2 
Mk-rmmn ir — i unBiTnrq 
hair, the upper part of the head, neck, and shoulders, co£t« 
ed with long shaggy hair, forming a pendent mane. 
On the body the hair is short and smooth ; the tail is 
terminated by a tuft of blackish hair ; his teeth are so 
strong, that they break large bones with perfect ease ; his 
tongue, as in other animals of this genus, is furnished with 
reversed prickles, but they are so large and strong, as to 
be capable of lacerating the skin ; the claws are retractile, 
not into sheaths, but only between the toes, by means of a 
particular articulation of the last joint ; the last bone but 
one, by bending itself outwards, gives place to the last, 
which is only articulated to it, and to which the claw is 
fastened so as to bend itself upwards and sid6-ways, mote 
easily than downwards, so that the bone, which is at the 
end of every toe, being almost continually bent upwards, 
it is not the end of the toes that rests upon the ground, but 
the mode of the articulation of the two last bones, and thus 
in walking, the claws remain elevated and retracted be- 
tween the toes, those of the right paws towards the right, 
and those of the left towards the left side of the toes : this 
admirable structure is not found in the great toe, whose 
last joint bends only downwards, because this toe does not 
naturally rest upon the ground, being considerably short- 
er than the others. 
The Lioness is much smaller, and nearly of a white co- 
lour underneath ; she goes with youn£ five months, and 
brings forth from three to five of the size of a half-grown 
kitten, which continue with their mother near a year, and 
attend her in hunting excursions : the young are said to 
be fi ve years in arriving at maturity. 
The Lion is found, though not plentifully in the hotter 
regions of Asia, it is however in the interior of Africa, * 
* The Romans, struck with magnificent appearance of the Lion, import- 
ed them in vast numbers from Africa. Pompey the Great exhibited no 
less than 315 males, and 285 females in the grand circus, during his prae- 
to; ship ; and Mark Antony caused Lions to be yoked to his caniage and 
draw him through the streets of Rome. 
