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fcent, neither does it openly hunt other animals. At least, the only instance ever known of this, is that which I have mentioned before, in vol.i. p. 307, in which it is spoken of as having hunted an elk-antilope; though it might poffibly be, that this wild beaft was reduced by extreme hunger to fuch an extraordinary expedient. The lion, nevertheless, is fwift of foot. Two hunters informed me, that an imprudent and fool-hardy companion of theirs, was clofely pursued by a lion in their fight, and very nearly overtaken by it, though he was mounted on an excellent hunter.

"The lion's ftrength is confiderable. This animal was once feen at the Cape to take an heifer in his mouth, and though the legs of this latter dragged on the ground, yet feemed to carry her off with the fame cafe as a cat does a rat. It likewife leaped over a broad dike with her, without the leaft difficulty. A buffalo perhaps would be too cumbersome for this beaft of prey, notwithstanding his strength, to feize and carry off with him in the manner above mentioned. Two yeomen, upon whofe veracity I can place fome confidence, gave me the following account relative to

this matter:

"Being a-hunting near Bofhiesman-rivier with feveral Hottentots, they perceived a lion dragging a buffalo from the plain to a neigh bouring woody hill. They, how ever, foon forced it to quit its prey, in order to make a prize of it themfelves; and found that this wild beast had had the fagacity to take out the buffalo's large and unweildy entrails, in order to be able the easier to make off with the fleshy and more eatable part of the carcafe. The wild beaft, however, as foon as he faw, from the skirts of the wood, that

the Hottentots had begun to carry off the flesh to the waggon, frequently peeped out upon them, and probably with no little mortification.' The lion's ftrength, however, is faid not to be fufficient alone to get the better of fo large and ftrong an animal as the buffalo but, in order to make it his prey, this fierce creature is obliged to have recourse both to agility and stratagem; infomuch, that ftealing on the buffalo, it faftens with both its paws upon the noftrils and mouth of the beaft, and keeps fqueezing them clofe together, till at length the creature is ftrangled, wearied out, and dies. A certain colonist, according to report, had had an opportunity of feeing an attack of this kind; and others had reafon to conclude, that fomething of this nature had paffed, from feeing buffaloes, which had efcaped from the clutches of lions, and bore the marks of the claws of these animals about their mouth and nose. They af ferted, however, that the lion itfelf rifqued its life in fuch attempts, especially if any other buffalo was at hand to rescue that which was attacked. It was faid, that a traveller once had an opportunity of feeing 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 furrounded her, but did not (at least as long as the traveller looked on) dare to attack her. I have been informed, from very good authority, that on a plain to the east of Kromme-rivier, 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 fo much wonder at, when he is told, that in the day-time, and upon

an

Optical Appearances. "From this theoretical view of the heavens, which has been taken, as we obferved, from a point not lefs diftant in time than in fpace, we will now retreat to our own retired station in one of the planets, attending a ftar in its great combination with numberlefs others; and, in order to investigate what will be the appearances from this contracted fituation, let us begin with the naked eye. The stars of the first magnitude being in all probability the nearest, will furnish us with a step to begin our fcale; fetting off, therefore, with the diftance of Sirius or Arcturus, for inftance, as unity, we will at prefent fuppofe, that thofe of the fecond magnitude are at double, and thofe of the third at treble the diftance, and fo forth. It is not neceflary critically to examine what quantity of light or magnitude of a ftar intitles it to be cftimated of fuch or fuch a proportional distance, as the common coarfe eftimation will anfwer our prefent purpose as well; taking it then for granted, that a ftar of the feventh magni. tude is about feven times as far as one of the first, it follows, that an obferver, who is inclofed in a globular cluster of ftars, and not far from the centre, will never be able, with the naked eye, to fee to the end of it; for, fince, according to the above eftimations, he can only extend his view to about feven times the diftance of Sirius, it can not be expected that his eyes fhould reach the borders of a cluster which has perhaps not lefs than fifty ftars In depth every where around him. The whole univerfe, therefore, to him will be comprifed in a fet of conftellations, richly ornamented with scattered stars of all fizes. Or

