Cromartie and her -shame at her own words were free to reduce and humble her utterly. - -“How can I ever speak to him again?” she asked herself. “How can I ever -hope to be forgiven when I have gone twice to him in his miserable -captivity, and each time I have insulted him and said the things which -it would hurt him most to hear?” - -“From the very beginning,” she told herself, “it has all been my fault. -It is I who made him go into the Zoo. I called him mad, and mocked at -him and made him suffer, when everything has been due to my ungovernable -temper, my pride and my heartlessness. But all the time I have suffered, -and now it is too late to do anything. He will never forgive me now. He -will never bear to see me again and I must suffer always. If I had -behaved differently perhaps I could have saved him and myself too. Now I -have killed his love for me, and because of my folly he must suffer -imprisonment and loneliness for ever, and I myself shall live miserably -and never again dare hold up my head.” - -Providence has not framed mankind for emotions such as these; they may -be felt acutely, but in a healthy and high-spirited girl they are not of -a very lasting nature. - -It was only natural, then, that after giving up the greater part of the -night to the bitterest self-reproach and to the completest humiliation -of spirit, and after shedding enough tears to make her pillow -uncomfortably damp, Miss Lackett should wake next morning in a very -hopeful state of mind. She determined to visit Mr. Cromartie that -afternoon, and despatched a note acquainting him with her intention in -these terms: - - Eaton Square. - - DEAR JOHN, - - You know well that the reason why I behaved badly is because I - still love you. I am very much ashamed, please forgive me if you - can. I must see you to-day. May I come in the afternoon? It is very - important, because I don’t think we can either of us continue like - this much longer. I will come in the afternoon. Please consent to - see me, but I will not come unless you send me word by the - messenger that I may. - - Yours, - JOSEPHINE LACKETT. - -The moment that Josephine had sent off the messenger she regretted what -she had said in it, and nothing seemed to her then more certain than -that her letter would exasperate Cromartie still further. The next -moment she thought to herself: “I have exposed myself to the greatest -humiliation a woman can receive.” For a second or two this filled her -with terror, and at that moment she would have readily killed herself. -As neither poisons, poignards, pistols or precipices were within reach -she did nothing, and in less than a minute the mood passed, and she said -to herself: - -“What does my humiliation matter? I suffered more of that last night -than I can ever suffer again. Last night I humiliated myself in my own -eyes. If John tries to humiliate me to-day he will find the work done. -Meanwhile I must be self-controlled. I have no time to waste on my -emotions; I have many things to do. I must see John, and as I am in love -with him I have got to make terms with him. I have got to make a bargain -with him.” - -Acting on these thoughts she went out at once, meaning to walk to the -Zoo without waiting any longer for the messenger boy to come back. But -her mind was still busy. - -“I will completely forgive him, and offer to become engaged to him -secretly in return for his instantly leaving the Zoo.” - -She did not reflect as she said this that nothing would be easier for -her than to break off such an engagement, whereas if Cromartie once left -the Gardens it was improbable that they would take him back. - -But when she got to the Marble Arch she had to wait a little before -crossing the road, and she noticed a man selling newspapers beside her. -On the placard he carried she saw: - - MAN IN THE ZOO - MAULED BY - MONKEY - -For the first moment she did not connect the placard with her lover; she -permitted herself to be amused at the thought of a spectator having his -finger bitten, but in the next instant a doubt arose and she hurriedly -bought the paper. - -“This morning the ‘Man in the Zoo,’ whose real name is Mr. John -Cromartie, was shockingly mauled by Daphne, the Orang in the next cage -to his.” Josephine read the account of the affair right through very -slowly. - -It appeared that about eleven o’clock that morning Cromartie had been -playing ball in his cage with the Caracal. In dodging the Caracal he had -fallen heavily against the wire mesh partition separating him from the -Orang. While he had rested there for a moment the spectators were -horrified to see him seized by the Orang, which caught him by the hair. -Mr. Cromartie had put up his hands to prevent his face being scratched, -and the Orang had managed to get hold of his fingers and had cracked the -bones of them. Mr. Cromartie had shown great courage and had succeeded -in freeing himself before the arrival of the keeper. Two fingers were -crushed and the bones fractured; he had sustained several severe scalp -wounds and a scratched face. The only danger to be feared was blood -poisoning, as the injuries inflicted by apes are well known to be -peculiarly venomous. - -On reading this Josephine suddenly remembered how the King of Greece had -died from the effects of a monkey bite, and she became more and more -alarmed. She called a taxi, got into it, and told the driver to take her -to the Zoological Gardens as fast as he could. All the way there she was -in a fever of agitation, and could settle nothing in her own mind. - -Having arrived at the Zoo, she went straight to the house of the -resident curator, and was just in time to see Mr. Cromartie being -carried in on a stretcher, but before she could come up to it the door -was shut in her face. She rang, but it was almost five minutes before -the door was opened by a maidservant who took her card in, with the -request that she might see the curator as she was a friend of Mr. -Cromartie’s. Before the maid came back, however, the curator came out, -and Josephine explained her visit without any embarrassment. She was -invited in, and found herself in a fine well-lit dining-room in the -presence of two gentlemen in morning dress, and both with bushy -eyebrows. The curator introduced her as a friend of Mr. Cromartie’s, and -they both gave her a very keen look and bowed. - -Sir Walter Tintzel, the elder of the two, was a short man with a rather -round red face; Mr. Ogilvie, a taller, youngish man, with a skin like -parchment, and a glass eye into which she found herself staring. “How is -the patient?” asked Josephine, falling at once into that state of mind -which is produced by the presence of distinguished medical men, and -particularly surgeons, a state of mind, that is, of almost complete -blankness, when however upset one may have been the moment before, one -finds all emotion suspended, or swallowed up in fog. All the faculties -at such a moment are concentrated on behaving with an absurd decorum. - -“It is a little too early to say, Miss Lackett,” replied Sir Walter -Tintzel, who was filled with curiosity to find out more about her. - -“My friend Mr. Ogilvie has just amputated a finger; in my opinion it -would have been running an unjustifiable risk not to have done so. There -were several minor injuries, but happily they did not require such -drastic measures. May I ask, Miss Lackett, without impertinence, if you -have known Mr. Cromartie long? You are, I understand, a personal friend, -a close and dear friend of Mr. Cromartie’s.” - -Miss Lackett opened her eyes rather wide at this remark, and replied: - -“I was naturally anxious.... Yes, I am an old friend of Mr. -Cromartie’s--and, if you like, a close friend.” She laughed. “Is there -danger of blood-poisoning?” - -“There is a risk of it, but we have taken every precaution.” - -“The King of Greece died of being bitten by a monkey,” cried Josephine -suddenly. - -“That’s rubbish,” interrupted the curator, coming forward. “Why -everybody in the Gardens has been more or less seriously bitten by -monkeys at some time or other. It is always happening. It’s dreadful to -think that the poor fellow should have lost a finger, but there’s no -danger.” - -“You are sure there’s no danger?” asked Josephine. - -The curator appealed to the medical men. They allowed themselves to -smile. - -Josephine withdrew, and in the hall the curator said to her: - -“Don’t worry about him, Miss Lackett; it’s a beastly thing of course to -think of, but it’s not serious. He isn’t the King of Greece; the monkey -isn’t that sort of monkey even. He’ll be up and about in a day or two at -the most. By the way, is your father General Lackett?” - -Josephine was surprised, but admitted it without hesitation. - -“Oh, yes--he’s an old friend of mine. Drop in one day next week to tea -and see how our friend is going on.” - -Josephine left in very much better spirits than she had come, and though -she once or twice was troubled by the recollection of Mr. Cromartie’s -unconscious form, the head swathed in bandages, and the body covered -with a blanket, she felt small anxiety. On the contrary, she very soon -gave herself up to rosy visions of the future. - -Thus nothing appeared to her to be more clear than that Mr. Cromartie -would leave the Zoo, and the loss of a finger was perhaps not too high a -price to pay for restoring him to ordinary ways, or perhaps she might -say not too great a punishment for conduct such as his had been. - -And it crossed her mind also that now there was no need for her to -humble herself to Cromartie, for he would leave the Zoo and become -reconciled to her now as a matter of course. It was for her to forgive -him! She had had a narrow escape. What a weak position she might have -been in had she seen him before the ape bit him! How strong a position -she now occupied! She must, she reflected, take this lesson to heart and -never act hurriedly on the impulse of the moment, otherwise she would -give John every advantage and there would be no dealing with him at all. -Next she recollected the letter she had sent him, and spent a little -while trying to recall the exact terms of it. When she remembered that -she had said that she was ashamed and had asked to be forgiven, she bit -her lips with vexation, but the next moment she stopped short and said -aloud: “How unworthy this is of you! How petty! How vulgar!” - -And she remembered at that moment all the vulgar and horrible things she -had felt when she had first learnt that John had gone to the Zoo, and -how much ashamed she was of them afterwards, and how hatefully she had -behaved on both of her visits to him. She told herself then that she -ought to be ashamed, ought to ask forgiveness, and that she ought to be -thankful that she had done so in her letter, but in the next instant she -was saying to herself: “All the same, it won’t do to put myself at his -mercy. I must keep the upper hand or my life won’t be worth living.” And -after that her mind raced off again to visions of the future in which -John was rewarded with her hand and they took a country house. Her -father was an authority on fishponds and trout streams. He and Cromartie -would of course lay out a fishpond. Perhaps there would be a moat round -the house. But the figure who bent over her father’s shoulder at -breakfast, pushing away the egg-boiling machine to look at a plan of the -new trout hatchery, that figure was a very different person from Mr. -Cromartie the mutilated, monkey-bitten man in the Zoo. - -When Josephine got home she found a note which had been left for her, -but which was not in Mr. Cromartie’s handwriting. - -It ran as follows: - - Infirmary, Zoo. - - DEAR JOSEPHINE, - - Your note has come by the messenger. I shall not be free to see you - this afternoon, which relieves me from making the decision not to - do so. You say that the reason you behave cruelly to me is because - you love me. It is because I know that, that I have tried to do - without your love. I think you are a character who will always - torture the people you love. I cannot bear pain well; that alone - makes us unsuited to each other. It is the principal reason why I - never wish to see you again. - - You are mistaken when you say that you have something of the first - importance to tell me. Unless it is something to do with the - arrangements which the Zoo authorities make with regard to the - Ape-house, it cannot be of importance to me. - - Please believe that I bear you no resentment for the past; indeed I - still love you, but I mean what I say. - - Yours ever, - JOHN CROMARTIE. - -When Josephine had read this letter over twice and had realised that it -must have been written _after_ he had been bitten by the ape, and just -before his finger was cut off, she gave up her hopes. - -Everything she had been feeling was revealed as ridiculous folly. If -John could write like that at the moment when he must have been most -wishing to escape from confinement, she saw that her plans for his -regeneration were impossible. She went up to her room and lay down. All -was lost. - -That morning Mr. Cromartie had taken his breakfast of rolls, butter, -Oxford marmalade, and coffee as usual. When it had been cleared away he -began to play ball with the Caracal. - -For this purpose he used an ordinary tennis ball, and throwing it on the -floor of his cage, made it bounce on to the netting and back to him. The -game therefore resembled fives, the object, however, being, on his part, -to prevent the Caracal intercepting the ball, which, by the way, he was -rarely able to do more than three or four times running, for the cat was -very quick on its legs and had a good eye. - -After they had been playing for about ten minutes Mr. Cromartie slipped -backwards in taking a ball - -[Illustration] - -which bounced high, and fell heavily against the wire netting wall of -his cage. Before he could get his balance he felt himself taken hold of -by the hair, and understood at once that it was his neighbour the Orang -who had got him in its clutches. The brute then got a finger as far as -Mr. Cromartie’s ear and slit it through, though not injuring the drum. -Mr. Cromartie managed to turn his head then in order to see his -assailant, and found his face was now exposed, and his forehead was -scratched. To protect himself he put one hand in front of his face, and -was pushing himself away from the netting with the other when the Orang -caught hold of two of his fingers in its teeth. The pain of this made -him jerk his head free, and the lock of hair by which the Orang held him -came right out of his scalp. - -The ape still held on to his fingers like a bulldog. Just then his -Caracal, which had been dodging about between his legs, got one paw -through the netting and raked the Orang’s thighs with his claws, but the -ape did not leave go even then. Mr. Cromartie, who had a very cool head -for a man in such a situation, took out a couple of wax vestas from his -pocket, struck them on his heel, and thrust the flaring fusees through -the wire into the ape’s muzzle and in that way made him leave go his -hold at once. - -This circumstance of his feeling for the fusees in his pocket while the -ape was slowly grinding his fingers to a mere pulp very greatly -impressed the spectators, who beyond shouting for assistance were -powerless to do anything. No less remarkable was the way in which, -directly he was free, he pulled away the Caracal from the netting before -the ape could catch hold of him, and this though the cat was beside -itself with the fury of the fight. But strangely enough in doing this he -did not get scratched, either because he pulled him off by the scruff -with his uninjured hand and carried him right out of the cage, or -because the Caracal knew him even at that moment. - -Collins arrived just as this happened and the shock was almost too much -for him; it was remarked that he was deathly white and could scarcely -speak. Mr. Cromartie was covered with blood, blood pouring from his ear -and his fingers, and all his hair matted with blood, but he came back at -once after locking up his Caracal, to show the spectators that he was -not badly hurt; they for their part clapped their hands with joy, either -because they were glad to see him escape, or because they were grateful -for having been presented with such an unusual spectacle for nothing. - -Cromartie then went back to his inner room and Collins led him off at -once to the infirmary, where he was given first aid. It was some little -while after this that he received Josephine’s letter and dictated an -answer for the messenger to take to her. There was some little delay in -the messenger getting to him. - -Directly he had despatched the letter he was anæsthetised and the third -finger of his right hand amputated. - -After the operation and before he had regained consciousness, he was -taken to the house of the curator, who had decided that he would be more -comfortable there than anywhere else. Although at the time Mr. Cromartie -had behaved with perfect composure and had borne his injuries without -flinching, not only at the time of the assault, but for over three hours -afterwards, and had been able to compose a letter during that time as if -nothing had happened, he had received a great nervous shock the effects -of which only became apparent next day. He spent a very disturbed night, -but in the morning was much better; ate an ordinary breakfast but did -not get up, and Sir Walter Tintzel, who visited him about eleven -o’clock, was sanguine and predicted a rapid recovery. In the afternoon -he was restless and suffered acutely, and as evening came on his -temperature rose rapidly. That night he was in a condition of fitful -delirium, occasionally falling asleep and waking up with nightmares -which persisted even when he appeared to be wide awake. - -On the second day the fever increased and blood-poisoning in an acute -form was recognised, but the patient was altogether rational in his -mind. On the third day the symptoms of blood-poisoning were more -pronounced. The patient fell into a delirium which lasted without -intermission for the following three days. Most of the feverish -hallucinations which filled his mind then passed completely away when -he recovered consciousness. Yet Mr. Cromartie had a clear and vivid -memory of one of them. This was, he knew, nothing but a dream, yet it -seemed but to have just happened to him, and the dream or vision was -singular enough for it to be put down here. - -In the Strand people were hurrying along in little crowds like gusts of -dirty smoke that was blown at intervals in wisps across the road. They -were all coming towards him as he walked down from Somerset House -towards Trafalgar Square. No one was walking the same way that he was, -and none of the people he met brushed against him or even looked at him, -but they melted away to right and left and so let him pass by. Sometimes -when a band of them passed him he caught a whiff of their odour, and the -smell sickened him. - -They were frightened, they hurried by, but he was thinking of that great -man Sir Christopher Wren, who had planned the street he was then walking -in. But nobody cared, nobody had built it, though the plans were all -there rolled up and ready, and just as good to-day as they were in the -reign of King Charles II. - -He lifted up his head presently, and up in the sky a white streak was -being deliberately drawn. It was an aeroplane writing advertisements. So -he stood still in the middle of the hurrying crowds to watch it; now he -could just see the tiny aeroplane like a little brown insect. Slowly in -the sky a long straight line was drawn and then a loop--surely it must -be the figure 6. And then the aeroplane stopped throwing out smoke and -became almost invisible as it went off tittering across the sky. - -The numeral swelled and grew and was being slowly blown away when all of -a sudden another white streak appeared and the aeroplane was drawing -something else. But as he watched he was aware that after all it was the -same thing again, another 6, and when it had done that the aeroplane -mounted again into the sky and drew another 6, but already its first -work was undone by the wind and in a few moments there was nothing to be -seen in the sky but a few wisps of smoke. - -For a second or two Cromartie felt himself rocking in the aeroplane, -which went humming away across the sky before falling again sideways -like a snipe bleating; that was only a moment, as when you shut your -eyes and fancy that you can feel the earth spinning in space, and then -Cromartie was walking out of the Strand into Trafalgar Square. It was -empty, and he looked at the Nelson monument with wonder. Landseer’s -great beasts planted their feet flat down before them. What were they, -he wondered? Lions or Leopards, or perhaps Bears? He could not say. And -suddenly he saw that his right hand was bleeding and his fingers gone. A -great crowd had entered the Square; the fountains were playing, the sun -was shining, and he got on to a scarlet omnibus. But very soon he saw -that the people were whispering together on the omnibus and they were -all looking at him, and he knew that it was because they saw his -wounded hand. He put his other hand up to his forehead and there was -blood on that also. He was afraid then of the people on the bus and so -he got out. But wherever he wandered the people stopped and stared at -him and whispered, and as he walked among them they drew aside and -formed into little groups and gazed after him as he went by, and it was -because they knew him by the wounds on his head and on his hand. - -They were all of them muttering and looking at him with hatred, but -something restrained them, so that though their eyes were like sharp -daggers they were one and all afraid to point their fingers.... - -He was going to vote. He would cast his vote. Nothing should stop him. -At last he saw the two entrances to the underground voting hall with -Ladies written over one and Gentlemen written over the other, and he -went downstairs. But when he asked the attendant for his voting card the -man took down a large book bound in lambskin with the wool left on, and -turned over several pages and looked down them. At last he said: “But -your name is not written in the Book of Life, Mr. Cromartie. You must -give up your secret, you know, if you wish to be registered.” When he -heard this Mr. Cromartie felt sick, and he noticed the smell that came -from all the other voters in their ballot boxes; he hesitated, and at -last he said: - -“But if I do not give up my secret may I not vote?” - -“No, Mr. Cromartie. Nobody can vote who does not give up his secret, -that is called the secrecy of the ballot--but it is out of the question -for you to vote, anyhow ... you bear the Mark of the Beast.” - -And Mr. Cromartie looked at his hand and felt his forehead and saw that -he did indeed bear the Mark of the Beast where it had bitten him, and he -knew that he was an outcast. That was what everybody had whispered. He -would not give up his secret so he was rejected by mankind and hated by -them, for he frightened them. They were all alike, they had no secrets, -but he had kept his and now the Beast had set its Mark upon him, and he -seemed terrible to them all, and he himself was afraid. “The Beast has -set his Mark on me,” he said to himself. “It will slowly eat me up. I -cannot escape now, and one thing is as bad as another. On the whole I -would rather the Beast slowly ate me up than give up so much, and the -stench of my fellows disgusts me.” - -And then he heard the Beast moving restlessly behind some partition; he -heard the rustling of straw and the great creature slowly licking itself -all over; and then its smell, sweet, and warm, and awful, swallowed him -up, and he lay quite still on the floor of the cage, listening to its -tail going thump, thump, thump on the floor beside him. Terror could go -no further, and at last he opened his eyes and slowly understood that it -was his own heart which was beating and no beast’s tail, and all about -him there were clean sheets and flowers and a smell of iodoform. But his -fear lasted for half that day. - -In a fortnight Mr. Cromartie was pronounced out of danger, but he -continued in so weak a state for some time afterwards that he was not -allowed to receive any visitors, so that although Josephine called every -day it was only to hear the latest news of how he had passed the night, -and to leave flowers for the sickroom. - -In the following weeks Mr. Cromartie made a rapid recovery; that is to -say, though by no means restored to his ordinary health, he was able -first to get up for an hour in the middle of the day, and then