close on the branch of some tree till the animal passes beneath, when they drop down upon and soon destroy them. They also make wolves their prey. In the Museum of the Royal Society there is the skin of one which was killed just as it had pulled down a wolf. When it has satisfied itself with eating, it carefully conceals the rest of the carcase, covering it with leaves; if any other touches the relics, it never comes near them again. It sometimes purrs like a cat, and at other times makes a great howling. The fur is soft, and of some value among the Indians, who cover themselves with it during winter; and who also eat the flesh, which is said to be good and as white as veal.

F. jubata, the hunting leopard, or Guepard of Buffon, is of the size of a large greyhound, of a long make, with a narrow chest and long legs. The color of the body is a light tawny-brown, marked with numbers of small round black spots; the neck is shaggy, having a mane four or five inches long; the hair on the belly is of the same length, and the tail is longer than the body. It inhabits India; where it is tamed, and trained for the chase of antelopes. For this purpose it is carried in a small kind of waggon, chained and hoodwinked, till it approaches the herd; when first unchained, it does not immediately make its attempt, but winds along the ground, stopping and concealing itself till it gets a proper advantage, and then darts on the animals with surprising swiftness. It overtakes them by the rapidity of its bounds, but if it does not succeed in its first efforts, consisting of five or six amazing leaps, it misses its prey losing its breath, and finding itself unequal in speed, it stands still, gives up the point for that time, and returns to its master. This species is called in India, Chittah. It is used for the taking of jackals, as well as other animals.

F. leo, the lion. The largest lions are from eight to nine feet in length, and from four to six feet high; those of a smaller size are generally about five feet and a half long, and about three and a half high. The head is very thick, and the face is beset on all sides with long bushy yellowish hair; this shaggy hair extends from the top of the head to below the shoulders; the belly and breast are likewise covered with long hair. The rest of the body is covered with very short hair, excepting a bush at the point of the tail. The ears are roundish, and almost entirely concealed under the hair of his front. The tail is long and very strong; the legs are thick and fleshy; and the feet are short: the claws are about an inch and a quarter long, of a whitish color, very crooked, and can be extended or retracted into the membranous sheath at pleasure their points are seldom blunted, as they are never extended but when he seizes his prey. The female, or lioness, has no mane about her head or shoulders; in her we see distinctly the whole face, head, ears, neck, shoulders, breast, &c.; all these parts being in some measure concealed under the long hair of the male, give a female a very different appearance; besides, she is considerably less than the male. The hair of both male and female is of a yellowish color, and whitish on the sides and belly. Naturalists

are not agreed as to the ordinary period of life in this animal which is variously stated. Buffon concludes that it ought to be about twenty-five years, or seven times the space of three or four years, as it has been asserted of the lion that he acquires maturity in three or four years after his birth. It is, however, ascertained, that in some instances, the lion lives much beyond that time. The great lion called Pompey, which died in the Tower, is recorded to have lived in captivity above seventy years; and one brought from the river Gambia died there a few years since at the age of sixty-three. In warm countries, quadrupeds in general are larger and stronger than in the cold or temperate climates. They are likewise more fierce and hardy; all their natural qualities seem to correspond with the ardor of the climate. The lions nourished under the scorching sun of Africa or the Indies, are the most strong, fierce, and terrible. Those of mount Atlas, whose top is sometimes covered with snow, are neither so strong nor so ferocious as those of Biledulgerid or Zaara, whose plains are covered with burning sand. It is in these hot and barren deserts, that the lion is the dread of travellers, and the scourge of the neighbouring provinces. But the species is not very numerous, and they even appear to diminish daily. The Romans brought many more lions out of Libya for their public shows in one year, than are now to be found in the whole country. In short, in those countries which lions chiefly inhabit, their numbers were infinitely greater in former times than they are at present. It is scarcely to be conceived how, otherwise, the Romans were able to procure the prodigious number of these animals, which, from time to time, they exhibited in their public shows. Pliny has supplied us with details on this subject, which almost surpass belief. 'Quintus Scævola,' he says, " was the first who exhibited many of them at once, in the circus, during the time he was ædile. Sylla, in his prætorship, had 100 lions, all males, to fight at the same time.-Pompey afterwards 600 (of which 350 were males), and Cæsar 400.' Seneca, it is true, informs us, that those of Sylla had been sent to him by Bocchus, king of Mauritania; but, at this day, the princes of that country consider one or two of these animals as a grand present. The same abundance continued, during some time, under the emperors; but, in the second age, it appears to have begun to diminish, since Eutropius then considered the appearance of 100 lions, in the triumph of Marcus Aurelius, as an exhibition of great magnificence. The lions in Persia and the Indies are also said to be less numerous than formerly. As this formidable and courageous animal makes a prey of most other animals, and is himself a prey to none, this diminution in the number of the species can be owing to nothing but an increase in the number of mankind; for the strength of this king of beasts is not a match for the dexterity and address of a negro or Hottentot, who will often dare to attack him face to face, and with very slight weapons. The ingenuity of mankind augments with their number; that of other animals continues always the same. This

