6 THOSE OTHER ANIMALS. 



machine for the conversion of vegetable matter into flesh, 

 and as such he performed his functions admirably, and had 

 no occasion to look further. In his progress, in fact, from 

 the germ up to the elephant he steadily devoted himself to 

 purely selfish ends. Courage was unnecessary, because he 

 intended to be so large and so armour-clad that none 

 would assault him, while, as he had no relish for flesh, he 

 had no need for courage to assault or for speed to pursue 

 others. It was useless to be intelligent, since for him there 

 was no occasion either to hide or to seek. He had but to 

 stretch out his trunk to procure abundant sustenance, and 

 more brain than was needed for this would be but lumber. 

 His digestive organs, on the other hand, were to be upon 

 the largest scale, so as to permit him to enjoy the pleasure 

 of constant and prodigious feeding. These points must 

 have been steadily kept in view during the whole upward 

 progress of the creature, and it is but due to it to say that 

 they were crowned by perfect success. The elephant was 

 a world to himself not a very lovable, or intelligent, or 

 courageous one, but sufficient in all respects for his own 

 wants and desires ; and it would be hard to blame him 

 because he has not devoted himself to the cultivation of 

 qualities that, although admirable in our eyes, would have 

 been wholly useless to him in the career that he had marked 

 out for himself. 