to go for -a short walk round the Gardens. - -The doctors attending upon him suggested at this time that an entire -change of scene would be beneficial, and the curator, far from putting -any obstacles in the way of this, frequently urged the patient to go for -a month’s holiday to Cornwall. But in this he was met by a steady and -obstinate refusal, or rather by complete passivity and non-resistance. -Mr. Cromartie refused to take a holiday. He declined to go away anywhere -by himself, though he added that he was completely at the curator’s -disposal and prepared to go to any place where he was sent in charge of -a keeper. After some days, during which the curator proposed first one -scheme and then another, the plan of Mr. Cromartie’s being sent away was -abandoned. In the first place it was difficult to spare a keeper, or for -that matter to find a suitable man among the staff to go with Mr. -Cromartie, and it was difficult to find a suitable place where they -should be sent. - -But the chief reason why these schemes were given up was because of the -apathetic and even hostile attitude which the invalid adopted to them, -and because it occurred to the curator that this hostility was perhaps -not without a reason. - -And indeed there is no doubt that Mr. Cromartie felt that if he once -took such a holiday as had been suggested he would find it very much -harder to go back into captivity at the end of it, and he opposed it -because he was resolved not to escape from what he conceived were his -obligations. - -It was therefore decided that Mr. Cromartie should go straight back to -his cage, though it was impressed upon him that he would not be expected -to be on view to the public any longer than he wished, and that he must -lie down to rest in his inner room for two or three hours every day. - -In this way, and by taking him for motor-car drives for a couple of -hours or so after dark, it was hoped that he would be able to regain his -accustomed health and shake off that state of apathy which seemed his -most alarming symptom to the medical men who attended him. - -But before Cromartie went back to his old quarters he was to hear a -piece of news from the curator which concerned him very closely, though -he did not at first realise the full significance of it. - -The curator was so confused in imparting this information, and so -apologetic, and occupied so much time with a preamble explaining how -much the Zoological Society felt themselves indebted to him, that Mr. -Cromartie had some difficulty in following what he said, but at last he -got at the gist of it, and the long and the short of the matter was: The -experiment of exhibiting a man had been a much greater success than any -of the Committee had dared to hope; such a success, indeed, that it had -decided to follow it up by having a second man, a negro. It had actually -engaged him two or three days since, and had installed him only that -day. The intention of the Committee was eventually to establish a -“Man-house” which should contain specimens of all the different races of -mankind, with a Bushman, South Sea Islanders, etc., in native costume, -but such a collection could of course only be formed gradually and as -occasion offered. - -The embarrassment of the poor curator as he made these revelations was -so extreme that Cromartie could only think of how best to set him once -more at his ease, and though he had a very distinct moment of annoyance -when he heard of the negro, yet he suppressed it completely. When the -curator had been persuaded that Cromartie bore him no grudge for these -innovations, nay more, that he was perfectly indifferent to them, his -joy and relief were as overwhelming as his distress and embarrassment -had been before. - -First he blew out a great breath, and mopped his forehead with a big -silk handkerchief; then, his honest face quite transformed with -happiness, he seized Cromartie by the hand, and then by the lapel, and -laughed again and again while he explained that he had opposed the -project with all his might because he was sure Cromartie would not like -it, and after he had been overruled he had not known how to break the -news to him. He vowed he had not slept for two nights thinking about it, -but now when he learnt that Cromartie actually approved of the plan, he -felt a new man. “I am the biggest fool in the world,” said he; “my -imagination runs away with me. I am always thinking of how other people -are going to be upset, and then it turns out that they don’t give a row -of pins about the whole affair and I am the only person who feels upset -at all ... all on account of somebody else.... Ha! Ha! Ha! It has been -just like that over and over again with my wife. It is always happening -to me. Well now I’ll go full blast ahead with the new ‘Man-house,’ -because, you know, it’s a damned good notion. I felt that the whole -time, but I couldn’t get it out of my head that it was unfair to you.” - -But Mr. Cromartie did not share his enthusiasm; he merely repeated to -himself, as he had done so often before, that he intended observing his -side of the contract so long as the Zoo kept its own, and that there was -nothing in all this which infringed or invalidated the contract in any -way. But when Mr. Cromartie went into his cage he saw a black man in the -cage next door--he was brushing a black bowler hat--it came as a great -shock to Mr. Cromartie to realise that this man was the neighbour about -whom the curator had spoken. This negro was almost coal black, a jovial -fellow, dressed in a striped pink and green shirt, a mustard-coloured -suit, and patent leather boots. When he saw Mr. Cromartie he at once -wheeled round, and saying “The interesting invalid has arrived,” walked -up to the partition separating him from Cromartie and said to him: -“Allow me to welcome you back to what is now the Man-house. If I may -introduce myself, Joe Tennison: I am delighted to meet you, Mr. -Cromartie, it is a real pleasure to have a man next door.” Cromartie -bowed stiffly and said “Good afternoon” very awkwardly, but the negro -was not abashed, and leaned against the wire partition between them so -that it bulged. - -“They are going to clear all that poor trash away now,” he said, -pointing at the Chimpanzee beyond Cromartie. “They isn’t to be kept with -us any more, nasty jealous brutes; bite your fingers off if they catch -you.” - -Cromartie turned and looked at the Chimpanzee; it had always seemed to -him rather a pathetic beast, but how much more so now while his new -neighbour Tennison was speaking of it! And not for the first time he -felt a friendly sympathy for the ugly little ape. Indeed he would far -rather have seen the savage old Orang back in her place than have this -insufferably verbose fellow patronising the animals near him. - -For the moment Cromartie was quite at a loss, and had no idea what to -reply to the stream of Mr. Tennison’s remarks. He had said nothing at -all when a minute or two later he was relieved by the arrival of Collins -with his Caracal, which had been sent back to his old cage in the -cat-house after Mr. Cromartie’s injuries. - -The pleasure of the two friends at once more being together was -unbounded, and was shown by each of them very strongly after his own -fashion. For at first the Caracal trotted up to Cromartie debonairly -enough, as if he were just come to give him a sniff, then he began -purring loudly and rubbed himself a score of times against Cromartie’s -legs, winding himself about them, and finally he sprang right up into -his friend’s arms, licked his face and his hair, and curled up for a -moment or two as if he would sleep there; but no, this was not for long, -for he sprang down again. Then he began trotting round the cage, sniffed -in the corners, leapt on the table and made certain that all was well. - -When Joe Tennison called to him, the Caracal passed by without giving -him a glance, and it was just the same with his friend too, for when -Cromartie heard the negro begin talking to him he just nodded his head -and went into his inner room. But once there Mr. Cromartie reflected -that this negro was to be his companion and neighbour for some years, -and it would never do to run away from him every time he spoke. Somehow -he must make Tennison respect his privacy without making an enemy of -him, and at that moment Mr. Cromartie saw no way of doing this. However, -he took down a book of Waley’s poems translated from the Chinese, and -went back into his cage with it in his hand, and then sat down and began -reading. - - He lives in thick forests, deep among the hills, - Or houses in the clefts of sharp, precipitous rocks; - Alert and agile is his nature, nimble are his wits; - Swift are his contortions, - Apt to every need, - Whether he climbs tall tree-stems of a hundred feet, - Or sways on the shuddering shoulder of a long bough. - Before him, the dark gullies of unfathomable streams; - Behind, the silent hollows of the lonely hills. - Twigs and tendrils are his rocking-chairs, - On rungs of rotting wood he trips - Up perilous places; sometimes, leap after leap, - Like lightning flits through the woods. - Sometimes he saunters with a sad, forsaken air; - Then suddenly peeps round - Beaming with satisfaction. Up he springs, - Leaps and prances, whoops and scampers on his way. - Up cliffs he scrambles, up pointed rocks, - Dances on shale that shifts or twigs that snap, - Suddenly swerves and lightly passes.... - Oh, what tongue could unravel - The tale of all his tricks? - Alas, one trait - With the human tribe he shares; their sweets his sweet, - Their bitter is his bitter. Off sugar from the vat - Of brewers’ dregs he loves to sup. - So men put wine where he will pass. - How he races to the bowl! - How nimbly licks and swills! - Now he staggers, feels dazed and foolish, - Darkness falls upon his eyes.... - He sleeps and knows no more. - Up steal the trappers, catch him by the mane, - Then to a string or ribbon tie him, lead him home; - Tether him in the stable or lock him in the yard; - Where faces all day long - Gaze, gape, gasp at him and will not go away. - -Joe Tennison came up three or four times while he was reading and began -a conversation, but Cromartie ignored his remarks and did not even lift -his head, but just read quietly on. - -Fortunately there were a great many of the public come to see their old -favourite Mr. Cromartie now he was back, and to have a look at the new -black man also, about whom there was nearly as much discussion as there -ever had been about Cromartie himself. - -The presence of the public was lucky for two reasons; firstly, it served -to distract Joe Tennison by giving him that which he most wanted in -life--an audience; and secondly, Mr. Cromartie was able, by totally -ignoring spectators, to show him that that was his ordinary method of -conducting himself. There was therefore no reason why the negro should -feel himself insulted by being treated as if he did not exist. And here -I should explain that Mr. Cromartie had no objection to his neighbour as -a negro, and no particular prejudice against persons of that colour. Mr. -Tennison was indeed the first negro to whom he had spoken. At the same -time the fellow aroused a strong feeling of dislike, and this aversion -was one which steadily increased as time went on. - -The next day Mr. Cromartie found Josephine Lackett waiting for him when -he first went into his cage after breakfast. She was standing a little -distance off looking out of the door of the Ape-house (to give it its -old name), and Cromartie called out to her before he reflected on what -he was doing: “Josephine! Josephine! What are you doing there?” - -She turned round and came towards him, and the sight of her so much -affected Mr. Cromartie that for some time he did not trust himself to -speak again, and when he did so it was more tenderly than he had done -since his captivity. But Josephine on her part could not for some time -get used to the presence of Mr. Tennison, who sat lolling in a deck -chair within a few feet of them and kept putting his gold-rimmed -eyeglass in his eye to stare at her, and then letting it fall out, as if -he had not quite learnt the trick of it, which was indeed the case, as -he had only bought it a week before. - -For some little time then Josephine found herself with nothing to say -except to congratulate John on his recovery, and to tell him how glad -she was that he was well again. Then she thanked him for calling to her -and letting her speak to him. - -“Don’t behave like a goose, Josephine,” said John Cromartie. Then -guessing why she was constrained, he said: “My dear Josephine, do ignore -him as I do.” - -But Josephine did not speak, and just then in strolled the Caracal, -having just completed his morning toilet. - -“I paid your cat several visits while you were ill,” said Josephine. “He -seemed very unhappy and would not take much notice of me. I think he is -rather shy of women, and is not used to them.” - -Mr. Cromartie nodded. He was glad Josephine had gone to see the Caracal, -but he knew that she had wasted her time; he did not care for the people -who came and gazed into his cage from the outside. Suddenly he heard -Josephine say: “John, I must see you in private. I must talk to you, -because I cannot go on like this. You cannot go on shirking things any -longer.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“I mean that you must recognise that we are bound up with each other. I -don’t mind _what_ you decide to do, but you must do something. I cannot -go on living like this any longer. Please arrange somehow for us to see -each other and talk it over.” - -It was Cromartie now who was embarrassed and shy; Cromartie who could -not talk simply about what he felt, at least not for a considerable -time. At last, however, he got out a few disconnected remarks, saying -he was very sorry but he could do nothing then, and that he was not a -free agent. But in the end he got more confidence and looked Josephine -straight in the eyes and said: “My dear, it’s quite inevitable that both -of us should be unhappy. I love you, if you want me to put it in that -way. I cannot ever forget you, and now you seem to be feeling the same -for me, and you too must expect to be very unhappy. I only hope your -feeling for me will wear off. I daresay it will in time, and I hope my -feeling for you will also. Until then we must try and be resigned.” - -“I am not resigned,” said Josephine. “I’m going to get savage about it, -or go mad or something.” - -“It’s the greatest mistake for us to stir up each other’s feelings,” -said Cromartie rather roughly. “That’s the worst thing we can either of -us do, the most unkind thing. No, the only thing for you to do is to -forget me, the only hope for me is to forget you.” - -“That’s impossible; it’s worse when we don’t see each other,” said -Josephine. - -Just then they realised that several people had come into the Ape-house -and were hesitating to interrupt their conversation. - -“It’s a bad business,” said Cromartie, “a damned bad business,” and at -these words Josephine went away. He turned away and sat down, but a -moment later he heard a loud “Excuse me, Sah. Excuse an intrusion, but -I believe, Sah, that your young lady friend’s christian name is -Josephine. That is a remarkable coincidence! for my own name, you know, -is Joseph. Joseph and Josephine.” - -If, on hearing this remark, Mr. Cromartie gave Tennison any -encouragement to continue, it was quite accidental. At the moment he was -feeling faint, and only by an effort of will continued standing where he -was without clutching hold of the bars. - -“Are you interested in the girls?” asked the negro. “They come and watch -me all the morning, and they do stare so ... he, he, he.” - -“No, I’m not interested,” said Mr. Cromartie. Nobody could have mistaken -the desperate sincerity in his voice. - -“I’m glad to hear that,” said Tennison, at once restored to his former -heartiness and buoyancy of manner. - -“That is how I feel myself, just how I feel. I have no interest in women -at all. Only my poor old mammy, my old black mammy, she was of the very -best, the very best she was. A mother is the best friend you have -through life--the best friend you can make. My mother was ignorant, she -could not read, neither could she write, but she knew almost all of the -whole Bible by heart, and I first learnt of Salvation from my mother’s -lips. When I was five years old she taught me the Holy Words of Glory, -and I repeated them after her text by text. She was the best friend I -shall ever have. - -“But other women--no, sir. I have no use for them. They are just a -temptation in a man’s life, a temptation to make him forget his true -manhood. And the worst of it is that the more you shun them the more -they do run after you. That’s a fact. - -“No, I am very much safer and better off here shut up alongside of you, -with this wire netting and bars to fence off the women, and I guess you -feel the same way as I do. Don’t you, Mr. Cromartie?” Cromartie suddenly -looked up and saw the person who had been addressing him. - -“Who are you?” he asked, and then, looking rather wildly, he walked out -of his cage into his back room, where he lay down feeling very -exhausted. - -He was still very weak from his illness, and the close atmosphere of the -Ape-house gave him a headache. Every moment he had now to exercise -self-control, and it was more and more exhausting for him to do so. Very -often he did what he did on this occasion, and this was to lie down to -rest in his back room and then burst into tears, quite without any -restraint, and though he laughed at himself afterwards, the act of -weeping comforted him, although it left him weaker than before and more -inclined to weep again. - -But the pricks and troubles of the outside world meant very little to -Mr. Cromartie just then. He could not help thinking the whole time of -Josephine. - -For so long he had believed that there were so many insuperable -obstacles which would prevent them ever being happy together, that the -additional fact of his being shut up in the Zoo was a relief to him. -But now that he felt so weak it was an extra strain, and especially now -as he was beginning to wonder if Josephine and he could not be happy -together for a little while. - -He still knew that they were too proud to endure each other for very -long, but could they not have a week or a month or even a year of -happiness together? - -Perhaps they might, but anyhow it wasn’t possible, and here he was -locked up in a cage, with a nigger waiting outside to talk some -disgusting trash at him and wear out his patience. - -But as a matter of fact, when Cromartie pulled himself together once -more and went out into his cage Joe Tennison did not address him--that -is, not directly. But he was as tiresome as he had been before, but now -it was in a different way. - -When Cromartie had settled down and had been reading for a little while, -there were no visitors for two or three minutes, and then he heard the -negro speaking to himself as he gazed in his direction. - -“Poor fellow! Poor young fellow! The women do make hay with a man, they -do. I’ve been through it all.... I know all about it.... Oh, gracious, -yes. Love! Love is the very devil. And that poor young man is certainly -in love. Nobody can cheer him up. Nobody can do anything except her that -caused the trouble in his heart. There’s nothing I can do for him now -except just to pretend to notice nothing, the same as I always do.” At -this point the speaker was distracted by the arrival of a party of -visitors who stopped outside his cage, but thereafter Mr. Cromartie -adopted the same method to the negro that he had always adopted to the -public. That is to say, he ignored his existence and contrived never to -meet his eyes, and never took the least notice of what he said. - -The next morning, while Cromartie was playing with his Caracal, with a -ball, as he had been accustomed to do before the Orang had taken -advantage of him, he heard Josephine’s voice calling to him. - -He threw the ball to his friend the bounding, tasselled cat, and went -straight to her, and without waiting for any greeting she said to him: - -“John, I love you, and I must see you alone at once. I must come into -your cage and talk to you there.” - -“No, Josephine, don’t--that’s not possible,” said Cromartie. “I can’t go -on seeing you like this even, and surely you see that if you were to -come into my cage I could not bear it after you had gone away.” - -“But I don’t want to go away,” said Josephine. - -“If you were ever to come inside my cage you would have to stay for -ever,” said Cromartie. He had recovered himself now, his moment of -weakness was past. “And if you don’t decide to do that, I don’t think we -can go on seeing each other at all. I think I shall die if I see you -like this. We can never be happy together.” - -“Well, we had better be unhappy together than unhappy apart,” said -Josephine. She had suddenly begun to cry. - -“My darling creature,” said Cromartie, “it’s all a silly mistake; but we -will arrange things somehow. I’ll get the curator to have you in the -next cage to me instead of that damned nigger, and we shall see each -other all the time.” - -Josephine shook her head vigorously to get the tears out of her eyes, -like a dog that has been swimming. - -“No, that won’t do,” she declared angrily, “that won’t do at all. It has -got to be the same cage as yours or I won’t live in a cage at all. I -haven’t come here to live in a cage by myself. I’ll share yours and be -damned to everyone else.” - -She gave an angry laugh and shook her yellow hair back. Her eyes -sparkled with tears, but she looked steadily at Cromartie. “Damn other -people,” she repeated; “I care for nobody in the world but you, John, -and if we are going to be put in a cage and persecuted, we must just -bear it. I hate them all, and I’m going to be happy with you in spite of -them. Nobody can make me feel ashamed now. I can’t help being myself and -I will be myself.” - -“Darling,” said Cromartie, “you would be wretched here. It’s awful; you -mustn’t think of it. I have a much more sensible plan. I can’t ask them -to let me go. Anyhow I shan’t do that. But I am still so feeble that I -can easily make myself really ill again, and then I think they will let -me go and we can get married.” - -“That won’t do,” said Josephine. “We can’t wait any longer, and you -would die if you tried that. There was nothing about your not being -allowed to marry in the contract when you came here, was there?” she -asked. “You have only got to tell them that you are going to get married -to-day, and that your wife is ready to live in your cage.” - -During this conversation several people had come into the Ape-house, and -after looking at Josephine in a highly scandalised manner had gone out -again, but now Collins came in. He looked rather puzzled and awkward -when he saw Josephine, but she turned to him at once and said: - -“Mr. Cromartie and I wish to see the curator; will you please find him -and ask him to come here?” - -“Very good,” said Collins; then catching sight of Joe Tennison gazing at -Cromartie and the lady from a distance of three feet, with his yellow -eyeballs almost popping out of his sooty face, he sternly ordered him to -go into the back room of his cage. - -“Oh, I can tell you something, I can tell you what you’ld never -believe,” cried Joe, but Collins silently pointed his finger at him, and -the nigger jumped up and slowly beat a retreat into his own quarters. - -Ten minutes later the curator came in. - -“Come round to the back where we can talk more conveniently, Miss -Lackett,” he said. Then he unlocked the door of the inner cage or den -and Josephine walked in. They sat down. - -“I have asked Miss Lackett to marry me, and have been accepted,” said -Cromartie rather stiffly. “I was anxious to tell you at once, so as to -make arrangements with regard to the ceremony, which of course we wish -to be carried out as privately as possible, and at once. After our -marriage my wife is prepared to live with me in this cage, unless of -course you arrange for us to have other quarters.” - -The curator suddenly laughed, a loud, good-natured, hearty laugh. To -Cromartie it seemed a piece of brutality, to Josephine a menace. They -both frowned, and drew slightly together waiting for the worst. - -“I ought to explain to you,” the curator began, “that the committee has -already considered what to do in the event of such a contingency as this -occurring. - -“It is impossible, for various reasons, for us to keep married couples -in the Man-house, and we decided that in the event of your mentioning -marriage, Mr. Cromartie, that we should consider our contract with you -at an end. In other words you are free to go, and in fact I am now going -to turn you out.” - -As he said these words the curator rose and opened the door. For a -moment the happy couple hesitated; they looked at each other and then -walked out of the cage together, but Josephine kept hold of her man as -they did so. The curator slammed the door and locked it on the forgotten -Caracal, and then said: - -“Cromartie, I congratulate you very heartily; and my dear Miss Lackett, -you have chosen a man for whom all of us here have the very greatest -respect and admiration. I hope you will be happy with him.” - -Hand in hand Josephine and John hurried through the Gardens. They did -not stop to look at dogs or foxes, or wolves or tigers, they raced past -the lion house and the cattle sheds, and without glancing at the -pheasants or a lonely peacock, slipped through the turnstile into -Regent’s Park. There, still hand in hand, they passed unnoticed into the -crowd. Nobody looked at them, nobody recognised them. The crowd was -chiefly composed of couples like themselves. - - [Illustration] - - - THE END - - [Illustration] - - The Westminster Press - 411a Harrow Road - London, W.9 - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MAN IN THE ZOO *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/66090-0.zip b/old/66090-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 24cafee..0000000 --- a/old/66090-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h.zip b/old/66090-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 21043ba..