superiority in the numbers and industry of mankind, at the same time that it has broken the vigor of the lion, seems likewise to have enervated his courage. In the vast deserts of Zaara; in those which separate the negroes and Moors, between Senegal and the boundaries of Mauritania; in those uninhabited regions above the country of the Hottentots; and, in general, in all the meridional parts of Africa and Asia, where mankind have disdained to dwell, lions are still as numerous and as ferocious as ever. Accustomed to measure their strength by that of in all other animals which they encounter the habit of conquering renders them haughty and intrepid. Having never experienced the strength of man, or the power of his arms, instead of discovering any signs of fear, they disdain and set him at defiance. Wounds irritate, but do not terrify them: they are not even disconcerted at the sight of numbers. A single lion of the desert has been known to attack a whole caravan; and if, after a violent and obstinate engagement, he finds himself weakened, he retreats fighting, always keeping his face to the enemy. On the other hand, the lions which live near the villages or huts of the Indians or Africans, being acquainted with man and the force of his arms, are so dastardly as to fly and leave their prey at the sight of women or children. A lion taken young, and brought up among domestic animals, will easily be accustomed to his master or keeper, and refrain from injuring them. When led into captivity, he will discover symptoms of uneasiness, without anger or peevishness; on the contrary, his natural temper softens, he obeys his master, caresses the hand that gives him food, and sometimes gives life to such animals as are thrown to him alive for prey; by this act of generosity he seems to consider himself as for ever bound to protect them: he lives peaceably with them; allows them a part, and sometimes the whole, of his food; and will rather submit to the pangs of hunger, than destroy the fruit of his beneficence. Ælian, quoting Eudemus, speaks of the affection entertained by a lion for a dog. He informs us, that a lion, a dog, and a bear, lived together in the most intimate friendship. The attachment between the two first was most tender. The dog, in one of his frolics, having by accident bitten the bear, the natural ferocity of that animal returned, and he tore the offender to pieces, but the irritated lion revenged the death of his companion, by immediately destroying the bear. But as his passions are impetuous and vehement, it is not to be expected, that the impressions of education will at all times be sufficient to balance them; for this reason it is dangerous to let him suffer hunger long, or to vex him by ill-timed teazings; bad treatment not only irritates him, but he remembers it long, and meditates revenge. Labat informs us of a gentleman, who kept a lion in his chamber, and employed a servant to attend it, and who as usual mixed his caresses with blows. One morning the gentleman was awakened by an unusual noise in his room, and drawing his curtains aside, he perceived the lion growling over the body of the unhappy man, whom it had just killed, and had separated

his head from his body. The terror and consternation of the gentleman may be easily conceived; he flew out of the room, obtained assistance, and secured the animal. For his ordinary subsistence, the lion requires about fifteen pounds of raw flesh each day.

The body of the lion appears to be the best model of strength joined with agility. The force of his muscles is expressed by his prodigious leaps and bounds, often twenty feet at once; by the brisk motion of his tail, a single sweep of which is sufficient to throw a man to the ground; by the ease with which he moves the skin of his face, and particularly of his forehead; and by the faculty of erecting and agitating the hair of his mane when irritated. Lions are very ardent in their amours; when the female is in season, she is often followed by eight or ten males, who roar incessantly, and enter into furious engagements, till one of them completely overcomes the rest, takes peaceable possession of the female, and carries her off to some secret recess. The length of time the lioness goes with young is variously stated by different writers; Ælian says two months, Philostratus six; among the moderns the period of gestation is said to be five months; but it has been clearly ascertained by La Cepéde, that the lioness goes with young 108 days, or rather more than three months and a half. A lion and lioness of about the same age having arrived from Northern Africa, at the menagerie of Paris, they were permitted to couple, which they did, five times in the same day. The first time the lioness was with young, she miscarried at the end of about two months, bringing forth two fetuses. The second time she produced, at the end of about 108 days, three young ones. One of these, about five hours after it came into the world, had the following measurements:—

