Chap. V.] THE CAPTIVES. Sfil 



balanced himself on his forehead and his fore-Ws, holdinii; 

 his hind-feet faudy off the ground. Tliis scene of distress 

 continued some hom^s, with occasional pauses of ap- 

 parent stupor, after wliich the struggle was from time 

 to time renewed abruptly, and as if by some sudden im- 

 pulse, but at last tlie vain strife subsided, and tlie poor 

 animal stood perfectly motionless, the image of exliaustion 

 and despair. 



MeauAvhile Eanghanie presented himself in front of the 

 governor's stage to claim the accustomed largesse for tying 

 the first elephant. He was rewarded by a shower of 

 rupees, and retired to resume his perilous duties in the 

 corral. 



The rest of the lierd were now in a state of pitiable 

 dejection, and pressed closely together as if under a sense 

 of common misfortune. For the most part they stood at 

 rest in a compact body, fretful and uneasy. At intervals 

 one more impatient than the rest would move out a few 

 steps to reconnoitre ; the others would folloAV at first 

 slowly, then at a quicker pace, and at last the whole herd 

 would rush off furiously to renew the often-baffled attempt 

 to storm the stockade. 



There was a strange combination of the subhme and 

 the ridiculous in these abortive onsets ; the appearance 

 of prodigious power in their ponderous hmbs, coupled 

 with the almost ludicrous shullie of their clumsy gait, 

 and the fury of their apparently resistless charge, con- 

 verted in an instant into timid retreat. They ruslied 

 madly doAvn the enclosure, their backs arched, then- tails 

 extended, their ears spread, and their trunks raised higli 

 above their heads, trumpeting and uttering shrill screams, 

 and when one step further would have dashed the oppos- 

 ing fence into fragments, they stopped short on a few 

 white rods being pointed at them through the ]^ahng ; 

 and, on catching the derisive shouts of the crowd, they 

 turned in utter discomfitm*e, and after an objectless cii'cle 

 or two through the corral, they paced slowly back to 

 tluMi- melancholy halting place in the shade. 



