formerly been furgeon of another fhip, where he was mafter and fourth part owner, in a voyage to the Levant; he had always treated me more like a brother, than an inferior officer, and, hearing of wear no chains, but can freely difengage themselves, and, like a found conftitution of body, rife chearful, and more vigorous, by the food they have acquired, being neither oppreffed, nor rendered stupid by the labours of digeftion. Lord Bacon has juftly expofed the vain pursuits of oftentatious pedants in the different parts of learning; and their unaccountable temerity in deducing general rules from arbitrary maxims, or few experiments he has likewife fixed upon a fure and certain bafis, the procedure and limits of the human understanding. Swift has pursued the fame plan in a different manner, and has placed the imaginary fchemes of all pretenders, in a more ludicrous, and therefore in a more proper light. Ridiculum acri Fortius ac melius, magnas plerumque fecat res. He cannot be fuppofed to condemn ufeful experiments, or the right application of them: but he ridicules the vain attempts and irregular productions of thofe rafh-men, who, like Ixion, embracing a cloud instead of a goddess, plagued the world with centaurs; whilst Jupiter, from the embraces of a Juno, and an Alcmena, blessed the earth with an Hebe, and an Hercules. Orrery. The defign of Gulliver, in his voyage to Laputa, is to ridicule the vain pretensions of chymifts, mathematicians, projectors, and the rest of that fpeculative tribe,who fpend their time in aerial ftudies, by no means calculated to improve the faculties of the mind, or to inlarge the number of ideas; mathematicians (I mean thofe only who are entirely devoted to their circles, their talefcopes, and their laboratory) being a race of men so very abstracted from all fublunary affairs, that fcarce one in twenty of them can give you a rational anfwer. However, indeed, a certain degree of mathematical knowledge is, without difpute, extremely neceffary in the purfuit of the fculapian fcience, architecture, and other fpecies of mechanics. But when the foul rambles after a thoufand chimeras, and the brain is wholly abforbed in the confideration of the feveral powers of attraction, repulfion, and the circulation of the heavenly bodies; or when a projector, with footy hands and face, is employed in his laboratory in producing a confiderable degree of cold, in order to refrigera e the air, and qualify the raging of the dog-ftar, which exactly aufwers to the project of extracting fun beams out of cucumbers; fuch follies and extravagan cies are certainly the objects of derifion. And accordingly Dr. Swift has laughed egregioully in the voyage to Laputa, and exerted a vein of humour, not against the whole tribe of chymifts, projectors, and mathematicians in general; but against thofe, and thofe only, who defpife the ufeful branches of fcience, and wafte their lives in the purfuit of aerial vanities and extravagancies. Swift. my Part III. my arrival, made me a vifit, as I apprehend, only 'out of friendship; for nothing paffed more than what is ufual after long abfences. But, repeating his vifits often, expreffing his joy to find me in good health, afking whether I were now fettled for life; adding, that he intended a voyage to the East-Indies in two months; at laft he plainly invited me, though with fome apologies, to be furgeon of the fhip; that I should have another furgeon under me, befides our two mates; that my falary fhould be double to the ufual pay; and that having experienced my knowledge in fea affairs to be at least equal to his, he would enter into any engagement to follow my advice, as much as if I had fhared in the command. He faid fo many other obliging things, and I knew him to be fo honeft a man, that I could not reject his propofal; the thirft I had of feeing the world, notwithstanding my past misfortunes, continuing as violent as ever. The only difficulty that remained, was to perfuade my wife, whofe confent however I at laft obtained by the prospect of advantage the propofed to her children. We fet out the 5th day of Auguft 1706, and arrived at Fort St. George the 11th of April 1707. We stayed there three weeks to refresh our crew, many of whom were fick From thence we went to Tonquin, where the captain refolved to continue fome time, because many of the goods he intended to buy were not ready, nor could he expect to be difpatched in feveral months. Therefore, in hopes to defray fome of the charges he must be at, he bought a floop, loaded it with feveral forts of goods, wherewith the Tonquinefe ufually trade to the neighbouring iflands, and putting fourteen men on board, whereof three were of the country, he appointed me mafter of the floop, and gave me power to traffic, while he tranfacted his affairs at Tonquin. We We had not failed above three days, when, a great ftorm arifing, we were driven five days to the Ñ. N. E. and then to the E; after which we had fair weather, but ftill with a pretty ftrong gale from the W. Upon the tenth day, we were chafed by two pyrates, who foon overtook us s; for my floop was fo deep laden, that she failed very flow, neither were we in a condition to defend ourselves. We were boarded about the fame time by both the pyrates, who entered furioufly at the head of their men; but, finding us all proftrate upon our faces, (for fo i gave order,) they pinioned us with ftrong ropes, and, fetting a guard upon us, went to fearch the floop. 