] ] •; i.

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brownish black colour; the throat, belly, and inside of the legs,whULh. It grows to the size of a heifer of a year old, and hasvast strength in its limbs. It inhabits Brasil and Guiana ; and is acruel and tierce beast, but happily is a scarce species.

V. F. Jubata, the Hunting Leotard , is of the size of alargegreyhound, of a long make, with a narrow che>t and long legs.The colour of the body is of a light tawny brown marked withnumbers of small round black spots; the neck is shaggy, having amane four or live inches long; the hair on the belly is of the samelength, and the tail is longer than the body. It inhabits India ,where it is tamed and trained for che chace of antelopes.

VI. F. Leo, the Lion, is principally an inhabitant of Africa ,but is also found, though far less plentiful, in the hotter regions ofAsia. It is, however, in the interior of Africa that he exerts hisgreatest ravages, and attains his highest perfection. A lion of thelargest size lias been found to measure about eight feet from thenose to the tail, and the tail it-elt about four feet; the general co-lour is a pale tawny, still paler or more inclining to while beneath ;tiie head is very large, the ears rounded, the face covered withshort or close hair, the upper part of the head, the neck, andshoulders, coated with long shaggy hair, forming a pendent mane;on the body the hair is short and smooth; the tail is terminatedby a tuft of blackish hair. The lioness, which is smaller than thelion, is destitute of the mane, and is of a whiter cast beneath. Thelion, like the tiger, frequently conceals himself in order to springon ill's prey, hounding to the distance of a great many feel, andseizing it with his claws. 11 is strength is prodigious: it lias been evenaffirmed, that a single stroke of his paw is sufficient to break theback of a hoioe ; and that he carries off with ease a middle-sizedox or buffalo. He does not oiten prey in open sunshine, but com-mences his depredations at the close of day. The roaring oftiie lion, when in quest of prey, resembles the sound of distantthunder; and, beng re-echoed by the rocks and mountains, appalsthe whole race of animals, and ;,uts th'-m to sudden (light; but hefrequently varies Ins voice into a hideous scieam or yell: he issupposed to be destitute of a fine scent, and to hunt by the eyealone. 'I lie Hon is commonly said to devour as much as will servehim for two or three days, ami when satiated with food, to rema.nin a state of retirement in ills den, which he seldom leaves exceptlor the purpose of prowling about for bis prey. His teeth are sostrong that he breaks the bones w itli perfect ease, and often swal-lows them together with the llesh ; his tongue, as in other animalsof this genus, is furnished with reversed prickles; but they are solarge and strong in the lion as to be capable of lacerating the skin.The lioness is said to bring forth in the spring, in the most seques-tered places, and to produce but one brood m the year. Theyoung are four or five in number, which the parent nurses withgreat assiduity, and attends in their first excursions for prey. \Y henbrought into Europe lions have been known to breed even in astate of confinement; instances of which are recorded by some ofthe older naturalists. In the Tower of London also, examples ofa similar nature have occurred. The young animals are scarcely solarge as small pug dogs, and are said to continue at the teat abouttiie space of a year, and to be five years in coining to maturity.Lions have sometimes constituted a part of the established pompof royalty in the eastern world. The monarch of Persia , as wearc informed by Mr. Bell, in bis travels, had, on days of audience,tw o large lions chained on each side the passages of the hall ofstate, being led thither, by proper officers, in chains of gold. TheRomans, struck with tiie magnificent appearance of these animals,imported them in vast numbers from Africa , for their public spec-tacles. Quintus Scxvola, according to Pliny , was the first inRome who exhibited a combat of lion?; but Sylla the dictator,during bis practorsliip, exhibited a hundred lions; and after himPompey the Great exhibited no less than t>00 in tiie grand circus,viz. 315 males, and the ic.t females; and Ctrsar the dictator 400.The Romans, says Mr- Shaw, brought many more lions out ofLibya for their public shows, than are now to be found in thatcountry. The lions in Turkey, Persia , and the Indies, are aLosaid to be less numerous than formerly. As this formidable andcourageous animal makes a prey of most other animals, and is him-self a prev to none, this diminution in the number of the speciescan be owing to nothing but an increase in the number of man-kind: for the strength of tills king of beasts is not a match for theDexterity and addiess of a negro or Hottentot, who will often dareto attack iiim lace to face, ami with very slight weapons, The

