132 



NATURE 



[December io, 1891 



she is held may, he thinks, be partly due to the fact that 

 in early Aryan mythology she was used as a symbol of 

 the clouds attendant on the Sun-god. Mr. Kipling ex- 

 presses much admiration for Indian oxen, of which he 

 says that it is with them as with the people of India — 



Fig. I.— Young monkeys at play. 



" the more you learn about them the more you find to 

 interest you." Fig. 2 represents roughly the range of 

 their size. Even larger beasts than the largesi shown 

 sometimes occur. The smallest belongs to a miniature 



Mr. Kipling notes the peculiar impression produced on 

 Europeans by the silence of Indian cattle. Students, 

 reading in Gray's Ode of the lowing herd, will say to the 

 Professor, " Sir, what is lowing ? " Even the grunting 

 note of the ox and cow is seldom heard, and does not 

 carry. The herdsman is a vocalist, but his song "is 

 always in a minor key, and has falsetto subtleties in it 

 that baffle our methods of notation." He talks a good 

 deal in a loud heavy voice ; and " when his women folk 

 walk with him they follow respectfully an ordained number 

 of paces behind, and he flings his conversation over his 

 shoulder." 



It would be impossible, of course, to write a book 

 about "Beast and Man in India" without treating of 



Fig. 2. — Comparative sizes of the largest and smallest breeds of Indian o.\en. 



race which is not much bigger than a Newfoundland dog. 

 This little creature is exquisitely finished in every detail 

 of ox form ; it is full of life and spirit, and, when harnessed 

 to vehicles of a suitable size, it trots at a great pace. 



NO. I I 54, VOL. 45] 



Fig. 3. — A painted elephant. 



elephants ; and Mr. Kipling discourses on them most 

 pleasantly. The elephant seems to be second only to 

 the cow in Hindu estimation. In Hindu art other 

 animals are treated only in a decorative and conventional 

 style; but in artistic representations of the elephant, 

 whether in sculpture or in painting, there is invariably 

 " a strong feeling for nature." This contrast is seen in 

 most old temples, but especially in the sculptured gates 

 of the Sanchi tope in Central India, " where all kinds 

 of animals are shown, but the elephant alone is carved 

 with CO nplete knowledge and unvarying truth of action." 

 Mr. Kipling is at great pains to convey a true idea of 

 the character of the elephant, the essential quality of 

 which he takes to be gentleness. He also tells many 

 curious legends about the animal, and about Ganesha, 

 the elephant-headed god, who is not less popular than 

 the monkey-god. The dressing of the elephant for parade 

 is also described. This, although an elaborate process, 



