Part IV. their leaves with the fame compliment of ftriking. each other's hoof; and the grey made me figns that I fhould walk before him; wherein I thought it prudent to comply, til! I could find a better direcWhen I offered to flacken my pace, he would cry hhuun, bhuun; I gueffed 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 ftand a while to let me reft. tor. С НА Р. II. The author conducted by a Houyhnhum to his houfe. The houfe defcribed. The author's reception. The food of the Houyhnhnms. The author in diftrefs for want of meat, is at last relieved. His manner of feeding in that country. H AVING travelled about three miles, we came to a long kind of building, made of timber ftuck 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 prefents 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 firft; it was a large room with a smooth 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 hams, which I very much won. dered at; but wondered more to fee the reft employed in domeftic business; these feemed but ordinary cattle however this confirmed my firft opinion, that a people, who could fo far civilize brute animals, animals, must 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 ftile of authority, and received answers. 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 miftrefs of the houfe: they were two knives, three bracelets of falfe pearl, a fmall looking glafs, and a bead-necklace. The horse neighed three or four times, and I waited to hear some anfwers 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 gould gain admittance. But, that a man of quality fhould be ferved all by horfes, was beyond my comprehenfion. I feared my brain was difturbed by my fufferings and misfortunes: I roufed myself, and looked about me in the room, whereI 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 elfe but necromancy and magic. But I had no time to pur. fue these reflections; for the grey horfe came to the door, and made me a fign to follow him into the third room; where I faw 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 The mare foon after my entrance rose from her matt, and coming up clofe, after having nicely obferved my hands and face, gave me a most contemptuous look; then turning to the horse, I heard the word yahoo often repeated betwixt them; the meaning of which word I could not then comprehend, although it was the firft I had learned to pronounce; but I was foon better informed to my everlasting mortification: for the horfe beckoning to me with his head, and repeating the word hhuun, hhuun, 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 distance from the houfe. Here we entered, and I faw three of those deteftable creatures, which I first met after my landing, feeding upon roots and the flesh of fome animals, which I afterwards found to be that of affes and dogs, and now and then a cow dead by accident or disease. They were all tied by the neck with ftrong wyths faftened to a beam; they held their food between the claws of their fore-feet, and tore it with their teeth. The mafter horfe ordered a forrel nag, one of his fervants, to untie the largest of these animals, and take him into the yard. The beast and I were brought clofe together; and our countenances diligently compared both by mafter and fervant, who thereupon repeated feveral times the word yahoo. My horror and astonishment are not to be defcribed, when I obferved in this abonimable animal a perfect human figure: the face of it indeed was flat and broad, the nofe depreffed, the lips large, and the mouth wide: but thefe differences are common to all favage nations, where the lineaments of the countenance are distorted by the natives fuffering their infants to lie grovelling on the earth, or by carrying them on their backs nuzzling with their face against the mother's fhoulders. The fore-feet of the yahoo differed from my hands in nothing. elfe, 2 elfe, but the length of the nails, the coarsenefs and brownness of the palms, and the hairiness on the backs. There was the fame resemblance between our feet, with the fame differences, which I knew very well, though the horfes did not, because of my fhoes and stockings; the fame in every part of our bodies, except as to hairinefs and colour, which I have already defcribed. The great difficulty, that feemed to ftick with the two horfes, was, to see the rest of my body so very different from that of a yahoo, for which I was obliged to my cloaths, whereof they had no conception. The forrel nag offered me a root, which he held (after their manner, as we fhall defcribe in its proper place) between his hoof and paftern: I took it in my hand, and having fmelt it returned it to him again as civilly as I could. He brought out of the yahoo's kennel a piece of afs's flefh, but it fmelt fo offenfively, that I returned from it with loathing; he then threw it to the yahoo, by whom it was greedily devoured *. He afterwards fhewed me a whifp of hay and a fetlock full of oats; but I shook my head to fignify, that neither of thefe were food for me. And indeed I now apprehended, that I muft abfolutely ftarve, if I did not get to fome of my own fpecies; for as to thofe filthy yahoos, although there were few greater lovers of mankind at that time, than myfelf; yet I confefs, I never faw any fenfitive being fo deteftable on all accounts; and the more I came near them, the more hateful they grew, while I ftayed in that country. This the mafter horfe obferved by my behaviour, and therefore fent the yahoo back to his kennel. He then put his fore hoof to his mouth, Whoever is difgufted with this picture of a yahoo, would do well to reflect, that it becomes his own in exact proportion as he deviates from virtue, for virtue is the perfection of reafon. The appetites of thofe abandoned to vice, are not lefs brutal and fordid than that of a yaboo for affes flesh; nor is their life a state of Jefs abject servility. VOL. V. at at which I was much furprifed, although he did with cafe, and with a motion that appeared perfectly natural; and made other figns to know what I would eat; but I could not return him fuch an anfwer as he was able to apprehend; and if he had understood me, I did not fee how it was poffible to contrive any way for finding myfelt nourishment, While we were thus engaged, I obferved a cow pafling by; whereupon I pointed to her, and exprefld a defire to go and milk her, This had its effect; for he led me back into the houfe, and ordered a mare-fervant to open a room, where a good ftore of milk lay in earthen and wooden veffels af ter a very orderly and cleanly manner. She gave me a large bowl full, of which I drank very heartily, and found myself well refreshed. About noon 1 faw coming towards the house a kind of vehicle drawn like a fledge by four yahoos. There was in it an old fteed, who feemed to be quality; he alighted with his hind feet forward, having by accident got a hurt in his left fore-foot, He came to dine with our horfe, who received him with great civility. They dined in the best room, and had oats boiled in milk for the fecond course, which the old horfe eat warm, but the reft cold. Their mangers were placed circular in the middle of the room, and divided into feveral partitions, round which they fat on their haunches upon boffes of ftraw. In the middle was a large rack, with angles anfwering to every partition of the manger. So that each horfe and mare eat their own hay, and their own mash of oats and milk, with much decency and regularity. The behaviour of the young colt and fole appeared very modeft; and that of the mafter and miftrefs extremely chearful and complaifant to their gueft. The grey ordered me to ftand by him; and much difcourfe paffed between him and his friend concerning me, as I found by the |