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nature, they use the tusks for tearing up trees, and the trunk for breaking the branches.

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They are possessed of a greater degree of intelligence than most other quadrupeds; and when in a state of domestication 1°, they may be taught to perform many operations requiring not only strength, but skill. It appears from the most authentic information, that they are highly attached to those who have them under their care; that they are grateful for attention shown them and mindful of 2 any injury received, which they generally find some means of retaliating.

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The celebrated story of the tailor of Delhi, is a remarkable example of the elephant's sagacity. In that city an elephant, passing along the streets, put his trunk into a tailor's shop, where several people were at work. One of them pricked the end of the trunk with his needle; the elephant passed on; but, in the first dirty puddle, filled his trunk with the water, and returning, squirted every drop 13 among the people who had offended him, and spoiled the clothes they were at work upon 14.

formed, sa forme s'arrondit.—8 In a..., dans l'état de nature. Most other, la plupart des autres.-10 When in..., dans la domesticité.-11 Grateful..., reconnaissans des soins qu'on leur donne.-12 Mindful of, gardent le souvenir de.—13 Squirted..., la lança jusqu'à la dernière goutte.-14 The clothes..., les étoffes aux

Great care is taken by the grandees of India in15 the management and decoration of their elephants; which, after their daily feeding, bathing, oiling, and rubbing, are often painted about the head 16 and ears with various colours, and their tusks are surrounded with rings of gold or silver: and when employed "7 in processions, they are clothed in the most sumptuous trappings.

MAVOR.

quelles ils étaient en train de travailler.- -15 Great..., les grands de l'Inde donnent les plus grands soins à.

16 Which, after..., chaque jour on leur donne à manger, on les baigne..., et souvent on leur peint la tête. 17 When employed, quand ils paraissent.

CONSTANTINOPLE.

Ir we survey Byzantium, in the extent which it acquired with the august name of Constantinople, the figure of the imperial city may be represented under that of an unequal triangle. The obtuse point, which advances towards the east and the shores of Asia, meets and repels the wayes of the Thracian Bosphorus. The northern

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side of the city is bounded by the harbour, and the southern is washed by the Propontis, or the sea of Marmora. The basis of the triangle is opposed to the west, and terminates the continent of Europe. But the admirable form and division of the circumjacent land and water cannot, without a more ample explanation, be clearly or sufficiently understood.

The harbour of Constantinople, which may be considered as an arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very remote period, the denomination of the Golden Horn. The curve, which it describes, might be compared to the horn of a stag, or, as it should seem, with more propriety, that of an ox. The epithet of golden was expressive of the riches which every wind wafted from the most distant countries into the secure and

capacious port of Constantinople. The river Lycus, formed by the conflux of two little streams, pours into the harbour a perpetual supply of fresh water, which serves to cleanse the bottom, and to invite the periodical shoals of fish to seek their retreat in that convenient recess.

As the vicissitudes of tides are scarcely felt in those seas, the constant depth of the harbour allows goods to be landed on the quays, without the assistance of boats; and it has been observed, that in many places the largest vessels

A Allows good to be landed, permet de débarquer les

may rest their prows against the houses, while their sterns are floating in the water. From the mouth of the Lycus to that of the harbour, this arm of the Bosphorus is more than seven miles in length 2. The entrance is about five hundred yards broad, and a strong chain could be occasionally drawn across it, to guard the port and city from the attack of an hostile navy.

We are at present qualified to view the advantageous position of Constantinople; which appears to have been formed by nature, for the centre and capital of a great monarchy. Situated in the forty first degree of latitude, the imperial city commands, from her seven hills, the opposite shores of Europe and Asia; the climate is healthy and temperate, the soil fertile, the harbour secure and capacious; and the approach, on the side of the continent, is of small extent and easy defence. The Bosphorus and the Hellespont may be considered as the two gates of Constantinople; and the prince, who possessed those important passages, could always shut them against a naval enemy, and open them to the fleets of commerce.

The preservation of the eastern provinces may, in some degree, be ascribed to the policy of Constantine; as the barbarians of the Euxine,

marchandises.—2 Is more..., a plus de sept milles de long. Qualified, en état de.

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who, in the preceding age, had poured their arma ments into the heart of the Mediterranean, soon desisted from the exercise of piracy, and despaired of forcing this insurmountable barrier. When the gates of the Hellespont and Bosphorus were shut, the capital still enjoyed, within their spacious enclosure, every production which could supply the wants or gratify the luxury of its numerous inhabitants. The sea-coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which languish under the weight of Turkish oppression, still exhibit a rich prospect of vineyards, of gardens, and of plentiful harvests; and the Propontis has ever been renowned for an inexhaustible store of the most exquisite fish, that are taken, in their stated seasons, without skill and almost without labour. But when the passages of the straits were thrown open for 4 trade, they alternately admitted the natural and artificial riches of the north and south of the Euxine and of the Mediterranean.

Whatever rude commodities were collected in the forests of Germany and Scythia, as far as the sources of the Tanais and Borysthenes; whatsoever was manufactured by the skill of Europe or Asia, the corn of Egypt, and the gems and spices of the farthest India, were brought by the varying winds into the port of Constantinople;

4 Thrown open for, ouvert à.

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