HABITS OF THE LION 467 



bound with which he rushes upon his prey, in the rapid motions 

 of his tail, one stroke of which is able to fell the strongest man 

 to the ground, and in the expressive wrinkling of his ' row. 



No wonder that, ever inclined 

 to judge from outward appearances, 

 and to attribute to external beauty 

 analogous qualities of mind, man has 

 endowed the lion with a nobility of 

 character which he in reality does not 

 possess. P''or modern travellers, who ^^°^- 



have had occasion to observe him in his native wilds, far from 

 awarding him the praise of chivalrous generosity and noble 

 daring, rather describe him as a mean-spirited robber, prowling 

 about at night-time in order to surprise a weaker prey. 



The lion is distinguished from all other members of the feline 

 tribe by the uniform colour of his tawny skin, by the black 

 tuft at the end of his tail, and particularly by the long and 

 sometimes blackish mane, which he is able to bristle when 

 under the influence of passion, and which contributes so much 

 to the beauty of the male, while it is wanting in the lioness, 

 who, as everyone knows, is very inferior in size and comeliness 

 to her stately mate. 



His chief food consists of the flesh of the larger herbivorous 

 animals, very few of which he is unable to master, and the 

 swift-footed antelope has no greater enemy than he. Concealed 

 in the high rushes on the river's bank, he lies in ambush for 

 the timorous herd, which at night-fall approaches the water 

 to quench its thirst. Slowly and cautiously the children of the 

 waste advance ; they listen with ears erect, they strain their 

 eyes to penetrate the thicket's gloom, but nothing suspicious 

 appears or moves along the bank. Long and deeply they quaff 

 the delicious draught, but suddenly with a giant spring, like 

 lightning bursting from a cloud, the lion bounds upon the un- 

 suspecting revellers, and the leader of the herd lies prostrate at 

 his feet, while his companions fly into the desert. 



During the daytime the lion seldom attacks man, and some- 

 times even when meeting a traveller he is said to pass him by 

 unnoticed ; but when the shades of evening descend, his mood 

 undergoes a change. After sunset it is dangerous to venture 

 into the woody and wild regions of Mount Atlas, for there the 



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