283 
LIONS. 
BY THE AUTHOR OF a LORD BACON IN ADVERSITY,” &C. 
[Abridged from Bentley’s Miscellany, Vol. xxviii, p. 481.] 
“Thou makest darkness and it is night, when all the beasts of the earth do 
creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from 
God. 
“The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in 
their dens.” — P salm civ. 
“ It would be difficult to find language which more simply 
and elegantly describes the habits of the Monarch of the Forest 
than these words of the Psalmist, and they are strictly in 
accordance with truth. During the day, the lion lies concealed 
beneath the shade of some thick stunted tree, or buries himself 
in a covert of lofty reeds or thick grass; but when the sun goes 
down, and the shades of evening fall, he sallies forth to prowl 
during the hours of night. The tawny colour of his hide is 
admirably adapted for his concealment. Mr. Cumming (whose 
recently published work contains the best information on the 
habits of the South African wild animals), states that he has 
often heard lions lapping water at a less distance from him than 
twenty yards, and, although blessed with the keenest vision, he 
was unable to make out even the outline of their forms. Their 
eyes, however, glow like balls of fire, which may be thus 
explained. In many animals, the inner surface of the back of 
the eye presents a membrane called tavetum lucidum, which, in 
the lion and cat tribe, is of a yellow colour, and brilliant metallic 
lustre like a concave mirror; it is the reflection from this which 
causes the “glare” of their eyes. Thus are they peculiarly 
fitted for nocturnal habits, but ill-adapted to bear strong sun- 
light. Some travellers have described what would certainly 
appear, at first sight, to have been cowardly retreats on the part 
of lions; but, doubtless, in the majority of instances where they 
have turned tail on inferior antagonists, they were conscious of 
the disadvantage under which they laboured from their eyes 
being dazzled by the intense glare of an African sun reflected 
from the burning sands of the desert.” 
“‘One of the most striking things,’ says Mr. Cumming, ‘con- 
nected with the lion is his voice, which is extremely grand and 
peculiarly striking. It consists at times of a low deep moaning, 
repeated five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs. At 
other times he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn 
roars, repeated five or six times in quick succession, each 
increasing in loudness to the third or fourth, when his voice dies 
away in five or six low muffled sounds, very much resembling 
