BUT HE DIDN'T.]




THE LION-KILLER.

(_From the French of Duatyeff_.)

BY MARY WAGER FISHER.


People in Tunis, Africa,--at least, some of the older people,--often
talk of the wonderful exploits of a lion-killer who was famous there
forty years ago. The story is this, and is said to be entirely true:

The lion-killer was called "The Sicilian," because his native country
was Sicily; and he was known as "The Christian" among the people in
Tunis, who were mostly Arabs, and, consequently, Mohammedans. He was
also called "Hercules," because of his strength,--that being the name
of a strong demi-god of the ancient Greeks. He was not built like
Hercules, however; he was tall, but beautifully proportioned, and there
was nothing in his form that betrayed his powerful muscles. He
performed prodigies of strength with so much gracefulness and ease as
to astonish all who saw them.

He was a member of a traveling show company that visited Tunis,--very
much as menagerie and circus troupes go about this country now from
town to town. His part of the business was, not simply to do things
that would display his great strength, but also to represent scenes by