CHAPTER XXV
The brave Count Gosamer, with a pair of hell-fire spurs on, riding
upon Sphinx, directed the whole retinue towards the Madeiras. But the
Count had no small share of an amiable vanity, and perceiving great
multitudes of people, Gascons, &c., assembled upon the French coast,
he could not refrain from showing some singular capers, such as they
had never seen before: but especially when he observed all the members
of the National Assembly extend themselves along the shore, as a piece
of French politeness, to honour this expedition, with Rousseau,
Voltaire, and Beelzebub at their head; he set spurs to Sphinx, and at
the same time cut and cracked away as hard as he could, holding in the
reins with all his might, striving to make the creature plunge and
show some uncommon diversion. But sulky and ill-tempered was Sphinx at
the time: she plunged indeed--such a devil of a plunge, that she
dashed him in one jerk over her head, and he fell precipitately into
the water before her. It was in the Bay of Biscay, all the world knows
a very boisterous sea, and Sphinx, fearing he would be drowned, never
turned to the left or the right out of her way, but advancing furious,
just stooped her head a little, and supped the poor count off the
water, into her mouth, together with the quantity of two or three tuns
of water, which she must have taken in along with him, but which were,
to such an enormous creature as Sphinx, nothing more than a spoonful
would be to any of you or me. She swallowed him, but when she had got
him in her stomach, his long spurs so scratched and tickled her, that
they produced the effect of an emetic. No sooner was he in, but out he
was squirted with the most horrible impetuosity, like a ball or a
shell from the calibre of a mortar. Sphinx was at this time quite sea-
sick, and the unfortunate count was driven forth like a sky-rocket,
and landed upon the peak of Teneriffe, plunged over head and ears in
the snow--/requiescat in pace!/
I perceived all this mischief from my seat in the ark, but was in such
a convulsion of laughter that I could not utter an intelligible word.
And now Sphinx, deprived of her postillion, went on in a zigzag
direction, and gambolled away after a most dreadful manner. And thus
had everything gone to wreck, had I not given instant orders to Gog
and Magog to sally forth. They plunged into the water, and swimming on
each side, got at length right before the animal, and then seized the
reins. Thus they continued swimming on each side, like tritons,
holding the muzzle of Sphinx, while I, sallying forth astride upon the
creature's back, steered forward on our voyage to the Cape of Good
Hope.
Arriving at the Cape, I immediately gave orders to repair my former
chariot and machines, which were very expeditiously performed by the
excellent artists I had brought with me from Europe. And now
everything being refitted, we launched forth upon the water: perhaps
there never was anything seen more glorious or more august. 'Twas
magnificent to behold Sphinx make her obeisance on the water, and the
crickets chirp upon the bulls in return of the salute; while Gog and
Magog, advancing, took the reins of the great John Mowmowsky, and
leading towards us chariot and all, instantly disposed of them to the
forepart of the ark by hooks and eyes, and tackled Sphinx before all
the bulls. Thus the whole had a most tremendous and triumphal
appearance. In front floated forwards the mighty Sphinx, with Gog and
Magog on each side; next followed in order the bulls with crickets
upon their heads; and then advanced the chariot of Queen Mab,
containing the curious seat and orrery of heaven; after which appeared
the boat and ark of council, overtopped with two balloons, which gave
an air of greater lightness and elegance to the whole. I placed in the
galleries under the balloons, and on the backs of the bulls, a number
of excellent vocal performers, with martial music of clarionets and
trumpets. They sung the "Watery Dangers," and the "Pomp of Deep
Cerulean!" The sun shone glorious on the water while the procession
advanced toward the land, under five hundred arches of ice,
illuminated with coloured lights, and adorned in the most grotesque
and fanciful style with sea-weed, elegant festoons, and shells of
every kind; while a thousand water-spouts danced eternally before and
after us, attracting the water from the sea in a kind of cone, and
suddenly uniting with the most fantastical thunder and lightning.
Having landed our whole retinue, we immediately began to proceed
toward the heart of Africa, but first thought it expedient to place a
number of wheels under the ark for its greater facility of advancing.
We journeyed nearly due north for several days, and met with nothing
remarkable except the astonishment of the savage natives to behold our
equipage.
The Dutch Government at the Cape, to do them justice, gave us every
possible assistance for the expedition. I presume they had received
instruction on that head from their High Mightinesses in Holland.
However, they presented us with a specimen of some of the most
excellent of their Cape wine, and showed us every politeness in their
power. As to the face of the country, as we advanced, it appeared in
many places capable of every cultivation, and of abundant fertility.
The natives and Hottentots of this part of Africa have been frequently
described by travellers, and therefore it is not necessary to say any
more about them. But in the more interior parts of Africa the
appearance, manners, and genius of the people are totally different.
