THE LION. 225 



unoccupied country, although many also were destroyed by the 

 Boors. It has been said that the lion dwells in the plains. 

 The African hunters almost always seek him in the mountains ; 

 and occasionally one or two of these men will not shun the 

 encounter, if armed with their long and sure rifles, which on 

 almost all occasions they carry. Some years ago a party of 

 officers, along with some Boors, discovered a lion, lioness, and 

 two cubs, within a short distance of Hernianus Kraal, on the 

 frontier. The lion dashed forward to protect his mate and 

 young ones, and attempted to defend them by shielding them 

 with his body, until the officers, moved by his magnanimity, 

 entreated that he might not be destroyed ; but the Dutchmen 

 were inexorable, and they killed him. The cubs fled, and the 

 lioness followed j but all were found dead of their wounds the 

 succeeding day." * 



The roar of the lion is a sound of terror, and produces an 

 appalling effect. It is said by travellers that it sometimes 

 resembles the sound which accompanies an earthquake ; and 

 that the animal produces this extraordinary effect by laying his 

 head upon the ground, and uttering a half- stifled growl, by 

 which means the noise is conveyed along the earth. The 

 instant this roar is heard by the animals who are reposing in 

 the plains, they start up with alarm j they fly in all directions ; 

 and often rush into the very danger which they meant to avoid. 



Not being an animal of acute hearing, the lion is awakened 

 with much difficulty, and particularly after feeding. 



In captivity the lion is allowed from eight to nine pounds of 

 beef, exclusive of bones, at a meal j and like the other large 

 feline animals he has only one meal a day, and that is given in 

 the evening. At the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens they 

 are compelled to fast one day in the week ; and this system is 

 found to be beneficial to their health. On Sunday, when the 

 poorest labourer contrives to put a good joint upon the table, 

 the captive lion, king of beasts, together with the tiger, leopard, 

 * Abridged from the Edinburgh New PhilosophicalJournal (1834). 



