GRAND APPEARANCE OF THE LION. 
71 
of the waggon and placed it on the ground along¬ 
side the wheels of the vehicle., which stood not 
more than twenty paces distant from the brake in 
question. Being a bad sleeper I lay awake until a 
very late hour. All nature was hushed and silent., 
and the night so calm that I might have heard the 
falling of a leaf. Suddenly my attention was drawn 
to the tamarind clump, whence proceeded a low 
rustling noise, like that of some animal cautiously 
making its way through its mazes. Thinking it 
probable that a hyena or a jackal was about to pay 
me a visit, I sat up in my bed, and seizing my gun, 
which I invariably kept within reach, prepared to 
give the intruder a warm reception. Imagine my 
surprise, however, when, instead of one or other of 
these skulking animals, a stately lion stood sud¬ 
denly before me! In an instant my gun was pointed 
at his breast, but hoping he would presently turn 
his broadside towards me, which would have given 
me a much better chance of destroying him, I 
refrained from firing. In this expectation, how¬ 
ever, I was disappointed, for on perceiving the 
waggon, he retreated a step or two, and uttering 
a low growl, vanished the next moment amongst 
the bushes. 
There is something so grand and imposing in the 
appearance of the king of the beasts in his native 
wilds, more especially when he stands in an atti¬ 
tude of surprise or defiance, that it is impossible 
not to be more or less awed in his presence. 
To proceed with my story, and further to show 
the great daring of the lion, I may mention an 
