brutes, and of others, five hundred or more. I cannot say how I
might think of the matter if I was to indulge in the sport, but my
present feeling is that of unmitigated horror that any man should
willingly be guilty of such wholesale slaughter, unless in case of
necessity. If it was important to rid the country of them, they might
engage in the work for the sake of becoming public benefactors. Lions,
tigers, and wild boars should be killed, because they are dangerous to
human beings; and the time may come when, the wilds of Ceylon being
brought under cultivation, it may be necessary to exterminate the
sagacious elephant, or, at all events, to reduce him to subjection, and
to keep him within limited bounds.

Elephants delight in the shade, and shun the heat of the sun. Thus they
are found often in large herds on the mountain heights in Ceylon, at an
elevation of some thousand feet above the sea. With regard to their
sight, that is supposed to be somewhat circumscribed, and they depend
for their safety on their acute sense of smell and hearing. The sounds
they utter are very remarkable, and by them they seem to be able to
communicate with each other. That of warning to the herd is a deep
hollow ringing sound, like that of an empty cask being struck; a common
caution to their friends is a simple quiver of the lips, which makes a
noise like _prur-r-r_; that of pain is a deep groan from the throat;
that of rage is a shrill trumpeting through his proboscis. But they
also make many other scarcely describable noises. The height of the
elephant is generally over-estimated, the ordinary height being from
eight to nine feet, though in some instances they may be found exceeding
it. His agility, the gentleness of his tread, considering his size, and
the silent way in which he escapes through the forest, is worthy of
remark. The elephant, when he lies down, stretches his legs out behind
him, not under him, as does the horse--a beautiful arrangement for an
animal of his vast bulk, as thus, without any violent strain, he is able
to lift himself up. The thigh-bone is very much longer in proportion to
that of the _metatarsus_--the one below it--than is the case with other
animals, and thus the knee is very much lower down. He has also no
hock, and can thus bend his knee as completely as a human being. By
this arrangement he is able to descend declivities without difficulty.
In traversing a mountain region he invariably sele