Ælian refers to a white elephant whose mother was black. In the eleventh century Mahmood possessed one, and when mounted upon it in battle he felt assured of victory. The question whether the white elephant was worshipped, or is at the present time, in Burmah or Siam, is of considerable interest; and authorities vary so, that the seeker after information is often puzzled. I think that the status of the animal may be fairly expressed in the following. By the most intelligent and refined Burmese and Siamese, it is merely considered as an invaluable adjunct to royalty. It is an important part of the retinue of a court; and its presence is considered a lucky omen, this superstition having an extremely strong hold upon the princes and kings. The lower classes in some cases may have worshipped the white elephant, and the attention paid to it by royalty may have easily been misunderstood by the uneducated as reverence. The fact that the white elephant is mentioned in the mythology of the countries, and associated with Buddha, shows that it was undoubtedly reverenced if not worshipped by some; and, if the veneration had not its source in religious feeling, it was so nearly akin to it that it amounted to the same thing. The Siamese are extremely superstitious; but, before we condemn them, we must remember how many of our sailors refuse to sail on Friday. How a broken mirror or spilled salt alarms many otherwise intelligent Americans! so that, when we learn from Major Snodgrass that in his time in Burmah a mere grunt from the white elephant was supposed to have some important significance, we need not be surprised. Any extraordinary movement or noise made by the animal was quite enough at this time to interrupt the most important affairs, and to cause the most solemn engagement to be broken. Crawford thinks this was merely superstition, and says, “I had here an opportunity, as well as in Siam, of ascertaining that the veneration paid to the white elephant had been in some respects greatly exaggerated. The white elephant _is not_ an object of worship, but it is considered an indispensable part of the regalia of sovereignty. Royalty is incomplete without it; and, the more there are, the more perfect is the state of the kingly office considered. Both the court and the people would consider it as peculiarly inauspicious to want a white elephant, and hence the repute in which they are held. The lower orders, however, it must be observed, perform the “shiko, or obedience of submission,” to the white elephant; but the chiefs view this as a vulgar superstition, and do not follow it.”