112 
THE LEOPARD. 
while hundreds of wild animals fought and 
tore each other to pieces in the arena below.’’ 
“ What cruel wretches !” exclaimed Annie. 
“ Did the women look on too ?” 
“Yes: men, women and children, thou¬ 
sands at a time; and not only did they de¬ 
light in the spectacle of wild-beast combats, 
but they had the greatest pleasure in seeing 
men who were trained for the purpose fight 
with the animals and with each other; and 
the most high-bred women gazed with inte¬ 
rest on the dying agonies of their fellow- 
creatures, and even condemned them to 
death when called upon to give the signal for 
mercy. Thousands of the early saints and 
martyrs of the church were put to death in 
this way. Among the many wild animals 
employed on these occasions the leopard 
and panther figured largely,—two or three 
hundred—and on one occasion five hundred 
—being let loose at once.” 
“I did not know the leopard and panther 
were at all alike,” observed Sidney. “I 
thought the panther was a native of this 
country.” 
“The puma or cougar is commonly called 
the panther,” said Miss Louisa; “and the 
