HISTORY. 23

nient of all beholders, licked his hands. The gar-

dener'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 for-

gotten 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 over-

come the mao^nanimitv 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.