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men that a man is in the way. For this reafon it is that the king is wholly attended by women, no man being permitted to enter the walls of the palace, unless to repair it, in which cafe the women are removed to fome diftant part. When the women go to take the air in the fields, which they frequently do, fome hundreds at a time, upon feeing a man they call out, Stand clear upon which he falls on his face, Continuing in that pofture till they are palled by; for the flightest look would be criminal.

Several travellers have, not unjustly, compared the manners of this people to the Chinese. The fame laborious industry, ceremonious civility, thievifh inclinations in trade, and jealous affection to their women, prevail. Their external refpect likewise to strangers has a resemblance. If the Whidanefe meet an European twenty times in a day, the fame ceremonies are repeated, the neglect of which is punished with a fine. The late king of Whidah carried this confideration of foreigners to fuch a height, that one of his principal offieers was beheaded, for prefuming to lift his cane in a menacing manner over the head of a Frenchman. The chief director of the French ufed all bis influence to mitigate the punishment; but the king was inexorable, nor could any thing less than his life atone for fo heinous a crime as a breach of hofpitality.

The Whidans have no equation of time, no distinction of hours, days, weeks, or nated periods. They know the fowing time by the moon, or rather, they fow as foon as they have reaped; and their markets they keep every third day; no other Atated feftivals of any kind being known. However, without pen, ink, or the affiftance of an artificial arithmetic, they calcu Late the largest fums with great accuracy, ftate shares with great exactnefs, and perform the operations, not only of the first elements, but of the more complex rules of arithmetic, with a quickness that will often exceed the most expert European arithmetician. Des Marchais alledges, that the wifeft cannot tell you his age. If you afk when fuch a man was born, he tells you it was about the time that fuch a fhip, or fuch an European factor, came to Whidah. From whence we may infe, that their history goes no higher among them than the living generation.

Though the customs of the inhabitants of Whidah have in general a strong re

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femblance to thofe of the Gold Coast, yet their religion, and the grounds of their manners, are quite different. As to women, while the latter content themselves with one, two, or three, and the persons of the highest quality are prohibited from exceeding twenty wives, the Whidafians, even the poorest, have forty or fifty. The great men keep three or four hundred, and frequently twice that number; the king four or five thousand, but feldom fewer than three thoufand. No people on earth perform the connubial rites with lefs ceremony. All bargains, contracts, jointures, and portions, are entirely unknown to them. The negroes of the other coafts purchase their women with cattle, fish, and other commodities; they are permitted to difmifs her, if the proves not a virgin here the practice is directly contrary, and their ideas totally different. As a fertile woman is highly prized in Whidah, she who has given proofs before marriage of her fruitfulness, is always preferred; but it costs nothing to obtain her. man likes a girl, he demands her of the parents, who never refuse their confent, provided she be of a marriageable age. Cuftom requires that the parents conduct her to the house of the bridegroom. On her arrival he prefents her with a new dress, which is probably all the poffeffes; for every thing else the leaves behind in her father's houfe. The husband then kills a sheep, which he eats in company with his wife and her parents; which is the only time in her life that the is admitted to this honour. Some tankards of pito are drank, the parents return home, and the marriage is thus concluded without any other ceremony. A custom truly primitive and prudent in many particulars. A hufband is permitted to repudiate his wife with as little ceremony as he marries her. He only thrufts her out of the door, and the feparation is legal; but then it must be upon certain proofs of her incontinence. He also must pay the parents a fum double the expence of the wedding. Notwithstanding which, no women are more addicted to intrigues, for which they will run all hazards. This is a country, fays Des Marchais, that furnishes the most copious materials for the annals of gallantry: and no wonder, fince 50, or rather often three or four times that number, are confined to the embraces of one single man.

[To be concluded in our next 1

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LION.

