244 JOUENEY TO THE KYMOKE HILLS 



decking themselves with trinkets and patches of gold leaf 

 for the forehead and pieces of bone thrust through the ear, 

 the greedy boys were twitching their mothers to the lollipop 

 sellers, and the bigger ones eyeing the ponies on the outskirts. 

 Old men were chaffering for graven gods, and the sick folks 

 were waiting round the doctors' stalls. I was looking on, 

 followed by an immense trail of people whom my presence 

 had diverted from their traffic, when I suddenly heard a 

 fearful yell, which proceeded from the direction of the spot 

 where I had left my elephant, and casting my eyes thither, 

 I saw all about him in an uproar. The men were swearing 

 and flourishing their sticks, the women and children were in 

 full flight, the driver on his neck was banging him with the 

 goad till his skull rang again, or digging it into his forehead 

 till the blood sprang. As to Elephas himself, he would not 

 stir from the place, but kept laying about him with his 

 trunk, bellowing through mouth and nose, retreating or 

 advancing a step or two with fearful violence and continu- 

 ally darting his proboscis at some object, what I knew not, 

 in the crowd. You may guess my terror : I felt sure he was 

 enraged and wreaking his violence on some of the poor 

 creatures from whom proceeded the dismal shrieks which I 

 heard ! I rushed through the throng, overturning some of 

 the stalls in my hurry to reach the place, when I found 

 what do you think, Willy ! now, guess, Mary ! why my 

 elephant was clearing out a sweetmeat booth : he was eating 

 barley sugar by the pound, and comfits by the peck. I had 

 another anecdote for my cousins about a crocodile which I 

 saw caught, just as he had devoured a poor woman's child 

 who was standing by and looking at the odious brute ; but 

 my time is up and I must break off. 



Meantime, his scientific and personal standing in India 

 was greatly enhanced by the publication of Ross's account of 

 the Antarctic Voyage. 



You have no idea how many people in this country have 

 been reading Boss's work ; I am better received in India 

 for having accompanied that voyage, than ever I was on 

 that account in England. Every individual with whom 

 I have stayed, on my way up and down the Ganges, has 

 read it ! and knows me through it ! ... On this table in 

 this house [of Dr. Grant of Bhagulpore] lies the N. British 



