THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. 1 231 were its own; nay, it is then most happy in the enjoyment of its own good things, when, by liberality, it makes them the property of others. In short, it is a god-like virtue. There is nothing more divine in man, "than to wish well to man, and to do good to as many as one possibly can." But piety, which worships God in constant prayer, and celebrates him with the highest praises, raises man above himself, and gives him rank among the angels. And contemplation, which is indeed the most genuine and purest pleasure of the human soul, and the very summit of felicity, is no where so sublime and enriched, as it will be found to be in true religion, where it may expatiate in a system of divine truths most extensive, clear, and infallibly certaîn, mysteries that are most profound, and hopes that are the most exalted. And he that can render these subjects familiar to his mind, even on this earth, enjoys a life replete with heavenly pleasure. די THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. So many years I've seen the sun, And call'd these eyes and hands my own;' And childhood have and manhood known: O what is life?' And this dull round So many airy draughts and lines, And warm excursions of the mind, So many tender joys and woes Have on my quiv'ring soul had pow'r; ACCOUNT OF THE ELEPHANT. So many human souls divine, 1 So many wondrous gleams of light, N Ere long, when sov'reign wisdom wills, My soul an unknown path shall tread, ****** 4 And strangely leave, who strangely fills dub This frame, and waft me to the dead. THE largest elephants are from ten to eleven feet in height: some are said to exceed it; but the average is eight or nine feet. They are fifty or sixty years before they arrive at their full growth; and their natural life is about one hundred and twenty years. Their price increases with their merit during a course of education. Some, for their extraordinary qualities, become in a manner invaluable; when these are purchased, no compensation induces a wealthy owner to part with them. The skin of the elephant is generally a dark grey, sometimes almost black; his face is frequently painted with a variety of colours; and the abundance and M ACCOUNT OF THE ELEPHANT. 233 splendour of his trappings add much to his consequence. In India, the Mogul princes allow five men and a boy to take care of each elephant; the chief of them called the mahawut, rides upon his neck to guide him ; another sits upon the rump, and assists in battle; the rest supply him with food and water, and perform the necessary services. Elephants bred to war, and well disciplined, will stand firm against a volley of mus ketry, and never give way unless severely wounded. One of these animals has been seen with upwards of thirty bullets in the fleshy parts of his body, perfectly recovered from his wounds. All are not equally docile, and when an enraged elephant retreats from battle, nothing can withstand his fury: the driver having no longer a command, friends and foes are involved in undistinguished ruin. The elephants in the army of Antiochus were provoked to fight by showing them the blood of grapes and mulberries. The history of the Maccabees informs us, that "to every elephant they appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of mail, and five hundred horsemen of the best; these were ready at every occasion; wherever the beast was, and whithersoever he went, they went also; and upon the elephants were strong towers of wood, filled with armed men, besides the Indian that ruled them." Elephants in peace and war know their duty, and are more obedient to the word of command than many rational beings. It is said they can travel, on an emergency, two hundred miles es in forty-eight hours; but will hold out for a month, at the rate of forty or fifty miles a day with cheerfulness and alacrity. The contrivances for taking elephants are various; but the most curious are those employed by the natives of Ceylon, where the finest race of these animals is found. They sometimes surround the woods in bands, and drive with lighted torches, amid the clamour of trumpets, the discharge of fire-arms, and noises of every description, the elephants which inhabit them, till they are at length entrapped into a particular spot surrounded with palisades, so as to pre vent all escape. When a wild elephant is taken, it still remains to reduce it to a quiet state, and to tame it, 234 ACCOUNT OF THE ELEPHANT. in order to its being made useful. This is effected by throwing ropes round the legs and body, which are well secured; and two tame elephants, properly instructed, are placed on each side. The captive animal finds himself gradually so fatigued by his ineffectual struggles, and so much soothed by the caresses occa sionally given by the trunks of the tame elephants, by the food from time to time presented to him, and the water with which he is refreshed by its being poured over him, that in the space of a few days, unless more than unusually untractable in his nature, he becomes completely tame, and is placed with the rest of the domesticated troop. Sometimes, in order more effectually to subdue them, the elephants are deprived of sleep for a considerable time. The anecdotes recording the sagacity, and also the amiable qualities of the elephant, are numerous. Of these the following are selected as highly interesting. In Delhi, an elephant passing along the streets, put his trunk into a tailor's shop, where several persons were at work. One of them pricked the end of his trunk with his needle; the beast passed on; but at the next dirty puddle, filled his trunk with water, returned to the shop, and, spurt, ing it among those who had offended him, spoiled their work. At Adsmeer, an elephant who often passed through the bazar, or market, as he went by a certain herb-woman, always received from her a mouthful of greens. At length he was seized with one of his periodical fits of rage, broke his fetters, and, running through the market, put the crowd to flight, and, among others, this woman, who, in her haste, forgot a little child she had brought with her. The animal recollecting the spot where his benefactress was wont to sit, took up the infant gently on his trunk, and placed it in safety on a stall before a neighbouring house.—At the same place, another elephant in his madness, kill, ed his cornac, or governor. The wife, witnessing the misfortune, took her two children, and flung them before the elephant, saying, "now you have destroyed their father, you may as well put an end to their lives and mine." It instantly stopped, relented, took the eldest of the boys, placed him on his neck, adopted BANKS FOR SAVINGS. 235 him for his governor, and never afterwards would permit any other person to mount him. A painter was desirous of drawing the elephant kept in the menagerie at Versailles, in an uncommon attitude, namely, that of holding his trunk raised up in the air, with his mouth open. The painter's boy, in order to keep the animal in this posture, threw fruit into his mouth; but as the lad frequently deceived him, and made an offer only of throwing the fruit, he grew angry; and, as if he had known that the painter's intention of drawing him was the cause of the affront thus offered, instead of avenging himself on the lad, he turned his resentment on the master, and taking up a quantity of water in his trunk, threw it on the paper on which the painter was drawing, and spoiled it. BANKS FOR SAVINGS. A BANK is a place where money is dealt in. A banker receives the money of his customers, and keeps it till it is wanted; or he lends them money, or remits it for them to distant places, giving or receiving intere est according as he receives or lends, and making pro fit both out of this interest and by means of the charges which he makes for trouble and risk. It is curious, now that banking has become everywhere a separate trade, to know, that in former times, goldsmiths were the only bankers. But, without speaking of the history of banking, we would here only say, that it is very beneficial to all countries where it is conducted on honourable principles. At the same time, it is beneficial only, or at least chiefly, to the richer classes of the community, for bankers in general refuse to deal in small sums. Of late years, however, the benefits of banks have been extended in this country to all classes, poor as well as rich, by means of the institution of Banks for Savings, which deal in very small sums of money; and being established entirely for the good of the people, make no profit by their transactions, Dean Swift, who was a very singular character, struck out a plan somewhat |