n. Such clapping of wings, and hurrying to and fro, and
quacking, and shrieking, and whirling here and there, was never seen
among a feathered community. They must have been very glad when we took
our departure.

We had got into high spirits with our walk, and had begun to forget all
about the bulls and the fire, when, as Jerry and I were in advance
scrambling along the shore, we saw basking, a little way inland, among
some tussac grass, a huge animal. "Why, there is an elephant!" I
exclaimed, starting back "or a live mammoth, or something of that sort.
I don't like his look, I own."

However, screwing up our courage, we advanced cautiously toward the
monster, as he seemed no way disposed to move at our approach. Then we
halted and examined him more narrowly. He was alive, for we saw his eye
complacently looking at us, as Diogenes might have looked out of his tub
at the passing crowd. He was fully twenty feet long, with a huge
unwieldy body and a big head. The most curious thing about his head was
a huge nose, or trunk rather, which hung down nearly half a foot below
the upper jaw. His skin was covered with short hair of a light dun
colour, and he had a tail and fins like a seal. While we were still in
doubt what he could be, Mr Kilby overtook us, and laughingly seizing
our hands ran up behind the monster.

"Are you for a ride?" he exclaimed; and before Jerry suspected what was
going to happen he found himself seated on the monster's tail! "There
you go, on the back of a sea-elephant," exclaimed Mr Kilby, giving the
beast a poke with his stick. "Hold on tight, and he can't hurt you."

Jerry did hold on, not knowing whether to laugh or shriek out with fear.
Away crawled, or whalloped rather, the elephant towards the water, Mr
Kilby and I keeping alongside, ready to catch Jerry should he fall off.
I soon saw there was no real danger, except the monster should roll
round, when his weight would kill any one under him. Jerry also
instantly entered into the joke of the thing, and was delighted with the
idea of being able to boast that he had ridden on a sea-elephant.

"I shall be carried off into the depths of the ocean, and you, Mr
Kilby, will have to be answerable to my disconsolate father," he sang
out, half laughing and half crying. "Good-bye, Harry; a pleasant voyage
to you round the world. May you not be spirited away by a sea-monster
like this. Oh! oh! help me off, though!--he'll have me into the se