THE CAT KIND. 



297 



years; and one lately died there, which was 

 brought from the river Gambia, that died above 

 sixty-three. The lion, therefore, is a very 

 long-lived animal; and, very probably, in his 

 native forests, his age exceeds even that of 

 man himself." 



In this animal, all the passions, even of the 

 most gentle kind, are in excess, but particu- 

 larly the attachment of the female to her 

 young. The lioness, though naturally less 

 strong, less courageous, and less mischievous 

 than the lion, becomes terrible when she has 

 got young ones to provide for. She then 

 makes her incursions with even more intrepi- 

 dity than the lion himself; she throws herself 

 indiscriminately among men and other animals ; 

 destroys without distinction; loads herself 

 with the spoil, and brings it home reeking to 

 her cubs, whom she accustoms betimes to 

 cruelty and slaughter. She usually brings 

 forth in the most retired and inaccessible 

 places ; and when- she fears to have her re- 

 treat discovered, often hides her tracks, by 

 running back her ground, or by brushing them 

 out with her tail. She sometimes also, when 

 her apprehensions are great, transports them 

 from one place to another; and, if obstructed, 

 defends them with determined courage, and 

 fights to the last. 



The lion is chiefly an inhabitant of the tor- 

 rid zone ; and, as was said, is always most 

 formidable there : nevertheless, he can sub- 

 sist in more temperate climates ; and there 

 was a time when even the southern parts of 

 Europe were infested by him. At present, 

 he is only found in Africa and the East Indies; 

 in some of which countries he grows to an 

 enormous height. The lion of Bildulgerid is 

 said to be nearly five feet high, and between 

 nine and ten feet from the tip of the nose to 

 the insertion of the tail. We have in the Tower, 

 at present, one of above four feet high, that 

 was brought from Morocco, which is the 

 largest that for some time past has been seen 

 in Europe. The ordinary size is between 

 three and four feet ; the female bein in all 

 her dimensions about one-third less than the 

 male. There are no lions in America; the 

 Puma, which has received the name of the 

 American lion, is, when compared, a very con- 

 temptible animal, having neither the shape, 

 the size, nor the mane of the lion; being known 



to be extremely cowardly, to climb trees for 

 its prey, to subsist rather by its cunning than 

 its courage, and to be inferior even to the ani- 

 mal that goes by the name of the American 

 tiger. We ought not, therefore, to confound 

 this little treacherous creature with the lion, 

 which all the ancients have concurred in de- 

 nominating the king of beasts, and which they 

 have described as brave and merciful. " In- 

 deed, the numerous accounts which they have 

 given us of this animal's generosity and ten- 

 derness, show that there must be some foun- 

 dation for the general belief of its good qua- 

 lities ; for mankind seldom err when they are 

 all found to unite in the same story. How- 

 ever, perhaps, the caution of Aristophanes, 

 the comic poet, is better followed in practice, 

 who advises us to have nothing to do with 

 this creature, but to let the lioness suckle her 

 own whelps." 



THE TIGER. 



" THE ancients had a saying, That as the pea- 

 cock is the most beautiful among birds, so is the 

 tiger among quadrupeds* In fact, no quadru- 

 ped can be more beautiful than this animal ; 

 the glossy smoothness of his hair, which lies 

 much smoother, and shines with greater 

 brightness than even that of the leopard ; the 

 extreme blackness of the streaks with which 

 he is marked, and the bright yellow colour of 

 the ground which they diversify, at once strike 

 the beholder. To this beauty of colouring 

 is added an extremely elegant form, much 

 larger, indeed, than that of the leopard, but 

 more slender, more delicate, and bespeaking 

 the most extreme swiftness and agility. Un- 

 happily, however, this animal's disposition is 

 as mischievous as its form is admirable, as if 

 Providence was willing to show the small va- 

 lue of beauty, by bestowing it on the most 

 noxious of quadrupeds. We have at present 

 one of these animals in the Tower, which to 

 the view appears the most good-natured and 

 harmless creature in the world ; its physiog- 

 nomy is far from fierce or angry ; it has not 



Tantem autem prsestat piilchritudine tigris inter alias 

 faeras quantum inter volucre; pavo 



