country very imperfect and confined. The laws, and military affairs, and parties in the fate.

Nothing but an extreme love of truth could have hindered me from concealing this part of my ftory. It was in vain to difcover my refentments, which were always turned into ridicule; and I was forced to reft with patience, while my noble and moft beloved country was fo injuriously treated. I am as heartily forry as any of my readers can poflibly be, that fuch an Occafion was given; but this prince happened to be fo curious and inquifitive upon every particular, that it could not confift either with gratitnde or good manners to refufe giving him what fatisfaction I was able. Yet thus much I may be allowed to fay in my own vindication, that I artfully eluded many of his questions, and gave to every point a more favourable turn by many degrees than the strictness of truth would allow. For I have always borne that laudable partiality to my own country, which Dionyfius Halicarnaffenfis with fo much justice recommends to an hiftorian: I would hide the frailties and deformities of my political mother, and place her virtues and beauties in the most advantageous light. This was my fincere endeavour in thofe many difcourfes I had with that monarch, although it unfortunately failed of fuccefs.

But great allowances fhould be given to a king, who lives wholly fecluded from the rest of the world, and must therefore be altogether unacquainted with the manners and customs that most prevail in other nations: the want of which knowledge will ever produce many prejudices, and a certain narrowness of thinking, from which we and the politer countries of Europe are wholly exempted. And it would be hard indeed, if fo remote a prince's notions of virtue and vice were to be offered as a ftandard for all mankind.

To confirm what I have now faid, and further to fhew the miferable effects of a confined education, I fhall here infert a paffage which will hardly obtain belief. In hopes to ingratiate myself farther into his majefty's favour, I told him of an invention difcovered between three and four hun dred years ago, to make a certain powder, into an heap, of which the fmalleft fpark of fire falling would kindle the whole in a moment, although it were as big as a mountain, and make it all fly up in the air 3

together, with a noife and agitation greater than thunder. That a proper quantity of this powder rammed into an hollow tube of brafs or iron, according to its bignefs, would drive a ball of iron or lead with fuch violence and speed, as nothing was able to fuftain its force. That the largest balls thus difcharged would not only deftroy whole ranks of an army at once, but batter the ftrongest walls to the ground, fink down fhips, with a thousand men in each, to the bottom of the fea; and, when linked by a chain together, would cut through mafts and rigging, divide hundreds of bodies in the middle, and lay all wafte before them. That we often put this powder into large hollow balls of iron, and difcharged them by an engine into fome city we were befieging, which would rip up the pavements, tear the houfes to pieces, burft and throw splinters on every fide, dafhing out the brains of all who came near. That I knew the ingredients very well, which were cheap and common; I understood the manner of compounding them, and could direct his workmen how to make thofe tubes of a fize proportionable to all other things in his majes ty's kingdom, and the largest need not be above an hundred feet long; twenty or thirty of which tubes, charged with the proper quantity of powder and balls, would batter down the walls of the ftrongest town in his dominions in a few hours, or destroy the whole metropolis, if ever it should pretend to difpute his abfolute commands. This I humbly offered to his majesty as a fmall tribute of acknowledgment in return for fo many marks that I had received of his royal favour and protection.

The king was ftruck with horror at the defcription I had given of thofe terrible engines, and the propofal I had made. He was amazed, how fo impotent and grovelling an infect as I (these were his expreffions) could entertain such inhuman ideas, and in so familiar a manner, as to ap pear wholly unmoved at all the scenes of blood and defolation, which I had painted as the common effects of those destructive machines, whereof he faid fome evil genius, enemy to mankind, must have been the firft contriver. As for himself, he protested, that although few things delighted him fo much as new difcoveries in art or in nature, yet he would rather lose half his kingdom, than be privy to such a secret, which he commanded me, as I valued my life, never to mention any more.

A strange effect of narrow principles and frept

thor of that country could fay upon fuch a fubject. This writer went through all the ufual topics of European moralifts, fhewing how diminutive, contemptible, and helplefs an animal was man in his own nature; how unable to defend himself from inclemencies of the air, or the fury of wild beasts; how much he was excelled by one creature in ftrength, by another in speed, by a third in forefight, by a fourth in industry. He added, that nature was degenerated in these latter declining ages of the world, and could now produce only fmall abortive births, in comparison of those in ancient times. He faid it was very reasonable to think, not only that the fpecies of men were originally much larger, but also that there mult have been giants in former ages; which, as it is afferted by hiftory and tradition, fo it hath been confirmed by huge bones and skulls cafually dug up in feveral parts of the kingdom, far exceeding the common dwindled race of man in our days. He argued, that the very laws of nature abfolutely required we should have been made in the beginning of a fize more large and robuft, not fo liable to deftruction from every little accident of a tile falling from an house, or a stone caft from the hand of a boy, or being drowned in a little brook. From this way of reafoning, the author drew feveral moral applications ufeful in the conduct of life, but needlefs here to repeat. For my own part, I could not avoid reflecting how univerfally this talent was fpread, of drawing lectures in morality, or indeed rather matter of difcontent and repining, from the quarrels we raife with nature. And, I believe, upon a ftrict en quiry, thofe quarrels might be fhewn as ill grounded among us, as they are among that people *.

As to their military affairs, they boaft that the king's army confifts of an hundred and feventy-fix thoufand foot, and thirtytwo thoufand horfe: if that may be called an army, which is made up of tradefmen in the feveral cities, and farmers in the country, whofe commanders are only the nobility and gentry without pay or reward. They are indeed perfect enough in their

The author's zeal to justify Providence has before been remarked; and thefe quarrels with nature, or in other words with God, could not have been more forcibly reproved than by hewing, that the complaints upon which they are founded would be equally fpecious among beings of fuch aftonishing fuperiority of stature and strength.

exercifes, and under very good difcipline, wherein I faw no great merit; for how fhould it be otherwife, where every farmer is under the command of his own landlord, and every citizen under that of the principal men in his own city, chofen after the manner of Venice by ballot?

