the following reafon : That the magnetic virtue does not extend beyond the distance of four miles, and that the mineral, which acts upon the ftone in the bowels of the earth, and in the fea about fix leagues diftant from the fhore, is not diffused through the whole globe, but terminated with the limits of the King's dominions; and it was eafy, from the great advantage of fuch a fuperior fituation, for a prince to bring under his obedience whatever country lay within the attraction of that magnet..

When the ftone is put parallel to the plane of the horizon, the island ftandeth ftill; for in that cafe the extremities of it, being at equal distance from the earth, act with equal force, the one in drawing downwards, the other in pufhing upwards, and confequently no motion can enfue.

This loadstone is under the care of certain aftronomers, who from time to time give it fuch pofitions as the monarch directs. They spend.. the greateft part of their lives in observing the celestial bodies, which they do by the affiftance of glaffes, far excelling ours in goodnefs. For, although their largeft telescopes do not exceed three feet, they magnify much more than thofe of an hundred with us, and fhew the ftars with greater clearness. This advantage hath ena

bled them to extend their difcoveries much farther than our aftronomers in Europe; for they have made a catalogue of ten thousand fixed ftars, whereas the largest of ours do not contain above one third part of that number. They

have likewife difcovered two leffer ftars, or fatellites, which revolve about Mars, whereof the innermoft is diftant from the centre of the primary planet exactly three of his diameters, and the outermoft, five; the former revolves in the space of ten hours, and the latter in twenty-one and an half; so that the fquares of their periodical times are very near in the fame proportion with the cubes of their distance from the centre of Mars; which evidently fhews them to be governed by the fame law of gravitation that influences the other heavenly bodies.

They have obferved ninety-three different comets, and settled their periods with great exactness. If this be true (and they affirm it with great confidence) it is much to be wifhed, that their obfervations were made public, whereby the theory of comets, which at prefent is very lame and defective, might be brought to the fame perfection with the other parts of aftronomy.

The King would be the most abfolute prince in the universe, if he could. but prevail on a miniftry to join with him: But thefe, having their. eftates below on the continent, and confidering that the office of a favourite hath a very uncertain tenure, would never confent to the enflaving their country.

If any town should engage in rebellion or mutiny, fall into violent factions, or refuse to pay the ufual tribute, the King hath two methods of reducing them to obedience. The first and the mildest courfe is by keeping the island ho

vering over fuch a town, and the lands about it, whereby he can deprive them of the benefit of the fun and the rain, and confequently afflict the inhabitants with dearth and difeafes. And if the crime deferve it, they are at the fame time pelted from above with great ftones, against which they have no defence but by creeping into cellars or caves, while the roofs of their houses are beaten to pieces. But if they still continue obftinate, or offer to raise infurrections, he proceeds to the laft remedy, by letting the ifland drop directly upon their heads, which makes un univerfal deftruction both of houfes and men. However, this is an extremity to which the prince is feldom driven; neither indeed is he willing to put it in execution, nor dare his minifters advife him to an action, which as it would render them odious to the people, fo it would be a great damage to their own eftates, which lie all below; for the ifland is the King's demefne.

But there is ftill indeed a more weighty reafon, why the kings of this country have been always averse from executing fo terrible an action, unless upon the utmost neceffity. For if the town intended to be destroyed should have in it any tall rocks, as it generally falls out in the larger cities, a fituation probably chosen at first with a view to prevent fuch a catastrophe; or if it abound in high fpires, or pillars of `ftone, a fudden fall might endanger the bottom or under furface of the ifland, which, although it confift, as I have faid, of one entire adamant, two hundred

dred yards thick, might happen to crack by too great a fhock, or burst by approaching too near the fires from the houses below, as the backs both of iron and stone will often do in our chimnies. Of all this the people are well apprifed, and understand how far to carry their obftinacy, where their liberty or property is concerned. And the King, when he is higheft provoked, and most determined to prefs a city to rubbish, orders the island to defcend with great gentleness, out of a pretence of tenderness to his people; but indeed for fear of breaking the adamantine bottom; in which cafe, it is the opinion of all their philofophers, that the loadstone could no longer hold it up, and the whole mafs would fall to the ground.

By a fundamental law of this realm, neither the King, nor either of his two elder fons, are permitted to leave the island, nor the Queen, till she is past child-bearing.

CHA P. IV..

The author leaves Laputa, is conveyed to Balnibarbi, arrives at the metropolis. A description of the metropolis, and the country adjoining. The author hofpitably received by a great lord. His converfation with that lord.

A'

LTHOUGH I cannot say that I was ill-treated in this island, yet I must confess I thought myself too much neglected, not without

fome

fome degree of contempt. For neither prince nor people appeared to be curious in any part of knowledge, except mathematics and mufic, wherein I was far their inferior, and upon that account very little regarded.

On the other fide, after having feen all the curiofities of the island, I was very defirous to leave it, being heartily weary of those people. They were indeed excellent in two fciences, for which I have great esteem, and wherein I am not unverfed, but at the fame time fo abftracted and involved in fpeculation, that I never met with fuch disagreeable companions. I conversed only with women, tradefmen, flappers, and court-pages, during two months of my abode there; by which at last I rendered myself extremely contemptible; yet these were the only people, from whom I could ever receive a reasonable answer.

I had obtained by hard ftudy a good degree of knowledge in their language; I was weary of being confined to an island, where I received fo little countenance, and refolved to leave it with the first opportunity.

There was a great lord at court, nearly related to the King, and for, that reafon alone ufed with respect. He was univerfally reckoned the most ignorant and stupid perfon among them. He had performed many eminent fervices for the crown, had great natural and acquired parts, adorned with integrity and honour, but fo ill an ear for mufic, that his detractors reported he had been often known to beat time in the wrong place;

neither