The Harry Watkins Diary, Volume 11 [July 22, 1853–June 12, 1854]

24 October 1853

Mond. (Monday) 24th Coolish—Reading, writing & walking A.M. sent sixty dollars to mother to pay her rent—which sixty dollars completely drained my treasury. Reading & writing P.M. After supper went with Birney to see Van Amburghs [sic 's] collection of animals, exhibiting here on what is called a floating palace—He has a very fine collection, and among them the best trained elephant I ever saw. Some twenty years since Van Amburgh had a menagerie in New York city, to which place my mother took me one afternoon to "see the wild beasts"—She had bought for me, the day previously, a removebeaut beautiful white silk hat,—then very fashionable for boys, and of which I was exceedingly proud, and which, of course, had to be worn on this occasion—Having embarked three cents in the

peanut line, and feeling charitably removesupadddisposed , I thought of sharing my stock with the elephant. Being rather fearful of extending him my nuts in my bare hand I put a few into my hat and held it out to him to help himself. Introducing his trunk into the hat he gave a snuff which not only drew in the nuts but caught up the hat-lining; which somewhat excited the elephantine ire of the beremovesast who, no doubt, thremoveatought that I was trying toexpand_less deceivremoveed [sic deceive] him. Feremoveleling that he had rather a strong hold upon the hat, I let go in the vain hope that he would dropexpand_less it instead of which he drew the hat into the cage, the bars of which were not sufficiently wide apart to admit the hat in its natural shape, but as the iron would not give way removethe my poor hat was obliged to. I had read in story books of the wonderful sagacity of the elephant, but feeling an inward conviction that, removein this under the circumstances, it would have been impossible to reason with an indignant elephant I yelled most lustily for the keeper, who rushed to my assistance though not in time to do any practical good, as the brute had consummated his cruel and ungrateful deed by putting his foot in it—not the deed, but the hat—thereby giving it a more effective pressing than removethe ever the maker did. When the keeper handed back that which I had so lately regarded with such pride, as being the crowning ornament of

my budding manhood, it was but the "remains of beauty once admired". I was unable to exclaim with the poet—"the "form [sic form] alone was there", for even its best friend, myself, was unable to recognize it. I stood gazing for a moment on the sad wreck, removewhen suddenly the sight whereof soon checked the flood-gates of sorrow removeand whenexpand_less I, in turn, became indignant and hurled back the ruins at the removehead huge monsters [sic monster's] head. If remove…slip he was mad before, this act enraged him completely—removean he roared and, roared again, and beat the bars with his trunk—that trunk into which he had tried to pack removethe myexpand_less hat. Knowing that he could not get at me, I had too much courage to be scared at noise, All the visitors crowded around us and, for the moment, the elephant and myself were the centre of attractionremove—, none of the beasts attracted more attention than we did. When, "what's the matter?" was found out everybody who saw the joke laughed, I didn't see it and consequently did not even smile. Our pleasure being marred by this catastrophe My Mother and myself repaired to our home again, having paid somewhat dearly for "seeing the elephant". Since that I have left the feeding of elephants to those to whom the task rightfully belongs.