The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1881-02-05
FLY FOR YOUR LIVES.
THE LION is OSE-THOUGHTS
ON A THRILLING THEME.

THE LION is LOOSE
ON A THRILLING THEME.
There is an excitement in the State OF
Indiana. The vicinity of Logansport is
! the centre thereof, and the mothers OF
Logansport and vicinity to-day clasp
their children to their arms with unwont-
| ed fcrvor and anxiety. Hunters are on
the alert, aud the whole neighborhood is
aroused. 1t is all about some tracks
recently seen along the muddy roads,
which, say the knowing ones. are the
tracks OF y Iona genuine, real, live
| lion,
The beast, says sportsman who fol-
lowed the trail, evidently kept near large
| logs and in underground as much as pos
sible so as to be out of sight, for he had
lost his faith in mankind.
The dread of lions seems to be innate
in the human soul; for while tiger, or
il leopard. or a mouse. or an ele plant, or
cockroach, or giraffe will inspire more
or less terror, the lion awakens a general
CONSERVATION i'll every breast. Good.
kindly ambitious Bottom hath happily
expressed this sentiment in his apt re-
mark: God shield us. lion among
ladies is most dreadful thing! for there
is not Il more dreadful wild-fowl than
your lion living"' All, my brethren
The simple. earnest heart of the hard
handed man of Athens was permeated
with the true consciousness of great
pivotal fact in nature. His head, though
unversed III the learning of your schools,
contained those brains which told him of
the awful power of the ASiatic animal.
this grisly beast which by name Lion
hight who with his very roar doth
make the
the mountain bow
And qnivcr to IT'S governed base.
And there is also scrptural authority
for proving that in all ages of the world
the lion was an object of fear. Lions
pervade many of the narratives of the
Did Testament. and solomon observes
the slu~gard makes use of suppositi-
tlous lion to excuse the indulgence of his
avorite vice of Incidence There is a
lion in the way saith he. Il shall be
slain i'll the streets"
Moreover, is not our adversary. the
devil, described as "a ramping and roar
ing lion" who goes about seeking what
ne may dcvour?
Yet there are lions and lions. Those
lions OF bad repute may be confronted
with lions of excellent character and
,reat delicacy of feeling. Who would
venture to say word against the majes-
tic animal (who ramps il he does not
roar) on the arms of Great Britain. And
ire there not other nations who cherish
the lion as the emblem Of their pride and
power?
To be sure. in reality the lion is beast
without 4 redecming trait of character.
The horse. the OK, the elephant, the dog,
vice to mankind, but the lion is only good
tor artists and menageries. A more use
less creature never existed on the face of
the globe. 1t is therefore quite appro-
pirate for him to be called a king.
Only to artists is he really useful. How
many splendid pictures have been painted
IN which he stands out upon the tawny
sands a thing Of beauty! How many
>culptors have modelled his fine proper
tious. BY how many tombs does he lie in
marble, watching Or sleeping, but always
grand and thrilling
To think over the marble lions of the
world is to recall us in Il gorgeous piano.
rama. some of the noblcSt. grandest spots
i'll the world. There is the Lion of St.
Marks $. that winged lion who stands alert
pn his marble column overlooking the
waters and the grand canal. and gazing
lar off to the campanile of San Giorgio.
towering alof't from the little island which
lies sleeping in the soft encircling arms Of
the smooth lagoon. The winged lion of
st. Marks! You can see it in church
mosaics and in old sculptures over cathe-
tlral portals. What was there in the
character or life of the fisherman Apostle
that he should be thus associated with
the king of beasts?
From Venice and her marble palaces
aud shimmering waterways. from the cen
inry-trodden floor of St. Marks uneven
as the sea waves; from the deeply shad-
owed arcades of the Doge's palace and
the springing lishtness Of the Rialto,
memory flies away like bird over the
shallow layoonS, over the low land, over
the Lombard plains, over the many
peaked Alps, to nestle i'll the pretty Swiss
village of Lucerne On the glorious lake
Of the Four Cantons. In retired nook
Of this charming town Thorwaldsen' S
Lion of Lucerne, carved out of the living
rock preserves the memory of Swiss sol
diers who persisted scarce half a century
Never did man achieve grander work
in art than did the Danish sculptor in
this Alpine rock.
So. away again, across the Alps and
Apprentices, and over the flowing currents
OF the Pc and the Arno to the banks of
the Tiber. Over the bridge of Saint
-
Hadran, by the wide inviting colonnNle
| of Bernini, up the ranges of marble steps
and to the portal of St. Peters. Push
aside the heavy leather curtain which
serves as a door. Pass up the long nave
to the sanctuary under the dome. Gaze
| for Il moment at the wondrous kneeling
statue of Plus vi in the most holy place
of the greatest church in Christendom
and then, turning to the left, see the two
mighty lions of Canova guarding the
tomb of a Pope whose greatest distinction
is his sepulchre. One of the lions is
asleep, calm and peaceful, his head rest
ing on his paws. The other, though
crouching as in repose. upraises his heat
as if to warily watch the pilgrims of the
world, lest they disturb the slumber o
him who once wore the tiara and to-day
is dust.
Over the Italian mountains and plain!
and rivers. across the Alps again into thu
sunny fields of France. The towers ant
palaces of Paris are in sight. and by thu