12 ANIMAL SKETCHES. CHAP. 



things of the king of beasts. King of beasts ! Scarce 

 worthy to be called the king of cats ! But as I stood 

 before Hannibal the Second perhaps the finest captive 

 lion in Europe my democratic doubts vanished, and I 

 became again a royalist pur sang. Whatever may be his 

 conduct in action, in repose he looks every inch a king. 

 And many would have us believe that this is now the sole 

 surviving kingly function. In any case, the king of 

 beasts in the popular mind the lion is likely to remain. 



Many stories are told of the lion's recollection and re- 

 quital of acts of kindness. One of these I will quote : In 

 the reign of James the First Mr. Henry Archer, a watch- 

 maker in Morocco, had two whelps given him, which had 

 been stolen not long before from a lioness near Mount 

 Atlas. They were a male and a female ; and till the death of 

 the latter were kept together in the Emperor's garden. He 

 at that time had the male constantly in his bedroom, till 

 it grew as tall as a large mastiff dog ; and the animal was 

 perfectly tame and gentle in its manners. Being about 

 to return to England, he reluctantly gave it to a Marseilles 

 merchant, who presented it to the French king, from whom 

 it came as a present to our king ; and for seven years 

 afterwards was kept in the Tower. A person of the name 

 of Bull, who had been a servant to Mr. Archer, went by 

 chance with some friends to see the animals there. The 

 beast recognized him in a moment, and by his whining 

 voice and motions, expressive of anxiety for him to come 

 near, fully exhibited the strongest symptoms of joy at 

 meeting with a former friend. Bull, equally rejoiced, 

 ordered the keeper to open the grate, and he went in. 

 The Honed fawned upon him like a dog, licking his feet, 

 hands, and face, and skipped and tumbled about, to the 

 astonishment of all the spectators. When the man left 

 the place the animal bellowed aloud, and shook his cage 



