of courage, magnanimity, generosity, nobility of character, gratitude for kindness, and sensibility. Unfortunately,

this elaborate panegyric is fated to give way before obser

vation.

6. As a rule, the lion does not hunt during the day; not that his eyes are unfitted for diurnal vision, but indolence and prudence keep him at home till evening. When the first shadows of twilight appear, he enters upon his campaign. If there is a pool in the vicinity of his haunt, he places himself in ambush on the edge of it, with the hope of securing a victim among the antelopes, gazelles, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, etc., which are led thither to slake their thirst. These animals well aware of this habit of their enemy, will not approach a pond without extreme cau

tion.

7. If one, however, places itself within reach of their terrible foe, its fate is generally sealed. One enormous bound enables the lion to spring on its back, and one blow with his paw breaks its back. If the lion misses his aim, he does not endeavor to continue a useless pursuit, well knowing that he cannot compete in speed with the children of the plains. He therefore skulks back into his hiding-place, to lie in ambush until some more fortunate chance presents itself, or complete nightfall shuts out all hope of success.

8. The lion, however, is not disposed to remain long with an empty stomach. Then it is that he approaches man's habitations, with the hope of surprising the domestic animals. Fences ten feet in height form no obstacle to him, for he will bound over them with ease, when, falling into the midst of the herd, he seizes the nearest. The amount of strength which he manifests under such circum

stances is really extraordinary. A lion has been known at the Cape of Good Hope, to carry off a heifer as a cat would a mouse, and, with the burden, to leap a wide ditch.

It is almost impossible to conceive the muscular force necessary to jump a fence several feet high when carrying a load of several hundred-weight.

9. There is one important fact which has several times been observed. When the lion is hungry or irritated, he lashes his sides with his tail and shakes his mane. If, therefore, a traveler finds himself unexpectedly in the presence of a lion, he may know the brute's intentions, and can take precautions accordingly. If the tail does not move, the animal may be passed without fear; not only will he not spring upon you, but throwing a stone at him will suffice to drive him away. Under the reverse circumstances no time must be lost in seeking a place of refuge, unless you are in a position to commence a contest with arms, and then the more prompt and determined your action, the more successful will be the issue.

10. Because the lion seldom attacks any living creature when his appetite is satisfied, and because he is content with one victim at a time, some people have fancied that he is magnanimous. We might as well praise the abstemiousness of a man who has just dined. But few animals kill for the mere pleasure of killing. If some of the carnivora appear to contradict this, it may be because we are unable to appreciate their motives; with the progress of knowledge, their true characters may in future be better understood. It is also at present impossible for us to say that the lion is less irritable than other quadrupeds. The "King of Beasts" does not fear man; nevertheless, he treats him with respect, only attacking him in a case of urgent necessity, such as suffering from long abstinence, without a prospect of food.

11. While the lion kills an inferior animal without de

lay, it does not immediately take the life of a human being whom it has seized. Evidently it acts in this manner because it still fears him, even when he is lying on the earth powerless instinctive fear, not generosity, arrests its vengeance. We have many examples to bear out this statement. A hunter fires at a lion and misses, or but slightly wounds it. The animal precipitates itself upon him, strikes him to the ground with a blow from its paw, and there respectfully keeps him in this terrible restraint, without completing the work of destruction. Thus it often happens that its attention is distracted by the attack of another hunter, when it abandons its victim.

1. BEING about thirty yards from the foe, I took a good aim at his body, through the bush, and fired both barrels into it. The men then called out, "He is shot! he is shot!" Others cried, "He has been shot by another man too! Let us go to him!" I did not see any one else shoot at him; but I saw the lion's tail erected in anger behind the bush, and, turning to the people, said, “Stop a little till I load again." When in the act of ramming down the bullets, I heard a shout.

2. Starting and looking half round, I saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me. I was upon a little

height. He caught my shoulder as he sprang, and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation but feel not the knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process.

3. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking round at the beast. This peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by the carnivora, and, if so, is a merciful provision by our beneficent Creator for lessening the pain of death.

4. Turning round to relieve myself of the weight, as he had one paw on the back of my head, I saw his eyes directed to Mebalwe, who was trying to shoot him at the distance of fifteen yards. His gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels. The lion immediately left me, and, attacking Mebalwe, bit his thigh.

5. Another man, whose life I had saved before after he had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe. He left Mebalwe, and caught this man by the shoulder; but at that moment the bullets he had received had taken effect, and he fell dead. The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been his paroxysm of dying rage.

6. In order to take out the charm from him, the natives on the following day made a huge bonfire over the carcase, which they declared to be that of the largest lion they had