Note 13 — CHAP. V.

In mentioning these beasts, I beg leave to make a few remarks on the prevailing opinion respecting lions and tigers. In England we have generally been taught to consider the lion as the king of the forest; but to convince me of this, would be a difficult task, as I have frequently been an eye-witness of the strength, fierceness, and agility of the tiger; to which the lion, in these qualities, is much inferior. Of these animals, my reader will be pleased not to draw any conclusions from what he may have seen of exhibitions in Europe, as they bear no more proportion to lions and tigers, in their natural state, than a stout puppy does to a full-grown dog. In short, it is my humble opinion, that the tigers of India are stronger, more active, and much fiercer, than the lions of Africa, and in every respect their superior, with the exception of generosity, of which quality the tiger is quite destitute. It is this only that gives the lion the advantage.