19 MARCH 1892, Page 3

A Negro lion-tamer came by his death in one of

Womb- well's shows,—the show at Hednesford, near Cannock Chase,— on Monday, in consequence of his foot slipping as he entered the cage of a hyena and three bears, which he was about to put through their performances. The hyena, said to be one of the quietest creatures in the show, instantly sprang upon him and mangled him with its teeth, the bears then joining in the attack ; and the man was only rescued in a state of un- consciousness, and died soon afterwards. It was evidently something in the fall of his master which jarred the nerves of the hyena, and then the bears could not help catching the infection. Was it the sudden conviction that after all he was not more powerful than they, which the Negro's fall inspired? We suspect that animals, like men, feel a certain resentment when they see the embodiment of what they have regarded as power, in any way humiliated.