his permission was most kindly given. He would force a rich present
upon me; and at the same time charged me with a letter for the
Commander of the Faithful, our sovereign, saying to me, "I pray you
give this present for me, and this letter, to the Caliph Haroun
Al-Raschid, and assure him of my friendship."
The letter from the king of Serendib was written on the skin of a
certain animal of great value, very scarce, and of a yellowish color.
The characters of the letter were of azure, and the contents as
follows:--
"The king of the Indies, before whom march one hundred elephants, who
lives in a palace that shines with one hundred thousand rubies, and
who has in his treasury twenty thousand crowns enriched with diamonds,
to Caliph Haroun Al-Raschid.
"Though the present we send you be slight, receive it as a brother and
friend, in token of the hearty friendship we bear for you, and of
which we are willing to give you proof. We desire the same part in
your friendship, since we believe it to be our merit, for we are both
kings. We send you this letter as from one brother to another.
Farewell."
The present consisted of one ruby made into a cup, about half a foot
high, an inch thick, and filled with round pearls of half a drachm
each; and the skin of a serpent, whose scales were as bright as a
piece of gold, and preserved from sickness those who lay upon it;
besides a vast quantity of the best quality of wood of aloes and
camphor, and a female slave of great beauty, whose robe was covered
over with jewels.
As soon as I reached Bagdad I presented myself before the Caliph with
the letter and gift. When he had read the letter he asked if the king
of Serendib were indeed so rich and potent, and, bowing to his feet, I
assured him that it was all true, and told him in what state the
prince appeared in public, with a throne on the back of an elephant,
surrounded by officers and a guard of a thousand men.
"The officer who is before on his elephant," I said, "cries from time
to time with a loud voice, 'Behold the great monarch, the mighty
Sultan of the Indies, greater than Solomon.' Then the officer behind
the throne cries in his turn, 'This monarch, so great and powerful,
must die, must die, must die.' And the officer before him replies,
'Praise alone be to Him who liveth for ever and ever.'"
The Caliph was much pleased with my account, and sent me home with a
rich present.
THE SEVENTH AND LAST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
After my sixth voyage I had given up all thoughts of going to sea
again, for my age required rest, and I wished to expose myself to no
more risks, but to pass the rest of my days in peace. One day,
however, an officer from the palace came and said the Caliph must
speak to me.
"Sindbad," said he, when I had bowed to the floor before the throne,
"I stand in need of your service; you must carry my answer and present
to the king of Serendib."
This command was to me like a clap of thunder. Though I had made a vow
never to leave Bagdad, I saw that I must obey. The Caliph was well
pleased, and ordered me a sum of money ample for my needs.
In a few days I departed with the letter and present, and, after a
safe voyage, reached the isle of Serendib.
"Sindbad," said the king, when I was brought before him with great
pomp, and had bowed to the earth, "you are welcome; I have many times
thought of you. I bless the day on which I see you once more."
I thanked him for his kindness, and delivered the gifts from my august
master. The Caliph's letter was as follows:--
"Greeting, in the name of the Sovereign Guide of the Right Way, from
the Servant of God, Haroun Al-Raschid, whom God hath set in the place
of viceregent to his Prophet, after his ancestors of happy memory, to
the potent and esteemed king of Serendib.
"We received your letter with joy, and send you this from our imperial
residence, the garden of superior wits. We hope when you look upon it
you will perceive our good will, and be pleased with it. Farewell."
The Caliph's present was a complete suit of cloth of gold, fifty robes
of rich stuff, a hundred of white cloth, the finest of Cairo, Suez,
and Alexandria; a vessel of agate, half a foot wide, on the bottom of
which was carved a man with one knee on the ground, who held a bow and
an arrow, ready to discharge at a lion. He sent also a rich tablet,
which, according to tradition, belonged to the great Solomon.
The king of Serendib was highly pleased. Soon I obtained leave to
depart, though not easily. Dismissed with a large present, I sailed at
once for Bagdad, but had not the good fortune to arrive there so soon
as I had hoped. God ordered it otherwise.
Three or four days after sailing, we were attacked by pirates. Some of
the crew were killed, and I, with others who did not resist, was taken
to a remote island and sold.
