198 



MAMMALIA. 



[Chap. VI. 



families had collected to see the 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 



