pieces with my knife, as they flew in the air, wherein my dexterity was much admired. I remember, one morning, when Glumdalclitch had fet me in my box upon a window, as she usually did in fair days to give me air (for I durft not venture to let the box be hung on a nail out of the window, as we do with cages in England) after I had lifted up one of my fashes, and fat down at my table to eat a piece of fweet cake for my breakfast, above twenty wafps, allured by the fmell, came flying into the room, humming louder than the drones of as many bag-pipes. Some of them feized my cake, and carried it piece-meal away; others flew about my head and face, confounding me with the noise, and putting me in the utmoft terror of their ftings. However, I had the courage to rise and draw my hanger, and attack them in the air. I dispatched four of them, but the rest got away, and I presently shut my window. Thefe infects were as large as partridges; I took out their ftings, found them an inch and a half long, and as sharp as needles. I carefully preferved them all, and having fince fhewn them with fome other curiofities in several parts of Europe, upon my return to England, I gave three of them to Gresham College, and kept the fourth for myself. CHAP. IV. The country defcribed. A propofal for correcting modern maps. The king's palace, and fome account of the metropolis. The author's way of travelling. The chief temple defcribed. Now intend to give the reader a fhort description of this country, as far as I travelled in it, which was not above two thousand miles round Lorbrulgrud, the metropolis. For the queen, whom I always attended, never went farther when the accompanied the king in his progreffes, and there ftaid till his majefty returned from viewing his frontiers. The whole extent of this prince's dominions reacheth about fix thousand miles in length, and from three to five in breadth. From whence I cannot but conclude, that our geographers of Europe are in a great error, by fuppofing noM 4 thing 悅 1 thing but sea between Japan and Califor nia; for it was ever my opinion, that there must be a balance of earth to counterpoise the great continent of Tartary; and therefore they ought to correct their maps and charts by joining this vast tract of land to the north-west parts of America, wherein Ifhall be ready to lend them my affistance, The kingdom is a peninfula, terminated to the north-east by a ridge of mountains thirty miles high, which are altogether impaffable by reafon of the volcanoes upon the tops: neither do the most learned know what fort of mortals inhabit beyond thofe mountains, or whether they be inhabited at all. On the three other fides it is bounded by the ocean. There is not one fea-port in the whole kingdom, and those parts of the coafts into which the rivers iffue are fo full of pointed rocks, and the fea generally fo rough, that there is no venturing with the smallest of their boats; fo that these people are wholly excluded from any commerce with the reft of the world. But the large rivers are full of veffels, and abound with excellent fish, for they feldom get any from the fea, because the fea-fifh are of the fame fame fize with thofe in Europe, and confequently not worth catching; whereby it is manifeft, that nature in the production of plants and animals of fo extraordinary a bulk is wholly confined to this continent, of which I leave the reasons to be determined by philofophers. However, now and then they take a whale that happens to be dashed against the rocks, which the common people feed on heartily. These whales I have known fo large that a man could hardly carry one upon his shoulders; and sometimes for curiofity they are brought in hampers to Lorbrulgrud: I saw one of them in a dish at the king's table, which paffed for a rarity, but I did not observe he was fond of it; for I think indeed the bigness disgufted him, although I have seen one somewhat larger in Greenland. The country is well inhabited, for it contains fifty-one cities, near an hundred walled towns, and a great number of villages. To fatisfy my curious reader, it may be fufficient to defcribe Lorbrulgrud. This city ftands upon almost two equal parts on each fide the river that paffes through. It contains above eighty thousand houses, and a bout bout fix hundred thousand inhabitants. It is in length three glomglungs (which make about fifty-four English miles) and two and a half in breadth, as I measured it myself in the royal map made by the king's order, which was laid on the ground on purpose for me, and extended an hundred feet; I paced the diameter and circumference feveral times bare foot, and, computing by the scale, measured it pretty exactly. me, The king's palace is no regular edifice, but an heap of building about feven miles round: the chief rooms are generally two hundred and forty feet high, and broad and long in proportion. A coach was allowed to Glumdalclitch and wherein her governess frequently took her out to fee the town, or go among the fhops; and I was always of the party, carried in my box; although the girl at my own defire would often take me out, and hold me in her hand, that I might more conveniently view the houses and the people, as we paffed along the ftreets. I reckoned our coach to be about a square of Westminster-hall, but not altogether so high: however, I cannot be very exact. One day the governess or |