10 
THE LION. 
in a wild state, yet being reared in confinement, 
and deprived of the milk of the mother—of fresh 
air, so to say—of liberty, &c., they too often acquire 
a sickly, emaciated, and melancholy look, which, 
coupled with the want of an ample mane, causes 
them to contrast very unfavourably with their fel¬ 
lows in a state of nature. 
Harris, who had ample opportunities of making 
the acquaintance of the lion in his native wilds 
both in Africa and India, would seem, like myself, 
to have been greatly struck by the different ap¬ 
pearance the beast presents when in a state of 
freedom from that when a wretched prisoner. His 
words are :— 
Ce Those who have seen the monarch of the forest 
in crippling captivity, immured in a cage barely 
double his own length, with his sinews relaxed by 
confinement, have seen but the shadow of the 
animal which ‘ clears the desert with his roving 
eye.’ ” 
The lioness is a much less imposing-looking 
animal than the lion, being not only one-third 
smaller, but devoid of a mane. When roused, how¬ 
ever, either by rage or hunger, she has an even 
more ferocious aspect than her stately mate, whose 
countenance is often partially hidden by his flowing 
mane. 
It is said that, as a general rule, the lioness is 
more fierce and active than the lion, and that such 
as have never had young are more dangerous than 
those that have had families. 
The lion is possessed of a piercing sight, and his 
