LIONS. 153 



serve for all ; size and colour being almost the only 

 difference among those of which I shall treat. Grace 

 and strength are their universal attributes, the latter 

 lying chiefly in the fore parts of their frames, such as 

 their paws, legs, shoulders, neck, and jaws ; the former 

 in their arched and rounded form, and the extreme 

 suppleness of their joints. Their muzzle is short and 

 round ; some of their teeth are of enormous size and 

 strength ; their sight is very acute both by night and 

 day ; their eyes are set obliquely in the head, and always 

 glare in the dark, and sometimes by day when they are 

 in a rage. It is only in the smaller tribes that the 

 pupil is vertically linear, when the full light causes it to 

 contract. The ears are large, and the sense of hearing 

 much developed. Their smell is not equally perfect, 

 and the roughness of the tongue shows that their taste 

 cannot be very delicate. This roughness is caused by 

 the horny papillae, or small projections, with points 

 directed backwards, which cover the tongue, and enable 

 it to lick the flesh from the bones of their food. They 

 have long bristles on each side of the mouth, which form 

 the most sensitive organs of touch, each bristle being 

 inserted in a bed of glands under the skin, communicating 

 with a nerve. The claws of the Felidae are extremely 

 strong, sharp, and crooked ; and all four feet are fur- 

 nished with them five before and four behind ; and 

 the most effective system of muscular contrivance not 

 only gives such force to the fore-paws that a blow from 

 one of these will fracture a man's skull, but keeps these 

 claws from touching the ground, and enables the animal 

 to draw them back into a sheath. In aid of this, the 

 sole of the foot and each of the toes has a soft, elastic 

 pad or cushion under it, on which they walk ; and as 



