57 



the lion 5 whose bulk is comparatively small. 

 But is not the diminutive domestic cat of the 

 lion species ? May not the lion's race soar as 

 much above, as this degenerate creature sinks 

 beneath, him ? Or why is it, that the human 

 mind will admit of mean and contemptible asso- 

 ciations, and reject those that are sublime and 

 grand ? Are there not a mini, and a Avhale ; 

 a humming bird, and a cassawary ; a mouse, 

 and a mammoth ; a dwarf, and a giant ? Yes. 

 On the same principle, then, we admit a cat, 

 and a megalonyx. It is not the size which 

 determines the genus, but the qualities, pur- 

 suits, and affections. The size varies more 

 considerably in the lion, than in any other 

 species. — M. de la Landemagon assures lis, 

 that he has seen a tiger, in the East Indies, 15 

 feet long, including, undoubtedly, the length 

 of the tail, which, supposing it to be four feet, 

 makes the body of the tiger eleven feet in 

 length I 



A skeleton, preserved in the cabinet of a 

 French King, indicates, that the animal was 

 7 feet long, from the point of the muzzle to 

 the origin of the tail ; and it must be consider- 

 ed, that he was caught young, and lived in 

 confinement all his days. 



