SIZE AND APPEARANCE OF THE LION. 19 



conventionally represented with an almost human roundness of face, has really a more thoroughly 

 quadrupedal " muzzle " than any of his kin. 



In the Cape Lion the tail tuft is black, the mane brown or black, according to age, and the 

 handsome appearance of the animal is thus much enhanced. There is also a black spot at each corner 

 of the mouth. 



The size varies slightly in the different varieties. Captain Harris gives the measurements of an 

 adult male from the Cape as follows : Extreme length from snout to tip of tail, usually about ten 

 feet , tail, three feet ; height at the shoulder, three feet eight inches. The " maneless " Lion is some- 

 what smaller, as shown by the following measurements made by Captain Smee : Length, including the 

 tail, eight feet nine inches and a half ; height (at the shoulder, we suppose), three feet six inches ; and 

 the impression of his paw measured six inches and a half across. A female, killed at the same time, 

 was eight feet seven inches long, and three feet four inches high. The weight of the male (excluding 

 the entrails) was thirty-five stone. 



The real size of the Lion is much less than would be supposed before measurement ; and he is 

 very inferior in size to many kinds of the Herbivorous animals, such as Horses, Oxen, and Buffaloes, 

 and even the larger Antelopes, such as the Eland. 



As to the internal structure of the Lion, there is really nothing, or almost nothing, to add 

 to what has already been said under the character of the whole family. Like all the great beasts 

 of prey, the Tiger, Leopard, &c., the osseous and muscular systems are immensely developed. The 

 ridges of the bones take on a marvellous size for the attachment of the muscles, and in the skull the 

 size of the great processes to which the muscles of the neck are attached, and the width of the jugal 

 arches, or bony bridges under which pass the great muscles by which the lower jaw is closed, and the 

 powerful bite given, are very remarkable. 



It is curious to see what wonderfully different impressions are produced on different writers by 

 the appearance of the Lion in his native haunts. For instance, Captain Harris says, " Those who have 

 seen the monarch of the forest in crippling captivity only, immured in a cage barely double his own 

 length, with his sinews relaxed by confinement, have seen but the shadow of that animal which 

 ' clears the desert with his rolling eye.' " 



On the other hand, Livingstone speaks in the most disrespectful, not to say contemptuous way, 

 of the animal's vaunted majesty of bearing : " When a Lion is met in the daytime, a circumstance by 

 no means unfrequent to travellers in these parts, if pre-conceived notions do not lead them to expect 

 something very ' noble ' or ' majestic,' they will see merely an animal somewhat larger than the 

 biggest Dog they ever saw, and partaking very strongly of the canine features. The face is not much 

 like the usual drawings of a Lion, the nose being prolonged like a Dog's ; not exactly such as our 

 painters make it, though they might learn better at the Zoological Gardens ; their ideas of majesty 

 being usually shown by making their Lions' faces like old women in nightcaps. When encountered in 

 the daytime, the Lion stands a second or two gazing, then turns slowly round, arid walks as slowly 

 away for a dozen paces, looking over his shoulder ; then begins to trot, and, when he thinks himself 

 out of sight, bounds off like a Greyhound." 



The concluding sentence of this passage shows that Livingstone considers not only the Lion's 

 beauty to have been over-rated, but his courage also. The following extract quite bears out this 

 opinion : 



" On riding briskly along early one morning, I observed, as I thought, a solitary Zebra a few 

 hundred yards in advance. I instantly alighted, and, leaving ' Spring ' (his horse) to take care ot 

 himself, I made towards the quarry, gun in hand, under cover of a few small trees. Having proceeded 

 for some distance, I peeped cautiously from behind a bush, when I found, to my astonishment, that the 

 animal which I had taken for a Zebra was nothing less than a noble Lion. He was quietly gazing at 

 me. I must confess I felt a little startled at the unexpected apparition ; but, recovering quickly from 

 my surprise, I advanced to meet him. He, however, did not think fit to wait till I was within proper 

 range, but turned tail, and fled towards the Swakess. Hoping to be able to come to close quarters 

 with him, I followed at the top of my speed, and was rapidly gaining ground on the brute, when 

 suddenly, with two or three immense bounds, he cleared an open space, and was the next moment 

 hidden from view among the thick reeds that here lined the banks of the river. Having no 



