cerned in this work but Mr. Addison. It In the month of April 1717, his majefty king George I. conferred upon him the office of fecretary of state; an act of juftice for his many extraordinary and well timed fervices, which more than balanced that deficiency which he had objected against his own preferment, his being no speaker in the houfe of commons. His health, which had been before impaired by an af matic diforder, fuffered exceedingly by an advancement so much to his honour, but attended, notwithstanding, with very great fatigue. He bore it however with great patience, till finding, or rather suspecting, that it might be prejudicial to the public bufinefs, he refigned his office. Having thus procured for himself a vacancy from business, he grew better, and his friends were in hopes that his health would have been thoroughly re-established. In these leifure moments he applied himself steadily to a religious work, A treatise on the Chriftian religion, which he had formed at the latter end of queen Anne's reign, when he carefully perufed the ancient writings, which furnished the materials of it. His continual employment in bufinefs prevented him from executing it, 'till he refigned his office of fecretary of state, and his death put a period to it, when he had only performed one half of the defign; he. having proposed, as appears by the introduction, to add the Jewish to the Heathen teftimonies, for the truth of the Chriftian history. He was more affiduous than his health would allow, in the pursuit of this work; and had long determined to dedicate his poetry also, for the future, wholly to religious fubjects. The part which he had finished of this treatife is preserved, and printed in his works. He likewise intended to have paraphrafed fome of the pfalms of David; but a long and painful relapse broke all his designs, and deprived the world of this excellent perfon, on the 17th of June, 1719. In a late piece, intitled, “Considerations on original compofition, in a letter, addreffed to the author of Clariffa and Sir Charles Grandifon," Dr. Young the celebrated author of the Night Thoughts has acquainted the public with a very remarkable circumftance relating to the death of this great man, which we shall transcribe: "Perceiving his last moments to approach, and no help from his phyficians, he fent for a youth nearly related to him, finely accomplished, and who felt the utmost diftrefs at feparation. The young man came; but life now glimmering in the focket, the dying friend was filent." After a decent and a proper pause, the youth said, ' Dear Sir, you fent for me, I believe, and I hope, that you have fome commands; I fhall hold them most facred.' May diftant ages not only hear but feel the reply! Forcibly grasping the youth's hand, he foftly faid, 'See in what peace a CHRISTIAN can 'dye;' and then gently reclining his head, forfook this mortal frame, to receive that everlasting joy and reft, which his most virtuous life had juftly merited. This fact Dr. Young obferves had been related before, though but very obfcurely, in the two following lines: "He taught us how to live, and oh! too high "A price for knowledge, taught us how Tickell. to die." He died at Holland-house near Kenfington, and left behind him an only daughter, by the countess of Warwick. [To be concluded in our next. ] The NATURAL HISTORY of the ELEPHANT. [concluded.] MANY are the inftances related by and others, of fuch a wonderful fenfe of gratitude and difcernment in this noble animal, so very astonishing, fufficient to stagger our belief, were not so many parallel instances recorded by fo great a number of different authors of good credit. It is really wonderful to imagine, with what readiness, thefe ftupendous creatures learnt whatever was taught them; though very great pains were bestowed upon them by their mafters and guides, before they could bring them to fuch a perfect tameness and docility. Mutianus, who had been thrice conful of Rome, affirmed that he had seen an elephant who was well acquainted with the Greek letters, and wrote down divers things which were fpoken to him, by arranging the characters. Almost all of them understood as much of the Indian language as regarded themselves. Some of them were fo tame, that a boy of twelve or thirteen years of age guided them eafily, and, mounted on their backs, made them do whatever he pleased: they were generally guided by signs. Arrian was the leaft fabulous, and the fincereft writer of all the antients; and therefore it should feem that we need not fcruple to give credit to what others have related of them, fince he declares that he himself saw one with two cymbals faftened to his legs, on which he played a regular tune with his trunk, whilft feveral others danced round him. With what juftice might Mr. Pope exclaim "How inftinct varies, in the groy'ling fwine, "Compared, half reas'ning elephant with thine!" From this animal men may learn leffons of modefty: Ælian tells us, that he never touches the female in public. Inftinct in fpires him with an abhorrence of adultery, of which many examples are related. An Indian having killed his wife, and privately buried her in his elephant's stable, the creature, on