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/66090-h.htm b/old/66090-h/66090-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 53b8b8f..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/66090-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3083 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" -"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> - <head> <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> -<title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Man In The Zoo, by David Garnett. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - -body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff; -color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:large;} - -.bbox {border:solid 3px black; -margin:1em auto;max-width:20em;} - -.bboxx {border:solid 3px black;padding:.5em; -margin:1em auto;max-width:25em;display:block;} - -.bboxxx {border:solid 3px black;padding:.15em; -margin:1em auto;max-width:25em;line-height:1.5em;} - -.blockquot {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.fint {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;letter-spacing:.2em; -margin-top:2em;font-weight:bold;font-size:110%;} - -.figcenter {margin:3% auto 3% auto;clear:both; -text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-weight:bold;font-size:275%;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;font-weight:normal;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - img {border:none;} - -.letra {font-size:250%;float:left;margin-top:-1.2%;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -.x-bookmaker .pagenum {display: none;} - -.r {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:110%;} - -div.poetry {text-align:center;} -div.poem {font-size:100%;margin:auto auto;text-indent:0%; -display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poem .stanza {margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom:1em;} -.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - - ul {list-style-type:none; -margin:.1em auto 1em 10em;} -</style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Man in the Zoo, by David Garnett</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: A Man in the Zoo</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: David Garnett</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Rachel A. Garnett</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 20, 2021 [eBook #66090]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MAN IN THE ZOO ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" -height="500" alt="[Image of the book's cover is -unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="c">A MAN IN THE ZOO</p> - -<h1> -A<br /> -MAN IN THE ZOO</h1> - -<p class="c">by<br /> -<br /><big> -DAVID GARNETT</big><br /> -<br /> -Illustrated with wood engravings<br /><br /> -by <big>R. A. GARNETT</big><br /> -<br /> -<img src="images/title.jpg" height="250" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /> -<br /> -<br /> -TORONTO<br /> -THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF<br /> -CANADA LIMITED<br /> -<br /> -1924<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>SPECIAL EDITION<br /> -FOR SALE ONLY IN CANADA</i><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>PRINTED IN ENGLAND<br /> -ALL RIGHTS<br /> -RESERVED</i><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -TO<br /> -HENRIETTA BINGHAM<br /> -AND<br /> -MINA KIRSTEIN<br /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="AUTHORS_NOTE" id="AUTHORS_NOTE"></a>AUTHOR’S NOTE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span> HAVE to thank Mr. Arthur Waley for permission to quote from his -translation of a poem by Wang Yen-shou, which appears in “The Temple and -other Poems,” published by Messrs. Allen & Unwin.</p> - -<p>I also wish to say that the Royal Zoological Society has always been the -object of my respect and admiration, and that in this story, neither -explicitly nor implicitly, is anything intended that could be regarded -as derogatory to the Society in any sense.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span></p> - -<h2><img src="images/i_001.jpg" width="100%" alt="A MAN IN THE ZOO" /></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">J</span>OHN CROMARTIE and Josephine Lackett gave up their green tickets at the -turnstile, and entered the Zoological Society’s Gardens by the South -Gate.</p> - -<p>It was a warm day at the end of February, and Sunday morning. In the air -there was a smell of spring, mixed with the odours of different -animals—yaks, wolves, and musk-oxen, but the two visitors did not -notice it. They were lovers, and were having a quarrel.</p> - -<p>They came soon to the Wolves and Foxes, and stood still opposite a cage -containing an animal very like a dog.</p> - -<p>“Other people, other people! You are always considering the feelings of -other people,” said Mr. Cromartie. His companion did not answer him, so -he went on:</p> - -<p>“You say somebody feels this, or that somebody else may feel the other. -You never talk to me about anything except what other people are -feeling, or may be going to feel. I wish you could forget about other -people and talk about yourself, but I suppose you have to talk of other -people’s feelings because you haven’t any of your own.”</p> - -<p>The beast opposite them was bored. He looked at them for a moment and -forgot them at once. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> lived in a small space, and had forgotten the -outside world where creatures very like himself raced in circles.</p> - -<p>“If that is the reason,” said Cromartie, “I do not see why you should -not say so. It would be honest if you were to tell me you felt nothing -for me. It is not honest to say first that you love me, and then that -you are a Christian and love everybody equally.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” said the girl, “you know that is nonsense. It is not -Christianity, it is because I love several people very much.”</p> - -<p>“You do not love several people very much,” said Cromartie, interrupting -her. “You cannot possibly love people like your aunts. Nobody could. No, -you do not really love anybody. You imagine that you do because you have -not got the courage to stand alone.”</p> - -<p>“I know whom I love, and whom I do not,” said Josephine. “And if you -should drive me to choose between you and everybody else, I should be a -fool to give myself to you.”</p> - -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="c"> -DINGO ♂<br /> -<i>Canis familiaris var.</i><br /> -NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA<br /> -</p> -</div> - -<p>“Poor little Dingo,” said Cromartie. “They do shut up creatures here on -the thinnest pretexts. He is only the familiar dog.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span>”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_003.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_003.jpg" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Dingo whined, and wagged his tail. He knew that he was being spoken -of.</p> - -<p>Josephine turned from her lover to the Dingo, and her face softened as -she looked at it.</p> - -<p>“I suppose they have got to have everything here, every single kind of -beast there is, even if it turns out to be nothing but an ordinary dog.”</p> - -<p>They left the Dingo, walked to the next cage, and stood side by side -looking at the creature in it.</p> - -<p>“The slender dog,” said Josephine, reading the label. She laughed, and -the slender dog got up and walked away.</p> - -<p>“So that is a wolf,” said Cromartie, as they stopped six feet further -on. “Another dog in a cage.... Give yourself to me, Josephine, that -sounds to me as if you were crazy. But it shows anyway that you are not -in love with me. If you are in love it is all or nothing. You cannot be -in love with several people at once. I know because I am in love with -you, and other people are all my enemies, necessarily my enemies.”</p> - -<p>“What nonsense!” said Josephine.</p> - -<p>“If I am in love with you,” Cromartie went on, “and you with me, it -means that you are the only person who is not my enemy, and I am the -only person who is not yours. A fool to give yourself to me! Yes, you -are a fool if you fancy you are in love when you are not, and I should -be a fool to believe it. You do not give yourself to the person with -whom you are in love, you are yourself instead of being dressed up in -armoured plate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Has this place got nothing in it besides tame dogs?” asked Josephine.</p> - -<p>They walked together towards the lion house, and Josephine took John’s -arm in hers. “Armoured plate. It doesn’t seem to me to make sense. I -cannot bear to hurt the people I love, and so I am not going to live -with you, or do anything that they would mind if they found out.”</p> - -<p>John said nothing to this, only shrugged his shoulders, screwed up his -eyes, and rubbed his nose. In the lion house they walked slowly from -cage to cage until they came to a tiger which walked up and down, up and -down, up and down, turning his great painted head with intolerable -familiarity, and with his whiskers just brushing the brick wall.</p> - -<p>“They pay for their beauty, poor beasts,” said John, after a pause. “And -you know it proves what I’ve been saying. Mankind want to catch anything -beautiful and shut it up, and then come in thousands to watch it die by -inches. That’s why one hides what one is and lives behind a mask in -secret.”</p> - -<p>“I hate you, John, and all your ideas. I love my fellow creatures—or -most of them—and I can’t help it if you are a tiger and not a human -being. I’m not mad; I can trust people with every feeling I have got, -and I shall never have any feelings that I shouldn’t like to share with -everybody. I don’t mind if I am a Christian—it’s better than suffering -from persecution mania, and browbeating me because I’m fond of my father -and Aunt Eily.”</p> - -<p>But Miss Lackett did not look very browbeaten<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> as she said this. On the -contrary her eyes sparkled, her colour was high and her looks imperious, -and she kept tapping the toe of her pointed shoe on the stone floor. Mr. -Cromartie was irritated by this tapping, so he said something in a low -voice on purpose so that Josephine should not be able to hear it; the -only word audible was “browbeating.”</p> - -<p>She asked him very savagely what he had said. John laughed. “What’s the -use of my talking to you at all if you fly into a rage before you have -even heard what I have got to say?” he asked her.</p> - -<p>Josephine turned pale with self-control; she glared at a placid lion -with such fury that, after a moment or two, the beast got up and walked -into the den behind his cage.</p> - -<p>“Josephine, please be reasonable. Either you are in love with me or else -you are not. If you are in love with me it can’t cost you much to -sacrifice other people to me. Since you won’t do that it follows that -you are not in love with me, and in that case you only keep me hanging -round you because it pleases your vanity. I wish you would choose -someone else for that sort of thing. I don’t like it, and any of your -father’s old friends would do better than me.”</p> - -<p>“How dare you talk to me about my father’s old friends?” said Josephine. -They were silent. Presently Cromartie said, “For the last time, -Josephine, will you marry me, and be damned to your relations?”</p> - -<p>“No! You silly savage!” said Josephine. “No,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> you wild beast. Can’t you -understand that one doesn’t treat people like that? It is simply wasting -my breath to talk. I’ve explained a hundred times I am not going to make -father miserable. I am not going to be cut off with a shilling and -become <i>dependent</i> on you when you haven’t enough money to live on -yourself, to satisfy your vanity. My <i>vanity</i>, do you think having you -in love with me pleases my <i>vanity</i>? I might as well have a baboon or a -bear. You are Tarzan of the Apes; you ought to be shut up in the Zoo. -The collection here is incomplete without you. You are a -survival—atavism at its worst. Don’t ask me why I fell in love with -you—I did, but I cannot marry Tarzan of the Apes, I’m not romantic -enough. I see, too, that you do believe what you have been saying. You -do think mankind is your enemy. I can assure you that if mankind thinks -of you, it thinks you are the missing link. You ought to be shut up and -exhibited here in the Zoo—I’ve told you once and now I tell you -again—with the gorilla on one side and the chimpanzee on the other. -Science would gain a lot.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I will be. I am sure you are quite right. I’ll make arrangements -to be exhibited,” said Cromartie. “I’m very grateful to you for having -told me the truth about myself.” Then he took off his hat and said -“Good-bye,” and giving a quick little nod he walked away.</p> - -<p>“Miserable baboon,” muttered Josephine, and she hurried out through the -swing doors.</p> - -<p>They were both of them in a rage, but John<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> Cromartie was in such a -desperate rage that he did not know he was angry, he only thought that -he was very miserable and unhappy. Josephine, on the other hand, was -elated. She would have enjoyed slashing at Cromartie with a whip.</p> - -<p>That evening Cromartie could not keep still. When the chairs presumed to -stand in his path he knocked them over, but he soon found that merely -upsetting furniture was not enough to restore his peace of mind. It was -then that Mr. Cromartie made a singular determination—one which you may -swear no other man in like circumstances would ever have arrived at.</p> - -<p>It was somehow or other to get himself exhibited in the Zoo, as if he -were part of the menagerie.</p> - -<p>It may be that a strange predilection which he had for keeping his word -is enough to account for this. But it will always be found that many -impulses are entirely whimsical and not to be accounted for by reason. -And this man was both proud and obstinate, so that when he had decided -upon a thing in passion he would brave it out so far that he could no -longer withdraw from it.</p> - -<p>At the time he said to himself that he would do it to humiliate -Josephine. If she loved him it would make her suffer, and if she did not -love him it would not matter to him where he was.</p> - -<p>“And perhaps she is right,” he said to himself with a smile. “Perhaps I -am the missing link, and the Zoo is the best place for me.”</p> - -<p>He took his pen and a sheet of paper and sat<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span> down to write a letter, -though he knew that if he achieved his object he would be bound to -suffer. For some little while he thought over all the agonies of being -in a cage and held up to the derision of the gaping populace.</p> - -<p>And then he reflected that it was harder for some of the animals than it -would be for himself. The tigers were prouder than he was, they loved -their liberty more than he did his, they had no amusements or resources, -and the climate did not suit them.</p> - -<p>In his case there were no such added difficulties. He told himself that -he was humble of heart, and that he resigned his liberty of his own free -will. Even if books were not allowed him, he could at all events watch -the spectators with as much interest as that with which they watched -him.</p> - -<p>In this manner he encouraged himself, and the thought of how terrible it -was for the tigers touched his heart so much that his own fate seemed to -him easier to contemplate.</p> - -<p>After all, he reflected, he was so unhappy at that moment that nothing -could be worse whatever he did. He had lost Josephine, and it would be -easier to bear that loss in the discipline of a prison. Strengthened by -these considerations, he shook his pen and wrote as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,<br /> -</p> - -<p>I write to lay before your Society a proposal which I hope you will -recommend to them for their earnest consideration. May I say first -that I know<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span> the Society’s Gardens well, and much admire them? The -grounds are spacious, and the arrangement of the houses is at the -same time practical and convenient. In them there are specimens of -practically the whole fauna of the terrestrial globe, only one -mammalian of real importance being unrepresented. But the more I -have thought over this omission, the more extraordinary has it -appeared to me. To leave out man from a collection of the earth’s -fauna is to play Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. It may seem -unimportant at first sight, since the collection is formed for man -to look at, and study. I admit that human beings are to be seen -frequently enough walking about in the Gardens, but I believe that -there are convincing reasons why the Society should have a specimen -of the human race on exhibition.</p> - -<p>Firstly, it would complete the collection, and, secondly, it would -impress upon the mind of the visitor a comparison which he is not -always quick to make for himself. If placed in a cage between the -Orang-outang and the Chimpanzee, an ordinary member of the human -race would arrest the attention of everyone who entered the Large -Ape-house. In such a position he would lead to a thousand -interesting comparisons being made by visitors for whose education -the Gardens do in a large measure exist. Every child would grow up -imbued with the outlook of a Darwin, and would become aware not -only of his own exact place in the animal kingdom, but also in what -he resembled, and in what he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span> differed from the Apes. I would -suggest that such a specimen be shown as far as possible in his -natural surroundings as he exists at the present time, that is to -say in ordinary costume, and employed in some ordinary pursuit. -Thus his cage should be furnished with chairs and a table and with -bookcases. A small bedroom and a bathroom at the back would enable -him to retire when necessary from the public gaze. The expense to -the Society need not be great.</p> - -<p>To show my good faith I beg to offer myself for exhibition, subject -to certain reservations which will not be found of an unreasonable -nature.</p> - -<p>The following particulars of my person may be of assistance:—</p> - -<ul><li>Race: Scottish.</li> -<li>Height: 5 feet 11 inches.</li> -<li>Weight: 11 stone.</li> -<li>Hair: Dark.</li> -<li>Eyes: Blue.</li> -<li>Nose: Aquiline.</li> -<li>Age: 27 years.</li></ul> - -<p>I shall be happy to furnish any further information which the -Society may require.</p> - -<p class="c"> -I am, Sir,<br /><span style="margin-left: 6em;"> -Your obedient Servant,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 12em;"><span class="smcap">John Cromartie</span>.</span><br /> -</p></div> - -<p>When he had gone out and posted this letter Mr. Cromartie felt at peace, -and he prepared for the reply with much less anxiety than most young men -would have felt in such a situation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span></p> - -<p>It would be tedious to describe at any length how this letter was -received by a deputy in the absence of the secretary, and how it was by -him communicated to the working committee on the following Wednesday. It -may, however, be of interest to note that Mr. Cromartie’s offer would in -all probability have been rejected had it not been for Mr. Wollop. He -was a gentleman of advanced years who was not popular with his fellow -members. Mr. Cromartie’s letter, for some reason, threw him into a -paroxysm of rage.</p> - -<p>This was a deliberate insult, he declared. This was no laughing matter. -It was a matter which must and should and should and must, without -question, be wiped out by legal proceedings. It would expose the Society -to ridicule if they took it lying down. This and much more in the same -strain gave the rest of the committee time to turn the thing over in -their minds.</p> - -<p>One or two first took the opposite view from Mr. Wollop from mere habit; -the Chairman observed that the presence of such an interesting -correspondent as Mr. Cromartie could not fail to be a great attraction -and would increase the gate-money; it was not, however, until Mr. Wollop -threatened to resign that the thing was done.</p> - -<p>Mr. Wollop withdrew, and a letter was drafted to Cromartie informing him -that the committee were inclined to accept his proposal, and asking for -a personal interview.</p> - -<p>This interview took place the following Saturday,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> by which time the -committee had become convinced that a specimen of <i>Homo sapiens</i> ought -certainly to be acquired, though it was not convinced that Mr. Cromartie -was the right man, and Mr. Wollop had retired to Wollop Bottom, his -rustic seat.</p> - -<p>The personal interview was entirely satisfactory to both sides, and Mr. -Cromartie’s reservations were accepted without demur. These dealt with -food and drink, clothing, medical attention, and one or two luxuries -which he was to receive. Thus he was to be allowed to order his own -meals, see his own tailor, be visited by his own doctor, dentist, and -legal advisers. He was to be allowed to administer his own income, which -amounted to about £300 a year, neither was objection to be raised to his -having a library in his cage, and writing materials.</p> - -<p>The Zoological Society on their side stipulated that he should not -contribute to the daily or weekly press; that he should not entertain -visitors while the Gardens were open to the public; and that he should -be subject to the usual discipline, as though he were one of the -ordinary creatures.</p> - -<p>A few days served to prepare the cage for his reception. It was in the -Ape-house, behind which a larger room was furnished for his bedroom, -with a bath and lavatory fixed behind a wooden partition. He was -admitted on the following Sunday afternoon, and introduced to his keeper -Collins, who also looked after the Orang-outang, the Gibbon, and the -Chimpanzee.</p> - -<p>Collins shook hands and said that he would do<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> all he could to make him -comfortable, but it was obvious that he was embarrassed, and strangely -enough this embarrassment did not diminish as time went on. His -relations with Cromartie always remained formal, and were characterised -by the most absolute politeness, which, needless to say, Cromartie -scrupulously returned.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>On it was written:—</p> - -<div class="bboxx"> -<p class="c"> -<i>Homo sapiens</i><br /> -MAN ♂<br /> -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> -</div> - -<p>When Cromartie had had breakfast there was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span> very little to do; he made -his bed and began reading “The Golden Bough.