In former times Lions were numerous even in Europe. According to Herodotus, Aristotle, and Pausanias, they were abundant in Macedonia, Thrace, and Thessaly; but for centuries in these countries they have been unknown. Arabia, Syria, and Babylonia used also to contain large numbers. In Arabia and on the confines of Persia and India at the present date they are scarce. We may form some idea of their number in ancient times by the quantity absorbed annually in the combats which were so much in favor with the Romans. In a very brief interval, Sylla had slaughtered a hundred Lions, Pompey six hundred, and Caesar four hundred. In this age the Lion is rarely met with except in Africa, where every day its numbers are diminishing, and from whence it will soon completely disappear if the present rate of slaughter is continued. Our grand-children probably will know the Lion only from our descriptions. Several varieties of the Lion are distinguished. The most ferocious is the Brown Lion of the Cape. In the same neighborhood lives another, much less dangerous, the Yellow Cape Lion. After these we may enumerate the Lion of Senegal, the Barbary Lion, and the Lion of Persia and Arabia. THE TIGER. The Tiger is as high on the limbs as the Lion; but it is more slender, active, and stealthy, closely resembling, in figure and movements, the domestic Cat, which serves as the type of the entire genus. Its coat is very handsome, being of a yellowish fawn color above and a pure white beneath; everywhere irregularly striped by brown transverse bands. Its tail, which is very long, is ringed with black, and contributes not a little to its beauty. It has also white around the eyes, on the jaws, and on the back of each ear. The Tiger is peculiar to Asia. It inhabits Java, Sumatra, a great part of Hindostan, China, and even Southern Siberia as far north as the banks of the river Obi. The Tiger makes its lair in jungles or densely wooded districts bordering on water-courses. Like the Lion, it has a den, to which it retires for rest; from whence it steals forth, secretes itself in a wood on the borders of a frequented path, and there, concealed from every eye, awaits its victim. The moment it sees the object of its desire, its eyes flash, and its whole bearing manifests a savage joy; it allows the unsuspecting prey to draw near, and when it is sufficiently close, springs upon it with tremendous velocity. If it scents prey from a distance, it glides through the high grass with the undulating movements of the serpent, almost impossible to be detected by the human eye.