what I have gathered from your own relation, and the answers I have with much pains wringed. and extorted from you, I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin, that nature ever fuffered to crawl upon the furface of the earth.

The author's love of his country. He makes a propo fal of much advantage to the King, which is rejected. The King's great ignorance in politics. The learning of that country very imperfect and confined. The lars, and military affairs, and parties in the ftate.

NOTH

THING but an extreme love of truth could have hindered me from concealing this part of my ftory. It was in vain to discover my refentments, which were always turned into ridicule; and I was forced to reft with patience, while noble and most beloved country was fo injurioufly

my

VOL. V.

This chapter contains fuch farcafms on the structure of the human body, as too plainly fhew, that the author was unwilling to lose any opportunity of debasing and ridiculing his own species.- Here a reflection naturally occurs, which, without any fuperftition, leads tacitly to admire and confefs the ways of Providence. For this great genius, this mighty wit, who seemed to fcoff and fcorn at all mankind, lived not only to be an example to h his own pride, and to terrify ours, but underwent fof the greatest miferies to which human nature is liable. -See, the author's life, prefixed to Vol. I,

injurioufly treated. I am as heartily sorry as any of my readers can poflibly be, that fuch an occafion was given: But this prince happened to be fo curious and inquifitive upon every particular, that it could not confift either with gratitude or good manners, to refuse giving him what fatisfaction I was able. Yet thus much I may be allowed to say in my own vindication, that I artfully eluded many of his questions, and gave to every point à more favourable turn by many degrees than the ftrictness of truth would allow. For I have always borne that laudable partiality to my own country, which Dionyfius Halicarnaffenfis with fo much justice recommends to an hiftorian: I would hide the frailties and deformities of my political mother, and place her virtues and beauties in the most advantageous light. This was my fincere endeavour in those many difcourfes I had with that monarch, although it unfortunately failed of fuccefs.

But great allowances fhould be given to a king who lives wholly fecluded from the reft of the world, and muft therefore be altogether unacquainted with the manners and cuftoms that moft prevail in other nations: The want of which knowledge will ever produce many prejudices, and a certain narrowness of thinking, from which we and the politer countries of Europe are wholly exempted. And it would be hard indeed, if fo remote a prince's notions of virtue and vice, were to be offered as a standard for all mankind.

То

To confirm what I have now faid, and further to fhew the miferable effects of a confined education, I fhall here infert a paffage which will hardly obtain belief. In hopes to ingratiate myself farther into his Majefty's favour, I told him of an invention, difcovered between three and four hundred years ago, to make a certain powder, into an heap of which the fmalleft fpark of fire falling would kindle the whole in a moment, although it were as big as a mountain, and make it all fly up in the air together, with a noife and agitation greater than thunder. That a proper quantity of this powder rammed into an hollow tube of brafs or iron, according to its bignefs, would drive a ball of iron or lead with fuch violence and speed, as nothing was able to fuftain its force. That the largest balls thus difcharged would not only destroy whole ranks of an army at once, but batter the strongest walls to the ground, fink down fhips with a thousand men in each, to the bottom of the fea; and when linked together by a chain, would cut through mafts and rigging, divide hundreds of bodies in the middle, and lay all wafte before them. That we often put this powder into large hollow balls of iron, and discharged them by an engine into fome city we were befieging, which would rip up the pavements, tear the houses to pieces, burst and throw splinters on every fide, dashing out the brains of all who came near. That I knew the ingredients very well, which were cheap and common; I understood the manner of com

pounding

pounding them, and could direct his workmen how to make thofe tubes of a fize proportionable to all other things in his Majefty's kingdom, and the largest need not be above an hundred feet long; twenty or thirty of which tubes, charged with the proper quantity of powder and balls, would batter down the walls of the strongeft town in his dominions in a few hours, or deftroy the whole metropolis, if ever it should pretend to difpute his abfolute commands. This I humbly offered to his Majefty, as a small tribute of acknowledgment in return of fo many marks that I had received of his royal favour and protection.

The King was ftruck with horror at the defcription I had given of those terrible engines, and the propofal I had made. He was amazed, how fo impotent and groveling an infect as I (thefe were his expreffions) could entertain fuch inhuman ideas, and in fo familiar a manner, as to appear wholly unmoved at all the fcenes of blood and defolation, which I had painted as the common effects of those destructive machines, whereof he faid fome evil genius, enemy to mankind, must have been the first contriver. As for himself, he protefted, that although few things delighted him fo much as new difcoveries in art or in nature, yet he would rather lofe half his kingdom, than to be privy to fuch a fecret, which he commanded me, as I valued my life, never to mention any more.

A

A strange effect of narrow principles and short views! that a prince poffeffed of every quality which procures veneration, love, and efteem; of ftrong parts, great wifdom, and profound learning, endowed with admirable talents for government, and aloft adored by his fubjects, fhould, from a nice unneceffary fcruple, whereof in Europe we can have no conception; let flip an opportunity put into his hand that would have made him abfolute master of the lives, the liberties, and the fortunes of his people. Neither do I say this with the leaft intention to detract from the many virtues of that excellent King, whofe character I am fenfible will on this account be very much leffened in the opinion of an English reader; but I take this defect among them to have rifen from their ignorance, by not having hitherto reduced politics into a fcience, as the more acute wits of Europe have done. For I remember very well, in a difcourfe one day with the King, when I happened to say there were feveral thousand books among us written upon the art of government, it gave him (directly contrary to my intention) a very mean opinion of our understandings. He profeffed both to abominate and despise all mystery, refinement, and intrigue, either in a prince or a minifter. He could not tell what I meant by fecrets of ftate, where an enemy, or fome rival nation, were not in the cafe. He confined the knowledge of governing within very narrow bounds, to common sense and reason, to justice and lenity, to the speedy determination

Q3:

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