178 Anecdotal Natural History. 



As by magic, a Jumbo literature sprang up. The 

 president, secretary, superintendent, and other officers 

 of the Society were inundated with letters, mostly 

 composed of vituperative epithets. Even persons 

 like myself, who have no connection with the Society, 

 but were known to take an interest in animals, 

 received letters from all quarters on the same sub- 

 ject. None of the writers seemed even to conceive 

 the idea that the officers of the Society were likely to 

 understand their own business, and would not part 

 from such an animal without very good reasons for 

 doing so. 



Then the Jumbo-worship set in. A Jumbo Rescue 

 Fund was started. Presents of the most fatuous de- 

 scription were showered on the animal. Visiting 

 cards with " farewell " were attached to his box, 

 which was simply covered with farewell messages in 

 pencil. 



That basket after basket full of hot-house grapes 

 should be given to him we can understand, though 

 the grapes would have been better employed if given 

 to sick poor who needed them, and who would not 

 have eaten the baskets as well as the grapes. 



But it is scarcely possible to conceive how many 

 human beings could have been so ignorantly foolish 

 as to present an elephant with several boxes of cigars, 

 packets of snuff, a leg of mutton, and six dozen 

 oysters. 



From their nature these gifts seem to have been 

 presented by donors of the male sex. But feminine 

 presents are even more absurd than the masculine. 

 No one, however imaginative, would have thought 

 that a widow's suit should be sent to Alice, to be 

 worn on Jumbo's departure. Or that numbers of 

 ladies would send their photographs for Jumbo's con- 

 solation during his absence from them. Or that 