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“What monkey’s that? Where is it?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said the elder girl. Then she said: “I believe the man -is there to be looked at.”</p> - -<p>“Why he’s just like Uncle Bernard,” said the little girl.</p> - -<p>They looked at Cromartie with an offended stare, and then went on at -once to the Orang-outang, who was an old friend. The grown-up people who -came in during the afternoon read the notice in a puzzled way, sometimes -aloud, and more than once after a hurried glance they went out of the -house. They were all embarrassed except a jaunty little man who came in -just before closing time. He laughed, and laughed again, and finally he -had to sit down on a seat, where he sat choking for three or four -minutes, after which he took off his hat to Cromartie and went out of -the house saying aloud: “Splendid! Wonderful! Bravo!”</p> - -<p>The next day there were rather more people, but not a great crowd. One -or two men came and took photographs, but Mr. Cromartie had already -learnt a trick that was to serve him well in his new situation—that of -not looking through the bars, so that often he would not know whether -there were people watching him or not. Everything was made<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> very -comfortable for him, and on that score he was glad enough that he had -come.</p> - -<p>Yet he could not help asking himself what did his surroundings matter to -him? He was in love with Josephine, and now he had parted from her for -ever. Would the pain he felt on that account ever die away? And if it -did, as he supposed it would, how long would it take to do so?</p> - -<p>In the evening he was let out, and walked round the Gardens alone. He -tried to make friends with one or two of the creatures, but they would -not take notice of him. The evening was cool and fresh, and he was glad -to be out of the stuffy Ape-house. He felt it very strange to be alone -in the Zoo at that hour, and strange to have to go back to his cage. The -next day, just after breakfast, a crowd began pushing into the house, -which was soon packed full. The crowd was noisy, some persons in it -calling out to him very persistently.</p> - -<p>It was easy enough for Cromartie to ignore them, and never let his eyes -wander through the wire-netting, but he could not prevent himself from -knowing that they were there. By eleven o’clock his keeper had to fetch -four policemen, two standing at each door to keep the crowd back. The -people were made to stand in a queue, and to keep moving all the time.</p> - -<p>This went on all day, and in fact there were thousands waiting to see -“The Man” who had to be turned away before they could get a sight of -him. Collins said it was worse than any bank-holiday.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_018.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_018.jpg" width="100%" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Cromartie did not betray any uneasiness; he ate his lunch, smoked a -cigar, and played several games of Patience, but by tea-time he was -exhausted, and would have liked to go and lie down in his bedroom, but -it seemed to him that to do so would be to confess weakness. What made -it worse, because more ridiculous, was that the Chimpanzee and the -Orang-outang next door, each came to the partition walls and spent the -whole day staring at him too. No doubt they were only imitating the -public in doing so, but they added a great deal to poor Mr. Cromartie’s -unhappiness. At last the long day was over, the crowds departed, the -Gardens were closed, and then came another surprise—for his two -neighbours did not go away. No, they clung to the wire partitions and -began to chatter and show their teeth at him. Cromartie was too tired to -stay in the cage, and went and lay down in his bedroom. When he came -back after an hour the Chimpanzee and the Orang were still there, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> -greeted him with angry snarls. There was no doubt about it—they were -threatening him.</p> - -<p>Cromartie did not understand why this should be until Collins, who had -come past, explained it to him.</p> - -<p>“They are wild with jealousy,” he said, “that you should have drawn such -a large crowd.” And he warned Mr. Cromartie to be very careful not to go -within reach of their fingers. They would tear his hair out and kill him -if they could get at him.</p> - -<p>At first Mr. Cromartie found this very hard to credit, but afterwards, -when he got to know the characters of his fellow captives better, it -became the most ordinary commonplace. He learnt that all the monkeys, -the elephants, and the bears felt jealous in this way. It was natural -enough that the creatures that were fed by the public should feel -resentment if they were passed over, for they are all insatiably greedy, -and the worse they digest the food given them the more anxious they are -to glut themselves with it. The wolves felt a different jealousy, for -they were constantly forming attachments to particular persons among the -crowd, and if the chosen person neglected them for a neighbour they -became jealous. Only the larger cats, lions, and panthers seemed free -from this degrading passion.</p> - -<p>During his stay Mr. Cromartie gradually came to know all the beasts in -the Gardens pretty well, since he was allowed out every evening after -closing-time, and very often was allowed to go into other cages. Nothing -struck him more forcibly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> than the distinction which most of the -different creatures very soon drew between him and the keepers. When a -keeper came past every animal would pay some attention, whereas few of -them would even look round for Mr. Cromartie. He was treated by the vast -majority with indifference. As time went on he saw that they treated him -as they treated each other, and it struck him that they had somehow -learnt that he was being exhibited as they were themselves. This -impression was so forcible that Mr. Cromartie believed it without -question, though it is not easy to prove that it was so, and still more -difficult to explain how such a piece of knowledge could have spread -among so heterogeneous a collection of creatures. Yet the attitude of -the animals to each other was so marked, that Mr. Cromartie not only -observed it in them, but very soon came to feel it in himself for them. -He could not describe it better than by calling it firstly “cynical -indifference,” and then adding that it was perfectly good-natured. It -was expressed usually by total indifference, but sometimes by something -between a yawn of contempt and a grin of cynical appreciation. It was -just in these slight shades of manner that Mr. Cromartie found the -animals interesting. Naturally they had nothing to say to him, and in -such artificial surroundings their natural habits were difficult to -ascertain, only those living in families or colonies ever seeming -perfectly at their ease, but they all did seem to reveal something of -themselves in their attitude to each other.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> To man they showed quite -different behaviour, but in their eyes Mr. Cromartie was not a man. He -might smell like one, but they saw at once that he had come out of a -cage.</p> - -<p>There is in this a possible explanation of the often recorded fact that -it is particularly easy for convicts to make friends with mice and rats -in prison.</p> - -<p>For the rest of that week crowds collected round the new Ape-house every -day, and the queue for admittance was longer than that at the pit of -Drury Lane Theatre on a first night.</p> - -<p>Thousands of people paid for admission to the Gardens and waited -patiently for hours in order to catch a glimpse of the new creature -which the Society had acquired, and none were really disappointed when -they had seen him, although many professed to be so. For everyone went -away with what people are most grateful for having—that is, a new -subject for conversation, something that everyone could discuss and have -an opinion about, viz., the propriety of exhibiting a man. Not that this -discussion was confined to those who had actually been successful in -catching a glimpse of him. On the contrary it raged in every train, in -every drawing-room, and in the columns of every newspaper in England. -Jokes on the subject were made at public dinners, and at music-halls, -and Mr. Cromartie was referred to continually in <i>Punch</i>, sometimes in a -facetious manner. Sermons were preached about him, and a Labour member -in the House of Commons said that when the working<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> classes came into -power the rich would be put “alongside the Man in the Zoo, where they -properly belonged.”</p> - -<p>What was the strangest thing was that everyone held the view either that -a man ought to be exhibited, or that he ought not to be exhibited, and -that after a week’s time there were not half a dozen men in England who -believed no moral principle to be involved in the matter.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cromartie cared less than nothing for all these discussions of which -he was the subject; it was no more to him indeed what men said about him -than if he had been the ape in the cage beside his own. Indeed it was -really less, for had the ape been able to understand that thousands of -people were talking about it, the creature would have been as much -puffed up with pride as now it was mortified with jealousy that its -neighbour should draw so vast a crowd.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cromartie told himself he cared nothing for the world of men now. As -he looked through the meshes of his cage at the excited faces watching -him, it cost him an effort to listen to what was being said of him, and -after a while his attention wandered even against his will, for he cared -nothing for mankind and cared nothing for what they said.</p> - -<p>Yet while he told himself that with some complacency, something came -into his mind which threw him into such disorder that he looked about -him for a minute as if he were distracted, and then ran as if in terror -into his hiding-place, his place of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> refuge, his bedroom, which he had -not sheltered in before, at least not in that way.</p> - -<p>“What if I should see Josephine among them?” he asked himself aloud, and -the thought of her coming was so actual to him that it seemed as if she -were at that moment entering the house, and then were there at the bars -already.</p> - -<p>“What can I do?” he asked himself. “I can do nothing. What can I say? I -can say nothing. No, I must not speak to her, I will not look at her. -When I see her I will sit down in my armchair and look on the floor -until she is gone, that is, if I have the strength. What will become of -me if she should come? And perhaps she will come every day and will be -always there watching me through the bars, and will call out and insult -me as some do already. How could I bear that?”</p> - -<p>Then he asked himself why should she come at all, and began to persuade -himself that there was no reason why she should visit him, and that it -was the most irrational fear that could seize hold of him—but it would -not do.</p> - -<p>“No,” said he at length, shaking his head, “I see she is bound to come. -She is free to go where she likes, and one day when I look up I shall -see her there, staring into my cage at me. Sooner or later it is bound -to happen.” Then he asked himself what errand would send her there to -look at him? Why would she come? Would it be to mock at him and torment -him, or would it be because now that it was too late she repented of -sending him there?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span></p> - -<p>“No,” he told himself, “no, Josephine will never repent, or if she -should, she would not own to it. When she does come here it will be to -hurt me more than she has done already; she will come to torture me -because it amuses her and I am at her mercy. Oh, God, she has no mercy -in her.”</p> - -<p>At this Mr. Cromartie who was so proud only a half-hour ago, saying he -cared nothing for mankind now and nothing for what they said, began to -cry and whimper like a baby, staying hidden all the while in his little -bedroom. He sat there on the edge of his bed with his face buried in his -hands for a quarter of an hour, and the tears running through his -fingers. And all the while he was busy with this new fear of his, and -saying to himself first that his life was no longer safe, that Josephine -would bring a pistol and shoot him through the bars; and then his -thoughts fetching about, that she cared nothing for him, and would not -come to hurt him, but from mere love of notoriety and to get herself -talked about by her friends or in the newspapers. At last he pulled -himself somewhat together, washed his face and bathed his eyes, and then -went back into his cage, where you may be sure the crowd was pretty -impatient to see him after being kept waiting so long.</p> - -<p>Once again you could see how this Mr. Cromartie “cared nothing for -mankind and what they said.” For the moment that he stepped into his -cage in full view of the public, from being an abject creature with his -face comically twisted up to keep back<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> his tears, he became at once -quite calm and self-possessed and showed no trace of any feeling. Yet -did this assumed calm show that he cared nothing for mankind? Was it -because he cared nothing for mankind that he made these efforts, -swallowing down the lump that was risen in his throat, holding back the -tear that would have started to his eye, and strolling in with a serene -smile, then knitting his brows with an affectation of thought; and was -all this because he cared nothing for mankind?</p> - -<p>The strange thing was that Mr. Cromartie should have taken three weeks -to think that Josephine would certainly come and pay him a visit. For -three weeks he had been thinking at every moment of the day of this girl -Josephine, and, indeed, dreaming of her almost every night, but it had -never come into his head that he would ever see her again. He had told -himself a thousand times, “We are parted for ever,” and had never asked -himself, “Why do I say this?” He had, one evening, even retraced their -steps as they had wandered from one cage to another on the day that they -had had their final rupture. But now all these sentimental ideas were a -thousand miles away from him, who, though he lay back, yawned, and -negligently cut the pages of a book from Mudie’s, was all the same -terrified at the question he kept asking himself:</p> - -<p>“When will she come? Will she come now, to-day, or perhaps to-morrow? -Will she not come till next week, or not for a month?”</p> - -<p>And his heart shrank within him as he understood<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span> that he would never -know when she was coming and he would never be prepared for her.</p> - -<p>But with all this flutter Mr. Cromartie was like a countryman coming -into town a day late for the fair, for Josephine had already paid him a -visit that day two hours before he had ever thought that she might do -so.</p> - -<p>When she had come Josephine did not know at all certainly why she found -herself there. Every day since she had heard of the “loathsome thing” -John had done she had vowed that she would never see him again, and -would never think of him again. Every day she spent in thinking of him, -and every day her anger drove her to walk in the direction of Regent’s -Park, and all her time was occupied in thinking how she could best -punish him for what he had done.</p> - -<p>At first it had been insupportable for her. She had heard the news from -her father at breakfast while he was reading <i>The Times</i>, and had learnt -it in fragments as he chanced to read it out to her while she sat silent -with the coffee machine and the egg machine in front of her, for her -father stickled for his eggs being boiled very exactly. When breakfast -was over she found <i>The Times</i> and read the account of the “Startling -Acquisition by the Zoo Authorities.” She told herself then that she -could never forgive or forget the insult to which she had been -subjected, and that while she sat at breakfast she had grown an old -woman.</p> - -<p>As time went on Josephine’s fury did not slacken;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> no, it became -greater; and it passed through a dozen or more phases every day. Thus at -one moment she would laugh with pity for such a poor fool as John, in -the next marvel that such a creature should have the sense to know where -he belonged, then turn all her rage on the Zoological Society for -causing such an outrage to decency to occur in their grounds, and -reflect bitterly on the folly of mankind who were ready to divert -themselves at such a sorry spectacle as the degraded John—reducing -themselves indeed to his level. Again, she would exclaim at the vanity -which led him to such a course; anything would do so long as he got -himself talked about. No doubt he would see that she, Josephine, was -talked about too. Indeed, John, she declared, had done it solely to -affront her. But he had gone the wrong way to work if he thought he -would impress her. She would indeed go to see him and show him how -little she cared for him; no, what was better, she would go visit the -other ape next door to him. That was the way by which she could best -show him her indifference to him, and her superiority to the vulgar mob -of sightseers. Nothing would induce her to look at such a base creature -as John. She could not regard his action with indifference. It was a -calculated insult, but fortunately he would alone suffer for it, for as -for herself she had never cared in the least for him, and her complete -indifference was not likely to be ruffled by his latest escapade. Indeed -it meant no more to her than any other creature being exhibited.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span></p> - -<p>Thus Miss Lackett drove round and round in circles, vowing vengeance at -one time and the next moment swearing that it was all one to her what he -did, she had never cared for him and never would. But do what she might -she could think of nothing else. At night she lay awake saying to -herself first one thing and then another, and changing her mind ten -times for every time she turned her head on the pillow, and thus she -spent the first three or four days and nights in misery.</p> - -<p>Yet in all this there was something that wounded Miss Lackett more even -than the fact itself, and that was the consciousness of her own -worthlessness and vulgarity. Everything she felt, everything she said, -was vulgar. Her preoccupation with Mr. Cromartie was vulgar, and every -emotion connected with him which she now felt was degrading. In fact, -after the first few days this weighed on her so heavily that she was -almost ready to forgive him, but she could never forgive herself. All -her self-respect was gone for ever, she told herself; henceforward she -knew that she was never disinterested. She had offended herself more -than any number of Cromarties would ever do. She was, she said, deeply -disappointed in herself, and wondered how it had come about that this -side of her nature should have been so long unsuspected by her.</p> - -<p>It was this turning off of her rage and indignation against herself that -finally allowed of her going to see him, or rather of her going to see -the Chimpanzee next him, for she repeated to herself that she would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span> not -look at him, that she could not endure to see him, and so on, though at -moments this decision was modified by the reflection that she only hoped -he would feel properly punished when he saw her give him one glance of -cool contempt.</p> - -<p>Miss Lackett found the event different from her expectations. In front -of the Ape-house a crowd was collected, and directly she had joined it -she found herself caught up in a queue of people waiting to see “The -Man.” On all sides she heard jokes about him, and those of the women -(who were in the majority) struck her as being barely decent. Progress -was extremely slow and very exhausting.</p> - -<p>At last, when she found herself in the building itself, it was -impossible for her to carry out her intention of looking only at the -apes, for she suddenly became overcome at the thought of seeing them and -closed her eyes lest she should see an ape and be overcome by nausea. In -a few minutes she found herself in front of Cromartie’s cage, and gazed -at him helplessly. At that moment he was engaged in walking up and down -(which occupation, by the way, took up far more of his time than he ever -suspected). But she could not speak to him, indeed she dreaded that he -should see her.</p> - -<p>Back and forth he walked by the wire division, with his hands behind his -back and his head bent slightly, until he reached the corner, when up -went his head and he turned on his heel. His face was expressionless.</p> - -<p>Before she got out Miss Lackett was to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> another shock, for, leaving -Mr. Cromartie’s cage, she let her eyes wander and suddenly was looking -straight into the mug of the Orang. This creature sat disconsolately on -the floor with her long red hair matted and entangled with straws. Her -close-set brown eyes were staring in front of her and nothing about her -moved but her black nostrils, that were the shape of an inverted heart -and set in a mask of black and dusty rubber. This, then, was the -creature that her lover resembled! It was to this melancholy Caliban -that everyone compared him! Such a hideous monster as this ape was -thought a suitable companion for the man with whom she had imagined -herself in love! For the man whom she had considered marrying!</p> - -<p>Miss Lackett slipped silently out of the house, sick with disgust and -weighed down with shame. She was ashamed of everything, of her own -feelings, of her weakness in caring what happened to John. She was -ashamed of the spectators, of herself, and of the dirty world where such -men, and beasts like them, existed. Mixed with her shame was fear which -grew greater with every step she took. She was alarmed lest she would be -recognised, and looked at everyone she passed with nervous apprehension; -even after she had got out of the Gardens she did not feel safe, so that -she got herself a taxi and climbed in almost breathlessly, and even then -looked behind her through the pane of glass in the back. Nothing -followed her.</p> - -<p>“Thank God, it is all right. There is no danger,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span>” she said to herself, -though what the danger was of which she spoke she could not have said. -Perhaps she was afraid that she might be shut up in a cage herself.</p> - -<p>The next day Miss Lackett had somewhat shaken off the painful -impressions caused by her visit, and her chief emotion was a sensible -relief that it had turned out no worse.</p> - -<p>“Never again,” she said to herself, “shall I be guilty of such folly. -Never again,” she repeated, “need I run such an awful risk. Never again -shall I think of that poor fellow, for I shall never need to. Out of -justice to him I had to see him, even though at a distance, and without -his seeing me. It would have been cowardly not to have gone, it would -not have been in keeping with my character. But it would be cowardice in -me to go again. It would be weak. After all I had to indulge my -curiosity, it would have been fatal to have suppressed it. Now I know -the worst and the affair is closed for ever. If I were to go again it -would be painful to me and unjust to him, for I might be recognised; if -he heard that I had been twice it would fill him with false hopes. He -might conclude that I wished to speak with him. Nothing, nothing could -be farther from the truth. I think he is mad. I feel sure he is mad. -Talking to him would be like those interviews that people have to have -once a year with their insane relatives. But fortunately for me my duty -coincides with my inclinations—I ought not to see him and I abhor the -thought of doing so. There is no more to be said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>It was not often that Miss Lackett was so consistent in her thoughts, -neither, we may add, was she often quite so prim. She managed to repeat -such phrases over and over again to herself throughout the week, but -somehow she did not succeed in forgetting all about Mr. Cromartie, or -even in putting him out of her thoughts for more than an hour or two at -a time.