ten guineas a month, in Little Caftle Street, Oxford Market, and removed thither.

Being willing, as far as in my power, to comply with the inceffant applications of my friends for a fight of the Indians; and finding it impoffible either to have any reft, or time, to tranfact bufinefs, I appropriated two days a week to that purpose, viz. Tuefdays and Fridays. On thofe days, not only my houfe was filled, even to an inconvenience, but the ftreet was fo much crowded with carriages and people, that my refidence was a great nuifance to the neighbourhood.

As their skin dreffes had a dirty appearance and an offenfive fmell, I provided a quantity of broad-cloth, flannel, and beads, together with whatever elfe was neceffary; and the women now having leifure to work, and being excellent tailors, foon clothed them all anew; preferving their own fashion in the cut of their garments.

I once took the men to the opera when their Majefties were there, and we chanced to fit near Mr Colman, the manager of Covent Garden Thea tre, who politely invited all the Indians and myself to a play at his house.

He fixed on Cymbeline, and they were greatly delighted with the reprefentation. But their pride was moft highly gratified, at being received with a thundering applaufe by the audience, on entering the box. The men foon obferved to their wives, that they were placed in the King's box, and received in the fame manner as their Majefties were at the opera which added confiderably to the pleasure which they felt from the tout enfemble. Never did I obferve fo young a child pay fuch unremitting attention to the whole reprefentation, as little Ickeuna: no fooner did the fwords begin to clafh, in the fighting fcene between Pofthumus

and Iachimo, but he fet up a moft feeling fcream.

About a fortnight after our arrival in town, having provided great-coats, boots, and hats for the men, in order that they might pafs through the ftreets unobserved, I took Attuiock with me, and walked beyond the Tower. We there took boat, row. ed up the river, and landed at Westminster Bridge; from whence we walked to Hyde Park Corner, and then home again. I was in great expectation, that he would begin to relate the wonders which he had feen the inftant he entered the room, but I found myself greatly disappointed. He immediately fat down by the fire-fide, placed both his hands on his knees, leaned his head forward, fixed his eyes on the ground in a stupid stare; and continued in that pofture for a confiderable time. At length, toffing up his head, and fixing his eyes on the ceiling, he broke out in the following foliloquy: "Oh! Į I am tired; here are too many hou fes; too much smoke; too many people; Labrador is very good; feals' are plentiful there; I with I was back again." By which I could plainly perceive, that the multiplicity, and variety of objects, had confounded his ideas; which were too much confined to comprehend any thing but the inconveniences that he had met with. And, indeed, the longer they continued in England, the more was I convinced of the truth of that opinion: for their admiration increafed in proportion as their ideas expanded; till at length they began more clearly to comprehend the ufe, beauty, and mechanism of what they faw; tho' the greater part of thefe were as totally loft upon them, as they would have been upon one of the brute creation.

Although they had often paffed St Paul's without betraying any great astonishment, or at least not fo much as all Europeans do at the first fight

of

1

of one of those stupendous islands of ice, which are daily to be feen near the east coast of their own country, yet when I took them to the top of it, and convinced them that it was built by the hands of men, (a circumftance which had not entered their heads before, for they had fuppofed it a natural production,) they were quite loft in amazement. The people below, they compared to mice; and infifted that it mult at least be as high as Cape Charles, which is a mountain of confiderable altitude. Upon my afking them how they should defcribe it to their countrymen on their return, they replied, with a look of the utmoit expreffion, they should neither mention it, nor many other things which they had feen, lest they should be called liars, from the feeming impoffibility of fuch af tonishing facts.

