long without food, or to perfift in irritating Perfift? courage magnanimous, and his difpofition magnanimous? grateful. 11. He has been often feen to defpife con temptible enemies, and pardon their infults contemptible? when it was in his power to punish them. He has been feen to fpare the lives of fuch as were thrown to he devoured by him, to live peaceably, peaceably with them, to afford them a part of his fubfiftence, and fometimes to want food himfelf rather than deprive them of that life falfiflence. which his generofity had spared. 12. It may also be faid that the lion is not indifcrimin cruel, fince he is fo only from neceffity, and fatiated? never kills more than he coniumes. When fatiated, he is perfectly gentle; while the tiger, the wolf, and all the inferior kinds, fuch as the fox, the pole cat, and the feriet, kill without remorte, are fierce without canfe,and by their indifcriminate flaughter, feem rather to fatisfy the malignity than their hunger. ate ? malignity? gait. model. 13. The outward form of the lion feems to fpeak his internal generofity. His figure is Ariking, his look is confident and bold,his gait proud, and his voice terrible. His ftature is not overgrown, like that of the elephant, or rhinoceros ; nor is his fhape clumfy, like that fixeable. of the hippodotamus, or the ox. It is com. pact, well proportioned, and fizeable; a perfect model of strength joined with agility. 14. It is mufcular and bold, neither charg agility? ed with fat nor unneceffary fleth. It is fuffi- muscles ? cient but to fee him in order, to be affured of his fuperior force. His large head furrounded with a dreadful mane: all thofe mufcles, that breadth. appear under the fkin fwelling with the flighteft exertions; and the great breadth of his paws, with the thickness of his limbs, plainly thickness. evince that no other animal in the foreft is ca Imagined. becks. tawny? difguife? contracted? infertion tuft? bair. tongue. rough. prickles. tear. fiery. firu&ure. capable of oppofing him. He has a very broad face, that, as fome have imagined, refembles the human. 15. It is furrounded with very long hair, which gives it a very majeflic air. The top of the head, the temples, the cheeks, the under jaw, the neck, the breaft, the shoulder, the hinder part of the legs, and the belly, are furnished with it, while all the rest of the body is covered with very short hair, of a tawny colour. "The length of the hair, in many parts, and the fhortnefs of it in others, ferves a good deal to difguife this animal's real figure. 16. The breast, for instance, appears very broad, but, in reality, it is as narrow and contracted in proportion as that of the generality of dogs and horfes. For the fame reafon, the tail feems to be of an equal thickness from one end to the other, on account of the inequality of the hair with which it is encompaffled; in being fhorter near the infertion where the flesh and bones are large, and growing longer in proportion as its real thickness leffens towards the point, where it ends in a tuft. 17. The hair about the neck and breaft is not different from that on the rest of the body, except in the length of it; nor is each hair pointed as in most other animals, but of an equal thicknefs from one end to the other. The tongue is rough, and befet with prickles as hard as a cat's claws; thefe have the grain turned backwards; fo that it is probable, a lion, if it fhould attempt to lick a man's hand, as we are told it fometimes does, would tear off the skin. 18. The eyes are always bright and fiery; nor even in death does this terrible look forfake them. In fhort, the ftructure of the paws, teeth, eyes, and tongue, are the fame as in a cat; and alfo in the inward parts, these two animals fo nearly refemble each other, that Anatomifts? the anatomift's chief diftinction arifes merely from the fize." 19 The lion has, as was observed before, a large mane, which grows every year longer mane. as the animal grows older; the lioness is without this ornament at every age. This 'mane is not coarfe or rough as in a horfe, but coarse. compofed of the fame hair with the rest of the body, lengthened, and fhining. The mane, as well as the reft of the body, is of a yellow rough. - colour; nor is there ever any difference to be · found in the colour of one lion from that of another. 