</p> - -<p>On the fourth day after her visit it so happened that General Lackett -gave a dinner-party at which his daughter acted as hostess. Several of -the guests were young, and one or two of them not very well to do. It -was natural in these circumstances, as the General had rather -thoughtlessly dismissed his chauffeur for the evening, that his daughter -should offer to drive some of her young friends home. One of them lived -in Frognal, two others in Circus Road, St. John’s Wood. On the outward -journey Miss Lackett took the ordinary route from Eaton Square, that is, -by Park Lane, Baker Street, Lord’s, and the Finchley Road as far as -Frognal, afterwards bringing her other companions back to Circus Road.</p> - -<p>It was then, after saying good-bye, and good-bye again as she drove -away, that she gave way to a feeling of unrest. She drove slowly to -Baker Street station, but by that time she was thinking of Mr. -Cromartie. This caused her, almost mechanically, to swing her car round -to the left, and shortly afterwards to take the Outer Circle. As she -drove, her mind was almost blank; she was driving in that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> direction -merely to dissipate a mood. All she was conscious of was that Cromartie -was there—in the Zoo. She was tired, and driving distracted her. In a -few moments she was passing the Gardens. She pulled up just over the -tunnel, before reaching the main entrance. At this point she was as -close as she could get to the new Ape-house, which lay, as she knew, -under the shadow of the Mappin Terraces. She got out of the car and -walked up to the palings. They were too high for her to look over, and -when she pulled herself up by her hands there was nothing to be seen but -the black shadows of evergreens and, through one break in them, a corner -of the Mappin Terraces—a silhouette of black against the moonlight. As -she looked it came into her head that it was like something familiar to -her. Her wrists ached and she jumped down.</p> - -<p>“John, John, why are you in there?” she said aloud. In a few moments she -saw a policeman approaching her, so she got back into her car and drove -on slowly.</p> - -<p>As she passed the main entrance she turned again, and again she saw the -Mappin Terraces.</p> - -<p>“The Tower of Babel, of course,” she said aloud, “in Chambers’s -Encyclopedia. It’s like Noah’s Ark, too, I suppose, as it’s a menagerie, -and—Oh, curse! Oh, damn!” There were tears in her eyes, and the street -lamps had become little circular rainbows. But what she said to herself -was that it was awkward driving.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span></p> - -<p>That night she could not sleep, and could find none of the ordinary -defences against unhappiness. That is to say, she was unable to affect -any kind of superiority to her troubles, besides which she saw them -exactly as they were, in their naked horror, and was not able to put -them in conventional categories. For could Miss Lackett have said to -herself: “I have been in love with John, now I find he is mad. This is a -terrible tragedy, it is very painful to think of people being mad, for -me it is a disappointment in love. Such disappointments are the most -painful to which a girl in my position can be exposed,” and so on—if -she could have done this then Miss Lackett would have found a sure way -to reduce her suffering to a minimum. For by putting forward such -general ideas as madness and disappointment in love she could very soon -have come to feel only the general emotion suited to these ideas. But as -it was she could only think of John Cromartie, his face, voice, manners, -and way of moving; of the particular cage in which she had last seen -him, the smell of apes, the swarm of people staring at him and laughing, -and of her own loneliness and misery which John had deliberately caused. -That is to say she thought only of her pain, and did not cast about to -give it a name. And naming a sorrow is a first step to forgetting it. -About three o’clock in the morning she got out of bed and went down to -the dining room, where she found a decanter of port, another of whiskey, -and some Bath Olivers. She poured<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> herself out a glass of port and -tasted it, but its sweetness disgusted her, so she put it down and -helped herself to the whiskey. After she had got down half a wineglass -of the spirit, taking it neat as it came from the bottle, she felt much -calmer. She drank another glass of it and then went up to her room, -threw herself on her bed, and at once fell into a heavy, drunken sleep.</p> - -<p>During these days Mr. Cromartie had by no means got rid of his -apprehensions of seeing Josephine. The thought which tormented him most -was that he was at her mercy, that is to say, that she was at liberty to -visit him whenever she liked, and to stay away as long as she chose. The -material conditions of his life did not change in any degree, though -there was no longer a vast crowd anxious to see him at all times; and -from four policemen, two were soon thought to be enough to regulate his -visitors. After another week the two were reduced to one, but though the -crowd was scantier each day this policeman was left permanently, more as -a protection for Mr. Cromartie than anything else, for certain persons -had shown themselves very disobliging to him. Indeed, Mr. Cromartie had -had to complain on two occasions, and that not only of abusive language. -But during this time very little had changed in his material -surroundings; this is not saying there was no alteration in Mr. -Cromartie’s state of mind. In that respect there were two forces at -work. One was that he was now continually thinking of Josephine and -expecting a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> visit from her, and, that as his circle of ideas grew -smaller in solitude, he became more and more taken up by imagining how -she would come, what she would say, and so forth. Thus he was -continually rehearsing scenes with Josephine, and this habit interfered -with his daily reading and at times even alarmed him about his sanity. -In the second place, perhaps because thinking so much of Josephine made -him withdraw into himself, he became shy, was annoyed by the spectators, -and felt something approaching a repulsion for the animals in the -menagerie.</p> - -<p>This feeling was naturally intensified in regard to his immediate -neighbours, the female Orang and the Chimpanzee. In their case he was -indeed only making a slight return for the ill will they bore him, which -seemed to increase with every day. Mr. Cromartie was really much to -blame for an aggravation of their natural and, one may say, reasonable -dislike of him. For not only did he draw a larger crowd than fell to -their share, but he persistently ignored them, and so neglected ordinary -civilities that he would have made himself exceedingly unpopular had his -neighbours been human beings like himself. This was due to a singular -defect of imagination in him rather than to natural want of manners, for -in ordinary life he always showed himself perfectly well bred. If an -excuse can be found for his conduct it is that he believed that the -proper thing for him to do was to ignore the very existence of his -neighbours, and also that Collins,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> his keeper, never set him right on -this point. The fact is that Collins was never perfectly easy with Mr. -Cromartie, and that he was the kind of man to take offence himself. -Indeed, he was more jealous of the feelings of his old favourites, the -two apes, than he was quite aware of. Besides this he had lost the -Gibbon, which had been given to another keeper when Mr. Cromartie had -come, and there is no hiding the fact that Collins would have liked to -have the Gibbon back in Mr. Cromartie’s place. For one thing the ape had -given him less work, and for another, it had never been at any time in -its life his social superior. Besides that, Collins had, for we should -do him justice, a very positive affection for the animal. One evening, -after a day passed in a most desultory way, Mr. Cromartie was sitting in -his cage sucking his pipe, when suddenly he saw Miss Lackett come into -the empty house.</p> - -<p>This was the evening of the day after her troubled night. In the morning -she had resolved to settle the question whether Cromartie were mad or -not, to make a judgment on the subject that would be impartial and -definitive, for she felt convinced that if she could not settle the -question of his sanity one way or the other, there would be no doubt of -her losing hers.</p> - -<p>But when she had got into the Gardens she found it impossible to see Mr. -Cromartie alone. A crowd, though not as large as formerly, was still -clustered round the Ape-house the whole of the morning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> Between one and -two there were always some persons before his cage whose presence -rendered it impossible for her to speak with him. She saw then that the -only thing was for her to wait till last thing at night and to hurry in -just at closing time. All this delay upset the arrangements of her day. -The knowledge that she had promised to call for her old schoolfellow, -Lady Rebecca Joel, and to go on and take tea at Admiral Goshawk’s, and -to go out afterwards with them, worried her excessively. At the last -minute she sent messages pleading headache and indisposition, and then -found nothing to do until closing time at the Zoo. To stay in the -Gardens for so long was intolerable. To add to her discomfort the sky -clouded over and a sharp storm came on, the air soon being filled with -sleet, snowflakes and hailstones. She ran out of the Gardens, getting -wet as she did so, and it was some moments before she could find a taxi. -When once inside there was the absolute necessity of telling the man -where to take her.</p> - -<p>“Baker Street,” said she. For Baker Street is a central point from which -she could easily go wherever she wished. This was the reason, it will be -remembered, that made the great detective Holmes choose to have his -rooms in Baker Street, and to-day it is still more central. All -Metro-Land is at one’s feet.</p> - -<p>But the time taken between the Zoo and Baker Street Tube station is -short, and Miss Lackett arrived with no clearer idea of where to go or -what to do than she had when she first ran out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span> Gardens. To be -sure the rain had stopped for the time being, and she walked briskly -along the Marylebone Road. For she belonged to the order of society -which cannot loiter in the street. She marched away without any purpose, -wondering what she would do with herself, when on came the storm again -with a sudden gush of rain. Josephine looked about her and found a -refuge offered by the gates of a large red-brick building, which she -entered. It was Madame Tussaud’s.</p> - -<p>She had never as a child visited the celebrated collection of wax-work -effigies, and she was at once interested in what she saw there. Some -internal voice bade her make the most of this casual opportunity, to -throw aside her temporary unhappiness, and enjoy herself.</p> - -<p>She fell into a peaceful state of mind, and for several hours in -succession gave herself up to the pleasure of gazing at the formal -figures of the most celebrated persons of this and former ages. For the -most part they were the great Victorians and dated from last century. -There were but few other visitors, but the great saloons are always -crowded, and everywhere that she looked she found familiar faces.</p> - -<p>Josephine had been presented at Court, but had not been impressed by the -experience. Madame Tussaud’s seemed to her like a more august -presentation at an Eternal Levee.</p> - -<p>At one end of the room there were indeed the royal families of Europe in -their coronation robes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> There was an air of formality, a stiffness, and -a constraint in all present which seemed to her natural in guests -waiting for their host to come in. And perhaps in another moment a -curtain would be brushed aside, and the Host of Hosts would appear.</p> - -<p>Josephine did not wait any longer, but ran downstairs to the Chamber of -Horrors.</p> - -<p>Before it seemed possible it was time to go back to the Gardens, if she -were to see Cromartie before closing time. She walked quickly into the -house, and found Cromartie sitting near the front of his cage as if he -were expecting to see her. As she came up to the cage he put down the -pipe he had been holding in his mouth and stood up, seeming then to -overshadow her, the floor of his cage being higher than the corridor in -which she stood.</p> - -<p>“Please sit down,” she said, and then was silent, finding nothing of all -the things she had come to tell him ready to her tongue.</p> - -<p>He obeyed her.</p> - -<p>They looked then at each other for some little while in silence. At last -Josephine summoned up her resolution and said to him, speaking in a low -voice:</p> - -<p>“I think that you are mad.”</p> - -<p>Cromartie nodded his head; he had huddled himself up in his chair and -apparently was unable to speak.</p> - -<p>Josephine waited and said: “I was very worried about you, because I -thought at first that something<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> I had said to you might have made you -behave in this idiotic way, but it is now quite clear to me that even if -what I said did have any influence, you are quite mad, and that I need -not think about you any more.”</p> - -<p>Cromartie nodded his head again. She noticed with some surprise that he -was weeping, and that his face was wet with tears which were falling on -to the floor of his cage. The sight of his tears and his determined -silence made her harden her heart. She felt suddenly angry.</p> - -<p>The bell began ringing for closing time, and she heard someone, probably -the policeman, with his hand on the door talking to another man outside. -Josephine turned away, but a moment afterwards came back to the cage. -Cromartie was walking away from her blowing his nose.</p> - -<p>“You must be mad,” she called after him; then the door opened and the -policeman came in.</p> - -<p>“Hurry up, Miss, or you’ll have to stay here all night, and you know -that would never do,” she heard him say as she hurried away.</p> - -<p>Though Josephine’s visit had been painful, it did not succeed in -distressing Cromartie for very long. Indeed, after a short time he -recovered himself completely, and reasoning upon what she had said, and -the reasons of her coming at all, he found much with which to comfort -himself. In the first place, all the secret doubts he had had in the -last week of his own sanity were now dissipated. He was not going to -believe that he was mad, he said<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span> to himself, simply because Josephine -Lackett told him so. Besides which, he felt sure that she only affirmed -that he was mad because it suited her to believe it. If he were actually -insane it would relieve her of any necessity of thinking of him, and -that she had felt any such necessity to exist was in itself extremely -gratifying. Furthermore, he felt certain that if Josephine had really -been convinced of his insanity she would not have paid him a visit in -order to tell him of it. Even Josephine would not find any satisfaction -in such useless inhumanity. If she felt bound to take any steps in the -matter she would have gone to the officers of the Society and insisted -that he should be examined by a mental doctor, and if necessary -certified as a lunatic. And with these very satisfactory reasons Mr. -Cromartie assured himself that he was not really mad, or even in any -danger of becoming so, though he did not doubt that Josephine would -readily persuade herself to the contrary.</p> - -<p>Happiness and misery are purely relative, and Mr. Cromartie was now -raised into a state of the highest spirits by considerations which would -not ordinarily produce such a result. But after the condition of -complete despair in which he had been plunged for several weeks, he -could hardly imagine any greater bliss than knowing that Josephine was -having to persuade herself that he was mad in order to be able to -dismiss him from her thoughts.</p> - -<p>But it must not be concluded from this that Mr. Cromartie indulged in -any sort of hope. He did<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> not even consider the possibility of escaping -from the Zoo or of winning Josephine’s love, because he had never had -any ambition to do either. Such thoughts would have seemed to him not -only ridiculous but also dishonourable. He had taken his course with his -eyes open, and the question whether he should abide by it or not was not -even open to consideration. In this respect the Zoological Society were -indeed fortunate in their selection of a man. For though there is little -doubt that Mr. Cromartie would have been given his liberty whenever he -asked for it, without his having recourse to extreme measures such as -refusing food or imploring the aid of visitors in rescuing him, yet -letting him go would have been a cause of vexation to the Society. It is -not to be supposed that there would have been any difficulty in -replacing him by another specimen of his species. No, the reason why -they would have felt his loss such a severe blow is because the public -readily attaches itself to the individual animals in the Zoo, and is not -to be consoled when such a favourite dies, or disappears, even if it is -instantly replaced by an even finer specimen of the same species. Many -persons habitually resort to the Gardens in order to visit their -particular friends, Sam, Sadie and Rollo, and not merely to look at any -polar bear, orang, or king penguin. And this applies quite as forcibly -to the Fellows of the Society as to the outside public. It was natural, -therefore, that they should entertain hopes that the new acquisition to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> -the Gardens should remain in it for the rest of his natural life, and -though he could not vie with the other creatures in general popularity -when once the vulgar curiosity about him had worn off, yet it was to be -hoped that in time he would develop as much personality as if he were a -bear or an ape.</p> - -<p>While Sir James Agate-Agar was being shown over the house by the -curator, he referred to Cromartie as “your local Diogenes.” The name was -immediately on the lips of everyone who moved in Zoological circles. -There was opportunity here for Mr. Cromartie had he been disposed to -take it. When once the vulgar publicity which had attended his -installation had passed, there were many persons in the upper ranks of -London society who were anxious to make Mr. Cromartie’s acquaintance, -and had he known enough to take up the part marked out for him, there is -no doubt but that he could have had as much society as he cared for, and -that of persons of the very front rank, all of whom were animated by the -most genuine interest in him and friendliness towards him, though -naturally not without the expectation that they would in exchange be -entertained by his remarks, for such a man as the Diogenes of the Zoo -must surely be a great oddity.</p> - -<p>But though Mr. Cromartie had every intention of remaining for the rest -of his life in the cage provided for him, he had no idea of the social -opportunities which doing so would afford him, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span> appreciated them -so little that he most steadily repulsed all overtures of the kind, and -betrayed an obvious reluctance to enter into conversation with anyone, -even the curator himself. At the time in question, however, this was set -down to a not unnatural self-consciousness in the new situation in which -he found himself, and also to the disturbing effect of being exhibited -daily to a large crowd, among whom there were persons whose offensive -behaviour excited the greatest indignation.</p> - -<p>It was several days after this first interview before he was to see Miss -Lackett again. During this period he had much to think of, but his -spirits remained high; for the first time for ten days he took a walk -round the Gardens from pleasure, and not from a feeling that he must -have some fresh air if he were to keep well. For several evenings he sat -motionless for half an hour or more near the beavers’ and the otters’ -pools, and was frequently rewarded by a glimpse of the former, though -only on one occasion by the latter. Whatever creatures in the Gardens -had most retained their native wildness were sure to attract him. They -seemed to him, in his rather warped state of mind, to have preserved -their self-respect. It was to accomplish this in his own particular case -which was his chief concern, though of course he was perfectly well -aware that it did not consist in behaving with any shyness. On the -contrary, Mr. Cromartie’s self-respect depended upon his maintaining an -appearance of unruffled calm, together with the utmost<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span> civility in all -his relations with those with whom he had any business.</p> - -<p>One evening as he was watching for the foxes, the keeper of the small -cats’ house came up to him and entered into conversation. After a few -trivial remarks which served their ordinary purpose—that is they let -Mr. Cromartie know that the keeper was a pleasant fellow and -well-disposed to him—he said:</p> - -<p>“I think it would be a good plan if you were to make a pet of one of the -animals, that is, if you would like to. It seems a waste for you to be -here and not make one of the out-of-way kind of pets.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Cromartie had been thinking that day that perhaps the greatest -disadvantage under which he lay in his situation, was that he could not -have any familiar friend. His former life had been utterly renounced and -was now closed to him, so that it was no use his looking backwards for -one. At the same time he was so utterly cut off from the ordinary run of -humanity that he would not care to risk having any intercourse with his -fellows lest he should be exposed to pity, or to an offensive curiosity.</p> - -<p>The suggestion of this keeper could not have come at a better time, for -he saw that though he might not care for a <i>pet</i> he might make a -<i>friend</i>. In any case, he reflected, equality of circumstances is an -excellent basis for any acquaintanceship, and he could nowhere share the -circumstances of an animal’s life so well as he could here in the Zoo.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> -Had he gone into a tropical jungle it would have been no closer, for -there, though the animals would have been at home, he would not.</p> - -<p>He followed the keeper into the small cat house, and talked with him for -a little while longer.</p> - -<p>It so happened that one of the beasts directly under the care of this -man had attracted Mr. Cromartie when he went into the house before. For -in the Caracal he saw an unhappiness to match his own, combined with -beauty. The Caracal, poor creature, never stopped moving, holding its -face to the bars of its little cage. It moved back and forth with -tireless rapidity, and a monotony which seemed inspired by unutterable -sorrow.</p> - -<p>At his request the keeper now took out the Caracal for him to speak to -it.</p> - -<p>For several days after this Mr. Cromartie never failed to pay the -Caracal a visit every evening, and while making very few overtures to -it, he showed the creature that he was more disposed to be friendly than -most of its fellow captives. This persistence was not thrown away, for -after five or six days the Caracal would stop his sad motions before his -bars when Cromartie came in, and would look after him with evident -regret when the time came for him to go away.</p> - -<p>The keeper, on his side, was mightily pleased at his Caracal’s getting -such a companion, and perhaps the more so as it was not his own -favourite; in particular the man gave himself all the credit for -advising Mr. Cromartie to make a pet of some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> beast or other. It was not -long before he spread the news of it, telling the curator and others of -the staff who might be interested.