lunarium, which, having a cord attached to it, served us in lieu of a grapnel.  It descended with great force to the ground, while the machine, thus lightened, was disposed to mount again.  We, however, drew ourselves down; and as soon as the machine touched the ground, we let off some of our leaden balls to keep it there.  We released ourselves from the machine in a twinkling; and our first impulse was to fall on our knees, and return thanks for our safe deliverance from the many perils of the voyage.

CHAPTER VI.

Some account of Morosofia, and its chief city Alamatua—­Singular dresses of the Lunar ladies—­Religious self denial—­Glouglim miser and spendthrift.

My feelings, at the moment I touched the ground, repayed me for all I had endured.  I looked around with the most intense curiosity; but nothing that I saw, surprised me so much as to find so little that was surprising.  The vegetation, insects and other animals, were all pretty much of the same character as those I had seen before; but after I became better acquainted with them, I found the difference to be much greater than I at first supposed.  Having refreshed ourselves with the remains of our stores, and secured the door of our machine, we bent our course, by a plain road, towards the town we saw on the side of a mountain, about three miles distant, and entered it a little before the sun had descended behind the adjacent mountain.

The town of Alamatua seemed to contain about two thousand houses, and to be not quite as large as Albany.  The houses were built of a soft shining stone, and they all had porticoes, piazzas, and verandas, suited to the tropical climate of Morosofia.  The people were tall and thin, of a pale yellowish complexion; and their garments light, loose, and flowing, and not very different from those of the Turks.  The lower order of people commonly wore but a single garment, which passed round the waist.  One half the houses were under ground, partly to screen them from the continued action of the sun’s rays, and partly on account of the earthquakes caused by volcanoes.  The windows of their houses were different from any I had ever seen before.  They consisted of openings in the wall, sloping so much upwards, that while they freely admitted the light and air, the sun was completely excluded:  and although those who were within could readily see what was passing in the streets, they were concealed from the gaze of the curious.  In their hot-houses, it was common to have mirrors in the ceilings, which at once reflected the street passengers to those who were on the floor, and enabled the ostentatious to display to the public eye the decorations of their tables, whenever they gave a sumptuous feast.