HE LION.

This animal stands at the head of the numerous family of cats, and has
often been ranked by naturalists as the lord of the brute creation, and
holding the same relation to quadrupeds as the eagle does to birds.

Like all the rest of his genus, the lion steals upon his prey, and,
when at a proper distance, rushes upon it with a bound, securing it in
his sharp claws. In general he is cowardly; but, in pursuit of his
prey, he is, to the last degree, fearless and ferocious. His strength
is so great that he can break a man's skull with the stroke of his paw,
and can drag the body of a cow over the ground at a gallop. His roar is
terrific, and when heard, the animals around seem agitated with the
wildest terror. The lion is common in the hot parts of Africa, and is
occasionally found in India.

_Miscellaneous Anecdotes._--Some Hottentots once perceived a lion
dragging a buffalo from the plain to a neighboring woody hill. They
soon forced him to quit his prey, in order to secure it for themselves.
They now found that the lion had had the sagacity to take out those
inner parts of the buffalo that it rejected as food, in order to make
it easier to carry away the fleshy and eatable parts of the carcass,
thus showing reflection on his part.

It is probable that the lion does not easily venture upon any one who
puts himself in a posture of defence. The following anecdote would seem
to show that this is the case. A young man was walking one day on his
lands in the southern parts of Africa, when he unexpectedly met a large
lion. Being an excellent shot, he thought himself sure of killing him,
and therefore fired. But unfortunately, the charge had been in the
piece for some time, and the ball fell before it reached the animal.
The young man, seized with panic, now took to his heels; 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 adversary, fully resolved to defend his life as well as he
could.

This movement had such an effect upon the lion, that he likewise came
to a stand; and what was still more singular, laid himself down at some
paces' distance from the 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 lost his powder-horn. At length,
after waiting a good half hour, the lion rose up, and retreated slow