TIGERS, LEOPARDS, AND BEARS 269 



with his head resting on his paws. He was secured 

 only by an iron chain attached to the wall behind, and 

 fastened to an iron collar round his neck. 



All along the edge of the platform men were seated, 

 chatting, smoking, or resting, and apparently perfectly 

 indifferent to the huge creature so near them. I 

 suppose they were safe ; but it seemed to me as if 

 by a sudden bound and stretch of his forearm the 

 tiger might either break his chain or reach some of 

 the men who were nearest him. A little further on 

 in the street we passed another tiger similarly chained 

 on a platform, and with a whole row of men similarly 

 sitting along the edge. Possibly there may have been 

 more tigers on other platforms elsewhere. 



But I suppose that in no court in India were so many 

 tigers maintained, or allowed so much liberty, as in the 

 court of the Emperor Jehangire, the cotemporary of 

 our James I. According to native tradition, the 

 Emperor possessed supernatural influence over wild 

 animals, which rendered them incapable of harming 

 him. The King of Persia, so the story goes, heard 

 a report of this and sent an ambassador to ascertain 

 if it was correct ; the ambassador when presented 

 found the Emperor seated on his throne stroking and 

 petting two great tigers, and the tigers as gentle to 

 him and submissive as if they had been puppies or 

 kittens. Astonished at the sight, he informed his 

 master that the report he had heard was more than 

 true. " This Emperor of Hindostan," he wrote, " exer- 

 cises not sovereignty, but godship." 



The native tradition, at least so far as the presence 



