Year: 1868

| l.
and cushions, and arranged for me by
starlight camp bed. After this came a
-copious supper. A general conversation
then took place, in which every one
We'd with his neighbor in relating all
sorts of adventures, more or less tragical,
about the lions of the country. One of
these / shall never forget. It was the
story of an Arab and his young bride.


Among the Arabs, when a man mar
ries, he invites number of people, who
go and fetch the bride at her parents
house to bring her to her new dwelling,
ceremony which is perforformed in a
palanquin, numberless shots being at the
same time being fred on the road.


Every marriage, however, is not alike.
If some are accompanied by a numerous
retinue-if sometimes the happy couple
number amongst their guests many a
rich and handsome horseman-at other
times, as with US, more than one bride
groom has not even enough to pay the
fddlers who escort him. Such being the
case with Small, who had paid down
the day before his very last shilling for
| his BRIDES marriage portion, he assem-
bled only his nearest relatives, and pro-
ceeded with them on foot to the abode of
his future father-in-law. a4


Having regaled themselves plentifully,
and the marriage being concluded, they
fired off some cartridges by way of sa-
lutte, taking care to keep few for the
journey back. In the evening they all
parted, wishing each other good fortune
and happiness.


The bridegroom's douar was but a
league distant the moon shone beauti-
fully bright the brides escort numbered
nine guns what was to be feared on the
way But it is not unfrequently at the
very moment one expects him the least,
that an intruder will present himself.


Small was walking in front, beside his
bride, to whom he was speaking, in a
soft low voice, about the happiness
which awaited them under his tent.
The friends of the husband were follow
ing discreetly some PAGES behind, firing
at times a shot in the air; and the young
wife seemed quite gratified at this little
offering of powder burnt in her honor.
Everything. in short, went on in the
most satisfactory manner. iea
But, all of sudden, an enormous lion
was seen, stretched across the very path
their young folks were pursuing! lsai.


They were about half way between
the two douars, and it was fully as dam
gerous to proceed forward as to turn
back. What was to be done 2 a- a5-
The opportunity presenting itself to
the bridegroom of winning forever his
wife's affections by noble act of de-
votedness was too good to be lost. Balls
were accordingly rammed down the bar
rel of every gun, the bride was placed
in the centre of sort of square formed
by assistants, and the escort moved
bravely forward, headed by Small. AL
ready they had advanced within thirty
yards from the lion, who never moved.


Small now ordered his friends to stop,
and saying to his young wife, "see if
you have married man." walked
straight up to the lion, and commanded
him to clear ths way. -s.--s al.


At twenty PAGES, the lion, until then
crouching and motionless, raised his
monstrous head, and was evidently pre-
pairing for a spring. Small, regardless
of his wife's screams. and the entreaties
of his relatives, who called to him to re-
treat, put one knee to the ground, lev
elled the barrel of his gun toward the
animal, took steady aim and fired. In
an instant the wounded and furious ami
NAL bounded forward on the unfortunate
Small, knocked him to the ground, and
tore him to shreds in the twinkling of
an eye, then rushed madly. toward the
square, in the centre of which stood the
wretched bride. ...


..Let no one fire." cried Smail's father,
"until he touches the barrels of our
guns" .r+......-... -.........-. -.---...


But where is the man sufficiently self
possessed to await without finching that
hurricane called lion, as he rushes on
toward his prey with immense bounds,
with name floating in the wind, expand
ed jaws, and eyes infamed with fury ?


The whole party now fired at once,
without needing in what direction their
balls went, and the lion dashed on the
square, which he quickly overthrew,
smashing the bones and tearing the flesh
of all whom he found before him. Some
of the men had managed to escape,
dragging after them with much difficulty
the poor bride, almost dead by this time
with fright, but they were quickly fol-
lowed by their Unsuitable enemy, and
torn to pieces one only, more fortunate
than the rest, having contrived to reach
the foot of steep rock, upon which,
thanks to his efforts, the woman found
refuge. aa.I


He had already climbed the rock
some little way, when the lion again ad-
vanced, if possible still more furious,
and at one spring caught the right leg
of the man, and dragged him down with
him to the ground while the unhappy
bride, crawling with hands and feet to
the summit of therock, was doomed to
witness from her inaccessible retreat the
hideous spectacle of the death agony of
the last of her defenders.


After two or three useless attempts,
the lion, finding he could not get at the
woman, returned to the body of the last
victim, and began tearing it in bits, as
if to revenge himself for the loss of the
last living prey which was thus eluding
his grasp.


The remainder of the night passed
away without any new incident. AS
soon as the day began to dawn, the lion
left the foot of the rock, and retired to-
ward the mountains but he went off
very slowly, and did not finally abandon
his post without stopping more than
once on his road. and throwing back a
wistful glance on the prey. he was leav-
ing behind.


A short time after the animals depar-
ture, a troop of horsemen came across
the plain, and on Smail's widow making
signals of distress with her veil, for she