a 
97 
the traveller came upon a mountainous piece, covered with dense 
forests ; and in like manner every district had its distinctive feature. 
Africa was not a barren country : it was most luxuriant in vegetation, 
and was teeming with animal life ; but the peculiarity of the country 
was that there were extraordinary lines of demarcation. On the 
opposite sides of a narrow strip of sand, only 20 or 30 yards in width, 
the vegetation would be found entirely different; so materially 
changed that the Kaffirs, who were excellent botanists and had an 
extensive knowledge of the use of plants, knew nothing of the pro- 
ductions which were found in passing from one district to another. 
The vegetable and animal life in these districts were illus- 
“trated by the series of drawings alluded to. Pointing to a man 
and horse lifted from the ground, the rider flying through the air and 
the horse poised on the horn of a rhinoceros, one of the company 
asked if such an incident had actually occurred? “ Yes,” was the 
reply, “I saw it.” “And who was the unfortunate man?” “Oh, 
that was my horse, the best in the world: I wouldn’t have 
taken a thousand guineas for him the moment before that 
happened; but I avenged his death, and the horn of the brute 
that killed him you have seen in the hall.” Being asked if the rider 
was hurt, he quietly replied, “I was stunned for the moment.” 
There were two sketches of his being attacked by lions ; one in which 
the animal had sprung upon the back of his horse. He had seena cub 
running in the grass. It was only about the size of a puppy, and, giving 
chase to it, he heard the unmistakeable growl of the lioness, and rose 
in his stirrups to catch a sight of her, intending to dismount to shoot 
her, for it was waste of ammunition to shoot on horseback. He saw 
her charging after him, and clapped spurs to his horse to get away 
“when,” said Mr Oswell, “I heard her paws go pat, pat, pat, upon the 
ground behind me, and at_the third bound she was on the horse’s 
haunches. Fortunately forme, she did not get forward enough to 
reach the saddle ; but with her fore-claws fixed in the hind-quarters 
of the horse, her chin pressed firmly upon his back, and her hind-claws 
fixed in the thigh, she was carried along by the horse. Passing under 
a tree, one of the boughs caught me across the chest and rolled me 
and the lioness off together ; when, snapping up my hat, she bounded 
off withit.” “ Then you escaped unhurt?” asked one of the company. 
“Not quite;” and, pointing to a scalp-wound, he showed where 
the bough of the tree stripped his scalp down over his ear. 
K 