Eighteen inches and a half from the fore part of the forehead to the origin of the tail; four inches and a quarter from the muzzle to the occiput; three inches and a quarter from one ear to the other; four inches and three quarters from the elbow to the end of the toes of the fore feet; three inches and three quarters from the knee to the heel; three inches and a half from the heel to the extremity of the toes of the hind feet; six inches and a quarter from the origin of the tail to its extremity.

These little animals were, at first, entirely destitute of hair; and we are informed that the long hair or mane on the neck and round the face of one of the males, which survived the rest, did not begin to appear till he had attained the age of nearly three years and a half; and that, from that time, this has been continually increasing in quantity. He had no tuft at the end of his tail till about the same period. The hair of all the young animals of this litter was at first woolly, and not of the same color as that of their parents, but a mixed gray and red, marked by a great number of narrow brown stripes. These were very distinct at the middle of the back, and towards the origin of the tail; and they were disposed transversely on each side of a longitudinal stripe, of the same color, that extended from the back of the head to the end of

the tail. When the mother was again with young, the three animals of the former litter became very mischievous. One of these, when about three months old, was driven, against his inclination, into the garden of the museum, when he made a spring at the keeper, Felix Cassel, and seized his arm with so much violence as to tear the sleeve of his coat. We are not able any further to describe the development of character in the above-mentioned three animals, since two of them have fallen victims to the first effects of dentition, an operation very dangerous to most animals that are produced in captivity. The lion that bit the keeper was one of those that died.

All the passions of the lion, the soft passion of love not excepted, are excessive; the love of offspring is extreme: the lioness is naturally weaker, less bold, and more gentle than the lion; but she becomes perfectly ferocious and terrible when she has young. She then regards no danger; she attacks indifferently men and animals, kills them and carries them to her young ones, whom she thus early instructs to suck their blood and tear their flesh. She generally brings forth in the most secret and inaccessible places; and, when afraid of a discovery, she endeavours to conceal the traces of her feet, by returning frequently on her steps, or rather by effacing them with her tail; and, when the danger is great, she carries off her young, and conceals them elsewhere. But, when an actual attempt is made to deprive her of her young, she becomes perfectly furious, and defends them till she be torn in pieces. The lion seldom goes abroad in the day; but sallies forth in the evening and night in quest of prey. He is afraid of fire, and seldom or never approaches the artificial fires made by the shepherds for the protection of their flocks; he does not trace animals by the scent, but is obliged to trust to his eye. Many historians have even represented him as incapable of finding out his prey; alleging that he is obliged to the jackal, an animal of exquisite scent, to provide for him, and that this animal either accompanies or goes before him for this purpose. The jackal, perhaps, sometimes follows the lion, but it is to pick up what he leaves behind, not to provide for him. The lion, when hungry, will attack any animal that presents itself; but he is so formidable, that all endeavour to avoid his rencounter; this circumstance often obliges him to conceal himself, and lie in wait till some animal chances to pass. He lies squat on his belly in a thicket; from which he springs with such force and velocity, that he mostly seizes them at the first bound. He endures hunger longer than thirst; he seldom passes water without drinking, which he does by lapping like a dog. In burning deserts, where rivers and fountains are denied, they live in a perpetual fever, a sort of madness fatal to every animal they meet with. The roaring of the lion,' says Dr. Sparrman, consists in a hoarse inarticulate sound, which at the same time seems to have hollowness in it, something like that proceeding from a speaking trumpet. The sound is between that of a German u and an o, being drawn to a great length, and appearing as if it