We directed our course by the compass and the stars, getting every day
prodigious quantities of game in the woods, and at night encamping
within a proper enclosure for fear of the wild beasts. One whole day
in particular we heard on every side, among the hills, the horrible
roaring of lions, resounding from rock to rock like broken thunder. It
seemed as if there was a general rendezvous of all these savage
animals to fall upon our party. That whole day we advanced with
caution, our hunters scarcely venturing beyond pistol shot from the
caravan for fear of dissolution. At night we encamped as usual, and
threw up a circular entrenchment round our tents. We had scarce
retired to repose when we found ourselves serenaded by at least one
thousand lions, approaching equally on every side, and within a
hundred paces. Our cattle showed the most horrible symptoms of fear,
all trembling, and in cold perspiration. I directly ordered the whole
company to stand to their arms, and not to make any noise by firing
till I should command them. I then took a large quantity of tar, which
I had brought with our caravan for that purpose, and strewed it in a
continued stream round the encampment, within which circle of tar I
immediately placed another train or circle of gunpowder, and having
taken this precaution, I anxiously waited the lions' approach. These
dreadful animals, knowing, I presume, the force of our troop, advanced
very slowly, and with caution, approaching on every side of us with an
equal pace, and growling in hideous concert, so as to resemble an
earthquake, or some similar convulsion of the world. When they had at
length advanced and steeped all their paws in the tar, they put their
noses to it, smelling it as if it were blood, and daubed their great
bushy hair and whiskers with it equal to their paws. At that very
instant, when, in concert, they were to give the mortal dart upon us,
I discharged a pistol at the train of gunpowder, which instantly
exploded on every side, made all the lions recoil in general uproar,
and take to flight with the utmost precipitation. In an instant we
could behold them scattered through the woods at some distance,
roaring in agony, and moving about like so many Will-o'-the-Wisps,
their paws and faces all on fire from the tar and the gun-powder. I
then ordered a general pursuit: we followed them on every side through
the woods, their own light serving as our guide, until, before the
rising of the sun, we followed into their fastnesses and shot or
otherwise destroyed every one of them, and during the whole of our
journey after we never heard the roaring of a lion, nor did any wild
beast presume to make another attack upon our party, which shows the
excellence of immediate presence of mind, and the terror inspired into
the savage enemies by a proper and well-timed proceeding.
We at length arrived on the confines of an immeasurable desert--an
immense plain, extending on every side of us like an ocean. Not a
tree, nor a shrub, nor a blade of grass was to be seen, but all
appeared an extreme fine sand, mixed with gold-dust and little
sparkling pearls.
The gold-dust and pearls appeared to us of little value, because we
could have no expectation of returning to England for a considerable
time. We observed, at a great distance, something like a smoke arising
just over the verge of the horizon, and looking with our telescopes we
perceived it to be a whirlwind tearing up the sand and tossing it
about in the heavens with frightful impetuosity. I immediately ordered
my company to erect a mound around us of a great size, which we did
with astonishing labour and perseverance, and then roofed it over with
certain planks and timber, which we had with us for the purpose. Our
labour was scarcely finished when the sand came rolling in like the
waves of the sea; 'twas a storm and river of sand united. It continued
to advance in the same direction, without intermission, for three
days, and completely covered over the mound we had erected, and buried
us all within. The intense heat of the place was intolerable; but
guessing, by the cessation of the noise, that the storm was passed, we
set about digging a passage to the light of day again, which we
effected in a very short time, and ascending, perceived that the whole
had been so completely covered with the sand, that there appeared no
hills, but one continued plain, with inequalities or ridges on it like
the waves of the sea. We soon extricated our vehicle and retinue from
the burning sands, but not without great danger, as the heat was very
violent, and began to proceed on our voyage. Storms of sand of a
similar nature several times attacked us, but by using the same
precautions we preserved ourselves repeatedly from destruction. Having
travelled more than nine thousand miles over this inhospitable plain,
exposed to the perpendicular rays of a burning sun, without ever
meeting a rivulet, or a shower from heaven to refresh us, we at length
became almost desperate, when, to our inexpressible joy, we beheld
some mountains at a great distance, and on our nearer approach
observed them covered with a carpet of verdure and groves and woods.
Nothing could appear more romantic or beautiful than the rocks and
precipices intermingled with flowers and shrubs of every kind, and
palm-trees of such a prodigious size as to surpass anything ever seen
in Europe. Fruits of all kinds appeared growing wild in the utmost
abundance, and antelopes and sheep and buffaloes wandered about the
groves and valleys in profusion. The trees resounded with the melody
of birds, and everything displayed a general scene of rural happiness
and joy.
