neighbourhood of Gyah. Between the house and the town was a small
bridge, over which the elephant had frequently passed. One day,
however, he refused to go over. He tried it with his trunk, evidently
suspecting that its strength was not sufficient to bear his weight.
Still, the obstinate driver urged him on with the sharp spear with which
elephants are driven. At length, with cautious steps he began the
passage, still showing an extreme unwillingness to proceed. As he
approached the centre, loud cracks were heard, when the treacherous
bridge gave way, and both elephant and rider were precipitated into the
stream below; the latter being killed by the fall, and the former, who
had proved himself the most sensible being of the two, being much
injured.

Let no force induce you to do what is wrong. All bad ways are like that
rotten bridge. When others attempt to goad you on to do evil, tell them
the story of the elephant and the rotten bridge.

THE ELEPHANT TURNED NURSE.

Who would expect to see a huge elephant take care of a delicate little
child? Yet more vigilant and gentle nurses cannot be found than are
some of these animals.

The wife of a mahout, or elephant driver, was frequently in the habit of
giving her baby in charge of an elephant. The child would begin, as
soon as it was left to itself, to crawl about, getting sometimes under
the elephant's huge legs, at others becoming entangled among the
branches on which he was feeding. On such occasions the elephant would
gently disengage the child, by lifting it with his trunk or removing the
boughs. The elephant, it should be said, was himself chained by the leg
to the stump of a tree. When the child had crawled nearly to the limits
of his range, he would advance his trunk, and lift it back as tenderly
as possible to the spot whence it had started. Indeed, no nurse could
have attended an infant with more good sense and care than did this
elephant his master's child.

THE WOUNDED ELEPHANT AND THE SURGEON.

To conclude my anecdotes about elephants, I must tell you two which
show, even more than the other incidents I have mentioned, the wonderful
sense they possess.

An elephant had been severely wounded, and submitting to have his wound
dressed, used, after two or three times, to go alone to the hospital and
extend himself, so that the surgeon could easily reach the injured part.
Though the pain the animal suffered was so severe that he often uttered
t