122 
THW TAME PANTHER. 
him, his skin shone like satin. The expres¬ 
sion of his countenance was very amiable 
and good-tempered, and he was particularly 
gentle to children. He would lie down on 
the mat by their side when they slept, and 
even the infant shared his caresses and re¬ 
mained unhurt. During the period of his 
residence in Cape Town, I was much occu¬ 
pied in making arrangements for my de¬ 
parture from Africa, but generally visited 
my future companion every day; and we be¬ 
came great friends before we sailed. He 
was conveyed on board the vessel in a large 
wooden cage thickly barred with iron, but 
even this confinement was not deemed a 
sufficient protection by the canoe-men, who 
were so alarmed at taking him from the 
shore to the vessel, that in their confusion 
they dropped cage and all into the sea. For 
a moment I gave my poor panther up for 
lost; but some sailors jumped into a boat 
belonging to the vessel and dragged him 
out in safety. The beast himself seemed to 
be completely subdued by his ducking; and, 
as no one dared to open his cage to dry it, 
he rolled himself up in one corner, nor 
roused himself till after an interval of some 
