150 THE ELEPHANT. 



furious by the wounds it had received at the battle 

 of Hambour, ran about the field making the most 

 hideouscries. A soldier^ notwithsanding the alarms of 

 his comrades, was unable, perhaps on account of his. 

 wounds, to fiy. The Elephant approached^ seemed 

 afraid of trampling him under its feet, took him up 

 with its trunk, placed him gently on his lide, and 

 continued its route. 



An incident to which M. le Baron de Lauriston 

 was a witness during one of the late wars in the 

 East, forms another proof of the sensibility of the 

 Elephant. This gentleman, from his zeal and 

 some other circumstances, was induced to go to 

 Laknaor, the capital of the Soubah or viceroyalty 

 of that name, at a time when an epidemic distemper 

 was making the greatest ravages amongst the inha-? 

 bitants. The prmcipal road to the palace-gate 

 was covered with the sick and dying, extended on 

 the ground, at the very moment when the nabob 

 must necessarily pass. It appeared impossible for 

 his Elephant to do otherwise than tread upon and 

 crush many of these poor wretches in his passage^ 

 unless the prince would stop till the way could be 

 cleared ; but he was in haste, and such tenderness 

 would be unbecoming in a personage of his import- 

 ance. The Elephant, however, without appearing 

 to slacken his pace, and without having received 

 any command for that purpose, assisted them with 

 his trunk, removed some, set others on their fcet_, 

 and stepped over the rest with so much address and 

 assiduity, that not one person was wounded. An 

 Asiatic prince and his slaves were deaf to the cries 