if the united brightnefs of a neighbouring cluster of stars fhould, in a remarkable clear night, reach his fight, it will put on the appearance of a small, faint,, whitish, nebulous cloud, not to be perceived without the greatest attention. To pafs by other fituations, let him be placed in a much extended ftratum, or branching cluster of millions of ftars, fuch as may fail under the third form of nebule considered in a foregoing paragraph. Here alfo the heavens will not only be richly. fcattered over with brilliant conftellations, but a fhining zone or milky way will be perceived to furround the whole fphere of the heavens, owing to the combined light of thofe ftars which are too small, that is, too remote to be feen. Our obferver's fight will be fo confined, that he will imagine this fingle collection of ftars, of which he does not even perceive the thoufandth part, to be the whole contents of the heavens. Allowing him now the ufe of a common telefcope, he begins to fufpect that all the milkineis of the bright path which furrounds the fphere may be owing to ftars. He perceives a few clusters of them in various parts of the heavens, and finds alfo that there are a kind of nebulous patches; but ftill his views are not extended fo far as to reach to the end of the ftratum in which he is fituated, fo that he looks upon these patches as belonging to that fyftem which to him feems to comprehend every celestial object. He now increa es his power of vifion, and, applying himfelf to a close obfervation, finds that the milky way is indeed no other than a collection of very fmall ftars. He perceives that those objects which are called nebula are evidently nothing but clusters of

ftars.

ry turning and winding of a poor timid hare.

"It is only on the plains that the hunters venture to go out on horfeback after the lion. If it keeps in fome coppice, or wood, on a rifing ground, they endeavour to teize it with dogs till it comes out; they likewife prefer going together two or more in number, in order to be able to affift and refcue each other, in cafe the first shot fhould not take place.

"When the lion fees the hunters at a great diftance, it is univerfally allowed that he takes to his heels as fast as ever he can, in, order to get out of their fight; but if they chance to difcover him at a small distance from them, he is then faid to walk off in a furly manner, but without putting himfelf in the leaft hurry, as though he was above fhewing any fear, when he finds himself difcovered or hunted. He is therefore reported likewife, when he finds himfelf purfued with vigour, to be foon provoked to refiitance, or at least he difdains any longer to fly. Confequently he flackens his pace, and at length only fidles flowly off, ftep by step, all the while eying his purfuers afkaunt; and finally makes a full ftop, and turning round upon them, and at the fame time giving himself a fhake, roars with a fhort and fharp tone, in order to fhew his indignation, being ready to feize on them and tear them in pieces. This is now precifely the time for the hunters to be upon the fpot, or elfe to get as foon as poffible within a certain diftance of him, yet fo as at the fame time to keep at a proper distance from each other; and he that is nearest, or is moft advantageoutly pofted, and has the best mark of that part of the lion's body which contains his heart

and lungs, must be the first to jump off his horfe, and, fecuring the bridle by putting it round his arm, difcharge his piece; then in an inftant recovering his feat, must ride obliquely athwart his companions; and, in fine, giving his horse the reins, must truft entirely to the fpeed and fear of this latter, to convey him out of the reach of the fury of the wild beaft, in cafe he has only wounded him, or has abfolutely miffed him. In either of thefe cafes, a fair opportunity prefents itself for fome of the other hunters to jump off their horfes directly, as they may then take their aim and difcharge their pieces with greater coolnefs and certainty. Should this fhot likewife mifs, (which, however, feldom happens) the third fportsman rides after the lion, which at that inftant is in purfuit of the first or the second, and, fpringing off his horfe, fires his piece, as foon as he has got within a proper diftance, and finds a fufficiently convenient part of the animal prefent itself, efpecially obliquely from behind. If now the lion turns upon him too, the other hunters turn again, in order to come to his refcue with the charge, which they loaded with on horfeback, while they were flying from the wild beast.

"No inftance has ever been known of any misfortune happening to the hunters in chafing the lion on horfeback. The African colonists, who are born in, or have had the courage to remove into the more remote parts of Africa, which are expofed to the ravages of wild beafts, are mostly good marksmen, and are far from wanting courage. The lion, that has the boldnefs to feize on their cattle, which are the most valuable part of their property, fometimes at their very doors, is as odious to them as he is dan

gerous

ftory which I have been able to confult, incline me to believe it to be a non-defcript. As the peculiarities of its ftructure may add to the knowledge of the natural hiftory of other animals of this genus, at prefent fo little understood, I have drawn out a more particular account of it; which, if you think it deferves attention, you may prefent to the Royal Society.

"This animal was found on the fouth-east coast of Barbadoes, clofe to Charles Fort, about a mile from Bridge Town, in fome fhoal water, feparated from the fea by the ftones and fand thrown up by the dreadful hurricane, which happened in the year 1780, and did fo much mischief to the island.