came from out of the earth; at the same time, after listening with the greatest attention, I could not exactly hear from what quarter it came. The sound of the lion's voice does not bear the least resemblance to thunder, as M. de Buffon, tom ix. p. 22, from the voyage of Bouillage le Gouz, affirms it does. In fact, it appeared to me to be neither peculiarly piercing nor tremendous; yet, from its slow prolonged note, joined with nocturnal darkness, and the terrible idea one is apt to form to one's self of this animal, it made me shudder, even in such places as I had an opportunity of hearing it in with more satisfaction, and without having the least occasion for fear.' But when he is irritated his cry is shorter, repeated more suddenly, and is still more terrible than the roaring; he beats his sides with his tail, stamps with his feet, erects and agitates the hair of his head and mane, moves the skin of his face, shows his angry teeth, and lolls out his tongue. The gait of the lion is stately, grave, and slow, though always in an oblique direction. His movements are not equal or measured, but consist of leaps and bounds; which prevent him from stopping suddenly, and make him often over-leap his mark. When he leaps upon his prey, he makes a bound of twelve or fifteen feet, falls above it, seizes it with his fore feet, tears the flesh with his claws, and then devours it with his teeth. If he chances to miss his leap, he will not follow his prey any farther; but, as if he were ashamed, turning round towards the place where he lay in ambush, slowly, and step by step, as it were, measures the exact length between the two points, in order to find how much too short of, or beyond, the mark, he had taken his leap. One would suppose that the roaring of the lion would prove serviceable to the other animals, by warning them to betake themselves to flight; but as, when he roars, he puts his mouth to the ground, so that the sound is diffused equally all over the place, without its being possible to hear from what quarter it comes, the animals are intimidated to such a degree, as to fly about backwards and forwards in the dark to every side; in consequence of which, they often run on to the very spot from whence the sound proceeds, and which they meant most to avoid. Dr. Sparrman, in his account of the lion, detracts considerably from the character of courage and generosity generally ascribed to that animal; and relates several anecdotes in proof of his opinion. A yeoman,' says Dr. Sparrman, a man of veracity, related to me an adventure he had in these words: one day walking over his lands with his loaded gun, he unexpectedly met with a lion. Being an excellent shot, he thought himself pretty certain, in the position he was in, of killing it; he therefore fired his piece. Unfortunately he did not recollect that the charge had been in it for some time, and consequently was damp, so that his piece hung fire, and the ball, falling short, entered the ground close to the lion. In consequence of this he was seized with a panic, and took directly to his feet; but being soon out of breath, and closely pursued by the lion, he jumped upon a little heap of stones, and there made a stand, presenting the butt-end of his gun to his adver

sary, fully resolved to defend his life as well as he could to the utmost. My friend did not take upon him to determine whether this position and manner of his intimidated the lion or not; it had, however, such an effect upon the creature, that it likewise made a stand, and, what was still more singular, laid itself down at the distance of a few paces from the heap of stones, seemingly quite unconcerned. The sportsman in the mean while did not dare to stir a step from the spot; besides, in his flight, he had the misfortune to lose his powder-horn. At length, after waiting a good half hour, the lion rose up, and at first went very slowly, and step by step, as if he had a mind to steal off, but as soon as it got to a greater distance it began to bound away at a great rate.'

'An elderly Hottentot,' says the same writer, in the service of a Christian, near the upper part of Sunday River, on the Cambdebo side, perceived a lion following him at a great distance for two hours together. Thence he naturally concluded, that the lion only waited for the approach of darkness in order to make him his prey, and in the mean time could not expect any other than to serve for this fierce animal's supper, inasmuch as he had no other weapon of defence than a stick, and knew that he could not get home before it was dark. But as he was well acquainted with the nature of the lion, and the manner of its seizing upon its prey, and at the same time had leisure between whiles to ruminate on the ways and means in which it was most likely that his existence would be put an end to, he at length hit upon a method of saving his life. For this purpose, instead of making the best of his way home, he looked out for a kilpkrans (so they generally call a rocky place, level and plain at the top, and having a perpendicular precipice on one side of it), and sitting down on the edge of one of these precipices, he found, to his great joy, that the lion like wise made a halt, and kept the same distance as before. As soon as it grew dark, the Hottentot, sliding a little forwards, let himself down below the upper edge of the precipice upon some projecting part or cleft of the rock, where he could just keep himself from falling. But, in order to cheat the lion still more, he set his hat and cloak on the stick, making with it, at the same time, a gentle motion, just over his head, and a little way from the edge of the mountain. This crafty expedient had the desired success. He did not stay long in this situation before the lion came creeping softly towards him like a cat, and, mistaking the skin cloak for the Hottentot himself, took his leap with such exactness and precision, as to fall headlong down the precipice directly close to the snare which had been set up for him.'

