THE CHETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD. 69 
they were placed in the Tower. They did not, however, 
long survive the effects of the passage and of the change 
of climate, which latter has proved equally fatal to the few 
specimens which have since been brought to this country 
for public exhibition. They appear, indeed, to be exceed- 
ingly delicate in their temperament, and to require con- 
siderable attention on the part of their keeper. The 
pair now in the Tower, if two individuals of the same 
sex, both of them being males, can be called a pair, were 
purchased by Mr. Cops a few months since from the 
captain of a vessel trading to Senegal, to whom they 
were brought by some of the natives when only a few 
weeks old and no larger than an ordinary cat. They 
were the constant inmates of his cabin, and soon became 
strongly attached to their master, never, as they grew 
up, exhibiting the slightest symptom of that savage 
ferocity to which all the larger cats are occasionally 
more or less prone, even under the most favourable 
circumstances. Much of this peculiar meekness of tem- 
per, which they still*maintain, is doubtless owing to the 
very early age at which they were made captive, as well 
as to the mild and little stimulating nature of the food 
to which they have ever since been accustomed. This 
consists chiefly of boiled meat and meal; and during 
the winter season, in consequence of the delicacy of their 
habit, they are supplied with hot mashes, gruel, &c. 
Their mode of feeding is very like that of the dog. 
In size and stature these beautiful animals consider- 
ably exceed any that have been seen in this country of 
late years. They are truly, as may be judged from their 
portraits, an elegant and graceful pair, having, when led 
out into the yard in their couples, very much of the air 
