„ «775,• by little and little down to the water-iide,in order to dip their December. 3 . . P ‘ A s j bills into it with all hafte, for the fake o f quenching their intolerable thirft; feeming. all the while with a ceafelefs chirping to lament their dangerous lituation, and at the fame time to upbraid me with my cruelty. This fpedtacle, affekting as it was of itfelf, ought at this time to have made a flail greater impreflion upon me, as, on account of the heat of- the weather and the badnefs of the water I had to drink, I felt a thirft almoft equal to theirs. “ Yet, thought: I to myfelf, on the other hand, what a mere trifle are a few birds compared with the populous fortified towns, which,' merely from a defire of dominion, my betters make no confcience of afflidiing with hunger and thirft both, in the higheft degree !” and thus went on inventing many fpeci- ous- arguments, which coft feveral more birds their lives ; and all this, merely with a view of finding among, them fome one that was rare and curious. So prone are men to commit aits of cruelty and tyranny, and at the fame time to find excufes for their conduit, About the middle of the following night we were awaked by the roaring of a lion, which brought to our recolledtion, that we might be as mere a trifle for thefe ravenous beafts, as the birds I have juft mentioned are in the eyes.of naturalifts. Our oxen and horfes appeared now much more difquieted than they were on a former occafion, when they heard feveral lions roaring at once; neither did our dogs now dare to bark, but with their tails between their legs crept, clofe to the Hottentots; who on this occafion were very a ¿live in keeping up a good blaze, as they took it for granted,That a lion at that juncture was reconnoitring us at no great diftance, and and probably would not leave the place without paying'us De* ^ ei,_ a vifit. As they likewife believed that the eyes of the lion W O could be defcried at a pretty good diftance in the dark, they" looked for them very attentively,, in order that they might be able to. difcover from which fide they had to expedt the wild beaft, and prepare themfelves accordingly to receive it. Mr. Im m e l m a n ’s fituation and mine, which this gentleman, determined by motives of convenience rather than of prudence, had chofen the evening before, was extremely critical. We had quitted the waggon, as being juft at that time too hot and fultry a place to fleep in ; and made our beds on the other fide of the very fame buih, near which the Hottentots had encamped themfelves round about a large fire. We had alfo till this inftant flept there clofe- by the fide of each other, and o f our fire-arms; but not- withftanding the danger there was to be apprehended from fcorpions and ferpents, and the inconvenience of iying on a plot of ground which was uneven and full of ftumps o f treps, we now found it more advifeable to creep clofe into the buih, and keep our guns ready in our laps; for to go at this, time from hence to the waggon would have been extremely dangerous, and to puih in among the Hottentots near the fire would have had a cowardly appearance, and, in fa£t, would, have been, without a metaphor, a dirty piece of bufinefs. During all this the lion, according to all appearance, had that very night drank out of the well» which was hardly, a ftone’s throw from, us; though it was either not hungry enough, or elfe had not fuflicient courage to attack, us. On
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