ELEPHANT. 



409 



was the cause of the affront that was offered him, 

 instead of revenging himself on the lad, he turned 

 his resentment on the master, and taking up a 

 quantity of water in his trunk, threw it on the paper 

 which the painter was drawing on and spoiled it. 



'In Britain it was some time ago found necessary, 

 in consequence apparently of the declining interest 

 of the drama, as performed by human beings, to in- 

 troduce the elephant on the boards as an actor ; and 

 whether we may consider that this introduction did 

 or did not contribute to establish the taste of that 

 nation which produced Shakspeare, the histrionic 

 elephant became the most renowned actor of its 

 time. A female elephant was thus made to take a 

 part, in short to become an actor requisite to the 

 plot of a dramatic performance at the Adelphi 

 Theatre, several years since. Among her feats was 

 that of uncorking and drinking several bottles of 

 wine, and supping with her stage companions around 

 her. Above all, she assisted the escape of some of 

 the dramatis persona: from prison, by kneeling upon 

 her hind legs, and thus forming an inclined plane for 

 the safe descent of her friends ; and this she did 

 unmoved by the glare of numerous lights, the sounds 

 of music, and shouts of the admiring audience. 



Among the most interesting elephants kept in this 

 country, without any reference to profit, was one 

 which was lately at the Duke of Devonshire's villa 

 at Chiswick. When a lady departed for India, she 

 asked the duke in a sportive manner, what present 

 she should send him from that land of marvels ; and 

 in an equally sportive mood, the duke replied, " Cer- 

 tainly nothing less than an elephant." The matter 

 passed over, but in due time the present came, and as 

 long as the elephant lived it was a very interesting 

 animal. It was a female, perhaps not altogether full 

 grown, but remarkable for the gentleness of its dis- 

 position ; and from the kindness with which it was 

 treated, and the free range that was allowed to it, it 

 probably came nearer to an elephant in a state of 

 nature than any other which ever appeared in this 

 country. The house erected for her shelter was of 

 large dimensions and well ventilated, and she had 

 besides the range of a paddock of considerable 

 extent. At the call of her keeper she came out of 

 her house, and immediately took up a broom ready 

 to perform his bidding in sweeping the grass or paths. 

 She would follow him with a pail or watering-pot 

 round the enclosure. Her reward was a carrot and 

 some water ; but previously to satisfying her thirst 

 she would exhibit her ingenuity by emptying the 

 contents of a soda water bottle which was tightly 

 corked. This she did by pressing the bottle against 

 the ground with her foot, so as to hold it securely at 

 an angle of about forty-five degrees, and gradually 

 twisting out the cork with her trunk, although it was 

 a very little above the edge of the neck; then, 

 without altering the position, she turned her trunk 

 round the bottle, so that she might reverse it, and 

 thus empty the contents into the extremity of the 

 proboscis. This she accomplished without spilling a 

 drop, and she delivered the empty bottle to her 

 keeper before she attempted to discharge the con- 

 tents of the trunk into the mouth. The affection of 

 this poor animal for her keeper was so great, that she 

 would cry after him whenever he was absent for more 

 than a few hours. She was about twenty-nine years 

 old when she died, early in the year 1829, which was 

 understood to be of a pulmonary consumption. 



We shall now very briefly notice the distinguishing 

 characteristics of the several species of elephants. 



In the INDIAN ELEPHANT, or more correctly the 

 South Asiatic elephant, to which the chief part of the 

 preceding observations apply (Elephas Indicus), the 

 following are the general characters : the skull elon- 

 gated ; the forehead flat and even concave ; the 

 enamel which forms the cutting part of the grinders 

 disposed across the teeth in a series of flattened ovals ; 

 the ears large ; and five horny nails on each of the 

 fore feet, and four on each of the hind. In this spe- 

 cies the females, and in some varieties the males, also, 

 have the tusks very short, and nearly straight ; the 

 ears of the female are smaller than those of the male, 

 and the colour is dull grey speckled with brown, and 

 occasionally with a little white ; and species entirely 

 white are mentioned, which are, in all probability, 

 albinos, but which are held in great and even sacred 

 regard by some of the natives. 



In the East Indies, elephants as well as Hindoos, 

 are divided into castes, only there are not quite so 

 many of the former as of the latter. In Bengal, and 

 we believe, generally, in those places of India where 

 elephants are much used, they are divided into two 

 castes : Koomareah, princely, or nabob elephants ; 

 and Merghee, or hunting elephants. The Koomareah 

 or nabob race is a deep bodied, compact, and very 

 strong animal, having a very large trunk (which is 

 always esteemed a great beauty in an elephant), legs 

 short, but thick in proportion to the size of the ani- 

 mal. This variety is preferred, as it is of superior 

 strength, can undergo much greater fatigue, and carry 

 heavier burdens than the others : an elephant of 

 the Merghee cast, when full grown, is generally taller 

 than the former, but has not such a compact form ; his 

 legs are longer, he travels faster, has a much lighter 

 body, and his trunk is both short and slender in pro- 

 portion to his height. There appears no predilection 

 in any of these elephants to have exclusive connec- 

 tion with his own particular caste, and hence the 

 mixed breed is held in greater or less estimation, in 

 proportion as it partakes of the qualities of the Koo- 

 mareah, or Merghee caste. In some elephants the 

 tusks are large, as in the variety named Dauntelah, in 

 which they generally project forwards, and curve 

 upwards. In the variety termed the Mooknah, the 

 tusks are very small and straight, and point almost 

 directly downwards. 



This species of elephant is said to be perfect when 

 the ears are large and rounded, but not so if the ears 

 are ragged and indented at the margin ; his eyes are 

 of a dark hazel colour, and free from specks ; the 

 roof of his mouth and tongue are without dark spots 

 of any considerable size ; his trunk large, his tail long 

 with a tuft of hair at the extremity, reaching nearly to 

 the ground. There must be five nails on each of the 

 fore feet, and four on each of the hind ones, making 

 in all eighteen ; he carries his head high : the arch 

 or curve of his back gradually rising from the shoulder 

 to the middle, descending from thence to the insertion 

 of the tail. 



The species now under notice is peculiar to the 

 low grounds of Asia, southward of the central moun- 

 tains ; though it is not confined to the main land, but 

 is found abundantly in many of the islands, and espe- 

 cially in Ceylon. In the more remote islands of the 

 eastern sea, it is not met with, nor is there a single 

 vestige of it, or of its bones, in the whole extent of 

 Australia. Indeed, it is worthy of remark, that while 