1 I obferved among them a Dutchman, who feemed to be of fome authority, though he was not commander of either fhip. He knew us by our countenances to be Englishmen, and jabbering to us in his own language, fwore we fhould be tied back to back, and thrown into the fea. 1 fpoke Dutch toderably well; I told him who we were, and begged him, in confideration of our being Chriftians and Proteftants of neighbouring countries in ftrict alliance, that he would move the captains to take fome pity on us. This inflamed his rage, he repeated his threatenings, and, turning to his companions, fpoke with great vehemence in the Japanefe language, as I fuppofe, often using the word Chriftianos. The largest of the two pyrate fhips was commanded by a Japanese captain, who spoke a little Dutch, but very imperfectly. He came up to me, and after several queftions, which I anfwered in great humility, he faid we should not die. I made the captain a very low bow, and then turning to the Dutchman faid, I was forry to find more mercy in an Heathen, than in a brother Chriftian. But I had foon reafon to repent thofe foolish words: for that malicious reprobate, having often endeavoured in vain to perfuade both the captains, that VOL. V. H I might I might be thrown into the fea, (which they would not yield to after the promise made me that I fhould not die,) however prevailed to far as to have a punishment inflicted on me, worie, in all human appearance, than death itself. My men were sent by an equal divifion into both the pyrate fhips, and my floop new manned As to myfelf, it was determined that I should be fet a-drift in a small canoe, with paddles and a fail, and four days provifions, which Jaft the Japanese captain was fo kind to double out of his own ftores, and would permit no man to fearch me. I got down into the canoe, while the Dutchman, ftanding upon the deck, loaded me with all the curfes and injurious terms his language could afford. About an hour before we faw the pyrates, I had taken an obfervation, and found we were in the latitude of 46 N. and of longitude 183. When I was at fome diftance from the pyrates, I difcovered by my pocket glafs feveral islands to the fouth-cast. 1 fet up my fail, the wind being fair, with a defign to reach the neareft of those islands, which I made fhift to do in about three hours. It was all rocky; however I got many birds eggs, and, ftriking fire, I kindled fome heath and dry fea-weed, by which I roafted my eggs. I eat no other fupper, being refolved to fpare my provifions as much as I could. I paffed the night under the fhelter of a rock, ftrewing fome heath under me, and flept pretty well. The next day I failed to another island, and thence to a third and fourth, fometimes using my fail, and fometimes my paddles. But, not to trouble the reader with a particular account of my diftreffes, let it fuffice, that, on the fifth day, I arrived at the laft ifland in my fight, which lay fouth-eaft to the former. This ifland was at a greater diftance than I expected, and I did not reach it in lefs than five hours. I encompaffed it almoft round, before I could canoe. could find a convenient place to land in, which was a fmall creek about three times the widenefs of my I found the ifland to be all rocky, only a little intermingled with tufts of grafs, and fweet fielling herbs.. I took out my fmall provifions, and, after having refreshed myself, I fecured the remainder in a cave, whereof there were great numbers. I gathered plenty of eggs upon the rocks, and got a quantity of dry fea-weed, and parched grafs, which I defigned to kindle the next day, and roaft my eggs as well as I could, (for I had about me my flint, steel, match, and burning glafs). I lay all night in the cave where I had lodged my provifions. My bed was the fame dry grafs and fea weed which I intended for fuel. I flept very little, for the difquiets of my mind prevailed over my wearinefs, and kept me awake. I confidered how impoffible it was to preferve my life in fo defolate a place, and how miferable my end muft be. Yet found myself fo liftlefs and defponding, that I had not the heart to rife; and before could get fpirits enough to creep out of my cave, the day was far advanced. I walked a while among the rocks, the fky was perfectly clear, and the fun fo hot, that I was forced to turn my face from it; when all on a fudden it became obfcure, as I thought, in a man-ner very different from what happens by the interpofition of a cloud. I turned back, and perceived. a vaft opaque body between me and the fun, moving towards the ifland: it feemed to be about two miles high, and hid the fun fix or feven mi-nutes, but I did not observe the air to be much colder, or the sky more darkened, than if I had ftood under the fhade of a mountain. As it ap proached nearer over the place where I was, it appeared to be a firm fubftance, the bottom flat, fmooth, and fhining very bright from the reflexion of the fea below. I ftood upon a height about two hundred yards from the fhore, and faw this vaft |