“The priest with whom I had already spoken, and who was a professor of philosophy at the temple of Willenoor, told me that from time to time the begging elephant managed to escape from them, and wandered as far as Pondichéry to beg on his own account. Knowing perfectly the market where he obtained the provisions on his expeditions, he would go there, place the money he had collected upon the table of a fruit merchant, and eat as many pineapples, bananas, mangoes and as much sugar-cane and arrack as the Hindoo would allow him for the money.
“'I followed his instructions; the begging elephant and I took up the lead, the nine others joined in the pace, uttering cries of contentment among themselves. We passed through the gate of the pagoda and they led me directly to the shop of a native baker. I would have been utterly astounded had I not already known the wonderful intelligence of these animals. At the shop my duty was readily understood and I presented to each one a loaf of bread, covered with the precious molasses syrup, which is their greatest delicacy.
“The following instance occurred before my own eyes:
“Every one knows that the elephant can be trained to do all kinds of work. While I have no hesitation about relating instances bearing on this statement, I prefer to tell of occurrences which indicate an actual reasoning power in the animal.
“It is customary in the settlements to water the cattle from large wooden buckets filled with water pumped from a well. This is done that they may not drink the water of the reservoirs, which is stagnant and unwholesome. Ordinarily the pumping is done at early morning by one of the elephants, the work taking nearly an hour. Accustomed to the task, he does not wait to be ordered, and every morning, an hour before sunrise he is at his labor with the precision of a living alarm-clock.
“I was staying once at Trichinopoly, at the house of a friend of mine, a merchant, who owned a grand villa a few leagues outside the city. The sun was rising and my servant had just awakened me for my bath. Passing through the yard I saw a large white elephant working at the pump. He closed his eyes sadly and was apparently trying to turn his thoughts from his wearisome labor. He saluted my presence with a joyful flapping of his ears, for during the two days since my arrival I had given him many dainties, but he did not cease from his work, which had to be finished.