The strength of the lion is very great. We are informed by Dr. Sparrman, that this animal was once seen at the Cape to take a heifer in his mouth, and though the legs of the latter dragged on the ground, yet seemed to carry her off with the same ease as a cat does a rat. It likewise leaped over a broad dike with her without the least difficulty. A buffalo perhaps would be too cumbersome for this beast of prey, not

withstanding his strength, to seize and carry off with him in this manner. Two yeomen, upon whose veracity I can place some confidence, gave me the following account. Being a hunting near Boshies-man River with several Hottentots, they perceived a lion dragging a buffalo from the plain to a neighbouring woody hill. They, however, soon forced it to quit its prey, in order to make a prize of it themselves; and found that this wild beast had had the sagacity to take out the buffalo's large and unwieldly entrails, to be able the easier to make off with the fleshy and more eatable part of the carcase. The lion's strength, however, is said not to be sufficient alone to get the better of so large and strong an animal as the buffalo; but, to make it his prey, this fierce creature is obliged to have recourse both to agility and stratagem; insomuch that, stealing on the buffalo, it fastens with both its paws upon the nostrils and mouth of the beast, and keeps squeezing them close together, till at length the creature is strangled, wearied out, and dies. Buffaloes which had escaped from the clutches of lions, bore the marks of the claws of these animals about their mouths and noses. The lion itself, however, risked its life in such attempts, especially if any other buffalo were at hand to rescue that which was attacked. A traveller once had an opportunity of seeing a female buffalo with her calf, defended by a river at her back, keep for a long time at bay five lions, which had partly surrounded her, but did not dare to attack her. I have been informed, from very good authority, that on a plain to the east of Kromme River, a lion had been gored and trampled to death by a herd of cattle, having, urged probably by hunger, ventured to attack them in broad day light. This the reader will, perhaps, not so much wonder at, when he is informed, that in the day time, and upon an open plain, twelve or sixteen dogs will easily get the better of a large lion. Some other important particulars, such as the hunting, &c., of the lion, together with some account of the late combats of the lions and bull dogs, we shall give under the English name of this animal. See LION.

F. leopardus, the leopard, differs from the panther and the ounce, in the beauty of his color, which is a lively yellow, with smaller spots than those of the two latter, and disposed in groups. He is larger than the ounce, and less than the panther, being about four feet long, and the tail from two to two feet and a half. He inhabits Senegal and Guinea, and, when beasts of chase fail, descends from the internal parts of Africa among the numerous herds that cover the rich meadows of the lower Guinea. It tears its prey to pieces with both claws and teeth; but is always thin, though perpetually devouring. The panther is its enemy, and destroys numbers of them. The negresses make collars of their teeth, and attribute to them certain virtues. The negroes take these animals in pit-falls, covered at the top with slight hurdles, on which is placed some flesh as a bait. They make a banquet of their flesh, which is said to be as white as veal, and very well tasted. Leopards' skins are often brought to Europe, and

reckoned very valuable. In Asia these animals are found on the mountains of Caucasus, from Persia to India; and also in China, where they are called Poupi. By the Bukharian traders, who often bring their skins to Russia, they are styled Bars. The leopard inhabits also Arabia, where it is called Nemr. Mr. Forskal says, that in that country, as well as in Egypt, it will do no harm to man unless provoked; but will enter houses by night and destroy the cats.

F. lynx Canadensis, the Canadian lynx, has pale yellow eyes, and erect ears tufted with long black hair. The body is covered with soft and long fur, cinereous tinged with tawny, or gray mixed with white, and marked with black or dusky spots more or less visible in different subjects, dependent on the age or season in which the animal is killed; the legs are strong and thick; the claws large. It is about three times the size of a cat; though only about a foot high, and the tail is four inches long, tipt with black. This species inhabits the vast forest of North America. It is called in Canada le chat cervier, or le loup cervier, on account of its being so destructive to deer: which it drops on from the trees, like the puma, and, fixing on the jugular vein, never quits its hold till the exhausted animal falls through loss of blood. The English call it a wild cat. It is very destructive to the young pigs, poultry, and all kinds of game. The skins are in high esteem for the softness and warmness of the fur; and great numbers are annually imported into Europe.

