, and at last adopted it. It always
travelled on the line of march close by its side, would feed out of its
mouth, and gambolled with it as it was wont to do with its mother. Thus
noticed, it grew fast, and, ere the campaign was over, its poor mother
was forgotten, and all its affections seemed settled on its new friend.
Its name was Pearee--love, or lovely, in English.

Colonel James Price, now major-general in the Company's army, knew,
perhaps, more of the history of elephants than any man in India, having
been one of the Company's breeders, at Chittygong, for many years. I
have heard him recount the most affecting stories about these animals.
He generally kept two or three himself. I was tiffing one day with him,
when the subject turned on the sagacity of elephants, and he said he
thought he had a young one as cunning as any one he had ever seen; and
he offered to lay a bet, that if any one played this animal a trick, he
would return it, if it was a month afterwards. The company seemed to
doubt this, and the consequence was a small wager, taken by me. I cut
the elephant some bread, of which these animals are extremely fond, but
between the pieces I introduced a considerable quantity of cayenne
pepper. Thus highly seasoned, I gave this bread to the elephant; but he
soon discovered the trick, and I was obliged to run for it. I afterwards
gave him some bread without any pepper, which he ate and seemed grateful
for, and we parted. About a month or six weeks afterwards, I went to
dine with the same colonel, and, prior to dinner being served, we took
our usual walk to look at his stud. I had forgotten all about the
elephant and the bet I had made respecting him, and accordingly played
with and fondled him, without any suspicion. With this he seemed much
pleased at the time; but, on my going away, he drenched me from head to
foot with dirty water, in return for my cayenne pepper trick.

About mid-day, the whole of the private baggage was up, and some small
guns had been drawn up by the working party. By six o'clock, no one but
myself and the working party were remaining below. When I made my report
to the commandant of the division that everything was up, he could
scarcely credit my assertion; but when I assured him of its reality, he
thanked me in the most cordial manner, and said he had given the
following day for the completion of that job. The large guns took four
hundred men, with double and treble drag-ropes, to pull