</p> - -<p>The upshot of all this was that one evening as Cromartie was sitting -reading, locked in for the night, suddenly he heard the door unlocked -and beheld the curator come to pay him a visit.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I just stepped in, Mr. Cromartie,” said the curator in the most -friendly way, “for a word or two. The keeper of the small cats’ house -tells me that you have made quite a pet of the Caracal.”</p> - -<p>At these words Cromartie turned a little pale, and said to himself: “The -fat is in the fire now. He is going to forbid us continuing our -friendship; I ought to have expected it.”</p> - -<p>The next words the curator said quite undeceived him, for he went on: -“Now how would you like, Mr. Cromartie, to have that fellow in your—in -with you here, I mean? You need not have him unless you like, of course, -and you need not keep him a day longer than you want to. I am not trying -to save space, I assure you.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Cromartie accepted the suggestion thankfully, and it was agreed that -the Caracal should come and pay him a trial visit for a few days.</p> - -<p>The next evening he went as usual to the small cat house, but this time -when the Caracal was let out he invited him to come back with him, and -with very little demur the creature followed him and then walked with -him by his side, and then, his confidence increasing, the cat ran before -him a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> yards, stopping every now and then as if to ask him:</p> - -<p>“Which way shall we go now, comrade?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_049.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_049.jpg" width="100%" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Then as Cromartie came up with him he shook the tassels of his tufted -ears and again ran on before. You may be sure that the poor Caracal did -not suffer from nostalgia for his little cage. No, indeed, he ran into -his friend’s more commodious quarters as if he would be content to stay -in them for ever, and after he had trotted all round them four or five -times and leapt up on to the table and down off each of the chairs, he -settled down as if he were at home, and perhaps indeed he was so for the -first time since he was come to the Gardens.</p> - -<p>This pretty kind of cat, for such he found the Caracal to be (not but -what it had some virtues for which cats are not usually famous), proved -a very great solace to him in his captivity. For the creature had a -thousand playful tricks and pretty ways which were a delight to him. For -so long he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> had not been able to see anything all day except his -neighbours the sordid apes, and the staring faces of a crowd which -seemed to share all the qualities of those apes (and with less excuse -for being there), that it was a rare kind of happiness for him to have a -graceful and charming creature beside him. Moreover it was his -companion, the friend of his choice, and the sharer of his misfortunes. -They were equals in everything, and there was in their love none of that -fawning servility on the one side and domineering ownership on the other -that makes nearly all the dealings of men and animals so degrading to -each of the parties. Though it may seem fanciful, there was actually a -strong resemblance in the characters of these two friends.</p> - -<p>Both were in their nature gay and sportive, with pleasant manners which -admirably concealed the untamed wildness of their tawny hearts. But the -resemblance lay chiefly in their excessive and stubborn pride. In both -of them pride was the mainspring of all their actions, though -necessarily the quality must show itself very differently in a man and -in a rare and precious kind of a cat. In imprisonment, though in one -case it was voluntarily made, and in the other case forced, neither -would fawn or make utter and complete submission.</p> - -<p>For though Mr. Cromartie always showed a complete resignation and -exemplary obedience, yet it was only a feigned submission after all.</p> - -<p>The visit of his new friend was to the liking of both parties, and in -general they found none of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> difficulties that sometimes attend -living at close quarters. It is true that the Caracal was no sleeper at -night, but spent all the early part of it prowling hither and thither; -still it was on very silent and padded feet, and by morning he would be -tired of roaming, so that on waking up Mr. Cromartie never failed to -find his friend curled up on the bed beside him.</p> - -<p>In all their relations the man never attempted to exercise any authority -over the beast; if the Caracal wandered away he did not call him back, -nor did he try to tempt him with any tit-bits from his table, nor by -rewards of any sort train him to new tricks. Indeed, to look at them -both together it would seem as if they were unaware of each other’s -presence, or that nothing but a total indifference existed between them. -Only if the Caracal trespassed too far on his patience, either by eating -his food before he had finished, or by playing with his pen if he were -writing, would he swear at him or give him a little cuff to show his -displeasure. Once or twice on such occasions the Caracal bared his teeth -at him and stretched out his sharp and wicked claws, but yet he always -thought again before using them on his big, slowly moving friend. Once -or twice, of course, as might have been expected, Mr. Cromartie got -scratched, but this was done in play or was merely accidental; indeed, -it almost always was when the Caracal, leaping up from the ground upon -his shoulder, held on lest he should over-balance. Only once was this at -all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span> serious, and then because the Caracal, trying a higher jump than -usual, landed on his head and the nape of his neck. Mr. Cromartie cried -out in surprise and pain, and the Caracal drew in his claws instantly, -and by purring and many affectionate rubbings of his body against his -friend, sought to make amends for his misdeed. Mr. Cromartie was -bleeding from ten dagger wounds on his scalp, but after the first moment -he spoke gently to the cat and forgave him fully. All this was, however, -nothing when weighed against the happiness he had in having a companion -to be with him in his captivity, and a companion who was so much the -happier for having him.</p> - -<p>At Cromartie’s request the Caracal was now installed permanently with -him, and another board was attached to the front of the cage, beside his -own. It bore the inscription:</p> - -<div class="bboxxx"> -<p class="c"> -CARACAL<br /> -<i>Felis Caracal.</i> ♂ Iraq.<br /> -Presented by Squadron N, R.A.F., Basra.<br /> -</p> -</div> - -<p>There were no pictures attached of either Man or Caracal, as it was -taken for granted that visitors would be able to distinguish them. The -public showed a great appreciation of the Man’s sharing his cage with an -animal, and Mr. Cromartie suddenly became, what he had not been before, -extremely popular. The tide turned, and everybody<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span> found charming the -person who had so scandalised them. Instead of ill-natured remarks, or -even insults, Mr. Cromartie’s ears were assailed with cries of delight.</p> - -<p>This change was certainly one for the better, though Mr. Cromartie -reflected that in time it might become as tedious as ill-natured remarks -had been formerly. His defence was the same against each, that is, he -shut his ears, never looked through the netting if he could help it, and -read his books as if he were indeed a scholar working in his own study.</p> - -<p>He was sitting in this way reading “Wilhelm Meister,” with his companion -the Caracal at his feet, when he suddenly heard his name called and -looked up.</p> - -<p>There was Josephine, standing before him, looking in at him, her face -pale, her mouth rigid, and her eyes staring.</p> - -<p>Up jumped Mr. Cromartie, but as he was surprised his self-control was -gone for an instant.</p> - -<p>“My God! What have you come for?” he asked her in agitated tones.</p> - -<p>Josephine was taken aback for a moment by this greeting, and as he -strode to the front of his cage, stepped back away from him. For the -moment she was confused. Then she said:</p> - -<p>“I have come to ask you about a book. The second volume of ‘Les Liaisons -Dangereuses.’ Aunt Eily is fussing about it. She says the plates make it -a very valuable edition. She suspects me of reading it too, and thinks -it unsuitable....<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>As she spoke Cromartie began laughing, screwing up his eyes and showing -his teeth.</p> - -<p>“So my forgetfulness has got you into a scrape, has it?” he asked. Then: -“I’m most awfully sorry. I’ve actually got it here. I’ll post it to you -to-night. I can’t slip it through the wire netting, unfortunately. -That’s one of the drawbacks of living in a cage.”</p> - -<p>Josephine had not seen Cromartie looking so charming for a long time. -Her own expression changed also, but she still remained shy and awkward, -and was obviously afraid of someone coming into the Ape-house and -finding them together, talking.</p> - -<p>For a moment or two they were silent. She looked at the Caracal and -said:</p> - -<p>“I read in the paper about your having a companion. I expect it is a -very good plan. You are looking better. I’ve been having bronchitis, and -have been laid up for a fortnight since you saw me last.”</p> - -<p>But as Josephine spoke Cromartie’s face clouded over again. He noticed -her awkwardness and was annoyed by it. He remembered also her last -visit, and how she had behaved then. Recollecting all this he frowned, -drew himself up, rubbed his nose rather crossly, and said:</p> - -<p>“You must realise, Josephine, that seeing you is excessively painful to -me. In fact I am not sure I can endure being exposed to the danger of it -any longer. Last time you came to see me for the purpose<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> of informing -me that you think I am mad. I don’t think you are right, but if I cannot -guard myself from seeing you I daresay I shall go mad. I must therefore -ask you in the interests of my own health, if for nothing else, never to -come near me again. If you have anything to say of an urgent nature—if -there should be another book of yours, or any reason of that sort, you -can always write to me. Nothing you can say or do can be anything but -extremely painful and exhausting, even if you felt kindly disposed -towards me; but from your behaviour I can only conclude you want to give -me pain and come here to amuse yourself by hurting me. I warn you I am -not going to submit to being tortured.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve never heard such nonsense, John. I hoped you were better, but now -I am sure you really are mad,” said Josephine. “I’ve never been spoken -to in such a way. And you imagine that I of all people want to see you!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I forbid your coming to see me in the future,” said Mr. -Cromartie.</p> - -<p>“Forbid! You forbid!” cried Josephine, who was now furious with him. -“You forbid me to come! Don’t you realise that you are being exhibited? -I, or anyone else who pays a shilling, can come and stare at you all -day. Your feelings need not worry us; you should have thought of that -before. You wanted to make an exhibition of yourself, now you must take -the consequences. Forbid me to come and look at you! Good heavens!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> The -impertinence of the animal! You are one of the apes now, didn’t you know -that? You put yourself on a level with a monkey and you are a monkey, -and I for one am going to treat you like a monkey.”</p> - -<p>This was said in a cold, sneering sort of way that was altogether too -much for Mr. Cromartie. The blood flew to his head, and with a face -distorted with almost insane rage he shook his fist at her through the -bars. When at last he was able to speak it was only to tell her in an -unnatural voice:</p> - -<p>“I shall kill you for that. Confound these bars!”</p> - -<p>“They have some advantages,” said Josephine coolly. She was frightened, -but as she spoke Mr. Cromartie lay down on the floor of his cage and she -saw him stuff his handkerchief into his mouth and bite it; there were -tears in his eyes, and sometimes he fetched a deep groan as if he were -near his end.</p> - -<p>All this frightened Josephine more even than his threatening that he -would murder her. And seeing him rolling there as if he were in a fit -made her repent of what she had said to him, and then she came right up -to the netting of his cage and began to beg him to forgive her, and to -forget what she had said.</p> - -<p>“I did not mean one word of it, dearest John,” said she in a new and -altered voice, which scarce reached to him, it was so soft. “How can you -think I want to hurt you when I come to this wretched prison of yours to -see you because I love you, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span> cannot forget you in spite of all that -you have done only on purpose to hurt me?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, go away, go away, if you have any pity left in you,” said John. His -own voice was now come back to him, but he sobbed once or twice between -his words.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Caracal, who had watched all this scene and listened to it -with a great deal of wonder, now came up to him and began to comfort him -in his distress, first sniffing at his face and hands and then licking -them.</p> - -<p>And before anything more could be said between Josephine and John, the -door opened and a whole party of people were come in to see the apes. At -that Josephine went out of the house and out of the Gardens, and getting -into a cab went straight home, all as if she were in a nightmare. As for -Mr. Cromartie, he struggled quickly on to his feet and hurried out of -his cage into his hiding-place to wash his face, comb his hair, and -compose himself a little before facing the public; but when he went back -the party were gone away and there was only his Caracal staring at him -and asking him as plain as words:</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, my dear friend? Are you all right now? Is it over? -I am sorry for you, although I am a Caracal and you are a man. Indeed, I -do love you very tenderly.”</p> - -<p>There was only the Caracal when he went back into his cage, only the -Caracal and “Wilhelm Meister” lying on the floor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span></p> - -<p>That night Miss Lackett suffered every torment which love can give, for -her pride seemed to have deserted her now when she most wanted it to -support her, and without it her pity for poor Mr. Cromartie and her -shame at her own words were free to reduce and humble her utterly.</p> - -<p>“How can I ever speak to him again?” she asked herself. “How can I ever -hope to be forgiven when I have gone twice to him in his miserable -captivity, and each time I have insulted him and said the things which -it would hurt him most to hear?”</p> - -<p>“From the very beginning,” she told herself, “it has all been my fault. -It is I who made him go into the Zoo. I called him mad, and mocked at -him and made him suffer, when everything has been due to my ungovernable -temper, my pride and my heartlessness. But all the time I have suffered, -and now it is too late to do anything. He will never forgive me now. He -will never bear to see me again and I must suffer always. If I had -behaved differently perhaps I could have saved him and myself too. Now I -have killed his love for me, and because of my folly he must suffer -imprisonment and loneliness for ever, and I myself shall live miserably -and never again dare hold up my head.”</p> - -<p>Providence has not framed mankind for emotions such as these; they may -be felt acutely, but in a healthy and high-spirited girl they are not of -a very lasting nature.</p> - -<p>It was only natural, then, that after giving up the greater part of the -night to the bitterest self-reproach<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span> and to the completest humiliation -of spirit, and after shedding enough tears to make her pillow -uncomfortably damp, Miss Lackett should wake next morning in a very -hopeful state of mind. She determined to visit Mr. Cromartie that -afternoon, and despatched a note acquainting him with her intention in -these terms:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -Eaton Square.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Dear John</span>,<br /> -</p> - -<p>You know well that the reason why I behaved badly is because I -still love you. I am very much ashamed, please forgive me if you -can. I must see you to-day. May I come in the afternoon? It is very -important, because I don’t think we can either of us continue like -this much longer. I will come in the afternoon. Please consent to -see me, but I will not come unless you send me word by the -messenger that I may.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span style="margin-right: 20%;">Yours,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Josephine Lackett</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>The moment that Josephine had sent off the messenger she regretted what -she had said in it, and nothing seemed to her then more certain than -that her letter would exasperate Cromartie still further. The next -moment she thought to herself: “I have exposed myself to the greatest -humiliation a woman can receive.” For a second or two this filled her -with terror, and at that moment she would have readily killed herself. -As neither poisons, poignards, pistols or precipices were within reach<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> -she did nothing, and in less than a minute the mood passed, and she said -to herself:</p> - -<p>“What does my humiliation matter? I suffered more of that last night -than I can ever suffer again. Last night I humiliated myself in my own -eyes. If John tries to humiliate me to-day he will find the work done. -Meanwhile I must be self-controlled. I have no time to waste on my -emotions; I have many things to do. I must see John, and as I am in love -with him I have got to make terms with him. I have got to make a bargain -with him.”</p> - -<p>Acting on these thoughts she went out at once, meaning to walk to the -Zoo without waiting any longer for the messenger boy to come back. But -her mind was still busy.</p> - -<p>“I will completely forgive him, and offer to become engaged to him -secretly in return for his instantly leaving the Zoo.”</p> - -<p>She did not reflect as she said this that nothing would be easier for -her than to break off such an engagement, whereas if Cromartie once left -the Gardens it was improbable that they would take him back.</p> - -<p>But when she got to the Marble Arch she had to wait a little before -crossing the road, and she noticed a man selling newspapers beside her. -On the placard he carried she saw:</p> - -<p class="c"> -MAN IN THE ZOO<br /> -MAULED BY<br /> -MONKEY<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span></p> - -<p>For the first moment she did not connect the placard with her lover; she -permitted herself to be amused at the thought of a spectator having his -finger bitten, but in the next instant a doubt arose and she hurriedly -bought the paper.</p> - -<p>“This morning the ‘Man in the Zoo,’ whose real name is Mr. John -Cromartie, was shockingly mauled by Daphne, the Orang in the next cage -to his.” Josephine read the account of the affair right through very -slowly.</p> - -<p>It appeared that about eleven o’clock that morning Cromartie had been -playing ball in his cage with the Caracal. In dodging the Caracal he had -fallen heavily against the wire mesh partition separating him from the -Orang. While he had rested there for a moment the spectators were -horrified to see him seized by the Orang, which caught him by the hair. -Mr. Cromartie had put up his hands to prevent his face being scratched, -and the Orang had managed to get hold of his fingers and had cracked the -bones of them. Mr. Cromartie had shown great courage and had succeeded -in freeing himself before the arrival of the keeper. Two fingers were -crushed and the bones fractured; he had sustained several severe scalp -wounds and a scratched face. The only danger to be feared was blood -poisoning, as the injuries inflicted by apes are well known to be -peculiarly venomous.</p> - -<p>On reading this Josephine suddenly remembered how the King of Greece had -died from the effects of a monkey bite, and she became more and more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span> -alarmed. She called a taxi, got into it, and told the driver to take her -to the Zoological Gardens as fast as he could. All the way there she was -in a fever of agitation, and could settle nothing in her own mind.</p> - -<p>Having arrived at the Zoo, she went straight to the house of the -resident curator, and was just in time to see Mr. Cromartie being -carried in on a stretcher, but before she could come up to it the door -was shut in her face. She rang, but it was almost five minutes before -the door was opened by a maidservant who took her card in, with the -request that she might see the curator as she was a friend of Mr. -Cromartie’s. Before the maid came back, however, the curator came out, -and Josephine explained her visit without any embarrassment. She was -invited in, and found herself in a fine well-lit dining-room in the -presence of two gentlemen in morning dress, and both with bushy -eyebrows. The curator introduced her as a friend of Mr. Cromartie’s, and -they both gave her a very keen look and bowed.</p> - -<p>Sir Walter Tintzel, the elder of the two, was a short man with a rather -round red face; Mr. Ogilvie, a taller, youngish man, with a skin like -parchment, and a glass eye into which she found herself staring. “How is -the patient?” asked Josephine, falling at once into that state of mind -which is produced by the presence of distinguished medical men, and -particularly surgeons, a state of mind, that is, of almost complete -blankness, when however upset one may have been the moment before, one -finds<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> all emotion suspended, or swallowed up in fog. All the faculties -at such a moment are concentrated on behaving with an absurd decorum.</p> - -<p>“It is a little too early to say, Miss Lackett,” replied Sir Walter -Tintzel, who was filled with curiosity to find out more about her.</p> - -<p>“My friend Mr. Ogilvie has just amputated a finger; in my opinion it -would have been running an unjustifiable risk not to have done so. There -were several minor injuries, but happily they did not require such -drastic measures. May I ask, Miss Lackett, without impertinence, if you -have known Mr. Cromartie long? You are, I understand, a personal friend, -a close and dear friend of Mr. Cromartie’s.”</p> - -<p>Miss Lackett opened her eyes rather wide at this remark, and replied:</p> - -<p>“I was naturally anxious.... Yes, I am an old friend of Mr. -Cromartie’s—and, if you like, a close friend.” She laughed. “Is there -danger of blood-poisoning?”</p> - -<p>“There is a risk of it, but we have taken every precaution.”</p> - -<p>“The King of Greece died of being bitten by a monkey,” cried Josephine -suddenly.</p> - -<p>“That’s rubbish,” interrupted the curator, coming forward. “Why -everybody in the Gardens has been more or less seriously bitten by -monkeys at some time or other. It is always happening. It’s dreadful to -think that the poor fellow should have lost a finger, but there’s no -danger.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“You are sure there’s no danger?” asked Josephine.</p> - -<p>The curator appealed to the medical men. They allowed themselves to -smile.</p> - -<p>Josephine withdrew, and in the hall the curator said to her:</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry about him, Miss Lackett; it’s a beastly thing of course to -think of, but it’s not serious. He isn’t the King of Greece; the monkey -isn’t that sort of monkey even. He’ll be up and about in a day or two at -the most. By the way, is your father General Lackett?”