ingenuity of mankind augments with their number; that of otheranimals continues always the same. All the noxious animals,, asthe lion, are reduced to a small number, not only because man-kind are become more numerous, but likewise because they have| become more ingenious, and have invented weapons which no-thing can resin. This superiority, in the numbers and industry ofmankind, at the same that it has broke the vigour of the lion,seems likewise to have enervated his courage. This quality,though natural, is exalted or lowered according to the good or badsuccess with which any animal has been accustomed to employhis force. In the vast desarts ol Zaara, in those which separatethe Negroes and Moors, between Senegal and the boundaries ofMauritania ; in H.ose uninhabited regions above the country of theHottentots; and, in 'general, all the meridional parts ol Africa andAsia , wheie mankind have disdained to dwell, Hons are still as nu-merous and ferocious as ever. Accustomed to measure theirstrength by that 01 all other animals w hich they encounter, the ha-bit of conquering renders them haughty ami intrepid. Havingnever experienced the strength of man, or tne power of his arms,instead of discovering any signs of tear, they disdain and set him atdefiance. ' Wounds irritate, but do not terrify them: they are noteven disconcerted at the sight of miiubeis. A single lion of thedesart has been known to attack a whole caravan; and if, aftcTaviolent and obstinate engagement, be found himself weakened, hi:retreats lighting, always keeping ho lace to the enemy. On tinother hand, the lions which live near the villages or huts of the In-dians or Africans, being acquainted with man and the force of In-arms, are so dastardly as to fly and leave their prey at the sight <>twomen or children. ’1 his soltcning in the temper and dispositionof the lion, shews that he is capable of culture, and susceptible, atleast to a certa n degree, of the impressions that lie receives: ac-cordingly, history informs us of lions yoked m triumphal chariot-',trained to war, or the cliace; and that, faithful to their masters,they never employed their strength or courage but against theirenemies. It is certain, tiiat a Hon taken young, anil brought upamong domestic animals, will easily be accustomed to live andsport with them; that he is mild and caressing to his master, espe-cially when lie is young; and that, if his natural ferocity some-times breaks out, it is rarely turned against those w bo have beenkind to him. But, as his passions are impetuous and vehement, itis not to be expected tiiat the impressions of education will at alltimes be sufficient lo balance them: for this reason it is dangerousto let him sutler hunger long, or to vex him by ill-timed teazings:bad treatment not only irritates 1 1 ni, but he remembers it long,and meditates revenge. On the other hand, he is exceedinglygrateful, and seldom lorgets benefits received. He has been oftenobserved to disdain weak or insignificant enemies, to despise theirinsults, and to pardon their otfensive liberties. When led intocaptivity, he will discover symptoms of uneasiness, without angeror peevishness: on the coutiary, his natural temper softens, heobeys bis master, caresses the hand that gives him food, and some-!times gives life to such anipials as are llirown lo him alive forprey: by this act of generosity he seems to consider himself as forever bound to protect them ; lie lives peaceably with them ; al-lows them a part, and sometimes the whole, of his food; and willrather submit lo the pangs ot hunger, than till Ins stomach with thefruit of his beneficence. The lion is not a cruel animal: he killsrather from necessity than choice, never destroying more than heeats; and whenever his appetite is satisfied, lie ts mild and peace-able. For his ordinary subsistence, he requires about 15 poundsof raw flesh each day. 'The aspect of the lion corresponds withnoble and generous qualities of his mind. His figure is re-spectable; his looks are determined; his gait is stately, and hisvoice tremendous. In a word, the body of the Hon appeal’s to bethe best model of strength joined to agility. The force ot his mus-cles is expressed by bis prodigious leaps and bounds, often 20 feetat ouce; by the brisk motion of bis tail, a single sw eep of w hich issufficient to throw a man to the ground; by the ease with whichlie moves the skin of bis face, and particularly of bis forehead ;and, lastly, by the faculty of erecting and agitating the hair of hismane when irritated. .See Plate LXIX.

VII. F. I -eopardaus, the Lesser Leotard of Pennant, re-sembles the Leopard , but is not half so large; the tail is shorter inproportion to its size, and tapers to a point; it has a large blackspot on each side of the upper lip; tin- bzek sides and rump arecovered with brinht yellow hair, marked with small circular coin-

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