perceiving his mafter to have a new wife, took her upon his trunk, and carried her to the grave of her predeceffor, tearing up the earth with his feet, and fhewing her the dead body of the murdered wife; and would not suffer her to move, till fhe had attentively viewed it, as if he was determined the fhould know the true character of that man fhe had taken for her husband. Another having furprifed his mistress with her gallant in the act of adultery, to fhew his zeal and fidelity to his mafter, flew them both with his trunk. An almoft parallel inftance happened at Rome in the reign of Titus, which caufed much fpeculation; but here the elephant only threw a covering over the two adulterers, in order if poffible to conceal their crime. In the reign of the Roman emperor Galba, these animals were taught to walk upon the rope; and an entertainment of this kind was exhibited to the people at the sports called Floria. It is faid this animal is 16 or 18 months in the belly of his mother, and is at first about the fize of a calf; he does not arrive at his full age till 50 or 60 years; till then they cannot build a tower upon his back. Their ordinary food is grafs, or corn, but they are very fond of fweet things, particularly barley fugar, and this they give to tame them. They are subject to different diforders, which the Indians know how to cure. They live to a great age, commonly 200 years, and upwards; and fome few live even to 300. Apollonius Tyaneus tells us, that he himself saw in the city of Taxila, the elephant of the famous Porus having two circles of gold round his tusks, on on which was written in Greek characters, that Alexander in efteem for him, had confecrated him to the Sun. If this be true, he muft at that time have been 400 years old. Thus have we given an account of the most remarkable particulars, which are recorded by ancient authors, of this most docile and ingenious animal the elephant. If any of our readers should think we have been too credulous, and have related any thing that may be deemed fabulous, the only reply we can make is, that we have not done it willingly, nor with any intention to deceive, and that the blame must. lie on the original authors, from whom we have taken thefe particulars; though to those who have before read of the qualities of this furprising beast, or have had the opportunity to be in any of thofe countries where they are tamed and brought up, and have themfelves feen them, we imagine, there will be no objections of this fort made. We now proceed to mention fome other curious things concerning this animal, taken from modern authors. At this time the custom of fighting with them is generally difufed. In Afia, being brought up tame and properly managed, they ftill are animals of great ufe and fervice: but in Africa, they are wild, ferocious, and destructive; none of the African inhabitants having fo much as attempted to render them tame and ferviceable, as the Chinese and other polite Indian nations have done, instead of letting them continue fuch a dreadful and devouring nuifance wherever they are; infomuch that if we accept fome few that are brought up tame in the empire of Abiffinia, and that rather out of curiofity and grandeur than ufe, whilft all the rest are left to range and ravage their lands and harvefts, they are there, and every where, dreaded and treated as the most dangerous and deftructive of the favage fpecies; and no wonder, confidering how much the greateft part of these Africans naturally partake of, and many of them even exceed, thofe animals in their ferocity, and can hardly look upon them in any other light than as reciprocal objects of their prey; nor be intent on any thing else than deftroying them, and making all poffible reprifals on them, for their horrid devastations, by feeding on their fiefh, and makIng a traffic of their spoils; fo that myriads of them are yearly deftroyed in that vaft continent, even by the confeffion of the inhabitants, which is farther confirmed by the immenfe quantities of ivory which are yearly exported into India and Europe, from all the African coafts: fo that this noble creature, fo juftly admired for its excellent qualities in the eastern parts of the world, here in Africa is only remarkable for its favage and mifchievous nature, and the vaft flaughter which is made of them wherever they herd; unless we add that they are here much larger, taller, and ftronger, than those of India; and those of Abiffinia, Congo, and the Cape of Good-Hope, are the biggest in all Africa.But whatever devaftation they may make in fown lands, upon fruits, &c. for the fake of their fuftenance, yet they never fall foul upon men nor women, but will let them pafs quietly by them, unless they be first exasperated by fome violent abufe or wound given,or attack made uponthem; in which cafe dreadful and alinoft unavoidable is the fate of thofe who have provoked their refentment. The vaft bulk and unwieldinefs of their bodies and limbs, is fo far from being an obstruction to their fwiftness, that the best runner would hardly efcape being overtaken and crushed to death under their feet. The only way they have to prevent it, is to tire them by their frequent windings