fet fail from Portsmouth upon the 7th day of September, 1710; on the 14th, we met with captain Pocock of Bristol at Tenariff, who was going to the bay of Com pechy

templating his works, is not only the bufinefs, but often the practice, and the ftudy of the human mind, It is too certain, that no one individual has ever poffeffed every qualification and excellence. However, fuch an affemblage of different virtues may still be collected from different perfons, as are fufficient to place the dignity of human nature in an amiable and exalted station. We must lament indeed the many inftances of those who degenerate or go aftray from the end and intention of their being. The true fource of this depravity is often owing to the want of education, to the falle indulgence of parents, or to fome other bad causes, which are conftantly prevalent in every nation. Many of these errors are finely ridiculed in the foregoing parts of this romance: but the voyage to the Houyhnhnms is a real infult upon mankind.

I am heartily tired of this last part of Gulliver's travels; and am glad, that, having exhausted all my observations on this difagreeable fubject, I may finish my letter; efpecially as the conclufion of it naturally turns my thoughts from YAHOOs, to one of the dearest pledges I have upon earth, yourself, &c. Orrery.

Some others, befide Lord Orrery, have thought proper to cenfure Gulliver's voyage to the Houyhnhnms. But whether indeed their animadverfions proceeded from the infirmity of their judgment, or from fome Yahoo depravity in their own nature, I thall not vouchfafe to inquire; as the daily occurrences of this. wretched world prove, illuftrate, and confirm all the farcasms of the doctor. Shall we praise that excellent moralift, the humorous Hogarth, for expofing midnight revels, debaucheries, and a thousand other vices and follies of human kind, in a series of hieroglyphics, fuited to the improvement and the correction of the wild, the gay, the frolic, and the extravagant? And shall we condemn a preacher of righteousness, for expofing, under the character of a nafty unteachable Yahoo, the deformity, the blacknefs, the filthiness and corruption of thofe hellish, abominable vices, which inflame the wrath of God against the children of disobedience; and fubject them without repentance, that is, without a thorough change of life and practice, to everlasting perdition? Ought a preacher of righteoufiefs, ought a watch

man

THE HOUYHN HNMS. pechy to cut logwood. On the 16th, he was parted from us by a storm; I heard fince my return, that his fhip foundered, and none escaped, but one: T 3 cabbin-boy.

man of the Chriftian faith, (who is accountable for his talents. and obliged to warn the innocent, as well as terrify the wicked and the profane;) to hold his peace, like a dumb dog that cannot bark, when avarice, fraud, cheating, violence, rapine,. extortion, eruelty, oppreffion, tyranny, rancour, envy, malice, detraction, hatred, revenge, murder, whoredom, adultery, lafciviousness, bribery, corruption, pimping, lying, perjury, fubornation, treachery, ingratitude, gaming, flattery, drunkennefs, gluttony, luxury, vanity, effeminacy, cowardice, pride,. impudence, hypocrify, infidelity, blafphemy, idolatry, fodomy, and innumerable other vices, are as epidemical as the pox, and many of them the notorious characteristics of the bulk of buman kind? I would ask thefe mighty foftners, these kind pretenders to benevolence, thefe hollow charity-mongers, what is their real opinion of that old ferpent, which, like a roaring Lion, traveifeth the globe feeking whom he may devour? Was he not created by the Almighty pure, faultless, intelligent But is there now, throughout the whole fyftem of created exifrences, any beaft, any Yahoo, any tyrant fo vile, fo base, so corrupted? And whence originally proceeded the change? Was it not from the abuse of that freedom, without which no created intelligence can be reputed faithful, wife, brave or virtuous, in the eyes of his Creator? And furely, if this once great, once glorious fpirit hath been reduced for many thousands of ages, for aught we know to the contrary, below all the feveral gradations of created beings, whether intelligent, animal, or infen. fible; and expofed to the fury of that avenging, though merciful God, who is the fountain of all wifdom, goodness, and virtue; are we not to conclude, by an exact parity of reafon that every moral agent is equally accountable to God for that degree of intelligence and perfection, which determine the na ture of his xiftence? And upon this very principle, which cannot be denied without running into the last of abfurdities, and which in fact is the reafoning of St Peter throughout his whole 2d chapter of his ad epiftle, that creature man, that glorious creature man, is defervedly more contemptible than a brute beaft, when he flies in the face of his Creatos, by inlifting un

der

cabbin-boy. He was an honeft man, and a good failor, but a little too pofitive in his own opinions, which was the cause of his deftruction, as it hath been of several others. For if he had followed my advice, he might have been fafe at home with his family at this time, as well as myself.

