it had received any injury. It instantly reascended
and flew over the sea towards Calais, but so very
high that the Channel seemed to be no broader than
the Thames at London Bridge. In a quarter of
an hour I found myself over a thick wood in France,
where the eagle descended very rapidly, which caused
me to slip down to the back part of its head; but
alighting on a large tree, and raising its head, I
recovered my seat as before, but saw no possibility
of disengaging myself without the danger of being killed
by the fall; so I determined to sit fast, thinking
it would carry me to the Alps, or some other high
mountain, where I could dismount without any danger.
After resting a few minutes it took wing, flew several
times round the wood, and screamed loud enough to
be heard across the English Channel. In a few
minutes one of the same species arose out of the wood,
and flew directly towards us; it surveyed me with
evident marks of displeasure, and came very near me.
After flying several times round, they both directed
their course to the south-west. I soon observed
that the one I rode upon could not keep pace with
the other, but inclined towards the earth, on account
of my weight; its companion perceiving this, turned
round and placed itself in such a position that the
other could rest its head on its rump; in this manner
they proceeded till noon, when I saw the rock of Gibraltar
very distinctly. The day being clear, notwithstanding
my degree of elevation, the earth’s surface appeared
just like a map, where land, sea, lakes, rivers, mountains,
and the like were perfectly distinguishable; and having
some knowledge of geography, I was at no loss to determine
what part of the globe I was in.
Whilst I was contemplating this wonderful prospect
a dreadful howling suddenly began all around me, and
in a moment I was invested by thousands of small,
black, deformed, frightful looking creatures, who
pressed me on all sides in such a manner that I could
neither move hand or foot: but I had not been
in their possession more than ten minutes when I heard
the most delightful music that can possibly be imagined,
which was suddenly changed into a noise the most awful
and tremendous, to which the report of cannon, or
the loudest claps of thunder could bear no more proportion
than the gentle zephyrs of the evening to the most
dreadful hurricane; but the shortness of its duration
prevented all those fatal effects which a prolongation
of it would certainly have been attended with.
The music commenced, and I saw a great number of the
most beautiful little creatures seize the other party,
and throw them with great violence into something
like a snuff-box, which they shut down, and one threw
it away with incredible velocity; then turning to me,
he said they whom he had secured were a party of devils,
who had wandered from their proper habitation; and
that the vehicle in which they were enclosed would
fly with unabating rapidity for ten thousand years,
when it would burst of its own accord, and the devils
would recover their liberty and faculties, as at the
present moment. He had no sooner finished this
relation than the music ceased, and they all disappeared,
leaving me in a state of mind bordering on the confines
of despair.