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Directions for Reading.—­This lesson should be read a little more slowly than conversation.  When we wish to describe any thing, we must give time for those who listen to us to get the meaning of what we say.

Do not run the words together when reading. (See Directions for Reading, page 42.)[03]

Example.—­“There is, in the appearance of the lion, something both noble and imposing.”

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Language Lesson.—­Syllabify, accent, and mark sounds of letters in the following words:  meeting, require, Europe, idea, terror, measures, unlucky, narrow, bolder.

Air of majesty means the noble appearance supposed to belong to kings.

[03] See Lesson VII.

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LESSON X.

ar ti fi’ cial, not real; made by human skill.

ex er’tion, great effort; attempt.

destroyed’, killed; put an end to.

cleansed, cleaned; freed from dirt.

sit u a’tion, position.

fa’mous, much talked of; well known.

fre’quent ly, often.

in’ci dent, adventure; event.

nar rat’ed, told.

hurled, thrown with force.

stu’por, sleepy feeling.

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ADVENTURE WITH A LION.

The dangers of lion-hunting may be understood from the following incident, narrated by Livingstone, the famous African traveler: 

“The villagers among whom I was staying were much troubled by lions, which leaped into their cattle-pens and destroyed their cows.

“As I knew well that, if one of a number of lions is killed, the others frequently take the hint and leave that part of the country, I gave the villagers advice to that end, and, to encourage them, offered to lead the hunt.

“The lions were found hiding among the rocks on a hill covered with trees, and about a quarter of a mile in length.  The men circled the hill, and slowly edged in closer and closer, so that the lions might be completely surrounded.

“Presently one of the natives spied a lion sitting on a piece of rock, and fired at him, the ball missing the beast and striking the rock.

“The lion turned, bit like a dog at the spot where the bullet had struck, and then bounded off to the shelter of the brushwood.

“Soon I saw another lion in much the same situation as the former, and, being not more than thirty yards from it, let fly with both barrels.

“As the lion was still on its legs, I hastened to reload my gun; but hearing a sudden and frightful cry from the natives, I looked up and saw the wounded lion springing upon me.