NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Instances of attachment and gratitude. 



the fidelity, gratitude, and sagacity of the ele- 

 phant. ^Elian relates, that when Porus, king of 

 India, was subdued by Alexander the Great, he 

 was wounded with several darts; which the ele- 

 phant drew out of his body with his proboscis; 

 and when he perceived his master fainting by 

 the loss of blood, gradually leaned himself down 

 till he fell flat upon the ground, that his rider 

 might receive no harm by alighting. Athenseus 

 mentions the gratitude of an elephant to a woman 

 that had done him some service, and used to lay 

 her child near him when it was very young ; for, 

 the mother dying, the elephant was so fond of 

 the child, that he showed great uneasiness when 

 it was taken out of his sight, and would not eat 

 his food unless the nurse laid the child in the 

 cradle between his feet, but then he would eat 

 heartily. When the child slept, he chased away 

 the flies with his proboscis, and when it cried he 

 would toss or rock the cradle till it fell asleep. 



An elephant in Adsmeer, which often passed 

 through the market, as he went by a certain herb- 

 woman, always received from her a mouthful of 

 greens : at length he was seized with a periodical 

 fit of rage, broke his fetters, and, running through 

 the market, put the crowd to flight, and among 

 others this woman, who, in her haste forgot a 

 little child she had with her. The animal, recol- 

 lecting the spot where his benefactress usually sat, 

 took up the infant gently in his trunk, and placed 

 it in safety on a stall before a neighbouring house* 