from the right to left, and from the left to the right; by which frequent winding these creatures foon become too weary, and are forced to to quit their pursuit. The hunting of the elephant is reckoned a noble fport all over Africa, and differs almost in every country; but is generally performed with a numerous poffe, and loud and horrid fhouts of the people. The most common and leaft dangerous way of catching them is by driving them into deep holes, made for thatpurpose in the earth, and covered with ftraw and leaves; and when the beaft is fallen into it, they pierce him all over with their fagays and other miffile weapons with incredible fury. His flesh yields a plentiful feast, more than equal to fix large oxen; and among the reft of his fpoils, the hair of his tail bears a confiderable price for with this hair and that of another animal called Induvro, the natives, especially the women, weave themselves collars, bracelets, girdles, and other ornaments, with variety of figures and devices, which denote their quality, and are in fuch esteem, that the hair of two elephants : elephants tails is reckoned the price fufficient to buy a flave with; the reason of which is, that the natives not having the art of taming them, were obliged to fend their bravest and stouteft men to hunt them, which being always attended with great labour and danger, and oftentimes with the lofs of many lives, is the occafion that makes their hair fo dear and valuable. Both the men and women take fingular delight to attire their heads and other parts of their bodies with it, which they do in a very agreeable manner; and a perfon must be indigent indeed, who will not afford to wear fome ornaments made with it, notwithstanding its dearness. This noble and gigantic creature is yet frequently deftroyed by the fting of a small infect, which they here call Infondo, and is not much bigger than an ant. This infect, getting into its trunk, caufes fuch a ftimulation, that the beaft not being able to bear the pain of it, quickly grows mad, running and beating himself against trees, rocks, or whatever comes in his way, 'till he falls down dead. The elephants are particularly numerous, in the province of Bamba, in the kingdom of Congo, in Africa. That province abounds with woods, pafture, and plenty of water, in which they delight much, and wash and bathe themselves in the heat of the day. They commonly go in troops of an hundred or more, old and young. Some of them here are of fuch a monstrous bignefs, that the print of their hoof hath measured four, and some of them as far seven spans in diameter, if we may credit authors. There is commonly found in the ventricle of thofe that are grown old, a ftone of the bignefs of a hen's egg, which being hardened in the air, or fun, is reckoned an excellent bezoar. The Arabs who are fettled in Africa never moleft the elephants, out of a fuperftitions motive instilled into them by their Pharifaical marabouts, that the touch of any part of that animal, when dead, caufes a legal defilement: on which account they carry on no traffic with ivory; for they never attempt to kill them, but let them rauge at liberty in vaft numerous droves, without molefting them, unless, as they are frequently apt to do, they break into their fown fields before they have got in their harveft; and even then content themselves with driving them out with lighted ftraw, which frightens them away, without doing them any other harm. This notion, ridiculous as it is, prevents the great destruction which would otherwife be made of thefe animals by the African Arabs. But the negroes and moors are not fo fcrupulous in thefe matters, for they deftroy a prodigious quantity of them in a year. In Abilinia they breed in prodigious numbers; but there are few, if any, brought up tame. They feem quite natural to this climate, or rather a native nuifance to the country, by the dreadful havoc they make among the corn and other grajn, of which they deftroy ten times more with their large feet than with their mouths. They root up large trees, and break small ones, to feed on their leaves; by which in time they destroy whole forefts, as they commonly go in fuch numerous droves from 50 to a 100, or more. The food they affect most is a tree not unlike our cherries, which is full of pith like our alder, but of a delicious tafte to them. The rhinoceros and the elephant are great enemies, and have many battles with each other, though the elephant generally, tries to avoid him and often marches off when he difcovers him. The elephants of the Gold-Coaft are rather of a smaller fize than thofe of the Eaft Indies, but fimilar in shape and disposition, No part of Africa, or perhaps of the known world, has a greater number of these animals than the Ivory Coast; but they are not fo numerous on the Gold Coaft. The countries of Ancobar and Axim produce indeed a great number; but as thefe places form the frontiers of both coafts, they are probably the elephants of the Ivory Coaft that are met with, and every day killed here. The negroes diftinguish them into three kinds, the river, the mountain, and the wood elephant. The river elephant takes its name from its delighting in marthy grounds, and