descent from the apes ever presented to an intelligent audience. There
you will behold Bonypart, the miraculous, the bone man who has mystified
all the doctors and amazed millions. There you will behold Ephraim, the
enlightened pig; Madame Marve, the unrivalled seer, and last, but not
least, Mahdi, the Missing Link, pronounced by travellers, medical men,
and Darwinian students to be the one and only authentic and reliable
Missing Link discovered by mortal man. And the price is only sixpence.
Step up! Step up!"

The people stepped up, and saw the living skeleton, a thin, long,
melancholy man sitting on a chair, in limp tights, showing his bony
knees; the educated pig, that did astonishing things at the bidding of
Madame Marve; and the Descent of Man, represented by several monkeys of
varying sizes, a gorilla, and the awe-inspiring Missing Link.

The cage of Mahdi, the Missing Link, was some what dark, and the terrible
form of the mystery loomed in the dusk, heavy and formidable. He was as
big as a man, somewhat lank, and covered with coarse hair the colour of
cocoanut matting. This afternoon, when the early patrons entered, they
found him hanging limply by one arm, like a great ungainly bat.

"The Missing Link always reposes in this manner in his native wilds,"
said Madame Marve, in the chaste tones she assumed when imparting
valuable instruction "but he is otherwise very human in his tastes and
habits."

"Has 'e a vote, ma'am?" asked a facetious labourer.

A stout lady prodded Mahdi with her umbrella, and he flopped on all fours
on the floor of his cage, and sprang forward with a hoarse growl,