'2^92. on the tiger. j^f 



^lialfhigh. But the latter, though pofsefsing supe- 

 "rior powers, is lefs rapacious than either of the for- 

 'mer. This formidable animal is called the royal 

 ■ tiger, and does not seem so ravenous nor so dange- 

 rous as the others. The figure that accompanies this 

 ' was made with great fidelity from an accurate drawing 

 of a very fine one of this kind, that was sometime a^o 

 exhibited as a fhow in Edinburgh, and is now going 

 about through England for the same purpose. 



We have no certain accounts of the number of 



young which the tigrefs brings forth, but it is said 



" file produces four or five at a time. Though furi- 



•■ous at all times, upon this occasion her ferocity is 



encreased. If fhe be robbed of her young, enraged, {he 



pursues her spoiler, who is said sometimes to escape, 



with a part, by the following device. He first drops 



one of her cubs, which fhe carries back to her den, 



end again returns to the pursuit; he then drops 



; another, Avith which flie runs to her den as with the 



former, when the plunderer often gets off with the 



remainder before her return. If llie be robbed of all 



her young, fhe becomes desperate, boldly approaching 



the towns, where fhe commits incredible slaughter. 



The fkin of the tiger is much esteemed all over 

 the east, especially in China, where thcmandarine 

 cover their seats^of justice with it ; but in Europe, 

 those of the panther and leopard, are held in much 

 greater estimation. Here, it derives no value from 

 the difficulty of obtaining it, and the honour derived 

 from its conquest. The Indians sometimes eat the 

 fleih of this animal, though they do not look upon it 

 as a delicacy. 