the borders of rivers that overflow their banks. The teeth of this animal have a bluish cast, are spongious, difficult to draw and work, on account of roots and knobs, which change the courfe of the grain. The mountain elephant is fierce, outrageous, and difficult to break; the teeth fmall, but hard, and much esteemed. As for the elephant that is found in the woods, it is of all the largest and gentleft; the teeth large, white, and in quality the nearest to thofe of the mountain elephant. Hunting them is a common diversion among the negroes, but dangerous as usual, many lives lives being every year loft in this fport. They always find it the fureft method to fire at them with iron bullets; for lead is found too soft to penetrate those thick, hard fcales that ferve to fhield their bodies, like a coat of mail. No white elephants are ever met with on the coast, although travellers relate that they are common enough in the interior countries along the Niger, in Abiffinia, and in the province of Zanziba. Barbot affures us that he has feen an elephant fwim with the fwiftness of a galley with fix oars, and outrun a horfe for a short time. Qualities like these we should not expect to find in an animal of fo prodigious a bulk. A great many elephants are likewife found in the kingdom of Fetu on the coaft; and it may serve for a general obfervation, that the less populous a country is, the more it abounds with wild animals of all kinds. All the interior kingdoms have them, from whence they come down to the coafts, within musket-fhot of the European fettlements, and commit abundance of mischief. In the year 1697, an elephant of an uncommon magnitude was killed near the Dutch fort of Acra, his two great teeth, or tusks, weighing 220 pounds. In 1700 a negro at Axim, that was accustomed to elephant-hunting, and had killed feveral, took aim at one that came near his hut; but the mufquet miffing fire, the elephant gave him chace, overtook him, and broke the gun in pieces, difdaining to hurt the man. The fame year an elephant came to Elmina, walking gravely along the shore, when he was first discovered by the negroes, who boldly furrounded him unfurnished with weapons. The elephant suffered them to encompass him, going gravely along with them to mount Saint Jago, where one of the officers of the fort fired at him, with a mufket ball, which hit him above the eye, but did not irritate, or even feem the leaft to offend him. Neither this nor feveral other fhots poured in upon him made him in the fmallest degree mend his pace; the only effect they had, was to make him now and then tofs his head in a menacingmanner, and prick up his ears, which were of a prodigious fize. At last he entered the company's gardens, pushing before him the gate, as if no impediment at all were in the way, and breaking down large cocoa trees, without feeming to exert any more force than a man would to beat a child. While he was in the garden, above an hundred fhot were fired at him, which made him bleed exceedingly, but did not raise his indignation: nor would his fury at all have broke forth, if a negro had not been hardy enough to lay hold of his tail, and attempt to cut it off; a piece of imprudence of which he had foon reason to repent. The elephant, turning fwiftly round, hit him with his probofcis, which overturned him, then trampled and tore him in pieces with his tusks and feet; after which moved a little afide, and suffered the body to be taken away, without offering the leaft refiftance. At length, through lofs of blood, he became faint, and retir ing under the fhade of a tree, laid himfelf quietly down, and breathed his laft; a circumstance which confims the notion the negroes have, that as foon as an elephant perceives death approaching, he retires out of decency under a tree, or into thicket, and there expires. Bofman, who lived many years on the coast, had seen four inftances of this, and was told of a number of others from unquestionable authority. At the Cape, an elephant being yoaked to a ship that was careening there, fairly drew it along the ftrand; a fufficient proof of the ftupendous strength of this aanimal. Throughout Afia they are used for many purposes: but fince the invention of gunpowder, they have been very little made ufe of in war. The mogul has 500, fome fay a 1000, in his fervice, fome few bred up for war, and others to carry their princes and great officers. In the mogul's territories there are very few if any wild elephants; for these animals are chiefly imported from Farther India, where they are vaftly numerous. The king of Siam has a great number of elephants, who have all... fervants to attend them: they are covered with rich cloths, adorned with colours and streamers, when they appear abroad. The Siamefe are of opinion they are animated by fome illuftrious fouls. The white elephant, which the king of Siam imagines is the only one of that colour, and has the foul of fome great prince lodged in him, he never rides upon; orders him to be ferved in gold plate, and treated as fovereign of the fpecies. Next to the white elephant, the black are most esteemed, on account of their scarcity. When the king appears in public, which is but twice a |