QUADRUPEDS. 3 
The Lion is deceived by the appearance of solidity pre- 
sented by the turf, and attempts to walk over it; but the mo- 
ment he sets his foot upon the covering of the trap, it breaks 
beneath his weight, and he falls into the pit. He is then 
kept without food for several days, shaking the ground 
with his roaring, and fatiguing himself by vainly attempt- 
ing to escape ; till, at last, he becomes exhausted, and so 
tame as to permit his captors to put ropes round him, and 
drag him out. He is then put into a cage, and removed 
in a kind of waggon, wherever his captors may wish to 
take him. 
The generosity of the Lion has been much extolled ; 
but the tales related of it appear to have had no other 
foundation than the fact, that the Lion, like many other 
beasts, when gorged with food, will not attack a man. As 
the Lion belongs to the cat tribe, his eyes are incapable of 
bearing a strong light ; it is therefore generally in the 
night that he prowls about for prey, and when the sun 
shines in his face, he becomes confused and almost blinded. 
Lion hunters are aware of this fact ; and in the day-time 
they always consider themselves safe, so long as they have 
the sun on their backs. In the night a h're has nearly the 
same effect; and travellers in Africa and the deserts of 
Arabia can always protect themselves from Lions and 
Tigers, by making a large fire near their sleeping-place. 
The strength of the African Lion is so great that he has 
been known to carry away a young heifer, and leap a ditch 
with it in his mouth. The power that man may acquire 
over a Lion has been often shown in the exhibitions of 
Van Amburgh, Carter, and others ; but the attachment 
which Lions sometimes form for their keepers, was never 
more strongly exemplified than in the following anecdote. 
M. Felix, the keeper of the animals in Paris, some 
years ago brought two Lions, a male and female, to the 
national menagerie. About the beginning of the following 
June, he was taken ill, and could no longer attend the 
B 2 