Walking along Piccadilly one day with the two men, I took them into a shop to fhew them a collection of animals. We had no fooner entered than I obferved their attention rivetted on a small monkey; and I could perceive horror moft strongly depic, ted in their countenances. At length the old man turned to me and faltered out, "Is that an Esquimau?" I muft confefs, that both the colour and contour of the countenance had confiderable resemblance to the people of their nation; but how they could conceive it poffible for an El quimau to be reduced to that diminutive size, I am wholly at a lofs to account for; unless they had fixed their attention on the countenance only, and had not adverted to any other particulars. On pointing out feveral other monkeys of different kinds, they were greatly diverted at the mistake which they had made; but were not well pleafed to obferve, that monkeys refembled their race much more than ours.

The parrots, and other talkative birds, next attracted their notice.

And it was a great treat to me, both then and at all other times, to obferve their different emotions, much more forcibly expreffed in their countenances, than is poffible to be done by thofe whofe feelings are not equally genuine. Civilized nations imperceptibly contract an artificial expreffion of countenance, to help out their languid feelings; for knowledge, by a communication with the world and books, enlightens our ideas fo much, that they are not fo liable to be taken by furprife, as the uninformed mind of the favage, who never had the leaft hint given him, that certain things are in exiftence; confequently, they break upon them as unexpectedly, and forcibly, as the fun would do upon a man who was born deaf and blind, in cafe he fhould fuddenly be brought to fight on a clear day.

Being on a dining vifit, with that excellent furgeon and anatomift, the ingenious John Hunter; in the afternoon Attuiock walked out of the room by himself, but prefently returned with fuch evident marks of terror, that we were all greatly alarmed, fearing fome accident had happened to him; or, that he had met with an infult from one of the fervants. He feized hold of my hand, and eagerly preffed me to go along with him. I asked the caufe of his emotion, but could get nothing more from him than "Come along, come along with me," and he haftily led me into a room in the yard, in which stood a glafs cafe containing many human bones. "Look there," fays he, with more horror and confternation in his countenance than I ever beheld in that of man before, are thofe the bones of Efquimaux whom Mr Hunter has killed and eaten? Are we to be killed? Will he eat us, and put our bones there? As the whole company followed us, the other Indians had alfo taken the alarm before the old priest had finished his interrcgatories; nor did any of them feem

more

more at eafe, by the rest of us breaking out into a fudden and hearty laugh, till I explained to them that those were the bones of our own people, who had been executed for cer, tain crimes committed by them, and were preferved there, that Mr Hunter might better know how to fet thofe of the living, in cafe any of them fhould chance to be broken; which often happened in fo populous a country. They were then perfectly fatisfied, and approved of the practice; but Attuiock's nerves had received too great a shock to enable him to refume his ufual tranquillity, till he found himself safe in my houfe again. Paffing through Hyde Park in our way to Holland Houfe, and obferv. ing his Majefty looking at the regiment of Old Buffs, which were then going to Plymouth, we got out of the coach and went up to the front; where I explained to them the use of that body of men, and of the evolutions which they were performing. After his Majesty viewed the regiment collectively, the recruits were drawn out at a few paces diftant from the left flank, that he might examine them separately. So great a crowd had gathered round us, as incommoded our view of the troops, and attracted the notice of the King, who then fent General Harvey to order me with the Indians, into the vacant fpace between the regiment and the recruits. Here his Majesty rode flowly past them, and condefcended to falute them by taking off his hat, accompanied with a gracious fmile; honours which they were highly pleafed with, and often mentioned afterwards with great exultation. Nor were they in the leaft difpleased that his Majefty did not fpeak to them; fince I had previously told them not to expect it; and they obferved that he fpoke to none but the commanding officer, and one or two of thofe who were in attendance.

The face of the country did not

pass unobferved by them, and their expreffion was, "The land is all made," for they fuppofed that we had cut down the woods, and levelled the hills. In the former fuppofition they were certainly right; and I do not wonder at the latter, fince they would naturally fuppofe that all the world was like the fmall part of which they had formerly feen; and which is almost an entire collection of hills covered with thick woods, As they had never before seen any cultivated land (except a few fmall gardens, which they obferved were dug with a fpade) they formed an idea of our immenfe numbers, by being able to till fo much land and confume the produce of it in a year; exclufive of the animal food with which they faw our tables and markets abounded. How the inhabitants of London were supplied with food, I could never make them fully comprehend, any more than I could the number of people by which the metropolis was inhabited. Their arithmetic goes no higher than the number twenty-one; therefore, the best I could do, was, to tell them, that a certain number of large whales would ferve them for one meal only. Nothing furprized them more, than to meet with a man who affured them he could not fhoot, had never killed an animal, nor feen the fea in his life.

