fold, and used to all kind of drudgery, till they died; after which their fkins were ftripped, and fold for what they were worth, and their bodies left to be devoured by dogs and birds of prey. But the common race of horfes had not so good fortune being kept by farmers and carriers and other mean people who put them to great labour, and fed them worfe. I defcribed, as well as I could, our way of riding; the fhape and use of a bridle, a faddle, a fpur, and a whip; of harnefs and wheels, I added, that we fastened plates of a certain hard fubftance, called iron, at the bottom of their feet, to preferve their hoofs from being broken by the ftony ways, on which we often travelled.

My mafter, after fome expreffions of great indignation, wondered how we dared to venture upon a Houyhnhnm's back; for he was fure that the weakeft fervant in his house would be able to shake off the strongest yahoo; or by lying down, and rolling on his back, fqueeze the brute to death. I answered, that our horfes were trained up from three or four years old to the several ufes we intended them for; that, if any of them proved intolerably vicious, they were employed for carriages; that they were feverely beaten, while they were young, for any mischievous tricks; that the males defigned for the common ufe of riding or draught, were generally caftrated about two years after their birth, to take down their fpirits and make them more tame and gentle; that they were indeed fenfible of rewards and punishments; but his honour would please to confider, that they had not the leaft tincture of reafon, any more than the yahoos in this country.

It put me to the pains of many circumlocutions to give my mafter a right idea of what I fpoke ; for their language doth not abound in variety of words, because their wants and paffions are fewer than among us. But it is impoffible to exprefs his

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noble

noble refentment at our favage treatment of the Houyhnhom race; particularly after I had explained the manner and use of caftrating horfes among us to hinder them from propogating their kind, and to render them more fervile. He faid, it it were poffible there could be any country, where yahoos alone were endued with reafon, they certainly must be the governing animal, because reason will in time always prevail again ft brutal ftrength. But confidering the frame or our bodies, and efpecially of mine, he thought no creature of equal bulk was fo il contrived for employing that reafon in the common offices of life; whereupon, he defired to know, whether thofe, among whom I lived, refembled me or the yaboos of his country. I affured him, that I was as well fhaped as most of my age but the younger and the females were much more foft and tender, and the fkins of the latter generally as white as milk. He faid, I differed indeed from other yahoos, being much more clean. ly, and not altogether fo deformed; but in point of real advantage, he thought I differed for the worse. That my nails were of no ufe either to my fore or hinder feet: as to my fore-feet he could not properly call them by that name, for he never obferved me to walk upon them; that they were too foft to bear the ground; that I generally went with them uncovered, neither was the covering I fome. times wore on them, of the fame fhape, or fo ftrong as that on my feet behind. That I could not walk with any fecurity; for if either of my hinder feet flipped, I must inevitably fall. He then be. gan to find fault with other parts of my body; the flatnefs of my face, the prominence of my nofe, mine eyes placed directly in front, fo that I could not look on either fide without turning my head; that I was not able to feed myself without lifting one of my fore-feet to my mouth; and therefore nature had placed thofe joints to anfwer that neceffity

He

He knew not what could be the use of thofe feve-·· ral clefts and divifions in my feet behind; that thefe were too foft to bear the hardness and fharpnefs of ftones, without a covering made from the fkin of fome other brute; that my whole body wanted a fence against heat and cold, which I was forced to put on and off every day with tedioufnefs and trouble. And lastly, that he obferved every animal in this country naturally to abhor the ya-boos, whom the weaker avoided, and the ftronger drove from them. So that, fuppofing us to have the gift of reafon, he could not fee how it were poffible to cure that natural antipathy, which every creature difcovered again ft us; nor confequently how we could tame and render them ferviceable. However, he would, as he faid, debate the matter no farther, because he was more defirous to know my own story, the country where I was born, and the feveral actions and events of my life before I came hither,

I affured him, how extremely defirous I was, that he should be fatisfied in every point; but I doubted much, whether it would be poffible for me to explain myself on several fubjects, whereof his honour could have no conception; because I faw nothing in his country, to which I could refemble them. That however I would do my beft, and strive to exprefs myfelf by fimilitudes, humbly defiring his affiftance, when I wanted proper words; which he was pleased to promife me.

"

I faid, my birth was of honeft parents, in an ifland called England, which was remote from his country as many days journey, as the strongest of his honour's fervants could travel in the annual course of the fun: That I was bred a furgeon, whose trade it is to cure wounds body gotten by accident or country was governed by a female man, whom we called Queen That I left it to get riches, where

and hurts in the violence: That my

by I might maintain myself and family when I fhould return: That in my laft voyage I was commander of the fhip, and had about fifty yahoos under me, many of which died at fea, and I was forced to fupply them by others picked out from feveral nations: That our fhip was twice in danger of being funk; the first time by a great ftorm, and the fecond by ftriking against a rock. Here my mafter interpofed, by afking me, how I could perfuade ftrangers out of different countries to venture with me, after the loffes I had sustained, and the hazards I had run. I faid, they were fellows of defperate fortunes, forced to fly from the places of their birth on account of their poverty or their crimes. Some were undone by law-fuits; others spent all they had in drinking, whoring, and gaming; others fled for treafon; many for murder, theft, poifoning, robbery, perjury, forgery, coining falfe-money, for committing rapes or fodomy; for flying from their colours, or deferting to the enemy; and most of them had broken prifon; none of thefe durft return to their native countries for fear of being hanged, or of starving in a jail ; and therefore they were under a neceflity of feeking a livelihood in other places.

During this difcourfe, my mafter was pleased to interrupt me feveral times; I had made ufe of many circumlocutions in describing to him the nature of the feveral crimes, for which moft of our crew had been forced to fly their country. This labour took up feveral days converfation before he was able to comprehend me. He was wholly at a lofs to know, what could be the ufe or neceffity of practising thofe vices. To clear up which, I endeavoured to give him fome ideas of the defire of power and riches; of the terrible effects of luft, intemperance, malice, and envy. All this I was forced to define and defcribe by putting cafes and making fuppofitions. After which, like one whose imagination

imagination was ftruck with fomething never feen or heard of before, he would lift up his eyes with amazement and indignation. Power, government, war, law, punishment, and a thoufand other things. had no terms, wherein that language could exprefs them; which made the difficulty almoft infuperable to give my mafter any conception of what I meant. But being of an excellent understanding, much improved by contemplation and converfe, he at laft arrivied at a competent knowledge of what human nature in our parts of the world is capable : to perform, and defired I would give him foms particular account of that land, which we call Eu-rope, but especially of my own country

The author, at his master's commands, informs him of the ftate of England. The caufes of war among the princes of Europe. The author begins to explain the Englifb conftitution.

'HE reader may please to observe, that the fol

with my mafter, contains a fummary of the most material points, which were discoursed on at feveral times for above two years; his honour often defiring fuller fatisfaction, as I farther improved in the Houyhnhnm tongue. I laid before him, as well as I could, the whole ftate of Europe. I difcourfed of trade and manufactures, of arts and sciences; and the anfwers I gave to all the questions he made, as they arofe upon feveral fubjects, were a fund of conversation not to be exhausted. But I. fhail here only fet down the fubftance of what paffed between us concerning my own country, res

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