Some Harmless Beasts. 143 



infuriate it. In the fable, the frog and the ant compel it 

 to commit suicide out of sheer misery. Spenser's elephant, 

 assailed by an ant, is one of the poet's types of the 

 "World's Vanity"— 



" Soone after this I saw an elephant, 

 Adorned with bells and bosses gorgeouslie, 

 That on his backe did beare (as batteilant) 

 A gilden towre, which shone exceedinglie ; 

 That he himselfe, through foolish vanitie, 

 Both for his rich attire, and goodly forme, 

 Was puffed up with passing surquedrie, 

 And shortly gan all other beasts to scome. 

 Till that a little ant, a silly worme, 

 Into his nostrils creeping, so him pained. 

 That, casting down his towres, he did deforme 

 Both borrowed pride, and native beautie stained. 

 Let, therefore, nought that great is therein glory, 

 Sith so small a thing his happines may varie." 



But infinitely more admirable than its mammoth bulk 

 (in itself no credit to it), or its strength, so often perverted 

 to bad ends, is the character of the elephant's intelligence. 

 It is almost human, not because it imitates, but because it 

 draws rational deductions and acts upon them. 



To give one illustration only, an original one. An 

 elephant, when driven every day from the stables at Agra, 

 found his passage inconvenienced by a post standing up in 

 the path. To this post a monkey was chained, and the 

 elephant and the monkey were good friends. But one 

 day, on coming out as usual, Behemoth found Pug gone, 

 and, concluding that the tiresome post was of no further 

 use, wrenched it up and passed on comfortably. Now, so 

 long as the monkey was chained to the post the elephant 

 recognised its utility, and accepted without complaint the 

 inconvenience it caused him. But as soon as the reason 

 for the post ceased to be obvious he removed the obstruc- 

 tion. 



