intolerable; but the motion of a limb, the rustling of a
leaf, would have been death. Thus they remained, the man and the tiger,
watching each other's motions; but even in this fearful situation, his
presence of mind never for a moment forsook the noble fellow. He heard
the gong of the village strike each hour of that fearful night, that
seemed to him 'eternity,' and yet he lived; the tormenting mosquitoes
swarmed round his face, but he dared not brush them off. That fiend-like
eye met his whenever he ventured a glance towards the horrid spell that
bound him; and a hoarse growl grated on the stillness of the night, as a
passing breeze stirred the leaves that sheltered him. Hours rolled on,
and his powers of endurance were well-nigh exhausted, when, at length,
the welcome streaks of light shot up from the eastern horizon. On the
approach of day, the tiger rose, and stalked away with a sulky pace, to
a thicket at some distance, and then the stiff and wearied Bussapa felt
that he was safe.

"One would have thought that, after such a night of suffering, he would
have been too thankful for his escape, to venture on any further risk.
But the valiant Bussapa was not so easily diverted from his purpose; as
soon as he had stretched his cramped limbs, and restored the checked
circulation, he reloaded his matchlock, and coolly proceeded to finish
his work. With his match lighted, he advanced close to the tiger, lying
ready to receive him, and shot him dead by a ball in the forehead, while
in the act of charging."

Colonel Campbell relates, that most of Bussapa's family have fallen
victims to tigers. But the firm belief of the "tiger-slayer" in
predestination, makes him blind to all danger.

JOHN HUNTER AND THE DEAD TIGER.

The greatest comparative anatomist our country has produced, John
Hunter, obtained the refusal of all animals which happened to die in the
Tower or in the travelling menageries. In this way he often obtained
rare subjects for his researches. Dr Forbes Winslow[136] alludes to a
well-known fact, that all the money Hunter could spare, was devoted to
procuring curiosities of this sort, and Sir Everard Home used to state,
that as soon as he had accumulated fees to the amount of ten guineas, he
always purchased some addition to his collection. Indeed, he was not
unfrequently obliged to borrow of his friends, when his own funds were
at a low ebb, and the temptation was strong. "Pray, George," said he one
day to M