TH

'HE lion, usually denominated the king of the beafts, from his Atrength, courage, fiercenefs, and majefty, is found in divers parts of Africa, the native country of wild animals, particularly Barbary, Abiffinia, Kongo, and the country of the Hottentots; indeed there are but few places in Africa, in which they do not inhabit. This noble creature, which rules with a tyrannical empire over the inhabitants of the woods and deferts, has a head very large, and not at all proportioned to his body. He has a thick Battish nose, a very wide mouth, red fiery eyes, hollow, and looking somewhat awry, His neck is adorned with very fine long fhagged hair, and likewife the breaft; and this is what is called the mane of the lion, and only differs from the rest of the body in length, not being stiffer, like the hair of the manes of other animals. His breaft is broad in proportion to the other parts; his legs are very thick and strong, and his paws resemble thofe of a cat; he has five diftinct claws on each of his fore feet, and only four on the hinder, all crooked, sharp, and exceeding hard. He has a long tail, with a great bush of hair at the end; and this he lays in a particular form on his back, very graceful to look at. His eyes are very bright and clear, even after he is dead. It is a common obfervation that the lion fleeps with his eyes open; but this, though often true with regard to the eyelids, is not fo with regard to the eye itfelf; for the creature has a very thick membrane, lodged in the greater canthus of the eye, which it can extend at pleasure over the whole organ, like the membrana nictitans of birds, and thus exclude the light without closing the eye-lids.

The lion hath fourteen teeth in each jaw. His tongue is very rough and rigid, being covered with a great number of prominences of a hard matter. It is very remarkable that the common cat has all the parts of a lion, that are of a fingular ftrúc ture; its claws, feet, tongue, and eyes, being of the fame kind.

The heart of the lion is much larger than that of any other creature of the fame fize, being fix inches long, and four in diameter in the largest part, and terminating in a very sharp point. The brain on the May, 1761.

other hand is remarkably fmall; and from a comparison of this with the large quantity of brain in a wolfe, and pursuing the obfervation through feveral other creatures, with regard to the proportion of brain, it does not appear that a small quantity is the mark of folly, but generally of great fubtelty, and of a cruel difpofition.

The hair of fome lions is curled, of others lank and thin, and always of a dull yellow, or dirty ftraw colour. As to black, white, and red lions, they are to be found where blue hogs are to be met with, namely upon fign posts; for such never exifted in nature, but have entirely owed their birth to painting and heraldry, as well as the blue and green lions. The lioness refembles the lion in every thing, except that the has no mane, nor yet much loose hair on the legs and thighs, as the lion has; fo that he looks not near fo grand and noble.

The roaring of the lion is frightful; every beast dreads his approach, and trembles before him. It has been faid that he himself trembles before the cock and elephant, and runs away. But this we vouch not to be strictly true, tho' it has been adopted by feveral naturalifts. Some have alfo reported that he is afraid of women, and that upon his approach towards the flocks they were attending, he has been often frightened, and fled, upon their taking up a stick and making a noife at him. Something of this kind (fays Dr. Shaw) perhaps may have happened, when they have been well fatiated with food; at which time the Arabs pretend the lions have fo little courage, that they can feize upon their prey, and rescue it even out of their jaws. But fuch inftances are very rare, and this notion feems badly founded; fince it is well known that the lion devours women as well as men, for want of other creatures. Pliny obferves that he rever attacks any human perfon, but when old age prevents his overtaking other prey; then he draws near the villages, and devours thofe he finds in the fields: but otherwife, he contents himself with such prey as he finds in the forefts and plains; never concerning himself with man, unlefs he is first attacked and wounded, when he roufes all his ftrength, and if the

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alfailant hath not the good fortune to kill the beast as he approaches, or escape by flight, he pays for his temerity with his

life.

He chiefly preys upon the wild boar, if he can have the good fortune to mafter him, without being killed himself; for, as Dr. Shaw informs us, the boar hath been fometimes known to defend itfelf with fo much bravery, that the victory hath inclined to neither fide, the carcaffes of them both having been found lying dead together, all in gore, and mangled to pieces. The lion is pretty much afraid of fire, and yet notwithstanding all the precaution the African-Arab fhepherds take in this refpect, together with the barking of their dogs, and the noife themselves make all night long, it frequently happens, that a lion will leap into the midst of an inclofure, and bring out along with him a fheep or a goat. If these ravages are repeated, they take notice where the lion enters, and there dig a pit, covering it over flightly with reeds, or fmall branches of trees, into which he falls and is taken.

