108 THE WONDERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



afforded strong grounds for suspecting that her den could not be far distant, he determined upon 

 pursuing the adventure to the end, and traced her to her retreat, where he completed the work of her 

 destruction, by again discharging the contents of one of the barrels of his rifle, which he had reloaded 

 for the purpose. In the den were found a beautiful pair of cubs, male and female, supposed then to 

 be not more than three days old. These the General brought away with him, and succeeded, by the 

 assistance of a goat, who was prevailed upon to act in the capacity of a foster-mother to the royal pair, 

 in rearing them until they attained sufficient age and strength to enable them to bear a voyage to 

 England. On their arrival in this country, in September, 1823, he presented them to his Majesty, 

 who commanded them to be placed in the Tower. The male animal is the subject of the present 

 article. 



" The extreme youth of these lions," says Mr. Bennett, " at the time of their capture, and the 

 constant control to which they had been accustomed from the earliest period of their existence, 

 rendered them peculiarly tame and docile, insomuch that, for twelve months after their arrival, they 

 were frequently suffered to walk in the open yard among the visitors, who caressed them and played 

 with them with impunity. The Duke of Sussex, in particular, was highly delighted with the unusual 

 spectacle of a lion and a lioness bounding about him at perfect liberty, and with all their natural 

 grace and agility. It must, however, be observed, that they were not then fully grown, and that it 

 was afterwards thought necessary to place them under greater restraint, but more with the view of 

 guarding against possible mischief, than in consequence of any positive symptoms of rebellion. Both 

 the animals retained their usual docility, until the lioness gave birth to the cubs, when a total alteration 

 took place in her temper and demeanour. She no longer suffered the least familiarity, even on the 

 part of her keepers, but gave full scope to the violence of her passions. 11 



The Asiatic lion, of which we are now treating, seldom attains the size of the full-grown African 

 lion ; but a greater degree of uniformity exists in its colour, and the mane is more full and complete, 

 commencing beneath the neck and occupying the whole of the middle line of the body below. It 

 must, however, be remarked that all these distinctions are modified by age, and vary in different 

 individuals. 



It cannot be doubted that the lighter and slenderer shape of the lioness has a direct tendency to the 

 formation of that more lively and sensitive character by which the generality of her motions is dis- 

 tinguished. Her inferiority in muscular strength to the lion is in a great degree compensated by the 

 greater liveliness of her disposition, the unrestrained ardour of her passions, and the vigorous impetu- 

 osity of her motions ; but it must be further remarked that the two animals differ in a very striking 

 characteristic, which is the position and direction of their heads, that of the lion being always elevated 

 and thrown upwards with an air of majesty and grandeur, whilst the lioness carries her head on a level 

 with the line of her back, imparting to her a sullen and downcast look ; and this singular distinction 

 appears to be in a great measure dependent on the absence of the mane, for it has been observed that 

 the young male cubs, until the period at which this badge of dignity begins to make its appearance, 

 carry their heads in the same level position with the female. 



