THE ELEPHANT. 141 
And didst see, upcurled. from light, 
The ever-sleeping ammonite ; 
And those dragon-worms at play 
In the waters old and grey! 
Tell me, creature, in what place, 
Thou, the Noah of thy race, 
Wast preserved when death was sent 
Like a raging element, 
Like a whirlwind passing by,— 
In the twinkling of an eye, 
Leaving mother earth forlorn 
Of her mighty eldest-born ;— 
Turning all her life to stone 
With one universal groan! 
In what cavern drear and dark, 
Elephant hadst thou thine ark? 
Dost thou in thy memory hold 
Record of that tale untold? 
If thou do, I pray thee tell, 
It were worth the knowing well. 
Elephant, so old and vast, 
Thou a kindly nature hast ; 
