breadth.  From whence I cannot but conclude, that our geographers of Europe are in a great error, by supposing nothing but sea between Japan and California; for it was ever my opinion, that there must be a balance of earth to counterpoise the great continent of Tartary; and therefore they ought to correct their maps and charts, by joining this vast tract of land to the northwest parts of America, wherein I shall be ready to lend them my assistance.

The kingdom is a peninsula, terminated to the northeast by a ridge of mountains, thirty miles high, which are altogether impassable, by reason of the volcanoes upon the tops:  neither do the most learned know what sort of mortals inhabit beyond those mountains, or whether they be inhabited at all.  On the three other sides it is bounded by the ocean.  There is not one sea-port in the whole kingdom, and those parts of the coasts into which the rivers issue, are so full of pointed rocks, and the sea generally so rough, that there is no venturing with the smallest of their boats; so that these people are wholly excluded from any commerce with the rest of the world.

But the large rivers are full of vessels, and abound with excellent fish, for they seldom get any from the sea, because the sea-fish are of the same size with those in Europe, and consequently not worth catching, whereby it is manifest, that nature, in the production of plants and animals of so extraordinary a bulk, is wholly confined to this continent, of which I leave the reasons to be determined by philosophers.  However, now and then, they take a whale, that happens to be dashed against the rocks, which the common people feed on heartily.  These whales I have known so large, that a man could hardly carry one upon his shoulders; and sometimes, for curiosity, they are brought in hampers to Lorbrulgrud:  I saw one of them in a dish at the king’s table, which passed for a rarity, but I did not observe he was fond of it; for I think indeed the bigness disgusted him, although I have seen one somewhat larger in Greenland.

The country is well inhabited, for it contains fifty-one cities, near a hundred walled towns, and a great number of villages.  To satisfy my curious reader, it may be sufficient to describe Lorbrulgrud.  This city stands upon almost two equal parts on each side the river that passes through.  It contains above eighty thousand houses, and about six hundred thousand inhabitants.  It is in length three glomglungs (which make about fifty-four English miles) and two and a half in breadth, as I measured it myself in the royal map made by the king’s order, which was laid on the ground on purpose for me, and extended a hundred feet:  I paced the diameter and circumference several times barefoot, and, computing by the scale, measured it pretty exactly.