I fell into the hands of a rich merchant, who treated me well, and
dressed me handsomely as a slave. In a few days he asked me if I knew
any trade. I told him I was a merchant, robbed of all I possessed.
"Tell me," said he, "can you shoot with a bow?" I said it had been one
of the exercises of my youth. Then he gave me a bow and arrow, took me
behind him on an elephant, and carried me to a thick forest. Stopping
before a great tree, he said, "Climb up that, and shoot at the
elephants, of which there are many in this forest, as you see them
pass by, and if any of them fall, come and give me notice." Then he
left me, and returned to the town, and I remained upon the tree all
night.
In the morning I shot one of the many elephants that passed under the
tree, and when the others had left it dead, I went into the town and
told my patron of my success, which pleased him greatly. Then we
returned, and dug a hole for the elephant, in which my patron meant to
leave it until it was rotten, when he would take its teeth and trade
with them.
For two months I did this service. One morning I was amazed to see
that the elephants, instead of passing by, stopped and came towards my
tree with a horrible noise, in such numbers that the plain was
covered, and shook under them. They surrounded the tree, with their
trunks uplifted, and all fixed their eyes upon me. This frightened me
so that my bow and arrows fell out of my hand.
My fears were not without cause, for soon one of the largest of the
elephants put his trunk round the foot of the tree, plucked it up, and
threw it on the ground. I fell with the tree, and the elephant, taking
me up with his trunk, laid me on his back, where I sat more like one
dead than alive. He put himself at the head of the rest, who followed
him in line, carried me some distance, then laid me down on the
ground, and retired with all the others. When they were gone, I got
up, and found that I was upon a long and broad hill, almost covered
with the bones and teeth of elephants. I doubted not but that this was
their burial place, and that they carried me thither on purpose to
tell me that I should no longer kill them, now that I knew where to
get their teeth without doing them harm. I did not stay on the hill,
but turned towards the city, and, traveling a day and a night, came to
my patron.
He had believed me dead, for he had found the tree pulled up in the
forest, and my bow and arrows on the ground. When he had heard of my
escape, we set out for the hill, and brought back as many teeth as an
elephant could bear. Then my master told me how many slaves had been
killed by the elephants, and blessed me for making him and his whole
city rich. "I can treat you no more as a slave," he said, "but as a
brother. I give you your liberty henceforth. I will also give you
riches."
To this I answered that the only reward I wished was leave to return
to my own country. "Very well," said he, "the monsoon will soon bring
ships for ivory. Then I will send you home."
While waiting for the monsoon we made many journeys to the hill, and,
when my ship sailed, my master loaded half of it with ivory on my
account. With this I traded at various ports, gaining vast sums of
money. Besides the ivory, my master gave me precious gifts. The last
portion of my journey I made by land, and when it was done I was happy
in thinking I had nothing more to fear from the seas, from pirates,
from serpents, or from the other perils to which I had been exposed.
Safe at Bagdad, I waited upon the Caliph at once, and told him how I
had fulfilled his mission. He loaded me with honors and rich presents,
and I have ever since devoted myself to my family, kindred, and
friends.
Sindbad here finished the story of his seventh and last voyage. "Well,
friend," he said, turning to Hindbad, "did you ever hear of any person
that suffered so much as I have done? Is it not just that after all
this I should enjoy a quiet and pleasant life?"
Hindbad in answer kissed his hand and said, "Sir, my pains are not to
be compared with yours. You not only deserve a quiet life, but are
worthy of all the riches you possess, since you make so good a use of
them. May you live happily for a long time."
Sindbad ordered another purse of money to be given him, and told him
to give up carrying burdens as a porter, and to eat henceforth at his
table; for he wished Hindbad to remember all his life that he had a
friend in Sindbad the Sailor.
THE TRAVELS OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN
THE BARON'S FIRST WANDERINGS
_By Rodolph Eric Raspe_
Some years before my beard announced approaching manhood, or, in other
words, when I was neither man nor boy, but between both, I expressed
in repeated conversations a strong desire of seeing the world, from
which I was discouraged by my parents, though my father had been no
inconsiderable traveler himself, as will appear before I have reached
the end of my singular and, I may add, interesting adventures. A
cousin, by my mother's side, took a liking to me, often said I was a
fine forward youth, and was much inclined to gratify my curiosity. His
eloquence had more effect than mine, for my father consented to my
accompanying him in a voyage to the island of Ceylon, where his uncle
had resided as governor many years.
