was a great traveller, and had seen all the world, they had not the leaft curiofity to afk me a question; only defired I would give them flumfkudafk, or a token of remembrance; which is a modeft way of begging, to avoid the law, that strictly forbids it, because they are provided for by the public, although indeed with a very scanty allowance.

They are despised and hated by all forts of people; when one of them is born, it is reckoned ominous, and their birth is recorded very particularly; fo that you may know their age by confulting the register; which however hath not been kept above a thousand years paft, or at least hath been destroyed by time or public disturbances. But the usual way of computing how old they are, is, by asking them what kings or great perfons they can remember, and then confulting history; for infallibly the laft prince in their mind did not begin his reign after they were fourfcore years old.

They were the moft mortifying fight I ever beheld; and the women more horrible than men. Besides the ufual deformities in extreme old age, they acquired an additional ghaftliness in proportion to their number of years, which is not to be described; and among half a dozen I foon diftinguished, which was the eldest, although there was not above a century or two between them.

The reader will eafily believe, that from what I had heard and feen, my keen appetite

for

for perpetuity of life was inuch abated. I grew heartily ashamed of the pleafing vifions I had formed; and thought no tyrant could invent a death, into which I would not run with pleafure from fuch a life. The king heard of all that had paffed between me and my friends upon this occafion, and rallied me very pleafantly; wishing I could fend a couple of firuldbrugs to my own country to arm our people against the fear of death, but this it feems is forbidden by the fundamental laws of the kingdom, or else I should have been well con tent with the trouble and expence of tranfporting them.

I could not but agree, that the laws of this kingdom relating to the ftruldbrugs were founded upon the strongest reasons, and fuch as any other country would be under the neceffity of enacting in the like circumstances. Otherwise as avarice is the neceffary confequent of old age, thofe immortals would in time become proprietors of the whole nation, and engross the civil power; which for want of abilities to manage, must end in the ruin of the public.

Perhaps it may not be wholly useless to remark, that the fight of a Struldbrug would no otherwife arm thofe against the fear of death, who have no

hope beyond it, than a man is armed against the fear of breaking his limbs, who jumps out of a window when his houfe is on fire.

CHAP.

CHAP. XI.

The author leaves Luggnagg, and fails to Japan. From thence he returns in a Dutch hip to Amfterdam, and from Amsterdam to Eng

land.

Thought this account of the fruldbrugs might be fome entertainment to the reader, because it seems to be a little out of the common. way; at least I do not remember to have met the like in any book of travels, that hath come to my hands: and if I am deceived my excuse must be, that it is neceffary for travel lers, who defcribe the fame country, very of ten to agree in dwelling on the fame particu lars, without deferving the cenfure of having borowed or transcribed from those who wrote before them.

There is indeed a perpetual commerce be tween this kingdom and the great empire of Japan; and it is very probable, that the Japanese authors may have given fome account of the ftruldbrugs; but my stay in Japan was fo fhort, and I was fo intirely a stranger to the language, that I was not qualified to make any

The word necessary is here ufed in the fame manner, as when by the idiom of our language it means convenient, though it is to be understood in its proper and original fignifica

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tion. "Travellers who defcribe the fame country very often n cessarily agree in dwelling on the fame particulars, and therefore do not deferve the cenfure of having borrowed, .."

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enquiries. But I hope the Dutch upon this notice will be curious and able enough to fupply my defects.

His majesty having often preffed me to ac cept fome employment in his court, and finding me abfolutely determined to return to my native country, was pleased to give me his licence to depart, and honoured me with a letter of recommendation under his own hand to the emperor of Japan. He likewise presented me with four hundred forty-four large pieces of gold (this nation delighting in even numbers) and a red diamond, which I fold in England for eleven hundred pounds.

On the 6th day of May, 1709, I took a folemn leave of his majesty and all my friends. This prince was fo gracious, as to order a guard to conduct me to Glanguenftald, which is a royal port to the fouth-west part of the ifland. In fix days I found a veffel ready to carry me to Japan, and spent fifteen days in the voyage. We landed at a fmall port-town called Xamofchi, fituated on the fouth-east part of Japan; the town lies on the western point, where there is a narrow ftreight leading northward into a long arm of the fea, upon the north-west part of which redo the metropolis ftands. At landing I fhewed the custom-house officers my letter from the king of Luggnagg to his imperial majesty. They knew the feal perfectly well; it was as broad as the palm of my hand. The impreffion was A king lifting up a lame beggar from the earth. The magif

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trates of the town, hearing of my letter, received me as a public minifter; they provided me with carriages and fervants and bore my charges to redo, where I was admitted to an audience, and delivered my letter, which was opened with great ceremony, and explained to the emperor by an interpreter, who then gave me notice by his majesty's order, that I should fignify my requeft, and whatever it were, it fhould be granted for the fake of his royal bro ther of Luggnagg. This interpreter was a perfon employed to tranfact affairs with the bollanders he foon conjectured by my counte nance, that I was an european, and therefore repeated his majesty's commands in low-dutch, which he spoke perfectly well. I answered (as I had before determined) that I was a dutch merchant shipwrecked in a very remote country, from whence I had travelled by fea and land to Luggnagg, and then took shipping for Japan, where I knew my countrymen often traded, and with fome of these I hoped to get an opportunity of returning into Europe: I therefore moft humbly entreated his royal favour to give order, that I fhould be conducted in fafety to Nangafac: to this I added another petition, that for the fake of my patron the king of Luggnagg, his majesty would condefcend to excufe my performing the ceremony imposed on my countrymen, of trampling upon the crucifix; because I had been thrown into his kingdom by my misfortunes, 'without any intention of trading. When this latter peti

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