THE LEOPARD. 
93 
of the group, an air of wiliness and malignity, but ill 
assorting with their gigantic size and immense muscular 
power. Of this feeling they can never be entirely 
divested ; it is sufficiently remarkable even in the do- 
mesticated race ; but becomes still more obvious in 
those which are kept in a state of confinement, and 
which, however well they may appear reconciled to 
their condition, and how much soever they may seem 
attached to their keepers, are startled by the slightest 
unusual occurrence, and become restless, uneasy, and 
mistrustful, whenever any change, however trifling, takes 
place in the objects by which they are surrounded. 
Such are some of the most striking characteristics, 
both physical and moral, which are common to the 
whole group. The Leopard, which may fairly be re- 
garded as one of its most typical species, partakes in a 
high degree of all these general attributes of his tribe. 
It is therefore unnecessary to enter into any more par- 
ticular detail with respect to his disposition and habits, 
which ofler little that is peculiar to himself. Yet even 
among the Cats he is remarkable for extreme sleekness 
and excessive agility. He is well distinguished from all 
the other species by the vividness of his colouring and 
the beauty of his markings. These consist of numerous 
rows of large open rose-like spots passing along his sides, 
each formed of the confluence of several smaller black 
spots into an irregular circle enclosing a fawn-coloured 
centre upon a general ground colour of lighter yellow. 
On his head, neck, and limbs, and the central line of 
his back, the spots run into one another so completely 
as to form full patches of smaller size than the open 
roses, and without central yellow. The under parts of 
his body, as is usual in most quadrupeds, become 
gradually of a lighter hue, the throat, chest, and abdo- 
men being of a pure and delicate white. His tail is 
