e bended knee.
And I would add a word of common gratitude
To those thy coadjutors, _ao_ and _lao_,[3]
Who take, with Thee, th' uncompromising attitude
From which the dullest mind deduces _jao_.

[Footnote 3: _Kal-ao_='return to-morrow'; _kal-lao_='bring it back
to-morrow.' Each of these phrases is the euphemistic equivalent of
_jao_, that is, 'go away, (and stay there).']

TO AN ELEPHANT

ON HIS TONIC QUALITIES

Solace of mine hours of anguish,
Peace-imparting View, when I,
Sick of Hindo-Sturm-und-Drang, wish
I could lay me down and die,

Very present help in trouble,
Never-failing anodyne
For the blows that knock us double,
Here's towards thee, Hathi mine!

As, 'tis said, the dolorous Jack Tar
Turns to view the watery Vast,
When he mourns his frail charac-tar,
Or deplores his jagged Past,

Climbs a cliff, and breathes his sighs on
That appalling breast until,
Borne from off the far horizon,
Voices whisper, 'Cheer up, Bill!'

So when evil chance or dark as-
persions crush the bosom's lord,
When discomfort rends the car-cass,
When we're sorry, sick, or bored,

When the year is at its hottest,
And our life with sorrow crowned,
Gazing thee-wards, where thou blottest
Out the landscape, pulls us round,

Gives us peace, some nameless modi-
cum of cheer to mind and eye:
Something that can soothe a body
Like a blessed lullaby.

Sweet it is to watch thee, Hathi,
Through the stertorous afternoons,
Wond'ring why so stout a party
Wears such baggy pantaloons:

Sweet, again, to steal a-nigh and
Watch thee, ere thy meals begin,
Deftly weigh th' unleavened viand,
Lest thou be deceived therein:

Sweet to mark thee gravely dining:
Grand, when day has nearly gone,
'Tis to view yon Orb declining
Down behind thee, broadside on:

Ay! and when thy vassals tub thee,
And thou writhest 'neath the brick
Wherewithal they take and scrub thee,
'Twere a sight to heal the sick!

Not a pose but serves to ward off
Pangs that had of yore prevailed;
E'en the stab of being scored off
Owns the charm, old Double-Tailed!

But, O Thou that giv'st the flabby
Strength, and stingo'st up the weak:-
Restful as a grand old Abbey--
Bracing as a