We sailed from Amsterdam with dispatches from their High Mightinesses
the States of Holland. The only circumstance which happened on our
voyage worth relating was the wonderful effects of a storm, which had
torn up by the roots a great number of trees of enormous bulk and
height, in an island where we lay at anchor to take in wood and water.
Some of these trees weighed many tons, yet they were carried by the
wind so amazingly high that they appeared like the feathers of small
birds floating in the air, for they were at least five miles above the
earth. However, as soon as the storm subsided they all fell
perpendicularly into their respective places, and took root again,
except the largest, which happened, when it was blown into the air, to
have a man and his wife, a very honest old couple, upon its branches,
gathering cucumbers (in this part of the globe that useful vegetable
grows upon trees). The weight of this couple, as the tree descended,
over-balanced the trunk, and brought it down in a horizontal position:
it fell upon the chief man of the island, and killed him on the spot.
He had quitted his house in the storm, under an apprehension of its
falling upon him, and was returning through his own garden when this
fortunate accident happened. The word fortunate, here, requires some
explanation. This chief was a man of a very avaricious and oppressive
disposition, and though he had no family, the natives of the island
were half starved by his oppressive and infamous impositions.
The very goods which he had thus taken from them were spoiling in his
stores, while the poor wretches from whom they were plundered were
pining in poverty. Though the destruction of this tyrant was
accidental, the people chose the cucumber-gatherers for their
governors, as a mark of their gratitude for destroying, though
accidentally, their late tyrant.
After we had repaired the damages we sustained in this remarkable
storm, and taken leave of the new governor and his lady, we sailed
with a fair wind for the object of our voyage.
In about six weeks we arrived at Ceylon, where we were received with
great marks of friendship and true politeness. The following singular
adventures may not prove unentertaining.
After we had resided at Ceylon about a fortnight I accompanied one of
the governor's brothers upon a shooting party. He was a strong,
athletic man, and being used to that climate (for he had resided there
some years), he bore the violent heat of the sun much better than I
could; in our excursion he had made a considerable progress through a
thick wood when I was only at the entrance.
Near the banks of a large piece of water, which had engaged my
attention, I thought I heard a rustling noise behind; on turning about
I was almost petrified (as who would not be?) at the sight of a lion,
which was evidently approaching with the intention of satisfying his
appetite with my poor carcass, and that without asking my consent.
What was to be done in this horrible dilemma? I had not even a moment
for reflection; my piece was only charged with swan shot, and I had no
other about me; however, though I could have no idea of killing such
an animal with that weak kind of ammunition, yet I had some hopes of
frightening him by the report, and perhaps of wounding him also. I
immediately let fly, without waiting till he was within reach, and the
report did but enrage him, for he now quickened his pace, and seemed
to approach me full speed. I attempted to escape, but that only added
(if an addition could be made) to my distress; for the moment I turned
about I found a large crocodile, with his mouth extended almost ready
to receive me. On my right hand was the piece of water before
mentioned, and on my left a deep precipice, said to have, as I have
since learned, a receptacle at the bottom for venomous creatures; in
short, I gave myself up as lost, for the lion was now upon his hind
legs, just in the act of seizing me; I fell involuntarily to the
ground with fear, and, as it afterwards appeared, he sprang over me. I
lay some time in a situation which no language can describe, expecting
to feel his teeth or talons in some part of me every moment; after
waiting in this prostrate situation a few seconds I heard a violent
but unusual noise, different from any sound that had ever before
assailed my ears; nor is it at all to be wondered at, when I inform
you from whence it proceeded: after listening for some time, I
ventured to raise my head and look round, when, to my unspeakable joy,
I perceived the lion had, by the eagerness with which he sprung at me,
jumped forward, as I fell, into the crocodile's mouth! which, as
before observed, was wide open; the head of the one stuck in the
throat of the other! and they were struggling to extricate themselves!
