The pleasures of the life which I then led soon made me forget the risks I had run in my two former voyages; but being then in the flower of my age, I grew weary of living without business; and hardening myself against the thoughts of any danger I might incur, I went from Bagdad with the richest commodities of the country to Balsora.  There I embarked again with other merchants.  We made a long navigation, and touched at several ports, where we drove a considerable commerce.  One day being out in the main ocean, we were attacked by a horrible tempest, which made us lose our course.  The tempest continued several days, and brought us before the port of an island, which the captain was very unwilling to enter; but we were obliged to cast anchor there.  When we had furled our sails, the captain told us, that this and some other neighbouring islands were inhabited by hairy savages, who would speedily attack us; and though they were but dwarfs, yet our misfortune was such, that we must make no resistance, for they were more in number than the locusts; and if we happened to kill one of them, they would all fall upon us and destroy us.  This discourse of the captain put the whole equipage into a great consternation, and we found very soon, to our cost, that what he had told us was too true; an innumerable multitude of frightful savages, covered over with red hair, and about two feet high, came swimming towards us, and encompassed our ship in a little time.  They spoke to us as they came near, but we understood not their language; they climbed up the sides of the ship with so much agility as surprised us.  We beheld all this with fear, without daring to offer at defending ourselves, or to speak one word to divert them from their mischievous design.  In short, they took down our sails, cut the cable, and, hauling to the shore, made us all get out, and afterwards carried the ship into another island from whence they came.  All travellers carefully avoided that island where they left us, it being very dangerous to stay there, for a reason you shall hear anon; but we were forced to bear our affliction with patience.  We went forward into the island, where we found some fruits and herbs to prolong our lives as long as we could; but we expected nothing but death.  As we went on, we perceived at a distance a great pile of building, and made towards it.  We found it to be a palace, well built and very high, with a gate of ebony of two leaves, which we thrust open.  We entered the court, where we saw before us a vast apartment, with a porch, having on one side a heap of men’s bones, and on the other a vast number of roasting spits.  We trembled at this spectacle, and being weary with travelling, our legs failed under us, we fell to the ground, and lay a long time immoveable.  The sun was set, and whilst we were in this lamentable condition the gate of the apartment opened with a great noise, and there came out the horrible figure of a black man, as high as a palm-tree.  He had but one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead, where it looked as red as burning coal.  His foreteeth were very long and sharp, and came without his mouth, which was deep like that of a horse.  His upper lip hung down upon his breast.  His ears resembled those of an elephant, and covered his shoulders; and his nails were as long and crooked as the talons of the greatest birds.