</p> - -<p>Josephine was surprised, but admitted it without hesitation.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes—he’s an old friend of mine. Drop in one day next week to tea -and see how our friend is going on.”</p> - -<p>Josephine left in very much better spirits than she had come, and though -she once or twice was troubled by the recollection of Mr. Cromartie’s -unconscious form, the head swathed in bandages, and the body covered -with a blanket, she felt small anxiety. On the contrary, she very soon -gave herself up to rosy visions of the future.</p> - -<p>Thus nothing appeared to her to be more clear than that Mr. Cromartie -would leave the Zoo, and the loss of a finger was perhaps not too high a -price to pay for restoring him to ordinary ways, or perhaps she might -say not too great a punishment for conduct such as his had been.</p> - -<p>And it crossed her mind also that now there was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> no need for her to -humble herself to Cromartie, for he would leave the Zoo and become -reconciled to her now as a matter of course. It was for her to forgive -him! She had had a narrow escape. What a weak position she might have -been in had she seen him before the ape bit him! How strong a position -she now occupied! She must, she reflected, take this lesson to heart and -never act hurriedly on the impulse of the moment, otherwise she would -give John every advantage and there would be no dealing with him at all. -Next she recollected the letter she had sent him, and spent a little -while trying to recall the exact terms of it. When she remembered that -she had said that she was ashamed and had asked to be forgiven, she bit -her lips with vexation, but the next moment she stopped short and said -aloud: “How unworthy this is of you! How petty! How vulgar!”</p> - -<p>And she remembered at that moment all the vulgar and horrible things she -had felt when she had first learnt that John had gone to the Zoo, and -how much ashamed she was of them afterwards, and how hatefully she had -behaved on both of her visits to him. She told herself then that she -ought to be ashamed, ought to ask forgiveness, and that she ought to be -thankful that she had done so in her letter, but in the next instant she -was saying to herself: “All the same, it won’t do to put myself at his -mercy. I must keep the upper hand or my life won’t be worth living.” And -after that her mind raced off again to visions of the future in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span> which -John was rewarded with her hand and they took a country house. Her -father was an authority on fishponds and trout streams. He and Cromartie -would of course lay out a fishpond. Perhaps there would be a moat round -the house. But the figure who bent over her father’s shoulder at -breakfast, pushing away the egg-boiling machine to look at a plan of the -new trout hatchery, that figure was a very different person from Mr. -Cromartie the mutilated, monkey-bitten man in the Zoo.</p> - -<p>When Josephine got home she found a note which had been left for her, -but which was not in Mr. Cromartie’s handwriting.</p> - -<p>It ran as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -Infirmary, Zoo.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Dear Josephine</span>,<br /> -</p> - -<p>Your note has come by the messenger. I shall not be free to see you -this afternoon, which relieves me from making the decision not to -do so. You say that the reason you behave cruelly to me is because -you love me. It is because I know that, that I have tried to do -without your love. I think you are a character who will always -torture the people you love. I cannot bear pain well; that alone -makes us unsuited to each other. It is the principal reason why I -never wish to see you again.</p> - -<p>You are mistaken when you say that you have something of the first -importance to tell me. Unless it is something to do with the -arrangements which the Zoo authorities make with regard to the -Ape-house, it cannot be of importance to me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span></p> - -<p>Please believe that I bear you no resentment for the past; indeed I -still love you, but I mean what I say.</p> - -<p class="c"> -Yours ever,<br /><span style="margin-left: 25%;"> -<span class="smcap">John Cromartie</span>.</span><br /> -</p></div> - -<p>When Josephine had read this letter over twice and had realised that it -must have been written <i>after</i> he had been bitten by the ape, and just -before his finger was cut off, she gave up her hopes.</p> - -<p>Everything she had been feeling was revealed as ridiculous folly. If -John could write like that at the moment when he must have been most -wishing to escape from confinement, she saw that her plans for his -regeneration were impossible. She went up to her room and lay down. All -was lost.</p> - -<p>That morning Mr. Cromartie had taken his breakfast of rolls, butter, -Oxford marmalade, and coffee as usual. When it had been cleared away he -began to play ball with the Caracal.</p> - -<p>For this purpose he used an ordinary tennis ball, and throwing it on the -floor of his cage, made it bounce on to the netting and back to him. The -game therefore resembled fives, the object, however, being, on his part, -to prevent the Caracal intercepting the ball, which, by the way, he was -rarely able to do more than three or four times running, for the cat was -very quick on its legs and had a good eye.</p> - -<p>After they had been playing for about ten minutes Mr. Cromartie slipped -backwards in taking a ball<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_068.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_068.jpg" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">which bounced high, and fell heavily against the wire netting wall of -his cage. Before he could get his balance he felt himself taken hold of -by the hair, and understood at once that it was his neighbour the Orang -who had got him in its clutches. The brute then got a finger as far as -Mr. Cromartie’s ear and slit it through, though not injuring the drum. -Mr. Cromartie managed to turn his head then in order to see his -assailant, and found his face was now exposed, and his forehead was -scratched. To protect himself he put one hand in front of his face, and -was pushing himself away from the netting with the other when the Orang -caught hold of two of his fingers in its teeth. The pain of this made -him jerk his head free, and the lock of hair by which the Orang held him -came right out of his scalp.</p> - -<p>The ape still held on to his fingers like a bulldog. Just then his -Caracal, which had been dodging about between his legs, got one paw -through the netting and raked the Orang’s thighs with his claws, but the -ape did not leave go even then. Mr. Cromartie, who had a very cool head -for a man in such a situation, took out a couple of wax vestas from his -pocket, struck them on his heel, and thrust the flaring fusees through -the wire into the ape’s muzzle and in that way made him leave go his -hold at once.</p> - -<p>This circumstance of his feeling for the fusees in his pocket while the -ape was slowly grinding his fingers to a mere pulp very greatly -impressed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> spectators, who beyond shouting for assistance were -powerless to do anything. No less remarkable was the way in which, -directly he was free, he pulled away the Caracal from the netting before -the ape could catch hold of him, and this though the cat was beside -itself with the fury of the fight. But strangely enough in doing this he -did not get scratched, either because he pulled him off by the scruff -with his uninjured hand and carried him right out of the cage, or -because the Caracal knew him even at that moment.</p> - -<p>Collins arrived just as this happened and the shock was almost too much -for him; it was remarked that he was deathly white and could scarcely -speak. Mr. Cromartie was covered with blood, blood pouring from his ear -and his fingers, and all his hair matted with blood, but he came back at -once after locking up his Caracal, to show the spectators that he was -not badly hurt; they for their part clapped their hands with joy, either -because they were glad to see him escape, or because they were grateful -for having been presented with such an unusual spectacle for nothing.</p> - -<p>Cromartie then went back to his inner room and Collins led him off at -once to the infirmary, where he was given first aid. It was some little -while after this that he received Josephine’s letter and dictated an -answer for the messenger to take to her. There was some little delay in -the messenger getting to him.</p> - -<p>Directly he had despatched the letter he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> anæsthetised and the third -finger of his right hand amputated.</p> - -<p>After the operation and before he had regained consciousness, he was -taken to the house of the curator, who had decided that he would be more -comfortable there than anywhere else. Although at the time Mr. Cromartie -had behaved with perfect composure and had borne his injuries without -flinching, not only at the time of the assault, but for over three hours -afterwards, and had been able to compose a letter during that time as if -nothing had happened, he had received a great nervous shock the effects -of which only became apparent next day. He spent a very disturbed night, -but in the morning was much better; ate an ordinary breakfast but did -not get up, and Sir Walter Tintzel, who visited him about eleven -o’clock, was sanguine and predicted a rapid recovery. In the afternoon -he was restless and suffered acutely, and as evening came on his -temperature rose rapidly. That night he was in a condition of fitful -delirium, occasionally falling asleep and waking up with nightmares -which persisted even when he appeared to be wide awake.</p> - -<p>On the second day the fever increased and blood-poisoning in an acute -form was recognised, but the patient was altogether rational in his -mind. On the third day the symptoms of blood-poisoning were more -pronounced. The patient fell into a delirium which lasted without -intermission for the following three days. Most of the feverish -hallucinations which filled his mind then passed completely away<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span> when -he recovered consciousness. Yet Mr. Cromartie had a clear and vivid -memory of one of them. This was, he knew, nothing but a dream, yet it -seemed but to have just happened to him, and the dream or vision was -singular enough for it to be put down here.</p> - -<p>In the Strand people were hurrying along in little crowds like gusts of -dirty smoke that was blown at intervals in wisps across the road. They -were all coming towards him as he walked down from Somerset House -towards Trafalgar Square. No one was walking the same way that he was, -and none of the people he met brushed against him or even looked at him, -but they melted away to right and left and so let him pass by. Sometimes -when a band of them passed him he caught a whiff of their odour, and the -smell sickened him.</p> - -<p>They were frightened, they hurried by, but he was thinking of that great -man Sir Christopher Wren, who had planned the street he was then walking -in. But nobody cared, nobody had built it, though the plans were all -there rolled up and ready, and just as good to-day as they were in the -reign of King Charles II.</p> - -<p>He lifted up his head presently, and up in the sky a white streak was -being deliberately drawn. It was an aeroplane writing advertisements. So -he stood still in the middle of the hurrying crowds to watch it; now he -could just see the tiny aeroplane like a little brown insect. Slowly in -the sky a long straight line was drawn and then a loop—surely it must -be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span> the figure 6. And then the aeroplane stopped throwing out smoke and -became almost invisible as it went off tittering across the sky.</p> - -<p>The numeral swelled and grew and was being slowly blown away when all of -a sudden another white streak appeared and the aeroplane was drawing -something else. But as he watched he was aware that after all it was the -same thing again, another 6, and when it had done that the aeroplane -mounted again into the sky and drew another 6, but already its first -work was undone by the wind and in a few moments there was nothing to be -seen in the sky but a few wisps of smoke.</p> - -<p>For a second or two Cromartie felt himself rocking in the aeroplane, -which went humming away across the sky before falling again sideways -like a snipe bleating; that was only a moment, as when you shut your -eyes and fancy that you can feel the earth spinning in space, and then -Cromartie was walking out of the Strand into Trafalgar Square. It was -empty, and he looked at the Nelson monument with wonder. Landseer’s -great beasts planted their feet flat down before them. What were they, -he wondered? Lions or Leopards, or perhaps Bears? He could not say. And -suddenly he saw that his right hand was bleeding and his fingers gone. A -great crowd had entered the Square; the fountains were playing, the sun -was shining, and he got on to a scarlet omnibus. But very soon he saw -that the people were whispering together on the omnibus and they were -all looking at him, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span> knew that it was because they saw his -wounded hand. He put his other hand up to his forehead and there was -blood on that also. He was afraid then of the people on the bus and so -he got out. But wherever he wandered the people stopped and stared at -him and whispered, and as he walked among them they drew aside and -formed into little groups and gazed after him as he went by, and it was -because they knew him by the wounds on his head and on his hand.</p> - -<p>They were all of them muttering and looking at him with hatred, but -something restrained them, so that though their eyes were like sharp -daggers they were one and all afraid to point their fingers....</p> - -<p>He was going to vote. He would cast his vote. Nothing should stop him. -At last he saw the two entrances to the underground voting hall with -Ladies written over one and Gentlemen written over the other, and he -went downstairs. But when he asked the attendant for his voting card the -man took down a large book bound in lambskin with the wool left on, and -turned over several pages and looked down them. At last he said: “But -your name is not written in the Book of Life, Mr. Cromartie. You must -give up your secret, you know, if you wish to be registered.” When he -heard this Mr. Cromartie felt sick, and he noticed the smell that came -from all the other voters in their ballot boxes; he hesitated, and at -last he said:</p> - -<p>“But if I do not give up my secret may I not vote?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“No, Mr. Cromartie. Nobody can vote who does not give up his secret, -that is called the secrecy of the ballot—but it is out of the question -for you to vote, anyhow ... you bear the Mark of the Beast.”</p> - -<p>And Mr. Cromartie looked at his hand and felt his forehead and saw that -he did indeed bear the Mark of the Beast where it had bitten him, and he -knew that he was an outcast. That was what everybody had whispered. He -would not give up his secret so he was rejected by mankind and hated by -them, for he frightened them. They were all alike, they had no secrets, -but he had kept his and now the Beast had set its Mark upon him, and he -seemed terrible to them all, and he himself was afraid. “The Beast has -set his Mark on me,” he said to himself. “It will slowly eat me up. I -cannot escape now, and one thing is as bad as another. On the whole I -would rather the Beast slowly ate me up than give up so much, and the -stench of my fellows disgusts me.”</p> - -<p>And then he heard the Beast moving restlessly behind some partition; he -heard the rustling of straw and the great creature slowly licking itself -all over; and then its smell, sweet, and warm, and awful, swallowed him -up, and he lay quite still on the floor of the cage, listening to its -tail going thump, thump, thump on the floor beside him. Terror could go -no further, and at last he opened his eyes and slowly understood that it -was his own heart which was beating and no beast’s tail, and all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> about -him there were clean sheets and flowers and a smell of iodoform. But his -fear lasted for half that day.</p> - -<p>In a fortnight Mr. Cromartie was pronounced out of danger, but he -continued in so weak a state for some time afterwards that he was not -allowed to receive any visitors, so that although Josephine called every -day it was only to hear the latest news of how he had passed the night, -and to leave flowers for the sickroom.</p> - -<p>In the following weeks Mr. Cromartie made a rapid recovery; that is to -say, though by no means restored to his ordinary health, he was able -first to get up for an hour in the middle of the day, and then to go for -a short walk round the Gardens.</p> - -<p>The doctors attending upon him suggested at this time that an entire -change of scene would be beneficial, and the curator, far from putting -any obstacles in the way of this, frequently urged the patient to go for -a month’s holiday to Cornwall. But in this he was met by a steady and -obstinate refusal, or rather by complete passivity and non-resistance. -Mr. Cromartie refused to take a holiday. He declined to go away anywhere -by himself, though he added that he was completely at the curator’s -disposal and prepared to go to any place where he was sent in charge of -a keeper. After some days, during which the curator proposed first one -scheme and then another, the plan of Mr. Cromartie’s being sent away was -abandoned. In the first place it was difficult to spare a keeper, or for -that matter to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span> find a suitable man among the staff to go with Mr. -Cromartie, and it was difficult to find a suitable place where they -should be sent.</p> - -<p>But the chief reason why these schemes were given up was because of the -apathetic and even hostile attitude which the invalid adopted to them, -and because it occurred to the curator that this hostility was perhaps -not without a reason.</p> - -<p>And indeed there is no doubt that Mr. Cromartie felt that if he once -took such a holiday as had been suggested he would find it very much -harder to go back into captivity at the end of it, and he opposed it -because he was resolved not to escape from what he conceived were his -obligations.</p> - -<p>It was therefore decided that Mr. Cromartie should go straight back to -his cage, though it was impressed upon him that he would not be expected -to be on view to the public any longer than he wished, and that he must -lie down to rest in his inner room for two or three hours every day.</p> - -<p>In this way, and by taking him for motor-car drives for a couple of -hours or so after dark, it was hoped that he would be able to regain his -accustomed health and shake off that state of apathy which seemed his -most alarming symptom to the medical men who attended him.</p> - -<p>But before Cromartie went back to his old quarters he was to hear a -piece of news from the curator which concerned him very closely, though -he did not at first realise the full significance of it.</p> - -<p>The curator was so confused in imparting this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span> information, and so -apologetic, and occupied so much time with a preamble explaining how -much the Zoological Society felt themselves indebted to him, that Mr. -Cromartie had some difficulty in following what he said, but at last he -got at the gist of it, and the long and the short of the matter was: The -experiment of exhibiting a man had been a much greater success than any -of the Committee had dared to hope; such a success, indeed, that it had -decided to follow it up by having a second man, a negro. It had actually -engaged him two or three days since, and had installed him only that -day. The intention of the Committee was eventually to establish a -“Man-house” which should contain specimens of all the different races of -mankind, with a Bushman, South Sea Islanders, etc., in native costume, -but such a collection could of course only be formed gradually and as -occasion offered.</p> - -<p>The embarrassment of the poor curator as he made these revelations was -so extreme that Cromartie could only think of how best to set him once -more at his ease, and though he had a very distinct moment of annoyance -when he heard of the negro, yet he suppressed it completely. When the -curator had been persuaded that Cromartie bore him no grudge for these -innovations, nay more, that he was perfectly indifferent to them, his -joy and relief were as overwhelming as his distress and embarrassment -had been before.</p> - -<p>First he blew out a great breath, and mopped his forehead with a big -silk handkerchief; then,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> his honest face quite transformed with -happiness, he seized Cromartie by the hand, and then by the lapel, and -laughed again and again while he explained that he had opposed the -project with all his might because he was sure Cromartie would not like -it, and after he had been overruled he had not known how to break the -news to him. He vowed he had not slept for two nights thinking about it, -but now when he learnt that Cromartie actually approved of the plan, he -felt a new man. “I am the biggest fool in the world,” said he; “my -imagination runs away with me. I am always thinking of how other people -are going to be upset, and then it turns out that they don’t give a row -of pins about the whole affair and I am the only person who feels upset -at all ... all on account of somebody else.... Ha! Ha! Ha! It has been -just like that over and over again with my wife. It is always happening -to me. Well now I’ll go full blast ahead with the new ‘Man-house,’ -because, you know, it’s a damned good notion. I felt that the whole -time, but I couldn’t get it out of my head that it was unfair to you.”</p> - -<p>But Mr. Cromartie did not share his enthusiasm; he merely repeated to -himself, as he had done so often before, that he intended observing his -side of the contract so long as the Zoo kept its own, and that there was -nothing in all this which infringed or invalidated the contract in any -way. But when Mr. Cromartie went into his cage he saw a black man in the -cage next door—he was brushing a black<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span> bowler hat—it came as a great -shock to Mr. Cromartie to realise that this man was the neighbour about -whom the curator had spoken. This negro was almost coal black, a jovial -fellow, dressed in a striped pink and green shirt, a mustard-coloured -suit, and patent leather boots. When he saw Mr. Cromartie he at once -wheeled round, and saying “The interesting invalid has arrived,” walked -up to the partition separating him from Cromartie and said to him: -“Allow me to welcome you back to what is now the Man-house. If I may -introduce myself, Joe Tennison: I am delighted to meet you, Mr. -Cromartie, it is a real pleasure to have a man next door.” Cromartie -bowed stiffly and said “Good afternoon” very awkwardly, but the negro -was not abashed, and leaned against the wire partition between them so -that it bulged.</p> - -<p>“They are going to clear all that poor trash away now,” he said, -pointing at the Chimpanzee beyond Cromartie. “They isn’t to be kept with -us any more, nasty jealous brutes; bite your fingers off if they catch -you.”</p> - -<p>Cromartie turned and looked at the Chimpanzee; it had always seemed to -him rather a pathetic beast, but how much more so now while his new -neighbour Tennison was speaking of it! And not for the first time he -felt a friendly sympathy for the ugly little ape. Indeed he would far -rather have seen the savage old Orang back in her place than have this -insufferably verbose fellow patronising the animals near him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span></p> - -<p>For the moment Cromartie was quite at a loss, and had no idea what to -reply to the stream of Mr. Tennison’s remarks. He had said nothing at -all when a minute or two later he was relieved by the arrival of Collins -with his Caracal, which had been sent back to his old cage in the -cat-house after Mr. Cromartie’s injuries.