l Gardens, who is as tame and
gentle as a domestic cat. We have seen this fine creature walking up and
down the front of his den as his keeper walked, rubbing himself against
the bars, purring with manifest pleasure as his back or head was
stroked, and caressing the man's hand with his huge velvet paws. There
is in the collection another jaguar, just as savage as this one is tame.
There was also a jaguar formerly in the Tower, which was obtained by
Lord Exmouth while on the South American Station, and was afterwards
present at the memorable bombardment of Algiers. This animal was equally
gentle with that we have described, and was presented to the Marchioness
of Londonderry by Lord Exmouth on his return to England after that
engagement: it was placed by her Ladyship in the Tower, where it died.

In a state of nature these animals have been known to show not only
forbearance, but even playfulness, of which Humboldt relates the
following instance which occurred at the mission of Atures, on the banks
of the Orinoco: "Two Indian children, a boy and girl, eight or nine
years of age, were sitting among the grass near the village of Atures,
in the midst of a savannah. It was two in the afternoon when a jaguar
issued from the forest and approached the children, gambolling around
them, sometimes concealing itself among the long grass and again
springing forward with his back curved and his head lowered, as is usual
with our cats. The little boy was unaware of the danger in which he was
placed, and became sensible of it only when the jaguar struck him on the
side of the head with one of his paws. The blows thus inflicted were at
first slight, but gradually became ruder; the claws of the jaguar
wounded the child, and blood flowed with violence; the little girl then
took up the branch of a tree, and struck the animal, which fled before
her. The Indians, hearing the cries of the children, ran up, and saw the
jaguar, which bounded off without showing any disposition to defend
itself." In all probability, this fit of good humor was to be traced to
the animal having been plentifully fed; for most assuredly the children
would have stood but little chance, had their visitor been subjected to
a meagre diet for some days previously.

Mr. Edwards, in his voyage up the Amazon, tells of an exchange of
courtesies between a traveller and a jaguar. The jaguar was standing in
the road as the Indian came out of the bushes, not ten paces distant,