THE STORY OF THE LION. 



115 



A European cannot distinguish between the note of a hon and that of an 

 ostrich. In general the voice of the former seems to come deeper from the 

 chest ; but to this day I can only pronounce with certainty from which of the 

 two it proceeds, by knowing that the ostrich roars by day and the lion by 

 night. The natives assert that they can detect a difference at the beginning 

 of the sound." 



A recent writer, who is fully impressed with the grandeur of the lion's 

 roar, is by no- means disposed tO' admit the justness of its comparison to 



A TROOP OF LIONS SEEN IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



the voice of the ostrich. He observes that when a lion is "roaring loudly in 

 concert with others at a short distance off, the sound is grand and awe-inspiring 

 in the extreme ; in fact, I have never heard anything of a similar nature that 

 can compare with it, for it is no exaggeration tO' say that the ground actually 

 trembles with the volume of sound, I say this unhesitatingly, for all that 

 many people would have us believe to the contrary, maintaining that there 

 is nothing in it, and endeavoring tO' compare it to the 'booming' of the 

 cock ostrich. At a great distance, and therefore, when heard indistinctly, 

 the low, sullen roaring of a single lion has certainly much resemblance to 



