LEOPARDS, PANTHERS, ETC. 187 



made for his accommodation. He was put into a canoe, 

 the men belonging to which were so alarmed when he 

 moved, that they upset the canoe, and the poor animal 

 was plunged into the sea. We were watching him from 

 a window in the castle, and gave him up for lost ; but 

 some of the sailors of the vessel seeing the disaster, 

 stepped into a boat and rescued him. He was so sub- 

 dued by his ducking, and the uncomfortable dampness 

 of his cage, for no one dared to open it to wipe it out, 

 that he rolled himself up in a corner, and only, after an 

 interval of some days, was roused by my voice. When 

 I first spoke he raised his head, held it first on one side, 

 then on the other, and when I came fully in view, jumped 

 upon his legs, and appeared frantic with joy. He rolled 

 himself over and over, howled, opened his enormous 

 jaws, and seemed as if he could tear his cage to pieces 

 in order to get close to me. Gradually, however, his 

 violence subsided ; he was amply caressed ; and from 

 that time ate everything which was offered to him. 

 Perhaps he had suffered from sea-sickness. I indulged 

 him twice a week with some lavender water put into a 

 cup made of stiff paper, but never allowed him to have 

 it when his claws were pushed forth ; so that he learned 

 to retract them at my bidding. 



While we lay for weeks in the river Gaboon, he was 

 never suffered to leave his cage, because the deck was 

 constantly filled with black persons, to whom he always 

 manifested a decided aversion. I have already men- 

 tioned his rage at seeing a chimpanzee and monkeys ; 

 and only secondary to this was the approach of pigs, 

 whom he seemed to long to devour. 



On the voyage to England direct, I thought he would 

 have been starved to death ; for we were boarded by 



