Although I take a great interest in wild animals, I confess to
have an objection to sleep in the Zoological Gardens should all
the wild beasts be turned loose. I do not believe that even the
Secretary of that learned Society would volunteer to sleep with
the lions; but as the leopards at the Khartoum Consulate
constantly broke their chains, and attacked the dogs and a cow,
and as the hyaena occasionally got loose, and the wild boars
destroyed their mud wall, and nearly killed one of my Tokrooris
during the night, by carving him like a scored leg of pork with
their tusks, the fact of sleeping in the open air in the
verandah, with the simple protection of a mosquito-netting, was
full of pleasant excitement, and was a piquante entertainment
that prevented a reaction of ennui after twelve months passed in
constant watchfulness. The shield over the Consulate door, with
the lion and the unicorn, was but a sign of the life within; as
the grand picture outside the showman's wagon may exemplify the
nature of his exhibition. I enjoyed myself extremely with these
creatures, especially when the ostriches invited themselves to
tea, and swallowed our slices of water-melons and the greater
portion of the bread from the table a few moments before we were
seated.
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