238 
a view of a sreat extent of country. Here 
the King comes, with the Queen and her 
children, during the fummer and the 
hunting-feafon. It is a good day’s jour- 
ney from London, and may be travelled 
either by land or water, as the Thames- 
river runs by the foot of the hill. . Queen 
Eleanor chiefly travels to Windfor b 
water, that paflage being eafielt for her, 
who is not a good horlewoman; befides, 
the ways by land are frequently impaflable 
for waggons, and the conveyance by lit- 
ters is equally hazardous. 
Fires frequently happen im this city 
[London]; and whenever that is the cafe, 
they cawle great deftruction, the houfes 
being built with wood, and for the moft 
part covered with firaw and reeds. Al- 
though an ordinance has been made for 
fome years pait, to cover all buildings 
with tiles or flate, it is far from having 
been generally obeyed. 
The Citizens [of London] are a very 
turbulent, reftleis, and diflatisfied ‘people; 
and did not the Legate interfere from time 
to time, to aid the King’s authoriry, they 
_ could not be kept within. any. proper 
bounds: happily ter them and the whole 
people, whenever the Legate threatens 
them with the vengeance of Holy Church 
{ fainte yglize] they become more mede- 
rate, and thus the Interdict of our Holy 
Father the Pope quiets every tumult and 
commotion. 
I lately vifited a curious animal which 
is now kept in the Tower of Londen. It 
is an elephant prefented to King Henry 
by the Emperor Frederick the Second, 
who, as you know, married the King’s 
fitter Tfabel. It feems this elephant was 
féent as a prefent to the Emperor Frederick 
by Emperor Prefier John, of India. 
Henry, by an ordinance, has cirected the 
City of London to provide for this ele. 
phant, and to defray the expence of his 
keeper, which cofts the Citizens not lefs 
than four pence a-day, over and above 
the expence they have been put to in 
building a receptacle for this rare animal, 
and the houfe adjoining for the Cremonefe 
and his family to dwellin, who accompanied 
the elephant from Italy hither, and is in- 
trufed with the careand management of 
i. [Que le fecond Empereor Fedric en 
emena ub en Cremone que li envoia Preffre 
Fohan dynde. | nies 
As the elephant ts an animal not found 
in Europe, you may not be acquainted 
with the nature and properties of that 
quadruped, I will thereftre give .you 
what account I have been-able to colle& 
frommrcading, and the information of the 
) 
From the Port-folie of a Men of Letters. 
[April 1, 
Italian, its keeper, concerning elephants 
in general, and the King’s in particular. 
The elephant is the largeft animal we 
knowof. His teeth are that fubfance which 
we call ivory.. He chas a kind of nofe, 
called his trunk or probofcis; this he 
can twift about with a ferpentine motion. 
y With this probo(cis he takes up his food 
and conveys it into his mouth. Befides 
this ufe, he can ftrike with it fo forcibly 
as to break whatever he hits. I was af- 
fured by the Cremonefe, that he faw-him- 
throw a loaded afs upon the reof of a 
houfe. It is certain.that elephants have 
great courage; notwithfanding which they 
are yeadily tamed after they are taken. 
There is a great difficulty in getting them 
on board of a fhip when there is a necef- 
fity for tranfporting them acrofs the fea; 
and in this cafe it is neceffary for their 
keeper to conduét them with their tail 
foremoft. ‘To manage the elephant, fome 
feverity of blows muft be made ufe of: 
and then he will f{uffer him(elf to be rode 
upon, and will go here and there as he is 
guided ; for which purpofe there is no 
need of a ‘bridle, but only of aniron hook, 
Alexander the Great is faid to have made 
brazen ftatues of men, which he caufed 
to be filled with live coals’; thefe being 
applied -to the probofcis, the elephants 
became fo fearful of them, 
not ftrike' their keepers left they fhould be 
burnt. But i muft tell you of their great 
fenfe and intelligence. It is certain that 
they obferve. rule and order amongft them- 
felves, and fubmit, like mankind, to the 
government of a head or leader. They 
march together in large bodies; following 
their commander, who is generally the 
oltef elephant, and never breaking out of 
the line of march, the rear being com- 
manded by the elephant next in {aniority. 
When engaged in battle, they fight with 
one-tooth only, keeping the other in re- - 
ferve ; and the vanquifhed elephant never 
comes off without the lofs of, or fome 
damage to, his feeth. The female ele- 
phant does not admit the male until fhe is 
fourteen years old; nor does the male 
feck the female before his fifteenth year. 
But fo continent are thefe animals, that 
they never fight on account of their amours; 
each elephant keeping to one female until 
death {eparates' them, . And whenever this 
happens, the furviving male or female re- 
mains in the wocds ina ftate of widow- 
hood, feeking no new mate. And as the 
elephant, contrary to the nature of other 
‘animals, requires a provocative, ‘the male 
and female, guided by inttinét, fet ont to- 
gether weftward, tdwards the earthly Pa- 
radife, 
that they durt — 
is 
' 
