, or how
to find their way out. The people crowded first on one side, and then
on the other, as their fears instigated them. I was very soon jammed up
with my back against the bars of one of the cages, and feeling some
beast lay hold of me behind, made a desperate effort, and succeeded in
climbing up to the cage above, not, however, without losing the seat of
my trowsers, which the laughing hyaena would not let go. I hardly knew
where I was when I climbed up. I was surmising what danger I should
next encounter, when to my joy I discovered that I had gained the open
door from which the lioness had escaped. I crawled in, and pulled the
door to after me, thinking myself very fortunate: and there I sat very
quietly in a corner during the remainder of the noise and confusion. I
had been there but a few minutes, when the beef-eaters, as they were
called, who played the music outside, came in with torches and loaded
muskets. No one was seriously hurt. As for the lioness, she was not to
be found and as soon as it was ascertained that she had escaped, there
was as much terror and scampering away outside, as there had been in the
menagerie. It appeared afterwards, that the animal had been as much
frightened as we had been, and had secreted herself under one of the
waggons. It was some time before she could be found. At last O'Brien,
who was a very brave fellow, went a-head of the beef-eaters, and saw her
eyes glaring. They borrowed a net or two from the carts which had
brought calves to the fair, and threw them over her. When she was
fairly entangled, they dragged her by the tail into the menagerie. All
this while I had remained very quietly in the den, but when I perceived
that its lawful owner had come back to retake possession, I thought it
was time to come out; so I called to my messmates, who, with O'Brien,
were assisting the beef-eaters. They had not discovered me, and laughed
very much when they saw where I was. One of the midshipmen shot the
bolt of the door, so that I could not jump out, and then stirred me up
with a long pole. At last I contrived to unbolt it again, and got out,
when they laughed still more, at the seat of my trowsers being torn off.
It was not exactly a laughing matter to me, although I had to
congratulate myself upon a very lucky escape; and so did my messmates
think, when I narrated my adventures. O'Brien lent me a dark silk
handkerchief, which I tied round my waist, and let drop behi