Judith Gautier

“ Grief tore my heart: and the groans that I gave were most sincere—but it was not my wounds that caused them!
However, I feigned an indifference to my Master. I appeared to give no thought to anything but myself. And I took pains to be so grateful to the surgeon for his services that he was quite touched, and ordered them to take off the running knots which were murdering my legs.
"This elephant is remarkably gentle," said he, "Give him some food and drink, for he seems very tired and feeble—no doubt from the blood he has lost!" ”

“ I seized him and placed him cross-wise upon my tusks, supporting him with my trunk, and without slackening my pace. My quick ear had detected the sound of loading guns—they were going to fire upon us; but my Prince, protected by the bulk of my great body would be in no danger.
A sudden light flashed in the darkness; there was a rattling volley of shots, and a shower of bullets struck my crupper. They bounded off, for these little leaden pellets are incapable of penetrating the tough hide of an elephant. They merely stung me like little pricks of red-hot iron. ”

“ It was Miss Nightingale who played the young Queen. She was most lovely in this part, with a robe of delicate white gauze under which glistened a tunic of mauve silk. And when I saw her, looking so beautiful, the memory of Parvati, which never left me, came over me more vividly and tenderly than ever before; so that, instead of rushing violently upon her, I stopped; and then came forward slowly, and humbly and submissively—knelt at her feet! The audience applauded tremendously, and it was decided to retain this denouement for the Scene hereafter. ”

“ His Lordship, the White Elephant, had been standing for a long time looking through the bushes. All at once with a terrific roar he rushed through, tearing apart the branches, trampling the flowers, and ran towards the lake, from which after a moment he lifted the Princess."
The King approached me with tears in his eyes.
"Thou art verily our Good Genius, oh Iravata!" said he; "after saving me from a shameful death, thou hast now restored to me my daughter! Certainly there is not anywhere upon earth a man to whom I owe such a debt of gratitude, as to thee. ”

“ I had made myself respected by those who at first attempted to tease me. Mr. Oldham was proud of his pupil and loved me; Moukounj was always the same good, kind fellow who had received me; and my four friends, Miss Annie, who, I had occasionally protected from her mother's violence, Circé Nightingale, Miss Sarah Skipton, and Miss Clara Morley were always kind and spoiled me incessantly.
But, alas! I thought constantly of my beautiful life of other days—so calm—so happy; and I thought of Parvati, who perhaps was sad and ill-treated, and whom I might have defended. ”

“ The day of our departure arrived, and very early in the morning the Slaves came to make my toilet. They rubbed me all over several times with a pomade perfumed with magnolia and santal; they placed on my back a mantle of purple and gold, and upon my head a chaplet of pearls and the royal diadem. They fastened heavy gold bracelets on my legs, and on my tusks gold rings set with jewels; from each of my ears there hung down a great tail of horse-hair, white and silky. Arrayed thus, I was conscious of my magnificence, and longed to show myself to the People. ”

“ I, the "King-Magnanimous," before whom a whole nation had prostrated itself—I, the fierce warrior, who had shed the blood of the enemy, restored a King to his throne, and had been the loved companion of the most beautiful of Princesses—to be reduced to exhibiting myself in-grotesque parades to astonish and amuse the public!...
Ah! how hard life seemed to me! How lonely I felt among these new companions, in spite of their kind treatment of me!
As I was never to see Parvati again—never return to my lost paradise—why should I prolong my sufferings? ”

“ I was taken into an immense Hall, so high that the red rafters which interlaced overhead and supported the roof made me think of the branches of my native Forest, when the sunset reddens them.
An old elephant was walking slowly about the Hall. As soon as he saw me he advanced towards me, flapping his ears in welcome. His tusks were ornamented with rings and golden bells, and he wore on his head a diadem like that which the King had just placed on mine. But all this did not improve his appearance. His skin was mottled with dingy patches, like dried earth, and cracked in spots ”

“ Without asking your pleasure in this affair, they have made a gift of you to a stranger Prince, who may not have for your Majesty the respect due you.
"And I—poor Mahout—what am I without the noble elephant whom I attend? And what is your Majesty without me?
"Therefore they have also made a gift of me, and I am now a fragment of the royal dowry. We are bound to each other till death—we are but one! You go where I conduct you, and I must go where you go. Oh! King-Magnanimous, ought we to weep or rejoice?" ”

“ Some cultivated fields now appeared, and presently a group of giant bamboos, and in their midst an edifice of stone, in the form of a bee-hive.
"It is a Shrine," said Alemguir. "Let us not fail to render homage to the God it shelters, who meets us thus on our way, before going any further. Our prayers finished it will be well to rest ourselves in the shade of the trees."
What a surprise when I stood before the entrance of the Chapel! The stone God which appeared in the depths on a dais of velvet was a Man with the head of an Elephant!
"Ganesa! the God of Wisdom!" cried the Prince. ”

“ I wandered aimlessly through glades and thickets, penetrating desperately to the wildest parts of the forest. And now a new distress was added to my misery. If I had, like men, the faculty of blushing, I would blush to say that hunger was now torturing me. I ought not, perhaps, at such a time to have given a thought to so commonplace a necessity as food; but, I repeat, our race supports less than any other the lack of nourishment; and, during my long life, I have seen so many men yield to the mere fear of hunger, that I trust I shall not be criticised too severely for my weakness. ”

