QUADRUPEDS. 20 



logical pets or poultry. It may be rendered useful in the 

 destruction of rats and other vermin. 



We have now to present a brief sketch of a few of the 

 feline animals which occur in the countries with the natural 

 history of which we are at present engaged ; and the first 

 " grand chat," as the French term him, which attracts our 

 attention, is what we more poetically call the lion, or " king 

 of beasts." We shall not here repeat what we have already 

 stated regarding the geographical distribution and general 

 attributes of this majestic creature,* but shall merely remark, 

 that the lion {Felis leo) is easily distinguished by "his large 

 and flowing mane and tufted tail. His colour is uniform, 

 of a tawny hue, approaching to whitish on the belly, and 

 the mane is sometimes dark-brown or black. When full 

 grown he has been known to measure from eight to nine 

 feet in length, and four feet and a half in height." His gen- 

 eral aspect is strikingly bold and majestic : "his large and 

 shaggy mane, which he can erect at pleasure, surrounding 

 his awfiil front, — his huge overhanging eyebrows, — his 

 bright commanding eyes, which upon the least irritation 

 seem to glow with unearthly lustre, — together with his mus- 

 cular paws, extensile talons, and formidable tusks, — all 

 these, combined with the voice of thunder with which he 

 springs upon his prey, render him an assailant of the most 

 formidable kind. The elastic bound of the swift-footed 

 antelope is then in vain ; for, paralyzed by terror, and heart- 

 struck even by the glare of those terrific eyes, it falls to the 

 earth as powerless as a dead leaf from a blasted tree, and 

 Ufe is extinct aknost before the " empurpled stream" has 

 begun to flow. A horse also is " a vain thing for safety," 

 for his quivering limbs and large dilated eyes exhibit the 

 depth of uncontrollable dismay, and he too" falls an unre- 

 sistant victim to the " king of terrors." One blow upon the 

 neck with that tremendous paw, and a single infliction on 

 throat or shoulder of those all-piercing tusks, and the tur- 

 moil is for ever done. One short and interrupted crv, or 

 rather shriek, responds to the lion's roar, and the blood of 



* See the former volume of our series (No. 16 of the Family Librarj') 

 entitled " Narrative of Discovery and Adventure in Africa," &e. 



c 



