THE LION. 68

brands had effectually set fire to “the standing corn of the
Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and also the
standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.” The idea of
such conflagrations being caused by foxes, seems to have
been prevalent with the ancients. “Thus Lycophron makes
Cassandra represent Ulysses as a cunning and mischievous
man, the ‘man for many wiles renowned,’ of Homer, and
styles him a fox with a firebrand at his tail. And in
Leland’s ‘ Collectanea,’ there is an engraving representing
a Roman brick found below a pavement in London, in
1675, on which is exhibited, in basso-relievo, the figure of a
man driving into a field of corn two foxes, with fire fastened
to their tails.”*

Fetis Lzo.—The Lion.

This well-known animal is the most formidable of the
carnivorous tribe. It is distinguished from the rest by its
flowing mane, tufted tail, and the absence of all those
markings which characterize the feline race. The lion prin-
cipally inhabits the wilds of Africa, for though found in the
hotter regions of Asia, it is far less plentiful in that lo.
cality. A full-grown lion sometimes measures eight feet
from the nose to the tail, which is itself about four feet in

* Pictorial Bible.