rst
volume, was published in 1849, and several other volumes of great merit
attest his originality. For genial humor and good-natured satire, Saxe's
writings rank among the best of their kind, and are very popular.

1. It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant,
(Though all of them were blind,)
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

2. The first approached the elephant,
And, happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the elephant
Is very like a wall!"

3. The second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried: "Ha! what have we here,
So very round, and smooth, and sharp?
To me 't is very clear,
This wonder of an elephant
Is very like a spear!"

4. The third approached the animal,
And, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up he spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the elephant
Is very like a snake!"

5. The fourth reached out his eager hand,
And fell about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like,
Is very plain," quoth he;
" 'T is clear enough the elephant
Is very like a tree!"

6. The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most:
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
Is very like a fan!"

7. The sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the elephant
Is very like a rope!"

8. And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

XCVII. A HOME SCENE.

Donald Grant Mitchell (b. 1822,--). This popular American writer was born
in Norwich, Conn. He graduated at Yale in 1841. In 1844 he went to
England, and, after traveling through that country on foot, spent some
time on the continent. His first volume, "Fresh Gleanings, or a New Sheaf
from the Old Fields of Continental Europe, by Ik Marvel," was published in
1847, soon after his return home. He revisited Europe in 1848. On his
return, he published "The Battle Summer." Mr. Mitchell has contributed to
the "Knickerbocker Magazine," the "Atlantic Monthly," and several
agricultural journals.