So they sent ambassadors all the way to Africa, with instructions to buy or capture a good specimen of the female baby elephant.
These men went down from London to the great sea, and arriving on the west coast of Africa, after considerable search, found such a specimen as they thought would answer my purpose. They brought it over safely and deposited it in my care and keeping.
The arrival of this female baby elephant—not a year old—caused me great joy, and I cannot find words to express to my readers the pleasure and happiness I experienced at beholding my Jumbo’s delight when he first saw Alice coming along. Jumbo was now about four years old, and I stood head and shoulders above him in height.
If I could have the pleasure of that day over again, I would make a considerable sacrifice. However, when I passed by Jumbo’s stable, where he roamed at leisure, the moment he saw Alice led along toward him, I thought he would have broken that stable front out to get at us. His delight and pleasure, expressed in the liveliest manner possible, and which I understood, exceeded that of any boy when he meets his sweetheart for the first time. At least my Jumbo was more demonstrative and, I verily believe, possessed more real affection and love at first sight than most of the young men of the present generation do in a like situation. Jumbo’s great antics on this occasion were very entertaining, and if I may be pardoned for saying so much about these dear children of the forest, it did me good to behold them at the time, and even now I am happy in recapitulating the circumstances.
I immediately associated the young female elephant with Jumbo in a separate stall. We named her Alice; he was very proud of his sweetheart, and continued to cut great capers for quite a time.
Jumbo always showed the greatest regard for Alice, a good deal more so in fact than some young men show for their sweethearts in this or any other country.
Jumbo and Alice lived very happily together in the Zoölogical Gardens, London, for about seventeen years, and want of space prevents me from telling of the numerous interesting events that came within my knowledge as I tended and raised these young folks through their childhood to man and woman’s estate, so to speak. But I will observe, before leaving this part of the subject of Alice’s history, that I never, in all my experience among animals or humanity, saw more respect, deference, and affection shown by a male to a female than Jumbo paid at all times to Alice, even during his sickness. And in return, he received that true feminine affection and devotion from Alice which characterizes all true daughters of man or beast since the days of Adam and Eve. Nay, I will go further, I don’t think that Alice ever deceived Jumbo; she certainly never flirted with any other elephants (and she often had the chance).
CHAPTER III.
JUMBO AS A SWIMMER.