I had several men died in my ship of calentures, fo that I was forced to get recruits out of Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands, where I touched by the direction of the merchants who employed me; which I had foon too much cause to repent; for I found afterwards, that most of them had been Bucaneers*. I had fifty hands. on board, and my orders were, that I fhould trade with the Indians in the South-fea, and make what discoveries I could. These rogues, whom I had picked up, debauched my other men, and they all formed a confpiracy to feize the fhip, and fecure me; which they did one morning, rufhing into my cabbin, and binding me hand and foot, threatening to throw me over-board, if I offered to ftir. I told them, I was their prifoner, and would fubmit. This they made me fwear to do, and then they unbound me, only fastening one of my legs with a chain near my bed, and placed a centry at my door with his piece charged, who was commanded to fhoot me dead,

if

der the banner of the enemy; and perverts that reafon which was defigned to have been the glory of his nature, even the directing spirit of his life and demeanour, to the vileft, the most execrable, the most hellish purposes. And this manifestly appears to be the ground-work of the whole fatire contained in the voyage to the Houyhnhnms. [Then the author inferts feveral paffages from the holy fcriptures, and the Apocrypha, which he fays will fully justify all the farcafins of the doctor. But these we omit, as improper in a political romance.]

And to conclude: if the brutality and filthiness of the Yahoos be represented by the fatiric genius of Dr Swift in colours the moft fhocking and deteftable, as they certainly are, and as in fact they ought to have been, the picture is the more striking as well as the more terrible; and upon that account more likely to inforce the obligation of religion and virtue upon the fouls of men. Swift.

* Certain pyrates, that infested the West Indies, were fo called. Hawkef

if I attempted my liberty. They fent me down victuals and drink, and took the government of the ship to themfelves. Their defign was to turn pyrates, and plunder the Spaniards, which they could not do, till they got more men. But firft they refolved to fell the goods in the ship, and then go to Madagascar for recruits, several among them having died fince my confinement. They failed many weeks, and traded with the Indians; but I knew not what course they took, being kept a close prifoner in my cabbin, and expecting nothing lefs than to be murdered, as they often threatened me.

UPON the 9th day of May 1711, one James Welch came down to my cabbin, and faid he had orders from the captain to fet me a-fhore. I expoftulated with him, but in vain ; neither would he fo much as tell me, whe their new captain was. They forced me into the longboat, letting me put on my best fuit of cloaths, which were as good as new, and take a fmall bundle of linnen, but no arms, except my hanger; and they were fo civil as not to search my pockets, into which I conveyed what money I had with fome other little neceffaries. They rowed about a league; and then fet me down on a strand. I defired them to tell me, what country it was? They all fwore, they knew no more than myself, but faid, that the captain (as they called him) was refolved, after they had fold the lading, to get rid of me in the first place where they could difcover land. They pushed off immediately, advifing me to make hafte for fear of being overtaken by the tide, and fo bade me farewel.

In this defolate condition I advanced forward, and foon got upon firm ground, where I fat down on a bank to reft myself, and confider what I had beft do. When I was a little refreshed, I went up into the country, refolving to deliver myself to the firft favages I fhould meet, and purchafe my life from them by fome bracelets, glassrings, and other toys, which failors ufually provide themfelves with in thofe voyages, and whereof I had fome about me. The land was divided by long rows of trees not regularly planted, but naturally growing; there was great plenty of grafs, and several fields of oats. I walked very circumfpectly for fear of being furprised, or fuddenly fhot with an arrow from behind, or on either

fide. I fell into a beaten road, where I faw many tracks of human feet, and fome of cows, but most of horses. At laft I beheld several animals in a field, and one or two of the fame kind fitting in trees. Their fhape was very fingular and deformed, which a little difcompofed me, fo that I lay down behind a thicket to obferve them better. Some of them coming forward near the place where I lay, gave me an opportunity of diftinctly marking their form Their heads and breasts were covered with a thick hair, fome frizled, and others lank; they had beards like goats, and a long ridge of hair down their backs, and the fore-parts of their legs and feet; but the rest of their bodies were bare, fo that I might fee their skins, which were of a brown buff colour. They had no tails, nor any hair at all on their buttocks, except about the anus; which, I prefume, nature had placed there to defend them, as they fat on the ground; for this pofture they nfed, as well as lying down, and often stood on their hind feet. They climbed high trees as nimbly as a fquirrel, for they had ftrong extended claws before and behind, terminating in fharp points, and hooked. They would often fpring, and bound, and leap with prodigious agility. The females were not fo large as the males; they had long lank hair on their heads, but none on their faces, nor any thing more than a fort of down on the rest of their bodies, except about the anus and pudenda. Their dugs hung between their fore-feet, and often reached almoft to the ground as they walked. The hair of both fexes was of feveral colours, brown, red, black, and yellow. Upon the whole, I never beheld in all my travels fo difagreeable an animal, or one against which I naturally conceived fo ftrong an antipathy. So that thinking I had feen enough, full of contempt and averfion, I got up, and purfued the beaten road, hoping it might direct me to the cabbin of fome Indian. I had not got far, when I met one of these creatures full in my way, and coming up directly to me. The ugly monfter, when he faw me, diftorted feveral ways every feature of his vi fage, and started as at an object he had never feen before; then approaching nearer lifted up his fore-paw, whether out of curiofity or mifchief, I could not tell: but I drew my hanger, and gave him a good blow with the flat fide

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