THE LIONESS AND HER CUBS. 
STRIKINGLY distinguished at the first glance from her 
royal mate by the absence of the flowing honours of the 
mane, which invest him with an air of superior dignity 
and gravity, the Lioness is also remarkable for her 
smaller size, her more slender and delicate make, and 
the superior grace and agility of her movements. Her 
inferiority in muscular strength to the Lion, and to him 
alone, is, however, fully compensated by the greater 
liveliness of her disposition, the unrestrained ardour of 
her passions, and the vigorous impetuosity of her mo- 
tions, which all contribute to render her an equally 
formidable opponent with her more powerful, but less 
irritable, lord. They differ also in another obvious cha- 
