THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANT . 
161 
soul of his father, or some other ancestor, may inhabit the body of one of 
the white elephants; and, in consequence of this theory, every white elephant, 
in Siam, has the title of king, is lodged and fed in a very sumptuous manner, 
and is never ridden, even by the king himself, as the elephant is as great a 
king as he is. 
A curious instance is recorded of the elephant’s liking for sweetmeats, and 
BABY ELEPHANT OF THE SOUDAN. 
of a method adopted in his savage state to gratify this propensity. It chanced 
that a Coolie, laden with jaggery, which is a coarse preparation of sugar, was 
surprised in a narrow pass in India by a wild elephant. The poor fellow, in¬ 
tent upoti saving his life, threw down the burden, which the elephant de¬ 
voured, and, being well pleased with the repast, determined not to allow any 
