562 ifcfnss of tbe 1Rot>, "Rifle, anb (Bun 



highwayman, whose soul thirsted for blood ; who, 

 lying in wait in some thick bush, would rush upon 

 the unwary passer-by and know no pleasure greater 

 than the act of crushing his victim to a shapeless 

 mass beneath his feet. How little does his tame, 

 sleepy son resemble him ! Instead of browsing on 

 the rank vegetation of wild pasturage, he devours 

 plum-buns ; instead of bathing his giant form in the 

 deep rivers and lakes of his native land, he steps 

 into a stone-lined basin to bathe before the eyes of 

 a pleased multitude, the whole of whom form their 

 opinion of elephants in general from the broken-spirited 

 monster which they see before them. 



I have even heard people exclaim upon hearing 

 anecdotes of elephant-hunting, ' Poor things ! ' 



Poor things, indeed ! I should like to see the very 

 person who thus expresses his pity going at his best 

 pace with a savage elephant after him ; give him a 

 lawn to run upon if he likes, and see the elephant 

 gaining a foot in every yard of the chase, fire in his 

 eye, fury in his headlong charge ; and would not the 

 flying gentleman who lately exclaimed ' Poor thing ! ' 

 be thankful to the lucky bullet that would save him 

 from destruction?" 



So much for the quarry, now for the perils of hunting 

 him. Here is Sir Samuel Baker's account of a narrow 

 escape from a " rogue " : 



"He was a magnificent elephant, one of the most 

 vicious in appearance that I have ever seen : he 

 understood the whole affair as well as we did : and, 

 flourishing his trunk, he paced quickly backwards 