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Sometimes, when age has impaired his ftrength, he joins with others; and this union often proves of very dangerous confequence, as the fhepherds cannot attack any one, but all the reft immediately fly to his affiftance. But when in his full ftrength, he never has recourfe to fuch ftratagems: nor is he daunted at the most formidable hunter; he views him with confidence and fierceness; he receives his first attack, he beats the ground with his tail, he lashes his fides, till he kindles that fury which has no example, and to which the most violent tranfports of paffion may be compared. And as there are always many engaged against him, he examines with attention from what hand thofe arrows were fent which wound him, whom he diftinguishes from thofe who only flourish their weapons or mifs him; and if he can lay hold on them who ftruck him, he tears them to pieces; but his vengeance is fatisfied with throwing down the others, and toffing them about. Such is the power of instinct!

Dr. Shaw defcribes a very particular method of hunting the lion: "On this occafion, (fays he) a whole district is fummoned to appear, who, forming themfelves into a circle, inclofe a space of three, four, or five miles in compafs, according to the number of people, and

quantity of ground that is pitched upon to be the scene of action. The footmen advance first, rushing into the thickets with their dogs and fpears, to put up the game, whilst the horsemen keeping a little behind, are always ready to charge, as foon the wild beast makes a fally. Thus they proceed, ftill contracting their circle, till they all at laft either close in together, or meet with something to divert them. This fort of pastime is fometimes very agreeable; for different kinds of animals being by this means driven together, they feldom fail of having chases after hares, jackalls, hyenas, and other creatures as well as the lion. But this fport is frequently attended with fatal accidents; for it is a common observation, that when the lion perceives himself in danger, nay sometimes the very moment he is roused, he will feize directly upon the first person that touches him, and rather than quit his hold, fuffers himself to be cut to pieces."

But if the lion is the fierceft of beafts, he is equally remarkable for his natural tenderness. He never forgets those from whom he received his life; and when he fees them difabled by old age, from providing for themselves, he quits them no more, but hunts for them, and lets them know by his voice when he has provided" prey for them. An inftance which should draw a bluth from numbers who call themselves rational beings! Many parents would efteem themselves happy, had not their children, instead of precuring the means of fubfiftence, deprived them by the most crying injuftice of that fupport which old age renders more neceffary.

In Abiffinia the lions are not only more numerous than in many other parts of Africa, but particularly larger, and in this country there are a great many of that fpecies called the kingly or royal breed : as they do an incredible deal of mischief among the large cattle, the Abiffinians are - no less industrious and adventurous in deftroying them, and will even encounter them with their lances, or with a dagger. They are fo large here, that fome which have been killed by the inhabitants, have measured eight cubits in length from neck to tail, particularly one in the kingdom of Tigre, near Maegoga, anno 1630, which was destroyed by a shepherd in the open field, with a throw of his dart; this fierce creature was coming down from the mountains,

tains, and when at a vaft diftance was heard to roar very terribly. The thepherd immediately, with the affiftance of his companions, dug a great hole in the ground, and waited the coming of the lion, who prefently appeared and made towards the fheep-fold at full gallop, all covered with the blood of the many beasts he had gored and rent in pieces. Clofe to the field was the hole, and as the creature approached juft befides it, he flung his dart so dextrously and with fuch force, that it pierced him through the shoulder: the monster, after many dreadful roars and leaps, occafioned by the pain of the wound, luckily fell into the pit, where he was difpatched by the victorious countryman, not without many grievous wounds, as well as great danger and difficulty.

The lionefs is lefs fierce, and when attacked, more careful to guard her young, than to defend herself: the fixes her eyes upon those who would ravish them from her, and never fails to fave them, or perish in the attempt.

It is obfervable that the lion, when he encounters either man or beaft, always ftrikes them with his paw first, and deprives them of all fenfation before he touches them with his teeth. It is faid that the fhin-bones of the lion are fo hard, that they are used as flints to ftrike fire with. Ariftotle and Ælian tell us, that the Indians had the art of taming this beast, and making him hunt like a dog; and Pliny adds, of making him draw like a horse.

Bocchus, an African king, made the Roman general Sylla, afterwards perpetual dictator, a prefent of an hundred lions; and with them fome Mauritanian hunters, who were used to fight them. There was a pompous show made of these animals at Rome, in the confulate of C. Valerius Flaccus, and M. Herennius. They were expofed in the circus to the view of the people, who being very fond of such sights, were very much delighted with them. The emperor Adrian paffing from Egypt into Lybia Cyrenaica, met with a lion of a monftrous fize, which had committed great ravages in that country, and even unpeopled fome parts of it. The emperor

taking great pleasure in hunting, pursued and killed it with his own hands. The emperor Honorius published a law, giving liberty to all his fubjects, to kill fuch lions as they should find on their grounds: for the number of them referved for public fhows was increafed to fuch a height as to become a nuisance; and fays the emperor in that law, "The interest of our people must be preferred to our diverfions," an excellent maxim! But in many refpects too little regared by the generality of princes, who seem to be ignorant of the old, but true adage, salus p.puli fupre ma lex. The fafety of the people is the fupreme law.

