to me, as mine was to that of this people. Upon this point, I cannot forbear doing juftice to the Queen my mistress, and Glumdalclitch my nurse, whofe perfons were as fweet as thofe of any lady in England.

That which gave me most uneafinefs among thefe maids of honour, (when my nurfe carried me to them,) was to fee them use me without any manner of ceremony, like a creature who had no fort of confequence for they would ftrip themfelves to the fkin, and put on their finocks in my prefence, while I was placed on their toilet, directly before their naked bodies, which I am fure to me was very far from being a tempting fight, or from giving me any other emotions than thofe of horror and dif guft. Their skins appeared fo coarfe and uneven, fo varioufly coloured, when I faw them near, with a mole here and there as broad as a trencher, and hairs hanging from it thicker than pack-threads, to fay nothing farther concerning the reft of their perfons. Neither did they at all fcruple, while I was by, to difcharge what they had drank, to the quantity of at least two hogfheads in a veffel that held above three tuns. The handfomeft among those maids of honour, a pleasant frolickfome girl of fixteen, would fometimes fet me aftride upon one of her nipple, with many other tricks, wherein the reader will excufe me for not being over particular. But I was fo much difpleafed, that I intreated Glumdalclitch to contrive fome excufe for not feeing that young lady any more.

One day a young gentleman, who was nephew to my nurfe's governefs, came and preffed them both to fee an execution. It was of a man who had murdered one of that gentleman's intimate acquaintance. Glumdalclitch was prevailed on to be of the company, very much against her inclination, for fhe was naturally tender hearted and as for myfelf, although I abhorred fuch kind of fpectacles,

:

yet

yet my curiofity tempted me to fee fomething, that I thought must be extraordinary. The malefactor was fixed in a chair upon a fcaffold erected for that purpofe, and his head cut off at one blow with a fword of about forty feet long. The veins and arteries fpouted up fuch a prodigious quantity of blood, and fo high in the air, that the great fet d'eau at Verfailles was not equal for the time it lafted; and the head, when it fell on the fcaffold floor, gave fuch a bounce as made me ftart, although I were at least half an Englifh mile diftant.

The Queen, who often ufed to hear me talk of my fea-voyages, and took all occafions to divert me when I was melancholy, asked me whether I un-derstood how to handle a fail or an oar, and whe-ther a little exercife of rowing might not be convenient for my health: I answered, that I understood both very well: for although my proper employ ment had been to be furgeon or doctor to the fhip, yet often upon a pinch I was forced to work like a common mariner. But I could not fee how this could be done in their country, where the finallest wherry was equal to a first-rate man of war among us, and fuch a boat as I could manage would never live in any of their rivers. Her Majefty faid, if I would contrive a boat, her own joiner fhould make it, and the would provide a place for me to fail in. The fellow was an ingenious workman, and by my inftructions in ten days finifhed a pleafure boat, with all its tackling, able conveniently to hold eight Europeans. When it was finished, the Queen was fo delighted, that fhe ran with it in her lap to the King, who ordered it to be put in a ciftern full of water with me in it by way of trial; where I could not manage my two fculls, or little oars, for want of room. But the Queen had before contrived another project. She ordered the joiner to make a wooden trough of three hundred feet long, fifty broad, and eight deep; which being well pitched,

to

to prevent leaking, was placed on the floor along the wall in an outer room of the palace. It had a cock near the bottom to let out the water, when it began to grow ftale; and two fervants could easily fill it in half an hour. Here I often used to row for my own diverfion, as well as that of the Queen and her ladies, who thought themselves well entertained with my skill and agility. Sometimes I would put up my fail, and then my bufinefs was only to fteer, while the ladies gave me a gale with their fans; and when they were weary, fome of the pages would blow my fail forward with their breath, while I fhewed my art by steering ftarboard or larboard, as I pleased. When I had done, Glumdalclitch always carried back my boat into her closet, and hung it on a nail to dry.

