THE LION. 



THE strength and courage of the Lion are so great that 

 he has been called the king of beasts. His height is from 

 three to four feet ; his length from six feet to nine. His 

 color is tawny yellow, but the mane is darker than the rest 

 of the hair on its body. He is a native of the southern parts 

 of Asia, and of Africa, where it is more common and grows 

 to the greatest size, and appears in all his strength and 

 fierceness. He roams about in the forest seeking for prey, 

 and sometimes utters a roar so loud that it sounds like dis- 

 tant thunder. The prophet says : " The lion has roared, 

 who will not fear?" (Amos, 3 ch. 8 v.) This animal is 

 sly and skulking, like a cat, when intending to make an at- 

 tack ; he crouches under the long grass, or behind a mound, 

 watching for some beast that may come in search of food 

 or drink ; and then, though the creature should be larger 

 than himself, he springs upon it with a sudden bound, and 

 seizes it with his sharp, strong claws. Lions sometimes 

 live to a great age ; one, which was called Pompey, died 

 in London, in 1760, having lived in captivity seventy years. 

 Humane treatment will make these creatures gentle (as, 

 indeed, it will most animals), and many instances are known 

 of their attachment to those who have shown them kind- 

 ness, and a Lion has permitted a little dog to live, on 

 friendly terms, in the same cage. Allusions to the Lion 



