40 ELEPHANT. 



and that the period of female gestation lasts about two 

 years ; facts which had been long disputed, and which for 

 ages lay hidden in obscurity. Too proud to propagate its 

 kind in a state of captivity, and to rear a race of slaves, 

 or perhaps too modest, its natural propensities were in a 

 great measure extinguished as soon as it became the ser- 

 vant of man ; and it is only from accidental observation 

 that several of its habitudes have been discovered. 



All historians agree, that next to Man the elephant is 

 the most sagacious of all animals ; yet were we to judge 

 from its external appearance only, we should form no very 

 high opinion of its faculties. Its large body, covered 

 with a callous hide destitute of hair ; its vast unshapen 

 legs, which scarcely seem formed for the least degree of 

 motion ; its small eyes, its large pendulous ears, and its 

 long trunk ; all conspire to give it an air of more than 

 common stupidity : but, when we advert to its well-known 

 qualities, our misconceptions are rectified ; and when we 

 contemplate the various disadvantages arising from its 

 awkward conformation, which it is able to surmount, our 

 surprise and admiration increase. 



As no verbal description, however elaborate, can give 

 an adequate idea of its figure, I shall pass over this part 

 of its history, and endeavour to display the leading points 

 of its character. 



Though not only the largest but the strongest of all 

 quadrupeds, in a state of nature it is neither fierce nor 

 mischievous. Pacific, mild, and brave, it only exerts its 

 powers in its own defence, or in that of the community 

 to which it belongs. It is social and friendly with its kind : 

 the oldest of the troop always appearing as the leader, 

 and the next in seniority bringing up the rear. As they 

 march, the forest seems to sink beneath them : in their 

 passage they bear down the branches of trees, on which 

 they feed ; and if they enter cultivated fields, the labours 

 of agriculture soon vanish. Nor can such terrible inva- 

 sions be repelled ; for a whole army of men would scarcely 

 be equal to the attack of their united numbers. Some- 



