Love of quiet. 85 



motion, whatever it may be, with increased vigour when 

 thoroughly fatigued after excessive work. Even the 

 favourite practice of fanning themselves with a leafy 

 branch seems less an enjoyment in itself than a resource 

 when listless and at rest. The term "fidgetty" seems 

 to describe appropriately the temperament of the ele- 

 phant. 



They evince the strongest love of retirement and a 

 corresponding dislike to intrusion. The approach of a 

 stranger is perceived less by the eye, the quickness of 

 which is not remarkable (besides which its range is 

 obscured by the foliage), than by sensitive smell and 

 singular acuteness of hearing ; and the whole herd is 

 put in instant but noiseless motion towards some deeper 

 and more secure retreat. The effectual manner in which 

 an animal of the prodigious size of the elephant can 

 conceal himself, and the motionless silence which he 

 preserves, is quite surprising ; whilst beaters pass and 

 repass within a few yards of his hiding place, he will 

 maintain his ground till the hunter, creeping almost 

 close to his legs, sees his little eye peering out through 

 the leaves, when, finding himself discovered, the elephant 

 breaks away with a crash, levelling the brushwood in his 

 headlong career. 



If surprised in open ground, where stealthy retreat is 

 impracticable, a herd will hesitate in indecision, and, after 

 a few meaningless movements, stand huddled together in 

 a group, whilst one or two, more adventurous than the 

 rest, advance a few steps to reconnoitre. Elephants are 

 generally observed to be bolder in open ground than in 