I have often seen the militia of Lorbrulgrud drawn out to exercise in a great field near the city of twenty miles fquare. They were in all not above twenty-five thoufand foot, and fix thousand horfe; but it was impoffible for me to compute their number, confidering the space of ground they took up. A cavalier, mounted on a large fteed, might be about ninety feet high. I have feen this whole body of horse, upon a word of command, draw their fwords at once, and brandish them in the air. Imagination can figure nothing fo grand, fo furprifing, and fo aftonishing! it looked as if ten thoufand flashes of lightening were darting at the fame time from every quarter of the sky.

I was curious to know how this prince, to whofe dominions there is no accefs from any other country, came to think of armies, or to teach his people the practice of military difcipline. But I was foon informed, both by converfation and reading their hif tories: for in the course of many ages they have been troubled with the fame difeafe to which the whole race of mankind is fubject: the nobility often contending for power, the people for liberty, and the king for abfolute dominion. All which, however happily tempered by the laws of that kingdom, have been fometimes violated by each of the three parties, and have more than once occafioned civil wars, the laft whereof was happily put an end to by this prince's grandfather in a general compofition; and the militia, then fettled with common confent, hath been ever fince kept in the strictest duty,

CHAP. VIII.

The king and queen make a progress to the frontiers. The author attends them. The manner in which he leaves the country very particularly related. He returns to England.

I had always a ftrong impulfe, that I fhould fome time recover my liberty, though it was impoffible to conjecture by what means, or to form any project with the leaft hope of fucceeding. The ship in which I failed was the firft ever known to be driven within fight of that coaft, and the king

to my ears than the cataract of Niagara; after which I was quite in the dark for another minute, and then my box began to rife fo high that I could fee light from the tops of the windows. I now perceived that I was fallen into the fea. My box, by the weight of my body, the goods that were in, and the broad plates of iron fixed for ftrength at the four corners of the top and bottom, floated about five feet deep in water. I did then, and do now fuppofe, that the eagle which flew away with my box was pursued by two or three others, and forced to let me drop while he defended himself against the reft, who hoped to fhare in the prey. The plates of iron faftened at the bottom of the box (for those were the ftrongeft) preserved the balance while it fell, and hindered it from being broken on the furface of the water. Every joint of it was well grooved; and the door did not move on hinges, but up and down like a fafh, which kept my closet fo tight that very little water came in. I got with much difficulty out of my hammock, having firft ventured to draw back the flip-board on the roof already mentioned, contrived on purpose to let in air, for want of which I found myfelf almost stifled.

How often did I then with myself with my dear Glumdalclitch, from whom one fingle hour had fo far divided me! And I may say with truth, that in the midst of my own misfortunes I could not forbear lamenting my poor nurse, the grief fhe would fuffer for my lofs, the difpleasure of the queen, and the ruin of her fortune. Perhaps many travellers have not been under greater difficulties and diftrefs than I was at this juncture, expecting every moment to fee my box dashed to pieces, or at least overfet by the first violent blait or rifing wave. A breach in one fingle pane of glafs would have been immediate death: nor could any thing have preferved the windows but the ftrong lattice-wires placed on the outfide against accidents in travelling. I faw the water ooze in at feveral crannies, although the leaks were not confiderable, and I endeavoured to stop them as well as I could. I was not able to lift up the roof of my closet, which otherwise i cer

Niagara is a fettlement of the French in North America, and the catart is produced by the fail of a conflux of water (ormed of the four vat lakes of Canada) from a rocky precipice, the perpendicular height of which is one hundred and thirty-feven feet; and it is faid to have been heard fifteen leagues.

tainly fhould have done, and fat on the top of it, where I might at least preserve myfelf fome hours longer than by being fhut up (as I may call it) in the hold. Or if I escaped thefe dangers for a day or two, what could I expect but a miferable death of cold and hunger? I was four hours under thefe circumftances, expecting, and indeed withing, every moment to be my laft.

I have already told the reader that there were two strong ftaples fixed upon that fide of my box which had no window, and into which the fervant who used to carry me on horfeback would put a leathern belt, and buckle it about his waift. Being in this difconfolate ftate, I heard, or at least thought I heard, fome kind of grating noife on that fide of my box where the ftaples were fixed, and foon after I began to fancy, that the box was pulled or towed along in the fea; for I now and then felt a fort of tugging, which made the waves rife near the tops of my windows, leaving me almost in the dark. This gave me fome faint hopes of relief; although I was not able to imagine how it could be brought about. I ventured to unfcrew one of my chairs, which were always faftened to the floor; and having made a hard fhift to fcrew it down again directly under the flipping-board that I had lately opened, I mounted on the chair, and, putting my mouth as near as I could to the hole, I called for help in a loud voice, and in all the languages I understood. I then faftened my handkerchief to a stick [ ufually carried, and thrufting it up the hole, waved it feveral times in the air, that if any boat or fhip were near, the feamen might conjecture fome unhappy mortal to be shut in the box.

up

I found no effect from all I could do, but plainly perceived my clofet to be moved along; and in the fpace of an hour, or better, that fide of the box where the ftaples were, and had no window, ftruck againft fomething that was hard. I apprehended it to be a rock, and found myfelf toffed more than ever. I plainly heard a noife upon the cover of my clofet like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it paffed through the ring. I then found myself hoifted up by degrees at least three feet higher than I was before. Whereupon I again thruft up my stick and handkerchief, calling for help till 1 was almost hoarfe, In return to which, I heard a great shout repeated three times, giving me fuch tranf

Dorts