HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 183 



piece of broken ground, with a precipitate defcent on 

 one fide, he fat down by the edge of it ; and found, to 

 his great joy, that the Lion alfo made a halt, and kept at 

 the fame diftance as before. As foon as it grew dark, 

 the Hottentot, Aiding gently forward. Jet himfelf down a 

 little below the edge of the hill, and held up his cloak 

 and hat upon his ftick, making at the fame time a gentle 

 motion with it : The Lion, in the mean while, came 

 creeping foftly towards him, like a Cat; and miftaking 

 the fkin cloak for the man himfelf, made a fpring, and 

 fell headlong down the precipice : By which means, the 

 poor Hottentot was fafely delivered from his infidious 

 enemy. 



That the Lion does not always kill whatever animal 

 happens to be in its power, has already been obferved ; 

 and this peculiarity in its temper is remarkably obvious, 

 with regard to the human fpecies. Of this there have 

 been many inftances. At St Catherine Cree's church, 

 Leadenhall-ftreet, London, provifion is made, under the 

 will of Sir John Gager, who was Jjord-mayor in the year 

 1646, for a fermon to be annually preached on the 16th 

 of November, in commemoration of his happy deliver- 

 ance from a Lion which he met in a defert as he was 

 travelling in the Turkifti dominions, and fuffered him to 

 pafs unmolefted. The minifter is to have 20 s. for the 

 fermon, the clerk 2s. 6d. and the fexton is. The fum 

 of 81. 16s. 6d. is likewife to be diftributed among the 

 necefhtous inhabitants, purfuant to the will of Sir John. 

 — Sparrman, among feveral inftances of the fame nature, 

 mentions a perfon who, though he was thrown down by 

 a Lion, and wounded by it in feveral places, was after 

 all generoufly left with his life. 



M 4 



