of his vengeance--a firebrand spreading
discord, war, and animosity among the neighbouring tribes--he would now
make every concession and any sacrifice to prevent collision and
bloodshed between contending parties.

"Although his power was so great that he might have raised his arm and
dared them to lift a spear or draw a bow, he would entreat them as a
suppliant to be reconciled.

"`Look at me,' he would say, `how many battles have I fought; how much
cattle have I taken; but what has it done for me, but make me full of
shame and sorrow?'"

"In short, from that time till he died, he became a peacemaker and a
Christian, both in word and deed. His whole life was devoted to acts of
kindness and charity--to instructing and exhorting, and following the
precepts of Him in whose faith eventually he lived and died."

"Well, Swinton, you have indeed given us a remarkable proof that the
missionary labours are not always thrown away, and we thank you for your
compliance with our request."

"It is a remarkable instance, if you only consider how many hundreds of
lives might have been sacrificed, if Africaner had continued his career
of slaughter and of plunder; and how many lives, I may add, have been
also saved by his interference as a peacemaker, instead of being, as he
formerly was, a promoter of war and bloodshed."

"Swinton," said Alexander, "I wanted to ask you a question which I had
nearly forgotten. Do you recollect what Bremen said to us, that the
lion had seized the gemsbok, and that now the lion would shut his eyes,
and that he would shoot him?"

"Yes, I do; and he was correct in what he stated, for I have witnessed
it myself. When a lion seizes a large animal like an ox or horse, or
the animal he fell a martyr to this afternoon, he springs upon it,
seizes it by the throat with his terrible fangs, and holds it down with
his paws till it expires. From the moment the lion seizes his prey, he
shuts his eyes, and never opens them again until the life of his prey is
extinct. I remember a Hottentot, when a lion had seized an ox in this
way, running up to him with his gun and firing within a few yards'
distance. The lion, however, did not deign to notice the report of the
gun, but continued to hold fast his prey. The Hottentot loaded again,
fired, and again missed; reloaded again, and then shot the lion through
the head."

"How very strange!"

"It is, and I cannot give any reason for it; but that it is so, I we