</p> - -<p>The pleasure of the two friends at once more being together was -unbounded, and was shown by each of them very strongly after his own -fashion. For at first the Caracal trotted up to Cromartie debonairly -enough, as if he were just come to give him a sniff, then he began -purring loudly and rubbed himself a score of times against Cromartie’s -legs, winding himself about them, and finally he sprang right up into -his friend’s arms, licked his face and his hair, and curled up for a -moment or two as if he would sleep there; but no, this was not for long, -for he sprang down again. Then he began trotting round the cage, sniffed -in the corners, leapt on the table and made certain that all was well.</p> - -<p>When Joe Tennison called to him, the Caracal passed by without giving -him a glance, and it was just the same with his friend too, for when -Cromartie heard the negro begin talking to him he just nodded his head -and went into his inner room. But once there Mr. Cromartie reflected -that this negro was to be his companion and neighbour for some years, -and it would never do to run away from him every time he spoke. Somehow -he must make Tennison respect his privacy without making<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span> an enemy of -him, and at that moment Mr. Cromartie saw no way of doing this. However, -he took down a book of Waley’s poems translated from the Chinese, and -went back into his cage with it in his hand, and then sat down and began -reading.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He lives in thick forests, deep among the hills,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or houses in the clefts of sharp, precipitous rocks;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Alert and agile is his nature, nimble are his wits;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Swift are his contortions,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Apt to every need,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whether he climbs tall tree-stems of a hundred feet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or sways on the shuddering shoulder of a long bough.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Before him, the dark gullies of unfathomable streams;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Behind, the silent hollows of the lonely hills.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Twigs and tendrils are his rocking-chairs,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On rungs of rotting wood he trips<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Up perilous places; sometimes, leap after leap,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Like lightning flits through the woods.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sometimes he saunters with a sad, forsaken air;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then suddenly peeps round<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Beaming with satisfaction. Up he springs,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Leaps and prances, whoops and scampers on his way.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Up cliffs he scrambles, up pointed rocks,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dances on shale that shifts or twigs that snap,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Suddenly swerves and lightly passes....<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Oh, what tongue could unravel<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The tale of all his tricks?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Alas, one trait<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With the human tribe he shares; their sweets his sweet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">Their bitter is his bitter. Off sugar from the vat<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of brewers’ dregs he loves to sup.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So men put wine where he will pass.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How he races to the bowl!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How nimbly licks and swills!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Now he staggers, feels dazed and foolish,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Darkness falls upon his eyes....<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He sleeps and knows no more.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Up steal the trappers, catch him by the mane,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then to a string or ribbon tie him, lead him home;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tether him in the stable or lock him in the yard;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where faces all day long<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gaze, gape, gasp at him and will not go away.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Joe Tennison came up three or four times while he was reading and began -a conversation, but Cromartie ignored his remarks and did not even lift -his head, but just read quietly on.</p> - -<p>Fortunately there were a great many of the public come to see their old -favourite Mr. Cromartie now he was back, and to have a look at the new -black man also, about whom there was nearly as much discussion as there -ever had been about Cromartie himself.</p> - -<p>The presence of the public was lucky for two reasons; firstly, it served -to distract Joe Tennison by giving him that which he most wanted in -life—an audience; and secondly, Mr. Cromartie was able, by totally -ignoring spectators, to show him that that was his ordinary method of -conducting himself. There was therefore no reason why the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span> negro should -feel himself insulted by being treated as if he did not exist. And here -I should explain that Mr. Cromartie had no objection to his neighbour as -a negro, and no particular prejudice against persons of that colour. Mr. -Tennison was indeed the first negro to whom he had spoken. At the same -time the fellow aroused a strong feeling of dislike, and this aversion -was one which steadily increased as time went on.</p> - -<p>The next day Mr. Cromartie found Josephine Lackett waiting for him when -he first went into his cage after breakfast. She was standing a little -distance off looking out of the door of the Ape-house (to give it its -old name), and Cromartie called out to her before he reflected on what -he was doing: “Josephine! Josephine! What are you doing there?”</p> - -<p>She turned round and came towards him, and the sight of her so much -affected Mr. Cromartie that for some time he did not trust himself to -speak again, and when he did so it was more tenderly than he had done -since his captivity. But Josephine on her part could not for some time -get used to the presence of Mr. Tennison, who sat lolling in a deck -chair within a few feet of them and kept putting his gold-rimmed -eyeglass in his eye to stare at her, and then letting it fall out, as if -he had not quite learnt the trick of it, which was indeed the case, as -he had only bought it a week before.</p> - -<p>For some little time then Josephine found herself with nothing to say -except to congratulate John on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span> his recovery, and to tell him how glad -she was that he was well again. Then she thanked him for calling to her -and letting her speak to him.</p> - -<p>“Don’t behave like a goose, Josephine,” said John Cromartie. Then -guessing why she was constrained, he said: “My dear Josephine, do ignore -him as I do.”</p> - -<p>But Josephine did not speak, and just then in strolled the Caracal, -having just completed his morning toilet.</p> - -<p>“I paid your cat several visits while you were ill,” said Josephine. “He -seemed very unhappy and would not take much notice of me. I think he is -rather shy of women, and is not used to them.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Cromartie nodded. He was glad Josephine had gone to see the Caracal, -but he knew that she had wasted her time; he did not care for the people -who came and gazed into his cage from the outside. Suddenly he heard -Josephine say: “John, I must see you in private. I must talk to you, -because I cannot go on like this. You cannot go on shirking things any -longer.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I mean that you must recognise that we are bound up with each other. I -don’t mind <i>what</i> you decide to do, but you must do something. I cannot -go on living like this any longer. Please arrange somehow for us to see -each other and talk it over.”</p> - -<p>It was Cromartie now who was embarrassed and shy; Cromartie who could -not talk simply about what he felt, at least not for a considerable -time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span> At last, however, he got out a few disconnected remarks, saying -he was very sorry but he could do nothing then, and that he was not a -free agent. But in the end he got more confidence and looked Josephine -straight in the eyes and said: “My dear, it’s quite inevitable that both -of us should be unhappy. I love you, if you want me to put it in that -way. I cannot ever forget you, and now you seem to be feeling the same -for me, and you too must expect to be very unhappy. I only hope your -feeling for me will wear off. I daresay it will in time, and I hope my -feeling for you will also. Until then we must try and be resigned.”</p> - -<p>“I am not resigned,” said Josephine. “I’m going to get savage about it, -or go mad or something.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the greatest mistake for us to stir up each other’s feelings,” -said Cromartie rather roughly. “That’s the worst thing we can either of -us do, the most unkind thing. No, the only thing for you to do is to -forget me, the only hope for me is to forget you.”</p> - -<p>“That’s impossible; it’s worse when we don’t see each other,” said -Josephine.</p> - -<p>Just then they realised that several people had come into the Ape-house -and were hesitating to interrupt their conversation.</p> - -<p>“It’s a bad business,” said Cromartie, “a damned bad business,” and at -these words Josephine went away. He turned away and sat down, but a -moment later he heard a loud “Excuse me, Sah.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span> Excuse an intrusion, but -I believe, Sah, that your young lady friend’s christian name is -Josephine. That is a remarkable coincidence! for my own name, you know, -is Joseph. Joseph and Josephine.”</p> - -<p>If, on hearing this remark, Mr. Cromartie gave Tennison any -encouragement to continue, it was quite accidental. At the moment he was -feeling faint, and only by an effort of will continued standing where he -was without clutching hold of the bars.</p> - -<p>“Are you interested in the girls?” asked the negro. “They come and watch -me all the morning, and they do stare so ... he, he, he.”</p> - -<p>“No, I’m not interested,” said Mr. Cromartie. Nobody could have mistaken -the desperate sincerity in his voice.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad to hear that,” said Tennison, at once restored to his former -heartiness and buoyancy of manner.</p> - -<p>“That is how I feel myself, just how I feel. I have no interest in women -at all. Only my poor old mammy, my old black mammy, she was of the very -best, the very best she was. A mother is the best friend you have -through life—the best friend you can make. My mother was ignorant, she -could not read, neither could she write, but she knew almost all of the -whole Bible by heart, and I first learnt of Salvation from my mother’s -lips. When I was five years old she taught me the Holy Words of Glory, -and I repeated them after her text by text. She was the best friend I -shall ever have.</p> - -<p>“But other women—no, sir. I have no use for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span> them. They are just a -temptation in a man’s life, a temptation to make him forget his true -manhood. And the worst of it is that the more you shun them the more -they do run after you. That’s a fact.</p> - -<p>“No, I am very much safer and better off here shut up alongside of you, -with this wire netting and bars to fence off the women, and I guess you -feel the same way as I do. Don’t you, Mr. Cromartie?” Cromartie suddenly -looked up and saw the person who had been addressing him.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” he asked, and then, looking rather wildly, he walked out -of his cage into his back room, where he lay down feeling very -exhausted.</p> - -<p>He was still very weak from his illness, and the close atmosphere of the -Ape-house gave him a headache. Every moment he had now to exercise -self-control, and it was more and more exhausting for him to do so. Very -often he did what he did on this occasion, and this was to lie down to -rest in his back room and then burst into tears, quite without any -restraint, and though he laughed at himself afterwards, the act of -weeping comforted him, although it left him weaker than before and more -inclined to weep again.</p> - -<p>But the pricks and troubles of the outside world meant very little to -Mr. Cromartie just then. He could not help thinking the whole time of -Josephine.</p> - -<p>For so long he had believed that there were so many insuperable -obstacles which would prevent them ever being happy together, that the -additional fact of his being shut up in the Zoo was a relief to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span> him. -But now that he felt so weak it was an extra strain, and especially now -as he was beginning to wonder if Josephine and he could not be happy -together for a little while.</p> - -<p>He still knew that they were too proud to endure each other for very -long, but could they not have a week or a month or even a year of -happiness together?</p> - -<p>Perhaps they might, but anyhow it wasn’t possible, and here he was -locked up in a cage, with a nigger waiting outside to talk some -disgusting trash at him and wear out his patience.</p> - -<p>But as a matter of fact, when Cromartie pulled himself together once -more and went out into his cage Joe Tennison did not address him—that -is, not directly. But he was as tiresome as he had been before, but now -it was in a different way.</p> - -<p>When Cromartie had settled down and had been reading for a little while, -there were no visitors for two or three minutes, and then he heard the -negro speaking to himself as he gazed in his direction.</p> - -<p>“Poor fellow! Poor young fellow! The women do make hay with a man, they -do. I’ve been through it all.... I know all about it.... Oh, gracious, -yes. Love! Love is the very devil. And that poor young man is certainly -in love. Nobody can cheer him up. Nobody can do anything except her that -caused the trouble in his heart. There’s nothing I can do for him now -except just to pretend to notice nothing, the same as I always do.” At -this point the speaker was distracted by the arrival of a party<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span> of -visitors who stopped outside his cage, but thereafter Mr. Cromartie -adopted the same method to the negro that he had always adopted to the -public. That is to say, he ignored his existence and contrived never to -meet his eyes, and never took the least notice of what he said.</p> - -<p>The next morning, while Cromartie was playing with his Caracal, with a -ball, as he had been accustomed to do before the Orang had taken -advantage of him, he heard Josephine’s voice calling to him.</p> - -<p>He threw the ball to his friend the bounding, tasselled cat, and went -straight to her, and without waiting for any greeting she said to him:</p> - -<p>“John, I love you, and I must see you alone at once. I must come into -your cage and talk to you there.”</p> - -<p>“No, Josephine, don’t—that’s not possible,” said Cromartie. “I can’t go -on seeing you like this even, and surely you see that if you were to -come into my cage I could not bear it after you had gone away.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t want to go away,” said Josephine.</p> - -<p>“If you were ever to come inside my cage you would have to stay for -ever,” said Cromartie. He had recovered himself now, his moment of -weakness was past. “And if you don’t decide to do that, I don’t think we -can go on seeing each other at all. I think I shall die if I see you -like this. We can never be happy together.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we had better be unhappy together than<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span> unhappy apart,” said -Josephine. She had suddenly begun to cry.</p> - -<p>“My darling creature,” said Cromartie, “it’s all a silly mistake; but we -will arrange things somehow. I’ll get the curator to have you in the -next cage to me instead of that damned nigger, and we shall see each -other all the time.”</p> - -<p>Josephine shook her head vigorously to get the tears out of her eyes, -like a dog that has been swimming.</p> - -<p>“No, that won’t do,” she declared angrily, “that won’t do at all. It has -got to be the same cage as yours or I won’t live in a cage at all. I -haven’t come here to live in a cage by myself. I’ll share yours and be -damned to everyone else.”</p> - -<p>She gave an angry laugh and shook her yellow hair back. Her eyes -sparkled with tears, but she looked steadily at Cromartie. “Damn other -people,” she repeated; “I care for nobody in the world but you, John, -and if we are going to be put in a cage and persecuted, we must just -bear it. I hate them all, and I’m going to be happy with you in spite of -them. Nobody can make me feel ashamed now. I can’t help being myself and -I will be myself.”</p> - -<p>“Darling,” said Cromartie, “you would be wretched here. It’s awful; you -mustn’t think of it. I have a much more sensible plan. I can’t ask them -to let me go. Anyhow I shan’t do that. But I am still so feeble that I -can easily make myself really ill again, and then I think they will let -me go and we can get married.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“That won’t do,” said Josephine. “We can’t wait any longer, and you -would die if you tried that. There was nothing about your not being -allowed to marry in the contract when you came here, was there?” she -asked. “You have only got to tell them that you are going to get married -to-day, and that your wife is ready to live in your cage.”</p> - -<p>During this conversation several people had come into the Ape-house, and -after looking at Josephine in a highly scandalised manner had gone out -again, but now Collins came in. He looked rather puzzled and awkward -when he saw Josephine, but she turned to him at once and said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Cromartie and I wish to see the curator; will you please find him -and ask him to come here?”</p> - -<p>“Very good,” said Collins; then catching sight of Joe Tennison gazing at -Cromartie and the lady from a distance of three feet, with his yellow -eyeballs almost popping out of his sooty face, he sternly ordered him to -go into the back room of his cage.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can tell you something, I can tell you what you’ld never -believe,” cried Joe, but Collins silently pointed his finger at him, and -the nigger jumped up and slowly beat a retreat into his own quarters.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later the curator came in.</p> - -<p>“Come round to the back where we can talk more conveniently, Miss -Lackett,” he said. Then he unlocked the door of the inner cage or den -and Josephine walked in. They sat down.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span></p> - -<p>“I have asked Miss Lackett to marry me, and have been accepted,” said -Cromartie rather stiffly. “I was anxious to tell you at once, so as to -make arrangements with regard to the ceremony, which of course we wish -to be carried out as privately as possible, and at once. After our -marriage my wife is prepared to live with me in this cage, unless of -course you arrange for us to have other quarters.”</p> - -<p>The curator suddenly laughed, a loud, good-natured, hearty laugh. To -Cromartie it seemed a piece of brutality, to Josephine a menace. They -both frowned, and drew slightly together waiting for the worst.</p> - -<p>“I ought to explain to you,” the curator began, “that the committee has -already considered what to do in the event of such a contingency as this -occurring.</p> - -<p>“It is impossible, for various reasons, for us to keep married couples -in the Man-house, and we decided that in the event of your mentioning -marriage, Mr. Cromartie, that we should consider our contract with you -at an end. In other words you are free to go, and in fact I am now going -to turn you out.”</p> - -<p>As he said these words the curator rose and opened the door. For a -moment the happy couple hesitated; they looked at each other and then -walked out of the cage together, but Josephine kept hold of her man as -they did so. The curator slammed the door and locked it on the forgotten -Caracal, and then said:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Cromartie, I congratulate you very heartily; and my dear Miss Lackett, -you have chosen a man for whom all of us here have the very greatest -respect and admiration. I hope you will be happy with him.”</p> - -<p>Hand in hand Josephine and John hurried through the Gardens. They did -not stop to look at dogs or foxes, or wolves or tigers, they raced past -the lion house and the cattle sheds, and without glancing at the -pheasants or a lonely peacock, slipped through the turnstile into -Regent’s Park. There, still hand in hand, they passed unnoticed into the -crowd. Nobody looked at them, nobody recognised them. The crowd was -chiefly composed of couples like themselves.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_094.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_094.jpg" width="100%" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="fint">THE END</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> </p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_096.jpg" width="90" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /> -<p class="c"> -The Westminster Press<br /> -411a Harrow Road<br /> -London, W.9<br /> -</p></div> - -<hr class="full" /> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MAN IN THE ZOO ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b803ec2..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_001.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_001.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6889028..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_001.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_003.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_003.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1c18d3e..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_003.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_018.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_018.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 79ffe3d..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_018.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_049.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_049.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0181626..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_049.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_068.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_068.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 32fd1d4..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_068.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_094.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_094.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2f62a94..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_094.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/i_096.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/i_096.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b4223e6..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/i_096.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090-h/images/title.jpg b/old/66090-h/images/title.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b283ef9..0000000 --- a/old/66090-h/images/title.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66090.txt b/old/66090.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7f40886..0000000 --- a/old/66090.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1 +0,0 @@ -cbgrf@yahoo.com |