“ I raised the upper part of her body very gently with my trunk, and swayed her softly back and forth, and fanned her with my ears—but she did not stir. The thought that she might be dead so horrified me that, without waiting to take breath, I poured forth groans and screams so piercing that they were mistaken for those of a human being—and it was this that finally extricated us from our misfortunes.
All at once I saw, far off under the leaves, a little red light that seemed to be advancing. It surely was a lantern, and that meant that here, in the wilderness, there was a human being. ”

“ Those who are waiting for you are not as anxious as they would otherwise have been; believing in the wisdom of the Elephant, in whom they have entire confidence, they will suppose that he sought shelter from the storm, and that it alone has caused your delay. Go, then, the moon shines as bright as day. May the King and Queen of Golconda never learn the truth!"... ”

“ In saying this Parvati's beautiful eyes were full of tears, and as I listened I bent my head in shame, and wept, too.
"Do not despair," said the Hermit, who was looking closely at me; "the dangers you have encountered may perhaps have saved you from still greater perils. This Elephant, who has acquired the moral intelligence of humanity, knows very well to what I allude, and he alone is to blame". ”

“ CHAPTER I THE STUDENT OF GOLCONDA
First of all I must tell you how I learned to write. This knowledge came to me somewhat late in my long life, but it has to be mentioned at the outset, for although you men have taught my race to perform many laborious tasks, you have not been in the habit of sending us to school, and an elephant capable of reading and writing is a phenomenon so rare as to seem almost incredible. I say rare, for I have heard it stated that my case is not entirely unique. During my long association with mankind I have come to understand much of their speech. ”

“ Their furious screams shocked and horrified me, and I left the clearing where for a moment I had hoped to find refuge.
I saw now that I had nothing to hope from my fellow-elephants. Everywhere it would be the same. I should be treated as an intruder. I remembered how, even in my infancy, when I lived in the forest of Siam, I had been looked on with dislike by my companions of the Herd, because of my white colour—the very thing that had caused me to be welcomed by men. ”

“ Our honour, and the welfare of our people are more dear to us than our own happiness. We must set an example of courage and self-sacrifice, instead of allowing ourselves to be softened by tears.
"If the war proves cruel to me—and I die—you, my beloved Wife, will live to bring up our Child; and hereafter we shall find each other, and be forever happy in the life to come!" ”

“ And now Alemguir was in the howdah, and it was to me that the Princess appealed, with breathless sobs.
"Iravata, thou who art strong, and who lovest thy Master, and who ought to love me, for thou hast the soul of one of my Ancestors.... Guard the Prince! Protect him, and bring him back to me living—for if he comes not back I shall die!" ”

“ Whose elephant is this? Can it be he who has waked me up, poking me with his trunk?—does he mean to hurt me, I wonder?"
He got up, painfully and with difficulty. I gave a few little supplicating whimpers, to show that, on the contrary, I was asking for his sympathy. Pretty soon he ceased to fear me.
"Well!" said he, "I do not know where you come from, but—bah!—that is none of my business! We should treat animals as kindly as human beings. It looks as if you wanted to make friends with me!" I bent my head in sign of assent, as I had seen men do. ”

“ Each man seemed to be welcomed by one special elephant to whom he gave his sole attention. He loosened the rope from the foot, and rubbed the rough skin with an ointment, and then, upon a signal, the captive bent back one of his fore-legs to enable the man to mount upon his colossal back. I looked at all this with such astonishment that I almost for the moment forgot my own sufferings.
And now, each man being seated upon the neck of an elephant, they, one after another, fell into line and marched out of the enclosure, and the gate was shut behind them. ”

“ We should beware of all new-comers, and far from treating them with kindness, we should chase them away. Even if this Elephant were dark like us, he has no business here; he was not born in this clearing. He is White, and that is a still stronger reason for sending him off!"
At this all the Elephants cried out with one voice:
"Yes! Yes!—let him go!"
Then they all turned to me and cried:
"BEGONE! BEGONE!..."
I tried to speak again, but their cries became more fierce. Many rose up and threatened me with their tusks. Alone as I was against twenty Elephants—what could I do?... ”

“ Notwithstanding our appearance of heaviness, and our massive corpulence, we have the faculty of walking as noiselessly as a cat or a panther. A whole herd of elephants on the march, if they suspect any danger, can avoid snapping a twig, or rustling a leaf. The most acute hearing will fail to detect the sound of their footsteps; and whoever sees them filing past by hundreds would take them for phantoms. It would be quite proper to say "as light as an elephant"—but I imagine the idea never occurred to any one. ”

“ He in his turn told how he had heard my cries and hastened to our assistance.
He was able to offer the Princess some delicate fruits, which she accepted gladly, as she had eaten nothing all day.
"Oh, Holy Man," said she, "is it possible that you live all alone in the depths of this forest? How sad and lonely you must find it!"
"No, child," replied he: "those who live in company with their own thoughts are never lonely. Instead of looking only at the life that is now passing, or has passed away—as you do—I look forward to the mystery of the hereafter, to what is to be after death. ”

“ After being almost worshipped as an idol, Iravata becomes a warrior; he is made prisoner with his master, whose life he saves, and whom he assists to escape.
Later he is deemed worthy to be the guardian and companion of the lovely little Princess Parvati, for whose amusement he invents wonderful games, and to whom he renders a loving service.
We see how a wicked sentiment having crept into the heart of the faithful Elephant, usually so wise and good, he is separated for a long time from his beloved Princess, and meets with painful and trying experiences. ”

“ We have both come near to losing our lives; then the storm overwhelmed us, and here we are, at the dead hour of the night, in the midst of this forest, fearfully far from the palace of Golconda—where, no doubt, my dear parents, distracted with anxiety, are lamenting the absence of their disobedient daughter! ”