foar; after which they both touched me with all poffible tenderness. They were under great perplexity about my shoes and stockings, which they felt very often, neighing to each other, and ufing various geftures, not unlike thofe of a philofopher, when he would attempt to folve fome new and difficult phænomenon.

Upon the whole, the behaviour of these ani mals was fo orderly and rational, fo acute and judicious, that I at laft concluded, they must needs be magicians, who had thus metamorphosed themselves upon fome design, and feeing a ftranger in the way refolved to divert themselves with him; or perhaps were really amazed at the fight of a man fo very different in habit, feature, and complexion, from thofe who might probably live in fo remote a cli mate. Upon the ftrength of this reafoning I ventured to addrefs them in the following manner gentlemen, if you be conjurers, as I have good caufe to believe, you can understand any language; therefore I make bold to let your worships know that I am a poor diftreffed englishman driven by his misfortunes upon your coaft, and I entreat one of you to let me ride upon his back, as if he were a real horfe, to fome houfe or village, where I can be relieved. In return of which favour I will make you a prefent of this knife and bracelet (taking them out of my pocket.) The two creatures flood filent while I fpoke, feeming to liften with great attention; and when I had ended, they neighed frequently towards each

other,

other, as if they were engaged in ferious converfation. I plainly obferved, that their language expreffed the paffions very well, and the words might with little pains be refolved into an alphabet more easily than the chinefe.

I could frequently diftinguish the word yaboo, which was repeated by each of them leveral times; and although it was impoffible for me to conjecture what it meant, yet while the two horses were bufy in converfation, I endeavoured to practise this word upon my tongue; and as foon as they were filent, I boldly pronounced yahoo in a loud voice, imitating at the fame time as near as I could the neighing of a horse; at which they were both visibly furprifed, and the grey repeated the fame word twice, as if he meant to teach me the right accent, wherein I spoke after him as well as I could, and found myself perceivably to improve every time, though very far from any degree of perfection. Then the bay tried me with a fecond word much harder to be pronounced; but reducing it to the english orthography, may be spelt thus, Houyhnhnm. I did not fucceed in this fo well as the former; but after two or three farther trials I had better fortune; and they both appeared amazed at my capacity.

After fome farther difcourfe, which I then conjectured might relate to me, the two friends took their leaves with the fame compliment of ftriking each other's hoof; and the grey made

me

me figns that I fhould walk before him, wherein I thought it prudent to comply, till I could find a better director. When I offered to flacken my pace, he would cry bhuun, bhuun; I gues fed his meaning, and gave him to understand, as well as I could, that I was weary, and not able to walk fafter; upon which he would stand a-while to let me reft.

JACHA P. II.

The author conducted by a Houyhnhnm to his boufe. The house defcribed. The author's re ceptions The food of the Houynhnhnms. The 1 author in diftrefs for want of meat, is at last !relieved. His manner of feeding in this country.in.

HAV

Aving travelled about three miles, we came to a long kind of building made of timber stuck in the ground, and wattled a crofs; the roof was low, and covered with ftraw. I now began to be a little comforted; and took out fome toys, which travellers ufually carry for presents to the favage indians of america and other parts, in hopes the people of the house would be thereby encouraged to receive me kindly. The horfe made me a fign to go in first; it was a large room with a fmooth clay floor, and a rack and manger, extending the whole length on one fide. There were three nags, and two mares not eating, but fome of them fitting down upon their VOL. II. hams,

X

hams, which I very much wondered at; but wondered more to fee the rett employed in domestic business, these feemed but ordinary cattle; however this confirmed my firft opinion, that a people, who could fo far civilize brute animals, muft needs excel in wisdom all the nations of the world. The grey came in just after, and thereby prevented any ill treatment, which the others might have given me. He neighed to them several times in a style of authority, and received anfwers.

Beyond this room there were three others reaching the length of the houfe, to which you paffed through three doors, oppofite to each other, in the manner of a vifta; we went through the fecond room towards the third; here the grey walked in firft, beckoning me to attend: I waited in the fecond room, and got ready my prefents for the mafter and mistrefs of the houfe: they were two knives, three bracelets of falfe pearl, a small lookingglass, and a bead necklace. The horse neighed three or four times, and I waited to hear some answers in a human voice, but I heard no other returns, than in the fame dialect, only one or two a little fhriller than his. I began to think, that this house must belong to fome perfon of great note among them, because there appeared fo much ceremony, before I could gain admittance. But, that a man of quality Thould be ferved all by horses, was beyond my comprehenfion. I feared my brain was difturbed by my fufferings and misfortunes: I

roufed

roufed myself, and looked about me in the room where I was left alone; this was furnished like the firft, only after a more elegant manner. I rubbed my eyes often, but the fame objects ftill occurred. I pinched my arms and fides to awake myself, hoping I might be in a dream. I then abfolutely concluded, that all these appearances could be nothing else but necromancy and magic. But Í had no time to pursue these reflections; for the grey horfe came to the door, and made me a fign to follow him into the third room; where I saw a very comely mare, together with a colt and fole, fitting on their haunches upon matts of ftraw not unartfully made and perfectly neat and clean.

The mare foon after my entrance rofe from her matt, and coming up clofe, after having nicely observed my hands and face, gave me a most contemptuous look; and turning to the horfe, I heard the word yaboo often repeated betwixt them; the meaning of which word I could not then comprehend, although it were the first I had learned to pronounce; but I was foon better informed to my everlasting morti fication for the horse beckoning to me with his head, and repeating the word bhuun, bhuun, as he did upon the road, which I understood was to attend him, led me out into a kind of court, where was another building at fome diftance from the house. Here we entered, and I faw three of thofe deteftable creatures, which I first met after my landing, feeding X 2 upon