CAT KIND. 399 



rate climate. The rein-deer is never seen to 

 depart from the icy fields of the north ; and, on 

 the contrary, the lion degenerates when taken 

 from beneath the Line. The whole earth is the 

 native country of man, but all inferior animals 

 have each their own peculiar districts. 



Most terrestrial animals are found larger, 

 fiercer, and stronger, in the warm than in the 

 cold or temperate climates. They are also more 

 courageous and enterprising, all their disposi- 

 tions seeming to partake of the ardour of their 

 native soil. The lion produced under the burn- 

 ing sun of Africa, is, of all others, the most ter- 

 rible, the most undaunted. The wolf or the dog, 

 instead of attempting to rival him, scarcely de- 

 serve to attend his motions, or become his pro- 

 viders. Such, however, of these animals as are 

 bred in a more temperate climate, or towards the 

 tops of cold and lofty mountains, are far more 

 gentle, or, to speak more properly, far less dan- 

 gerous, than those bred in the torrid valleys be- 

 neath. The lions of Mount Atlas, the tops of 

 which are covered in eternal snows, have neither 

 the strength nor the ferocity of the lions of Bil- 

 dulgerid or Zaara, where the plains are covered 

 witli burning sands. It is particularly in these 

 frightful deserts that those enormous and terri- 

 ble beasts are found, that seem to be the scourge 

 and the terror of the neighbouring kingdoms. 

 Happily, indeed, the species is not very nume- 

 rous, and it seems to be diminishing daily ; for 

 those who have travelled through these countries 

 assure us, that there are by no means so many 



