are laid down in grass paddocks. Compare the
position of these men with that of the English
labourer; both have to work hard, but my men
have grown stronger in body and intellect by
their work—yours are weakened in both.

"I might multiply instances, if necessary;
but I suppose the fact is so well established,
that it would be waste of time."

PRECEPTS OF FLOWERS.

OH! lovely flowers, how meet ye seem
Man's frailty to portray,
Blooming so fair in morning's beam,
Passing at eve away!
Teach this, and though but brief your reign,
Sweet flowers, ye shall not live in vain.

Go, form a monitory wreath
For Youth's unthinking brow
Go, and to busy Manhood breathe
What most he fears to know;
Go, strew the path where Age doth tread,
And tell him of the silent dead.

But whilst to thoughtless ones and gay
Ye breathe these truths severe,
To those who droop in pale decay
Have ye no words of cheer?
Oh, yes! ye weave a double spell,
And death and life betoken well.

Go, then, where, wrapt in fear and gloom,
Fond hearts and true are sighing,
And wreath with emblematic bloom
The pillow of the dying;
And softly speak, nor speak in vain,
Of the long sleep and broken chain.

And say, that He who from the dust
Recalls the slumbering flower
Will surely visit those who trust
His mercy and His power,—
Will mark where sleeps their peaceful clay,
And roll, ere long, the stone away!

ELEPHANTS. WHOLESALE AND
RETAIL.

THE circumstances which have been instrumental
in bringing about the voyage of Bibi
Sahibeh and her infant daughter to England,
and which have enabled us to enjoy the favour
of their presence at this time in the Zoological
Gardens of the Regent's Park, are not only
interesting in themselves, but have led us
into a train of elephantine reflections, at once
historical, military, artistic, social, and, in
some degree, sentimental. Previous to speaking
of Bibi Sahibeh, we will request permission
to give a cursory view of her great family
from a very early period of time, being the
substance of a conversazione held in the
vestibule of her apartments at the Gardens, the
other morning, at which half the beauty and
learning of the Metropolis were present.
Professor Owen took notes, while Lord
Brougham attended to the ladies.

There are several obvious reasons for
designating the family of the Elephant as
"great." The grandeur and state pomp of
the mightiest Oriental kings, the enormity of
whose magnificence sometimes reads like a
fabulous wonder, seems almost inseparable
from the early history of elephants. On all
great occasions, and the assemblage of
multitudes, the lofty and sagacious double
forehead, with the quiet small eyes, enormous
flaps of ears, and ever-varying attitude of
"proboscis lithe," constitutes one of the most
imposing figures of the majestic scene and
its countless concourse. In the most ancient
Sanscrit poems there are records of tame
elephants in processions, a thousand years
before the Christian era. We do not allude
only to great state occasions, or to warlike
processions, but even to religious ceremonies,
since the elephant is found to occupy a post
of extraordinary honour in the remotest
records of the mythology of India. One of
their most alarming deities rides upon his
back; while the idol which is their symbol
for wisdom and science, bears the form of a
man (rather eccentric in his proportions) with
the head of an elephant. Malcolm, in his
"History of Persia," tells us that a few miles
from the modern city of Kermanshah, the
excavations of the rock display many finely
carved figures, and that the sides of some of
the caves are covered with sculpture
representing the hunting of wild boars along the
banks of a river, by men mounted on elephants,
while others, in boats, are ready to attack the
game when it takes to the water. The hunting
of deer by men mounted on elephants, was
also represented in one of their carvings.
Considering the relative speed of these two
quadrupeds, at least in modern times, we
cannot help regarding this either as a
"symbol," or a very heavy jest. The ancient
Chinese represented the earth as borne upon
the backs of eight elephants, whose heads
were turned to the principal points of the
compass. The same animal is a favourite
figure of speech in their poetry. In Eastern
architecture the elephant is likewise a very
important personage at the gates of temples,
on the walls of palaces, on the sides of tombs
and pagodas, and in subterranean temples
like those of Ellora and Mawalipouram. Even
to the present time the Hindoos, on great
occasions, select these creatures to bear the
images of their gods, and we find them loaded
with the most valuable ornaments in the
mystic processions of Brahma and Vishnoo.
The use of elephants is absolutely prohibited
in the modern capital of Siam, excepting to
personages of very high rank; and, in a portion
of the Celestial Empire, the chief minister for
the foreign department—the Palmerston of
Cochin China—is expressly designated as "the
Mandarin of Elephants."

This title appeared to give extreme satisfaction
to Lord Brougham, who thought that we
ought to have something equivalent to it for
certain learned men in England.

We had rather be silent (and yet we dare
not quite pass it over) on the subject of