Hunting the Lions | Page 2

in the regiment when he went down.
Go abroad among the barbarians of the earth, to China, for instance,
and ask who is yonder thick-set, broad-chested man, with the hearty
expression of face, and the splendid eastern uniform, and you will be
told that he is Too Foo, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial forces
in that department. If, still indulging curiosity, you go and introduce
yourself to him, he will shake you heartily by the hand, and, in good
English, tell you that his name is Walter Brown, and that he will be
charmed to show you something of Oriental life if you will do him the
favour to take a slice of puppy dog in his pagoda after the review! If
there is a chief of a hill tribe in Hindustan in want of a prime minister
who will be able to carry him through a serious crisis, there is a Brown

at hand, who speaks not only his own language, but all the dialects and
languages of Hindustan, who is quite ready to assume office. It is the
same at the diggings, whether of Australia, California, or Oregon; and
we are persuaded that the man whose habitation is nearest to the pole at
this moment, whether north or south, is a Brown, if he be not a Jones,
Robinson, or Smith!
Need more be said to prove that this great branch of the human family
is truly associated with all that is wild, grand, and romantic? We think
not; and we hope that the reader is now somewhat reconciled to the
fact--which cannot be altered, and which we would not alter if we
could--that our hero's name is Tom Brown.
Tom was the son of a settler at the Cape of Good Hope, who, after
leading the somewhat rough life of a trader into the interior of Africa,
made a fortune, and retired to a suburban villa in Cape Town, there to
enjoy the same with his wife and family. Having been born in Cape
Town, our hero soon displayed a disposition to extend his researches
into the unknown geography of his native land, and on several
occasions lost himself in the bush. Thereafter he ran away from school
twice, having been seized with a romantic and irresistible desire to see
and shoot a lion! In order to cure his son of this propensity, Mr Brown
sent him to England, where he was put to school, became a good
scholar, and a proficient in all games and athletic exercises. After that
he went to college, intending, thereafter, to return to the Cape, join his
father, and go on a trading expedition into the interior, in order that he
might learn the business, and carry it on for himself.
Tom Brown's mother and sisters--there were six of the latter--were
charming ladies. Everybody said what pleasant people the Browns
were-- that there was no nonsense about them, and that they were so
practical, yet so lively and full of spirit. Mrs Brown, moreover, actually
held the belief that people had souls as well as bodies, which required
feeding in order to prevent starvation, and ensure healthy growth! On
the strength of this belief she fed her children out of that old-fashioned,
yet ever new, volume, the Bible, and the consequence was, that the
Miss Browns were among the most useful members of the church to

which they belonged, a great assistance to the clergymen and
missionaries who waited those regions, and a blessing to the poor of the
community. But we must dismiss the family without further remark, for
our story has little or nothing to do with any member of it except Tom
himself.
When he went to school in England, Tom carried his love for the lion
along with him. The mere word had a charm for him which he could
not account for. In childhood he had dreamed of lion-hunting; in riper
years he played at games of his own invention which had for their chief
point the slaying or capturing of lions. Zoological gardens and "wild
beast shows" had for him attractions which were quite irresistible. As
he advanced in years, Richard of the Lion-heart became his chief
historical hero; Androcles and the lion stirred up all the enthusiasm of
his nature. Indeed it might have been said that the lion-rampant was
stamped indelibly on his heart, while the British lion became to him the
most attractive myth on record.
When he went to college and studied medicine, his imagination was
sobered down a little; but when he had passed his examinations and
was capped, and was styled Dr Brown by his friends, and began to
make preparations for going back to the Cape, all his former
enthusiasm about lions returned with tenfold violence.
Tom's father intended that