36 



The Wild Elephant. 



It is a strong illustration of the. vitality of error, that 

 the delusion thus exposed by Dicuil in the ninth century, 

 was revived by Matthew Paris in the thirteenth ; and 

 stranger still, that Matthew not only saw but made a 

 drawing of the elephant presented to King Henry III. 

 by the King of France in 1255, in which he nevertheless 

 represents the legs as without joints.^ 



In the numerous mediaeval treatises on natural history, 

 known under the title of Bestiaries^ this delusion re- 

 garding the elephant is often repeated ; and it is given 

 at length in a metrical version of the Physiologus of 

 Theoraldus, amongst the Arundel Manuscripts in the 

 British Museum. ^ 



' Cotton MSS. Nero. D. i. fol. 

 168, b. 



= Arundel MSS. No. 292, fol. 4, 

 &c. It has been printed in the Reli- 

 quicE AiitiqjUE, vol. i. p. 208, by 

 Mr. Wright, to whom I am indebted 

 for the following rendering of the 

 passage referred to : — 



in water ge sal stonden 



in water to mid side 



■Sat wanne hire harde tide 



tSat ge ne falle nit-er nogt 



"Sat it most in hire "Sogt 



for he ne haven no li'5 



"Sat he mugen risen witS, etc. 



" They will stand in the water, 



in water up to the middle of the side, 



that when it comes to them hard, 



they may not fall down : 



that is most in their thought, 



for they have no joint 



to enable them to rise again. 



How he resteth him this animal, 



when he walketh abroad, 



hearl<en how it is here told. 



For he is all unwieldy, 



forsooth he seeks out a tree, 



that is strong and steadfast, 



and leans confidently against it, 



when he is weary of walking. 



The hunter has observed this, 



who seeks to ensnare him, 



where his usual dwelling is, 



to do his will ; 



.saws this tree and props it 



in the manner that he best may, 



covers it well that he (the elephant' 



may not be on his guard. 

 Then he makes thereby a seat, 

 himself sits alone and watches 

 whether his trap takes effect. 

 Then cometh this unwieldy elephant, 

 and leans him on his side, 

 rests against the tree in the shadow, 

 and so both fall together, 

 if nobody be by when he falls, 

 he roars ruefully and calls for help, 

 roars ruefully in his manner, 

 hopes he shall through help rise. 

 Then cometh there one {elephant'' in 



haste, 

 hopes he shall cause him to stand up ; 

 labours and tries all his might, 

 but he cannot succeed a bit. 

 He knows then no other remedy, 



