Size of the Lion. 3 
and untamable disposition. Although in these critical days we 
know him to be an impostor, scared by the braying of an ass, 
it is easy to understand why the lion has been exalted to the 
position of monarch among the beasts of the field. His appear- 
ance and carriage are assuredly of that majestic mien, which 
poetry has associated with royalty, whether or not he always 
justifies by his conduct the outward show of dignity and con- 
scious power. To this the abundant mane no doubt contributes, 
while it also gives the impression that he is very much larger 
than any of his congeners. Perhaps he stands slightly higher 
than the tiger; at all events, he carries his head more elevated, 
but he is certainly little, if at all, heavier than a well-grown 
male tiger, and, in the opinion of those capable of forming a 
correct judgment, decidedly inferior in strength to his striped 
first cousin. My friend, Mr. J. T. Nettleship, the well-known 
animal painter, whose studies must have made him intimately 
acquainted with the form and proportions of both the lion 
and tiger, assures me that the balance of muscular development, 
and even more so the activity, appears to him certainly in favour 
of the tiger. 
The following letter, from one of our most distinguished 
animal painters, Mr. Briton Riviére, R.A., second to none as a 
painter of the Felide, is in answer to my request for an opinion 
on the comparative development of the lion and tiger, derived 
from the close observation which the artist’s studies must have 
rendered necessary :— 
“My experiences regarding the large cats are purely artistic, 
but a few suggestions occur to me. 
“The abundant mane, no doubt, does much for the appearance 
of the lion, because it gives an appearance of loftiness to the 
skull, and so adds to the human aspect, which is the real basis of 
all that is grand in the lion; and, I believe, the sole origin of 
the title of ‘King of Beasts.’ 
“The tuft of hair on the lower jaw is a highly important 
adjunct to this human aspect. 
“The ridge of bone, which forms the chin in man, is not found 
in any other animal; and in man its clearness and sharpness 
mark power, and the want of it a retrogression towards a 
lower type. 
B2 
