off his long robes, he sprang upon the lion, and struggled fiercely
with him; but the powerful creature would soon have laid him low if he
had not suddenly remembered the dagger, sharpened in his conflict with
the little gray man. Drawing it from the belt in which he always wore
it, beneath his embroidered robe, he plunged it into the lion's
throat, and victory was won. He did not wait for the dispersed
mandarins to return; but throwing one of the richest dresses over his
shoulder, as Hercules wore the lion's skin, he walked off, taking his
way straight to the gate in the wall, for he had had quite enough of
China and the Chinese empire.

Now began glad days for him--roaming, like a wild hunter, from land to
land, coping single handed with crocodiles and cameleopards, riding
upon elephants, mastering tigers and young hyenas, visiting mosques
and mausoleums. In every land he made collections of its greatest
curiosities in art, literature, science, natural history, and
politics. A sphinx, an obelisk, a winged bull from Nineveh, stuffed
porcupines, live monkeys, fossil remains, a pinchbeck president of the
United States, and many rare specimens even more curious, did he
collect, and after years of wandering, by land and by sea, carry with
him to his native village. There he converted an old barn into a
museum, and gave out to the villagers that he was prepared to instruct
them in all that the world contains. They flocked to the museum, and
he was occupied every hour of the day going from one object to
another, making a little set speech about each to entertain his
bewildered visitors. Great admiration was expressed, and perhaps great
knowledge was acquired. Gaspar felt that he was the benefactor of his
race, and bought a pair of very tight boots to walk around in, and a
neat little silver-tipped stick with which to point out the
curiosities.