fore to protect himself keeps always near the perfon of bis leader. He ufually continues in office, till a worfe can be found; but the very moment he is difcarded, his fucceffor at the head of all the yaboos in that district, young and old, male and female, come in a body, and difcharge their excrements upon him from head to foot. But how far this might be applicable to our courts and favourites, and minifiers of ftate, my mafter faid I could beft de

termine.

I durft make no return to this malicious infinuation, which debafed human understanding below the fagacity of a common bound, who hath judgment enough to distinguish and follow the cry of the ableft dog in the pack, without being ever mistaken.

My mafter told me, there were fome qualities remarkable in the yahoos, which he had not observed me to mention, or at least very flightly, in the accounts I had given him of human kind; he said, those animals like other brutes had their females in common; but in this they differed, that the fhe yahoo would admit the male, while fhe was pregnant; and that the hees would quarrel and fight with the females, as fiercely as with each other, Both which practices were fuch degrees of infamous brutality, as no other fenfitive creature ever arrived at.

Another thing he wondered at in the yaboos, was their ftrange difpofition to naftiness and dirt; whereas there appears to be a natural love

of cleanliness in all other animals. As to the two former accufations, I was glad to let them pass without any reply, because I had not a word to offer upon them in defence of my fpecies, which otherwife I certainly had done from my own inclinations. But I could have eafily vindicated human kind from the imputation of fingularity upon the last article, if there had been any fine in that country (as unluckily for me there were not) which, although it may be a fweeter quadruped than a yahoo, cannot, I humbly conceive, in juftice pretend to more cleanlinefs; and fo his honour himself muft have owned, if he had feen their filthy way of feeding, and their custom of wallowing and fleeping in the mud.

My mafter likewife mentioned another quality, which his fervants had difcovered in feveral yaboos, and to him was wholly unaccountable. He faid, a fancy would fometimes take a yahoo to retire into a corner, to lie down, and howl and groan, and fpurn away all that came near him, although he were young and fat, wanted neither food nor water nor did the fervants imagine what could poffibly ail him. And the only remedy they found was, to fet him to hard work, after which he would infallibly come to himself. To this I was filent out of partiality to my own kind; yet here I could plainly discover the true feeds of spleen, which only feizeth on the lazy, the luxurious, and the rich; who if

they were forced to undergo the fame regimen, I would undertake for the cure.

His honour had farther obferved, that a female yahoo would often ftand behind a bank or a bush to gaze on the young males paffing by, and then appear, and hide, ufing many antic geftures and grimaces, at which time it was obferved that he had a molt offenfive fmell; and when any of the males advanced would flowly retire, looking often back, and with a counterfeit fhew of fear run off into fome convenient place, where she knew the male would follow her.

At other times, if a female ftranger came among them, three or four of her own sex would get about her, and stare, and chatter, and grin, and fmell her all over; and then turn off with geftures, that feemed to exprefs contempt and difdain.

Perhaps my mafter might refine a little in thefe fpeculations, which he had drawn from what he obferved himself, or had been told him by others: however I could not reflect without fome amazement and much forrow, that the rudiments of lewdness, coquetry, cenfure, and fcandal fhould have place by instinct in womankind.

I expected every moment, that my master would accufe the yahoos of those unnatural appetites in both fexes, fo common among us. But nature, it seems, hath not been fo expert a school-mistress; and these politer pleasures

are

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are intirely the productions of art and reason on our fide of the globe.

The author relates feveral particulars of the yahoos. The great virtues of the Houyhnhnms. The education and exercife of their youth. Their general affembly.

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S I ought to have understood human nature much better, than I fuppofed it poffible for my mafter to do, fo it was easy to apply the character he gave of the yahoos to myfelf, and my countrymen; and I believed, I could yet make farther difcoveries from my own obfervation. I therefore often begged his honour to let me go among the herds of yaboos in the neighbourhood, to which he always very graciously confented, being perfectly convinced, that the hatred I bore thofe brutes would never fuffer me to be corrupted by them; and his honour ordered one of his fervants, a strong forrel nag, very honeft and good-natured, to be my guard, without whofe protection I durft not undertake fuch adventures. For I have already told the reader, how much I was peftered by those odious animals upon my first arrival. And I afterwards failed very narrowly three or four times of falling into their clutches, when I happened to ftray at any distance without my hanger. And I have reason to believe they had fome imagi

nation that I was of their own fpecies, which I often affifted myself by ftripping up my fleeves, and fhewing my naked arms and breast in their fight, when my protector was with me. At which times they would approach as near as they durft, and imitate my actions after the manner of monkies, but ever with great figns of hatred; as a tame jack-daw with cap and stockings is always perfecuted by the wild ones, when he happens to be got among them.

They are prodigiously nimble from their infancy; however I once caught a young male of three years old, and endeavoured by all marks of tendernefs to make it quiet; but the little imp fell a fqualling, and fcratching, and biting, with fuch violence, that I was forced to let it go; and it was high time, for a whole troop of old ones came about us at the noise, but finding the cub was fafe (for away it ran) and my forrel nag being by, they durft not venture near us. I obferved the young animal's flesh to fmell very rank, and the ftink was somewhat between a weafel and a fox, but much more difagreeable. I forgot another circumftance (and perhaps I might have the reader's pardon, if it were wholly omitted) that while I held the odious vermin in my hands, it voided its filthy excrements of a yellow liquid fubftance all over my cloaths; but by good fortune there was a fmall brook hard by, where I washed myself as clean as I could; although I durft not come into my master's prefence, until I were fufficiently aired.

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