166 EXPRESSION OF SUFFERING: Chap. VI. 



overpowered and made fast, his grief was most affecting; 

 his violence sank to utter prostration, and he lay on the 

 ground, uttering choking cries, with tears trickling 

 down his cheeks." -° In the Zoological Gardens the 

 keeper of the Indian elephants positively asserts that he 

 has several times seen tears rolling down the face of the 

 old female, when distressed by the removal of the young 

 one. Hence I was extremely anxious to ascertain, as an 

 extension of the relation between the contraction of the 

 orbicular muscles and the shedding of tears in man, 

 whether elephants when screaming or trumpeting loudly 

 contract these muscles. At Mr. Bartlett's desire the 

 keeper ordered the old and the young elephant to trum- 

 pet; and we repeatedly saw in both animals that, just 

 as the trumpeting began, the orbicular muscles, espe- 

 cially the lower ones, were distinctly contracted. On a 



20 ' Ceylon,' 3rd edit. 1859, vol. ii. pp. 364, 376. I applied 

 to Mr. Thwaites, in Ceylon, for further information with 

 respect to the weeping of the elephant; and in conse- 

 quence received a letter from the Rev. Mr Glenie, who, 

 with others, kindly observed for me a herd of recently 

 captured elephants. These, when irritated, screamed vio- 

 lentty; but it is remarkable that they never when thus 

 screaming- contracted the muscles round the eyes. Nor 

 did they shed tears; and the native hunters asserted 

 that they had never observed elephants weeping - . Never- 

 theless, it appears to me impossible to doubt Sir E. Ten- 

 nent's distinct details about their weeping, supported 

 as they are by the positive assertion of the keeper in the 

 Zoological Gardens. It is certain that the two elephants 

 in the Gardens, when they began to trumpet loudly, in- 

 variably contracted their orbicular muscles. I can recon- 

 cile these conflicting statements only by supposing that 

 the recently captured elephants in Ceylon, from being 

 enraged or frightened, desired to observe their perse- 

 cutors, and consequently did not contract their orbicular 

 muscles, so that their vision might not be impeded. 

 Those seen weeping by Sir E. Tennent were prostrate, 

 and had given up the contest in despair. The elephants 

 which trumpeted in the Zoological Gardens at the word 

 of command, were, of course, neither alarmed nor en- 

 raged. 



