“Why, the lion must have known what he wanted the gun for.”

“Most certainly he did, and therefore would not allow the man to touch it.  It is to be presumed that the sagacious creature had been fired at before; but you observe, that he did not wish to harm the man.  He appeared to say—­You are in my power; you shall not go away:  you shall not take your musket to shoot me with, or I will tear you to pieces.”

“It certainly was very curious.  Pray how did it end?”

“Why the heat of the sun on the rock was so overpowering, that the man was in great agony; his naked feet were so burned, that he was compelled to keep moving them, placing one upon the other and changing them every minute.  The day passed, and the night also; the lion never moved from the spot.  The sun rose again, and the heat became so intense that the poor man’s feet were past all feeling.  At noon, on that day, the lion rose and walked to the pool, which was only a few yards distant, looking behind him every moment to see if the man moved; the man once more attempted to reach his gun, and the lion, perceiving it, turned in rage, and was on the point of springing upon him; the man withdrew his hand, and the beast was pacified.”

“How very strange!”

“The animal went to the water and drank; it then returned and lay down at the same place as before, about a yard from the man’s feet.  Another night passed away, and the lion kept at his post.  The next day, in the forenoon, the animal again went to the water, and while there looked as if he heard a noise in an opposite quarter, and then disappeared in the bushes.

“Perceiving this, the man made an effort, and seized his gun, but in attempting to rise he found it not in his power, as the strength of his ankles was gone.  With his gun in his hand, he crept to the pool and drank, and, looking at his feet, he discovered that his toes had been quite roasted and the skin torn off as he crawled through the grass.  He sat at the pool for a few minutes expecting the lion’s return, and resolved to send the contents of his gun through his head; but the lion did not return, so the poor fellow tied his gun on his back and crawled away on his hands and knees as well as he could.  He was quite exhausted, and could have proceeded no further, when providentially a person fell in with him and assisted him home; but he lost his toes, and was a cripple for life.”

“What makes this story more remarkable is,” observed the Major, “that the lion, as it is rational to suppose, must have been hungry after watching the man for sixty hours, even admitting that he had taken a meal but a short time before.”

“I know many other curious and well-authenticated anecdotes about this noble animal,” observed Swinton, “which I shall be happy to give you; but I must look at my memorandum-book, or I may not be quite correct in my story.  One fact is very remarkable, and as I had it from Mr. ——­, the missionary, who stated that he had several times observed it himself, I have no hesitation in vouching for its correctness, the more so, as I did once perceive a similar fact myself; it is, that the fifth commandment is observed by lions—­they honor their father and mother.