HISTORY. 23 nient of all beholders, licked his hands. The gardener's assistant was not the animal's attendant, but had occasionally thro\\*n some of his bread into the den in passing. The noble animal had not forgotten this kindness, and spared his benefactor's life. The Defturdar, on hearing this, was by no means pleased; but bloodthirsty as ever, and without feeling the slightest appreciation for this act of generosity, ordered the lion to be kept fasting during the whole of the day, and the delinquent to remain in confinement, thinking in the anger of ungratified rage, to force the beast to become the executioner of its benefactor. But even hunger could not overcome the maonanimitv of the roval animal, and the poor gardener remained the whole day unhurt in the den with the lion.* In the evening he was liberated, but the unfortunate man did not long escape the vengeance of the tyrant, who, meeting him one day in the garden, where he had bnished up a heap of leaves, accosted him with, " Dog, thou art so bad that a lion will not eat thee, but now thou hast made thine own grave." Hereupon he commanded him to carry the dry leaves to an oven, and then to creep in himself. When this order was executed the tyrant had the leaves lighted, and the poor wretch expired under the most horrid tortures.

A Fellah (peasant) owed the government forty * This noble animal will probably be found stuffed in the royal Museum at Munich, for Mehemed Ali presented it to the Conseillier d'Etat Schubert who was at Cairo in the year 1836.