198 
MAMMALIA. 
[Chap. VI. 
families had collected to see tlie spectacle; women, 
whose children clung like little bronzed Cupids by their 
sides ; and girls, many of them in the graceful costume 
of that part of the country, — a scarf, which, after having 
been brought round the waist, is thrown over the left 
shoulder, leaving the right arm and side free and unco- 
vered. 
At the foot of each tree was its captive elephant ; 
some still struggling and writhing in feverish excitement, 
whilst others, in exhaustion and despair, lay motionless, 
except that, from time to time, they heaped fresh dust 
upon their heads. The mellow notes of a Kandyan flute, 
which was played at a distance, had a striking effect 
upon one or more of them ; they turned their heads in 
the direction from which the music came, expanded 
their broad ears, and were evidently soothed with the 
plaintive sound. The two young ones alone still roared 
for freedom ; they stamped their feet, and blew clouds 
of dust over their shoulders, brandishing their little 
trunks aloft, and attacking every one who came within 
their reach. 
At first the older ones, when secured, spurned every 
offer of food, trampled it under foot, and turned haugh- 
tily away. A few, however, as they became more com- 
posed, could not resist the temptation of the juicy stems 
of the plantain, but rolling them under foot, till they 
detached the layers, they raised them in their trunks, 
and commenced chewing listlessly. 
On the whole, whilst the sagacity, the composure, and 
docility of the decoys were such as to excite lively 
astonishment, it was not possible to withhold the highest 
admiration from the calm and dignified demeanour of 
the captives. Their entire bearing was at variance with 
