104 
THE ELEPHANTS. 
Calm amid scenes of havoc, in his ow n 
Huge strength impregnable, the Elephant 
Offendeth none, but leads a quiet life 
Among his own contemporary trees, 
Till nature lays him gently down to rest. 
Beneath the palm which he was wont to make 
His prop in slumber ; there his relics lie 
Longer than life itself had dwelt within them. 
Bees in the ample hollow of his skull 
Fill their wax citadels, and store their honey ; 
Thence sally forth to forage through the fields, 
And swarm in emigrating legions thence. 
There little burrowing animals throw up 
Hillocks beneath the over arching ribs 
While birds within the spinal labyrinth 
Contr ive their nests. 
These stupendous creatures inhabit the tropical 
forests of Asia and Africa, living in troops or 
herds, in a state of inoffensive quiet, unless when 
attacked by some of their larger and stronger 
animal assailants, or their powerful and more 
relentless enemy, man. They delight in the 
boundless forest, and in the vicinity of water, 
