286 "AHAI OW MAZADA !"

marking the spot of his anxious vigils ; then the Blue Nile challenged the AVhite for room for its waters which have rolled past Khartoum, and the end came at last with the discharge of ivory and an elephant's ear which some Arab had brought down to mud Omdurman.

Here lived the hero of the following story given me by my friend on the Zeraf, who when resident in Omdurman possessed a young lion, which was extraordinarily tractable, and entertained great respect from his youth upwards for the fist of his master. As he grew larger the respect still remained, but foundation for it diminished to vanishing-point. As a youngster the blow used to hurt, and Leo would put back his ears, shut his eyes, and brace his nerves for the shock. Not realizing that the strength of his master did not increase proportionately with his own growth, he was as scared of the fist when three-quarters grown as he was when a baby. He had a playful habit of waiting behind doors, or, on a person walking along the verandah, unsuspecting his play, would jump out on him merely in fun, evincing keen disapproval if his intention were balked.

Lions are supposed not to climb, but if the grave story related, not on the China seas, but on the broad Nile, will hold water, my last resource when I see a lion evaporates. Leo learned to climb, and one day when he had scratched up a telegraph-pole, and rested his chin on the top, he suddenly caught sight of his master. Panic seized him at the idea