THE LIO>T, 267 



made a spring, and fell headlong down the precipice. 

 By this means, the poor fellow was safely delivered 

 from his horrible and rapacious enemy. 



One of the Namaaqiia Hottentots (whose country 

 is about eighty leagues nortii of the Cape), endea^. 

 vouring to drive his master's cattle :nto a pool of 

 water, enclosed between two ridges of rock, espied 

 a huge Lion couching in the midst of the pool. 

 Terrified at the unexpected sight of such a beast, 

 which seemed to have its eyes fixed upon him, he 

 instantly took to his heels. In doing this, he had 

 presence of mind enough to run through the herd ; 

 concluding that if the Lion should pursue, he 

 would take up with the first beast that presented 

 itself. In this, however, he was mistaken. The 

 Lion broke through the herd, making directly aftei 

 the Hottentot ; who, on turning round, and per- 

 ceiving that the monster had singled him out, 

 breathless and half-dead with fear, scrambled up 

 one of the tree-aloes, in the trunk of which had 

 luckily been cut out a few steps the more readily to 

 come at some bird's-nests that the branches con- 

 tained. At the same moment the Lion made a 

 spring at him ; but, missing his aim, fell upon the 

 ground. In surly silence he walked round the tree, 

 casting at times a dreadful look tov.'ards the poor 

 Hottentot, who had crept behind the nests. I 

 should here ren^.ark, that these nests belong to a 

 small bird of the genus Loxia * ; that lives in a 

 State of society with the rest of its species, construct- 



* Loxia Socia of Liuuxus, 