It is a doubt among the learned, whether the common notion of the jackal's being the lion's provider be not fabulous. This animal is not bigger than a fox, but very strong and fierce, so that he often feizes cows and theep, and other cattle, and will even venture to attack a man. He is faid to be the lion's caterer, and that when he feizes the prey, he makes a hideous noife to inform the lion of his fuccefs, who, if he be within hearing, comes at his call, and the fubmiffive butcher retires till his master has eat what he pleases. But this notion has much the air of fable. There are no good reasons to imagine, that there is any fuch friendly intercourfe between thefe two beafts. In the nighttime indeed, when "all the beafts of the foreft do move," as the Pfalmift obferves, the jackal, like other beafts, is prowling after fuftenance; and when the fun rifes, and the lion betakes himself to his den, he has been feen gnawing, as well as many other animals, fuch carcaffes as the lion is fuppofed to have fed upon before. This, and the promifcuous noife, which the jackal is often heard to make with the lion, in all probability are the foundation of the vulgar opinion, that he is the lion's provider.

The age of the lion and of man is the fame. Pompey the old lion, which was prefented to king James II. by the states of Barbary, when not a year old, lived upwards of 70 years, and died in the Tower of London, the 10th of November 1758.

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The HISTORY of JAHER and MASSAOUD. An Eaftern Tale.

A Mongft all the inhabitants of yours permanent.

the great and populous city of Balfora, none furpaffed the none furpaffed the youthful Jaher in wealth and magnificence. His opulence he inheri ted from the prudent Abubekir his fire, and having never had the trouble of acquiring it, his only care was to devife expedients to avail himself thereof. All the pleafures that luxurious fancy could fuggeft he had recourfe to, and his liberality knew no bounds. Each day his palace refounded with feftivity, and the illuminations which dif pelled the darkness of the night, fufficiently fhewed that the revelling was protracted to a very late hour. Oppofite to the houfe of the rich Jaher dwelt the poor but industrious Massaoud, who, by the labour of his hands maintained a wife and three children. His gains however, were but finall, as his fole occupation was to affift the gardener of a Jewish merchant, who lived in the neighbourhood. Jaher one evening perceiving Mafiaoud more penfive than ufual, inquired into the caufe, and being told by the latter, that it was owing to the indigence of his family, immediately made him a prefent of a diamond ring, which the other received with the warmest expreffions of gratitude, and prayed that the Holy Prophet might encreafe his ftore, and shower conftant bleffings upon his head. The Holy Prophet, anfwered Jaher, has already bleffed me to the height of my wishes; I have nothing now to pray for, but that he would vouchsafe to make his fa

Maffaoud im

mediately imparted his good for tune to the gardener by whom he was employed, who told him that his mafter the Jew would foen put him into a way of difpofing of his jewel to the beft advantage. Maffaoud having received from the Jew the full value of his diamond, and following his advice, bought with it feveral commodities, and embark. ed on board a veffel. bound for Alexandria, in Egypt. Jaher still continued to live in his former fplendour, and was careffed as much as ever by the inhabitants of Balfora; in process of time, however, his fteward Dakianos advised him, to look into the ftate of his finances. But Jaher, lulled to fleep by the Syren voices of the women of his feraglio, and plunged in unceafing ebriety, in the company of impious companious, who like him, neglected the precepts of the Alcoran, deferred from day to day to follow his advice, till his whole fubftance was reduced to a fingle fequin. This unexpected turn of fortune conftrained him to quit Balfora in difguife; and in that city he never afterwards made his appearance. Maffaoud, who had greatly improved the fmall ftock he fet out with, continued to traffic for a confiderable time afterwards, and every year brought him in a new acceffion of opulence and credit. Jaher, after having wandered for feveral years, and made many vain attempts to repair the loffes, which his imprudence had brought upon him, was at last reduced fo low, as

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