F. caracal, the siyah-ghush, or Persian lynx, has a lengthened face and small head; very long slender ears, terminated with a long tuft of black hairs; eyes small: the upper part of the body is of a very pale reddish brown; and the belly and breast are whitish: the limbs are strong and pretty long; and the tail is about half the length of the body. These animals inhabit Arabia, Persia, India, and Barbary; where they are often brought up tame, and used in the chase of smaller quadrupeds, and the larger sort of birds, such as cranes, pelicans, peacocks, &c., which they surprise with great address. When they seize their prey, they hold it fast with their mouth, and lie for a time motionless on it. They are fierce when provoked; Dr. Charleton says, he saw one fall on a hound, which it killed and tore to pieces in a moment, notwithstanding the dog defended itself to the utmost.-The Arabian writers call it anak el ard; and say, that it hunts like the panther, jumps up at cranes as they fly, and covers its steps when hunting.

F. lynx chaus, the Caspian lynx, has a round head, a little more oblong than that of the common cat; shining restless eyes, with a most brilliant golden pupil; ears erect, oval, and lined with white hairs; their outside reddish, their summits tufted with black. The hairs are coarser than those of the cat or common lynx, but less so than those of the wolf. They are shortest on the head, but on the top of the back above two inches long. The color of the head and body is a yellowish-brown; the breast and belly of a bright brown, nearly orange. The tail reaches only to the flexure of the leg; is thick and cylindric; of the same color with the back, tipped

with black, and thrice obscurely annulated with black near the end. In general appearance it has the form of the domestic cat. Its length is two feet and a half from the nose to the base of the tail: its tail little more than eleven inches: its height before is nineteen inches; behind twenty. It is sometimes found larger, there being instances of its reaching the length of three feet from the nose to the tail. This animal inhabits the reeds and woods in the marshy parts that border on the western sides of the Caspian Sea, particularly about the castle of Kislar on the river Terek, and in the Persian provinces of Ghisan and Masenderan, and frequent about the mouth of the Kur, the ancient Cyrus.-In manners, voice, and food, it agrees with the wild cat. It conceals itself in the day, and wanders over the flooded tracts in search of prey; feeding on rats, mice, and birds, but seldom climbing trees. It is excessively fierce, and never frequents the haunts of mankind. It is so impatient of captivity, that one which was taken in a trap, and had a leg broken, refused for many days the food placed by it; but in its fury devoured the fractured limb, with pieces of the stake it was fastened to, and broke all its teeth in the phrensy of its rage.

F. lynx vulgaris, the common lynx, is about two feet and a half long and fifteen inches high. He has a great resemblance to the common cat; but his ears are longer and tufted, and his tail is much shorter: his head and body are of a grayish color tinged with red; his hair is streaked with yellow, white, and black colors. The lynx inhabits the vast forests of the north of Europe, Asia, America, and Japan. His eyes are brilliant, his aspect is soft, and his air is gay and sprightly. Like the cat, he covers his urine with earth; he howls something like the wolf, and is heard at a considerable distance; he does not run like the dog or wolf, but walks and leaps like a cat; he pursues his prey even to the tops of trees; neither wild cats nor squirrels can escape him; he lies in wait for stags, goats, hares, weasels, birds, &c., and darts suddenly upon them; he seizes them by the throat and sucks their blood; then opens the head and eats the brain; after this, he frequently leaves them and goes in search of fresh prey. The color of his skin changes according to the season or the climate; the winter furs are more beautiful than those of summer. These furs are valuable for their softness and warmth: numbers are annually imported from North America, and the north of Europe and Asia; the farther north and east they are taken, the whiter they are, and the more distinct the spots. Of these the most elegant kind is called irbys, whose skin sells on the spot for £1. sterling. The ancients, particularly Pliny, (viii. 8.) celebrated the great quickness of the lynx's sight; and feigned that its urine was converted into a precious stone.

F. onca, the American tiger, the jaguar of Buffon, is of a bright tawny color; the top of the back marked with long stripes of black; the sides with rows of eyes like annular spots, open in the middle, which is of the ground color of the hair: the thighs and legs are marked with full spots of black, the breast and belly whitish: the tail