The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1875-09-16

crop to right and left. Poor dear, she was
hungry-and so were we by thi. time. She
| lunched luxuriously on the stalk, but never Of
| fered us one. While she was crunchng, the
admiral put his head out to see how far we
We're from the ground, with view OF trying Il
leap.
Don't think of it." said Sir Richard, seeing
what he was about, ''you could not calculate
| Mhere you might strike, and it is ten to one
.I.sC sue would turn and trample you to death
before you could get out of her reach"
had been looking down at the after opening
| specuiatlnS whether L could shin down her tail
| or not, ana SO get away, but drew in NV head
| then and looked us if had merely been casting
| glance at the weather. had no ambition To
| be fattened to wafer under her feet Iwished
| | had been at sea in bowl with the three wise
| men of Gotham. The army officer looked at his
| Knife with a tender glance. We had been out
| so long now, we were getting hungry and il
was aggravating to hear the gentle animal we
rode eating with such enjoyment, though that.
like everything else, was done in anger, and
she kept stopping to snort and scream.
Il suppose" said he, ''she is no nervous it
would not do to cut a steak off her haunch,"
| and then We sank into silence, glarng blankly
at nothing, because politeneSs forbade Us 10
quarrel with our host and we could not blame
each other for the trouble we were in. sud
denly saw Sir Richards face change entirely.
it lost all look of hope aud cheer, and settled
into utter despair. There is her calf he NUT
tered. 'what iend let it loose:" and then we
understood that our last anchor had gone Sir
Richard fad depended upon the strength and
fidelity of maternal love to draw our animal
back to her stable. But, alas there was no
occasion now. The unwelcome infant. about
four feet high, came numbering through the
cane brake, and was received by his mamma
with vast gambOlS of JOY, which knocked us
poor humans about in the howdah like balls in
box. The worst thing of an elephant ride is,
that when you have commenced You have got
to 60 through with it. And we went through
with it. We saw the sun sink and the stars
rise.
All night that dementcd beast wandered to
and fro, making havoc among the cane fields,
playing with her infant, sucking it at inter
walls, twining her atlectionate trunk round it
and half pulling it over, but all the time keep
ing up her quarrel with us. If we moved or
spoke, she threw up her trunk into the air and
gave us gallop INTO the neighboring Jungle.
where, besides pursuing our Old business of
dod9ln9 branches, we expected she would start
VI tiger or two. Not but that we should
have liked 1t. | for one would have enlDyttl
nothing better than to see four sets of steel
tiger claws set well into her flankS. However.
the night passed without that final episode, and
towards morning, taking Il very crcuitous ami
uncertain course, SO that we could not be surc
of her design, she finally brought u> back TO
the place we had left i'll the morning. Hungry,
tired, cross, and Wthal full of laughter over
the mingled danger and abSurdity of the situa-
ton We had been in, we descended from our
allday and all-night ride. To cap the climax
of oar misfortune we ought to have been obliged
TO foot it into Singapore, i've miles or 80, on
empty stomachS. But Sir Richards servant
had faithfully waited through the long hours,
and we We're spared that crowning disaster.
My final ADVICE to everybody who does not
like compulsory observations on the habits ami
manners Of the HiphoS Htdic}tS is, To know
your beast before you set forth. And 80 bring
my long letter to Il close.