20. The lion feldom appears in open day, but ravages chiefly by night; and not only the ravages? lion, but all other animals of the cat kind, are kept off by the fires which the inhabitants light to preferve their herds and flocks; the herds. brightnefs of the flame dazzles their eyes, which are only fitted for feeing in the dark; and they are afraid to venture blindly into dazzles. thofe places which they know to be filled with their enemies. 21. The lion, when hungry, boldly attacks all animals that come in his way; but as he furprise. is very formidable, and as they all feek to - avoid him he is often obliged to hide, in or der to take them by furprife. For this pur- crouches. pofe he crouchés on his belly, in some thicket, or among the long grafs, which is found in many parts of the foreft; in this retreat he thicket. continues with patient expectation, until his prey comes within a proper diftance, and he then fprings after it, fifteen or twenty feet from bound? him, and often feizes it at the first bound. 22. If he mifs the effort, and in two or reiterated? three reiterated fprings, cannot feize his prey, he continues motionlefs for a time, feems to feize. be very fenfible of his difappointment, and waits for a more fuccefsful opportunity. He prey. de Devours. breaks. devours a great deal at a time, and generally fills himfelf for two or three days to come. 23. His teeth are fo ftrong that he very eafily breaks the bones, and fwallows them with the reft of the body. It is reported that he fuftains hunger a very long time, but thirst he cannot fupport in an equal degree, his temperament being extremely hot fome have temperament? even afferted, that he is in a continual fever. Suflains? putrefy. chonfes. echoed? deep 24. He drinks as often as he meets with water, lapping it like a cat; which, as we know, drinks but flowly. He generally requires about fifteen pounds of raw flesh in a day; he prefers that of live animals, and particularly thofe which he has juft killed. He feldom devours the bodies of animals, when they begin to putrefy; and he choofes rather to hunt for a fresh fpoil than to return to that which he had half devoured before. 25. The roaring of the lion is fo loud, that when it is heard in the night, and re-echoed by the mountains, it refembles diftant thunder. This roar is his natural note; for when enraged, he has a different growl, which is fhort, broken, and reiterated. The roar is a deep hollow growl, which he fends forth five or fix mes a day, particularly before rains. formidable? The cry of anger is much louder, and more formidable. This is always excited by oppofition and upon thofe occafions, when the lion fummons up all his terrors for the combat, nothing can be more terrible. excited? 26. He then lafhes his fides with his long tail, which alone is ftrong enough to lay a man level. He moves his mane in every direction; it feems to rife and ftand like briftles round his head; the skin and mufcles of his face are all in agitation; his huge eye-brows half cover his glaring eye-balls: he discovers his teeth, which are formed rather for def truction than chewing his food; he fhows his tongue tongue covered with points, and extends his claws, which appear almost as long as a man's fingers. + Extends. venture. 27. Prepared in this manner for war, there are few animals that will venture to engage him; and even the boldeft of the human daude kind are daunted at his approach. The elephant, the rhinoceros, the tiger, and the hippopotamos, are the only animals that are not afraid fingly to make oppofition. 28. Neverthelefs, neither the leopard nor the wild boar, if provoked will fhun the combat; they do not feek the lion to attack, but will not fly at his approach; they wait his onfet, which he feldom makes, unlefs compelled by hunger; they then exert all their strength, and are fometimes fuccessful. We are told of the combat of a lion and a wild boar, in a meadow near Algiers, which continued for a long time with incredible obstinacy. approach. afraid. leopard. incredible ? Algiers. obftinacy? 29. At laft both were feen to fall by the foreft? their blood. Thefe inftances however are attacks. agony? 30. Thefe animals, that, in a state of nature, would have fled from the prefence of the lion, in an agony of confternation, when confcious of the affiftance of man, be.. come purfuers in turn, and boldly hunt their confternation? natural tyrant. The dogs are always of the large breed; and the horfes themfelves, as Gefner affures us, must be of that fort called charoff, or lion-eyed, all others of this kind confcious ? flying at the fight of the lion, and endeavouring to throw their riders. When |