In this exercife I once met an accident, which had like to have coft me my life: for one of the pages having put my boat into the trough, the governefs, who attended Glumdalclitch, very officioufly lifted me up to place me in the boat, but I happened to flip through her fingers, and thould infallibly have fallen down forty feet upon the floor, if, by the luckieft chance in the world, I had not been stopped by a corking-pin that ftuck in the good gentlewoman's ftomacher; the head of the pin paffed between my fhirt and the waistband of my breeches, and thus I was held by the middle in the air, till Glumdalclitch ran to my relief.

Another time, one of the fervants, whofe office it was to fill my trough every third day with fresh water, was fo carelefs to let a huge frog (not perceiving it) flip out of his pail. The frog lay concealed till I was put into my boat, but then, feeing a refting-place, climbed up, and made it lean fo much on one fide, that I was forced to balance it with all my weight on the other to prevent overturning. When the frog was got in, it hopped at once half the length of the boat, and then over my head, backwards and forwards, daubing my face and

clothes

clothes with its odious flime. The largenefs of its features made it appear the most deformed animal that can be conceived. However, I defired Glumdalclitch to let me deal with it alone. I banged it a good while with one of my fculls, and at laft for-ced it to leap out of the boat.

But the greatest danger I ever underwent in that kingdom, was from a monkey, who belonged to one of the clerks of the kitchen. Glumdalclitch had locked me up in her clofet, while fhe went somewhere upon business, or a vifit. The weather being very warm, the closet-window was left open, as well as the windows and the door of my bigger box, in which I ufually lived, because of its largenefs and conveniency. As I fat quietly meditating at my table, I heard fomething bounce in at the clofet window, and skip about from one fide to the other: whereat although I were much alarmed, yet I ventured to look out, but not ftirring from my feat ;and then I faw this frolickfome animal frifking and leaping up and down, till at laft he came to my box, which he feemed to view with great pleasure and curiofity, peeping in at the door and every window. I retreated to the farther corner of my room, or box, but the monkey looking in at every fide put me into fuch a fright, that I wanted prefence of mind to conceal myfelf under the bed, as I might eafily have done. After fome time spent in peeping, grinning, and chattering, he at laft efpied me, and reaching one of his paws in at the door, as a cat does when the plays with a moufe, although I often fhifted place to avoid him, he at length feized the lappet of my coat, (which, being made of that country filk, was very thick and ftrong,) and dragged me out. He took me up in his right fore-foot, and held me as a nurfe does a child fhe is going to fuckle, just as I have feen the fame fort of creature do with a kitten in Europe; and. when I offered to struggle, he squeezed me so hard, that I thought

it more prudent to fubmit. I have good reafon to believe, that he took me for a young one of his own fpecies, by his often ftroaking my face very gently with his other paw. In thefe diverfions he was interrupted by a noife at the clofet-door, as if fomebody were opening it; whereupon he fuddenly leaped up to the window, at which he had come in, and thence upon the leads and gutters, walking upon three legs, and holding me in the fourth, till he clambered up to a roof that was next to ours. I heard Glumdalclitch give a fhreek at the moment he was carrying me out. The poor girl was almost distracted: that quarter of the palace was all in an uproar; the fervants ran for ladders; the monkey was feen by hundreds in the court, fitting upon the ridge of a buildsing, holding me like a baby in one of his forepaws, and feeding me with the other, by cramming into my mouth fome victuals he had squeezed out of the bag on one fide of his chaps, and patting me when I would not eat; whereat many of the rabble below could not forbear laughing; neither do I think they justly ought to be blamed, for without queftion the fight was ridiculous enough to every body but myfelf. Some of the people threw up ftones, hoping to drive the monkey down; but this was ftrictly forbidden, or elfe very probably my brains had been dafhed out.

The ladders were now applied, and mounted by feveral men, which the monkey obferving, and finding himself almoft incompaffed; not being able to make speed enough with his three legs, let me drop on a ridge-tyle, and made his efcape. Here I fat for fome time, five hundred yards from the ground, expecting every moment to be blown down by the wind, or to fall by my own giddinefs, and come tumbling over and over from the ridge to the eves: but an honeft lad, one of my nurfe's footmen, climbed up, and putting me into his breeches pocket brought me down fafe.