252 LEAVES FROM THE BOOK OF NATURE. 



He maintained that it cheered their hearts and improved 

 their temper, and an eye-witness says that they seemed 

 to be greatly delighted therewith. 



In the elephant and the camel, this sense is, probably 

 most strikingly developed. Whole books have been writ- 

 ten on the marvellous talents of the former, and wonders 

 have been told of the great effect that music has on his 

 temper. Sweet, gentle melodies move him to caresses; 

 loud, powerful strains rouse his passions even to uncon- 

 trollable fury. The camel has been less fortunate. Still, 

 it is never beaten by its owner, whether it toils panting 

 through the deep, hot sand of the desert, or shivers, 

 sewed up in blankets, in the icy regions of Siberia. At 

 home it is, at worst, only scolded ; on the journey, it is 

 controlled by words, to which the pressure of the foot 

 on the neck, or a gentle touch with a rod, only serve as 

 accent or emphasis. The Arab, a true lover of animal 

 creation the pig excepted entertains his camel with 

 music, with songs, and with fairy tales. Often and often 

 they may be seen, travelling in the dead of night, gliding 

 along like spectres in the moonlight, or bearing torches 

 on their packs, which cast strange flickering lights on 

 the dismal waste. Their heads on high, their long necks 

 balancing slowly to and fro, they move carefully and yet 

 swiftly, sometimes thousands in number. Nothing is heard 

 but the faint rustling of the sand, as it grates under their 

 soft feet, and the plaintive sound of the Arab's voice. He 

 is overpowered by weariness, or dreams of his home near 

 bright waters, w^here the palm-tree casts a cooling shadow. 

 The camel lags and lingers it stops. Then the roused 



