ook
the chief part in the amusements of some "Nimrod, a mighty hunter before
the Lord." Even our Scottish kings kept a lion or lions as ornaments of
their court. At Stirling Castle and Palace, a room which we saw in 1865,
still bears the name of the "Lion's Den." The British lion is an old
emblem of both Scotland and England, and it is not twenty-five years ago
since we, in common with every visitor to the Tower, were glad to see
"the Royal Lion." Dr Livingstone's experience, we have not the slightest
wish to prove its accuracy, shows that the lion has a soothing, or
rather paralysing power over his prey, when he has knocked it down or
bitten it.

BUSSAPA, THE TIGER-SLAYER, AND THE TIGER.

The following striking anecdote recounts the extraordinary presence of
mind and determined courage of a celebrated Mahratta hunter named
Bussapa. This man acquired the name of the "Tiger-slayer," and wore on
his breast several silver medals granted by the Indian Government for
feats of courage in destroying tigers. Colonel Campbell met him, and in
"My Indian Journal" (pp. 142, 143), published in 1864, has recorded from
his brother's diary the following anecdote:--"Bussapa, a hunter of
'Lingyat' caste, with whom I am well acquainted, was sent for by the
headman of a village, to destroy a tiger which had carried off a number
of cattle. He came, and having ascertained the brute's usual haunts,
fastened a bullock near the edge of a ravine which he frequented, and
quietly seated himself beside it, protected only by a small bush. Soon
after sunset the tiger appeared, killed the bullock, and was glutting
himself with blood, when Bussapa, thrusting his long matchlock through
the bush, fired, and wounded him severely. The tiger half rose, but
being unable to see his assailant on account of the intervening bush,
dropped again on his prey with a sudden growl. Bussapa was kneeling
within three paces of him, completely defenceless; he did not even dare
to reload, for he well knew that the slightest movement on his part
would be the signal for his immediate destruction; his bare knees were
pressed upon gravel, but he dared not venture to shift his uneasy
position. Ever and anon, the tiger, as he lay with his glaring eyes
fixed upon the bush, uttered his hoarse growl of anger; his hot breath
absolutely blew upon the cheek of the wretched man, yet still he moved
not. The pain of his cramped position increased every moment--suspense
became almost