PREFACE. Books of facts were never in higher estimation than in the present age; and this preference is strongly characteristic of a spirit of inquiry which must work for the good of mankind. Knowledge of life and manners is no longer sought in long drawn out tales of fiction, or books of poetical playfulness. On the contrary, most readers only crave to be supplied with facts, and then left to form their own reasonings and inferences. More is thus left to the mind of the individual than by abstract theories, and, with previous and proper guidance, nine out of ten succeed in a wholesome appropriation of the information they derive from books of facts. Such feelings as these suggested the assemblage of the following pages; and by way of rendering them more attractive, the subjects have been chosen with reference to popular curiosity, or, to speak plainer -on matters which concern readers of every taste. Compilations of Miscellanies have long enjoyed considerable patronage in this country. They are strong temptations to read; that is a great point accomplished, since few persons betake themselves to reading without an inclination to recur to books as relief from the toil of business, or the heavier labour of killing time. Curiosities, or the eccentricities of life and society, are doubtless, best fitted for this object. They take the attention of the reader from a dull, common-place world, and by illustrating points of other characters, enable him to improve his own. Many such records will be found in this volume. Entire novelty in its contents is altogether out of the question, and it has not been our aim. Popular antiquities, or facts and records of olden times, and their comparison with our own have rather been selected for their amusing as well as instructive worth; the facts and novelties of our own age have been left alone; they will furnish curiosities for future generations. Nevertheless, these pages are not crowded with well-known narratives of by-gone days; were such the case the antiquity might be too strong. On the contrary, their substance, and in many cases, their entire contents are from works of great cost and not easy access. In short, the whole volume is intended to economize time, the stuff of which our life is made, by compressing as much amusement and interest in as few lines as possible; and in this object, more or less, it is hoped every article succeeds. Old books are best fitted to supply this kind of reading, and have, therefore, been turned to for these pages. In the American Edition of this work, the greatest possible care has been taken to exclude every article of a local nature, and insert in their places, those only which have been admired by our countrymen, as possessing the facts and curiosities recorded by our ancestors in a past age. In its present amendment there is scarcely a volume of this size and price, which contains such a fund of amusement combined with such truly valuable instruction. We need not say that our volume may be read and re-read -taken up, laid down, and again taken up-with proportionate advantage. It is probably, just such a book as a tourist would gladly purchase at an inn on a wet day, or an active mind requires to fill up the chinks of its time; and for these profitable uses we hope the public also will find it qualified. THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, OB, THE WONDERS OF NATURE DISPLAYED. THE ELEPHANT. How instinct varies, in the grov'lling swine, THE largest elephants are from ten to eleven feet in height; some are said to exceed it, but the average is eight or nine feet. They are fifty or sixty years before they arrive at their full growth; and their natural life is about one hundred and twenty years. Their price increases with their merit during a course of education. Some, for their extraordinary qualities, become in a manner invaluable; when these are purchased, no compensation induces a wealthy owner to part with them. The skin of the elephant is generally a dark gray, sometimes almost black; the face frequently painted with a variety of colours; and the abundance and splendour of his trappings add much to his consequence. In India, the Mogul princes allow five men and a boy to take care of each elephant; the chief of them, called the mahawut, rides upon his neck to guide him; another sits upon his rump, and assists in battle: the rest supply him with food and water, and perform the necessary services. Elephants bred to war, and well disciplined, will stand firm against a volley of musketry, and never give way unless severely wounded. One of these animals has been seen with upwards of thirty bullets in the fleshy parts of his body, perfectly recovered from his wounds. All are not equally docile; and when an enraged elephant retreats from battle, nothing can withstand his fury: the driver having no longer a command, friends and foes are involved in undistinguished ruin. The elephants in the army of Antiochus were provoked to fight by showing them the blood of grapes and mulberries. The history of the Maccabees informs us, that "to every elephant they appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of mail, and five hundred horsemen of the best; these were ready at every occasion; wherever the beast was, and whithersoever he went, they went also; and upon the elephants were strong towers of wood, filled with armed men, besides the Indian that ruled them." Elephants in peace and war know their duty, and are more obedient to the word of command than many rational beings. It is said they can travel, on an emergency, two hundred miles in forty-eight hours; but will hold out for a month, at the rate of forty or fifty miles a-day, with cheerfulness and alacrity. "I performed," observes Forbes in his Oriental Memoirs, "many long journeys upon an elephant: nothing could exceed the sagacity, docility, and affection of this noble quadruped. If I stopped to enjoy a prospect, he remained immoveable until my sketch was finished; if I wished for ripe mangoes growing out of the common reach, he selected the most fruitful branch, and breaking it off with his trunk, offered it to the driver for the company in the houdah, accepting of any part given to himself with a respectful salam, by raising his trunk three times above his head, in the manner of the oriental obeisance, and as often did he express his thanks by a murmuring noise. When a bough obstructed the houdah, he twisted his trunk around it, and, though of |