"The wind, in the beginning of the ftorm, which was in the afternoon, blew very furioufly from the north-west, making a prodigious fwell in the fea; and in the middle of the night changing fuddenly to the fouth-eaft, it blew from that quarter upon the fea, already agitated, forcing it upon the fhore with fo much violence, that it threw down the rampart of Fort Charles, which was oppofed to it, although thirty feet broad, by the bursting of one fea. It forced up, at the fame time, immenfe quantities of large coral rocks from the bottom of the bay, making a reef along this part of the coaft for the extent of feveral miles, at only a few yards distance from the fhore.

"The foundings of the harbour were found afterwards to be intirely changed, by the quantity of materials removed from the bottom in different places. In the reef of coral was found an infinite number of large pieces of brain ftone, containing the hell of this animal; but the animals had either been

long dead, or more probably deftroyed by the motion of the rocks in the ftorm: fome few of the brain-ftones, however, that had been thrown beyond the reef, and lodged in the thoal water, receiving lefs injury, the animals were preferved. unhurt.

"The animal, with the shell, is almoft intirely inclofed in the brainftone, so that at the depth in which they generally lie, they are hardly difcernible through the water from the common furface of the brainftone; but when in fearch of food, they throw up two cones, with membranes twisted round them in a fpiral manner, which have a loose fringed edge, looking at the bottom of the fea like two flowers; and in this state they were difcovered.

"The fpecies of Actinia, called in Barbadoes the animal flower, and common to many parts of that itland, although rarely before seen on this part of the coaft, was now found in confiderable numbers in this thoal water.

“The animal was first observed by captain Hendie, the officer commanding Fort Charles, in looking for fhells which were thrown up in great numbers from the bottom of the harbour. He found a piece of brain-ftone containing three of them in different parts of it. Some little time after, I was lucky enough to find another brain-ftone with two in it; one of them is the fpecimen in your poffeffion; the other was deftined for examination, of which the following is the account.

"The animal, when taken out of the fhell, including the two cones and their membranes, is five inches in length; of which the body is three inches and three-quarters, and the apparatus for catching its

prey,

prey, which may be confidered as its tentacula, about an inch and a quarter.

"The body of the animal is at tached to its fhell, for about three. quarters of an inch in length, at the anterior part where the two cones arife, by means of two cartilaginous fubftances, with one fide adapted to the body of the animal, the other to the internal furface of the fhell: the rest of the body is unattached, of a darkish white colour, about half an inch broad, a little flattened, and rather narrower towards the tail. The mufcular fibres upon its back are tranfverfe; thofe on the belly longitudinal, making a band the whole length of the body, on the edge of which the tranfverfe fibres running across the back terminate.

"The two cartilaginous fubftances by which the animal adheres to its fhell, are placed one on each fide of the body, and are joined together upon the back of the animal at their pofterior edges: they are about three quarters of an inch long, are very narrow at their anterior end, becoming broader as they go backwards; and at their pofterior end they are the whole breadth of the body of the animal. Upon their external furface there are fix tranfverfe ridges, or narrow folds; and along their external edges, at the end or termination of each ridge, is a little eminence refembling the point of a hair pencil, fo that on each fide of the animal there are fix of thefe little projecting ftuds, for the purpofe of adhering to the fides of the thell in which the animal is inclofed. The internal surfaces of these cartilages are firmly attached to the body of the animal, in their middle part, by a kind of band or liga

ment; but the upper and lower ends are lying loote.

"From the end of the body, between the two upper ends of thefe cartilages, arife what I fuppofe to be the tentacula, confitting of two cones, each having a spiral membrane twining round it: they are clofe to each other at their bafes, and diverge as they rife up, being about an inch and a quarter in length, and nearly one-fixth of an inch in thickness at their bafe, and gradually diminishing till they terminate in points. The membranes which twine round thefe cones alfo take their origin from the body of the animal, and make five fpiral turns and a half round each, being loft in the points of the cones; they are loofe from the cone at the lowest spiral turn which they make, and are nearly half an inch in breadth; they are exceedingly delicate, and have at fmall distances fibres running across them from their attachment at the stem to the loofe edge, which gives them a ribbed appearance. Thefe fibres are continued about one-tenth of an inch beyond the membrane, having their edges finely ferrated, like the tentacula of the Actinia found in Barbadoes: thefe tentacula shorten as the fpiral turns become smaller, and are entirely lott in that part of the membrane which terminates in the point of the cone.

"Behind the origin of these cones arifes a fmall fhell, which, for one fixth of an inch from its attachment to the animal, is very flender: it is about three-quarters of an inch in length, becoming confiderably broader at the other end, which is flat, and about onethird of an inch broad; the flattened extremity is covered with a kind of hair, and has rifing out of

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