After my return to town, by his Majefty's permiffion, I took them to court; where their dreffes and behaviour made them greatly taken notice of. They were allo at the houfes of feveral of the nobility and people of fashion; and I omitted nothing, which came within the compafs of my pocket, to make their stay in England agreeable, or imprefs them with ideas of our riches and strength. The latter I thought highly neceffary, as they had often, when in Labrador, fpoken of our numbers with great contempt, and told me they were fo numerous, that they could cut off all

the

the English with great eafe, if they thought proper to collect themselves together; an opinion which could not fail to produce in me very unpleasant reflections. But they had not been long in London before they confeffed to me, that the Efquimaux were but as one, compared to the number of the English.

[Having purchafed a brig of 80 tons, Mr C. prepared for a fecond voyage. The pleafing profpects which he had indulged were of a fhort duration. On the evening of the 13th of May, Caubvick, a female Indian, complained of great fickness at her ftomach, which daily grew worfe. At Lymington, her disorder was declared to be the small-pox; and, it was in vain to expect the rest should escape the infection, preparative medicines were accordingly given to them. On the 22d, Čaubvick appeared to be out of danger. At the fame time, Ickcongoque, another Indian, began to ficken. On the 29th fo dreadful a ftench pervaded the whole veffel, that there feemed reafon to apprehend that they would all be foon attacked with a peftilential fever. Mr Cartwright therefore ordered the master to carry the veffel into Plymouth, although he forefaw that fuch a measure would prove an' immenfe' injury to his voyage. Having bargained for a house at two guineas and a half per week, Mr C. removed the Indians, and procured for them every medical affiftance which Plymouth afforded yet, melancholy to relate! Caubvick alone recovered. On the 16th of July, Mr C. failed for Labrador. The hair of the Indian woman being much matted with the fmall-pox, it was by no means eafy to prevail on her to part with that which she regarded as a principal ornament: nor, when cut off, would intreaties, nor reprefentations of the danger to which he would expofe her countrymen, induce her to throw it overboard.

On the 31ft of Auguft, they reached the coaft of Labrador. The report of their arrival brought the three fouthernmost tribes of Efquimaux, amounting to above 500, to receive their long-expected friends, and to hear the wondrous ftories which they might have to relate.We fhall give an account of the affecting fcene of their disappointment in the words of the author:]

I placed myself upon a rock near the water-fide, and Caubvick fat down a few paces behind me. We waited for the landing of the Indians with feelings very different from their's; who were hurrying along with tumultuous joy at the thoughts of immediately meeting their relations and friends again. As the shore would not permit them to land out of their boats, they brought them to their anchors at a distance off, and the men came in their kyacks, each bringing two other perfons, laying flat on their faces; one behind and the other before, on the top of the fkin covering. On drawing near the fhore, and perceiving only Caubvick and myfelf, their joy abated, and their countenances affumed a different afpect.

Being landed, they all fixed their eyes on Caubvick and me, in profound, gloomy filence. At length, with great perturbation and in faultering accents, they enquired, feparately, what was become of the reft; and were no fooner given to underftand, by a filent, forrowful shake of my head, that they were no more, than they inftantly fet up fuch a yell,. as I had never before heard. Many of them, but particularly the women, fnatched up ftones, and beat themfelves on the head and face till they became fhocking fpectacles; one pretty young girl (a fifter to the late two men) gave herself fo fevere a blow upon the cheek-bone, that the bruifed and cut the flesh shockingly, and` almost beat an eye out,