I fortunately recollected my _couteau de chasse_, which was by my
side; with this instrument I severed the lion's head at one blow, and
the body fell at my feet! I then, with the butt end of my
fowling-piece, rammed the head farther into the throat of the
crocodile, and destroyed him by suffocation, for he could neither
gorge nor eject it.
[Illustration: I VENTURED TO RAISE MY HEAD AND LOOK ROUND, WHEN, TO MY
UNSPEAKABLE JOY, I PERCEIVED THE LION HAD, BY THE EAGERNESS WITH WHICH
HE SPRUNG AT ME, JUMPED FORWARD, AS I FELL, INTO THE CROCODILE'S
MOUTH, WHICH WAS WIDE OPEN. THE HEAD OF THE ONE STUCK IN THE THROAT OF
THE OTHER, AND THEY WERE STRUGGLING TO EXTRICATE THEMSELVES.]
Soon after I had thus gained a complete victory over my two powerful
adversaries my companion arrived in search of me; for finding I did
not follow him into the wood, he returned, apprehending I had lost my
way or met with some accident.
After mutual congratulations, we measured the crocodile, which was
just forty feet in length.
As soon as we had related this extraordinary adventure to the
governor, he sent a wagon and servants, who brought home the two
carcasses. The lion's skin was properly preserved, with its hair on,
after which it was made into tobacco pouches, and presented by me,
upon our return to Holland, to the burgomasters, who, in return,
requested my acceptance of a thousand ducats.
The skin of the crocodile was stuffed in the usual manner, and makes a
capital article in their public museum at Amsterdam, where the
exhibitor relates the whole story to each spectator, with such
additions as he thinks proper. Some of his variations are rather
extravagant; one of them is that the crocodile turned about, snatched
the _couteau de chasse_ out of Monsieur's hand, and swallowed it with
such eagerness that it pierced his heart and killed him immediately!
The little regard which this impudent knave has to veracity makes me
sometimes apprehensive that my _real facts_ may fall under suspicion,
by being found in company with his inventions.
THE BARON'S JOURNEY TO ST. PETERSBURG
_By Rodolph Eric Raspe_
I set off from Rome on a journey to Russia, in the midst of winter,
from a just notion that frost and snow must of course mend the roads,
which every traveler had described as uncommonly bad through the
northern parts of Germany, Poland, Courland, and Livonia. I went on
horseback, as the most convenient manner of traveling; I was but
lightly clothed, and of this I felt the inconvenience the more I
advanced northeast. What must not a poor old man have suffered in that
severe weather and climate, whom I saw on a bleak common in Poland,
lying on the road, helpless, shivering, and hardly having wherewithal
to cover his nakedness? I pitied the poor soul; though I felt the
severity of the air myself, I threw my mantle over him, and
immediately I heard a voice from the heavens, blessing me for that
piece of charity, saying,--
"You will be rewarded, my son, for this in time."
I went on: night and darkness overtook me. No village was to be seen.
The country was covered with snow, and I was unacquainted with the
road.
Tired, I alighted, and fastened my horse to something like a pointed
stump of a tree, which appeared above the snow; for the sake of safety
I placed my pistols under my arm, and lay down on the snow, where I
slept so soundly that I did not open my eyes till full daylight. It is
not easy to conceive my astonishment to find myself in the midst of a
village, lying in a churchyard; nor was my horse to be seen, but I
heard him soon after neigh somewhere above me. On looking upwards I
beheld him hanging by his bridle to the weathercock of the steeple.
Matters were now very plain to me: the village had been covered with
snow over night; a sudden change of weather had taken place; I had
sunk down to the churchyard whilst asleep, gently, and in the same
proportion as the snow had melted away; and what in the dark I had
taken to be a stump of a little tree appearing above the snow, to
which I had tied my horse, proved to be the cross or weathercock of
the steeple!
Without long consideration I took one of my pistols, shot the bridle
in two, brought down the horse, and proceeded on my journey. [Here the
baron seems to have forgotten his feelings; he should certainly have
ordered his horse a feed of corn, after fasting so long.]
He carried me well--advancing into the interior parts of Russia. I
found traveling on horseback rather unfashionable in winter, therefore
I submitted, as I always do, to the custom of the country, took a
single horse sledge, and drove briskly towards St. Petersburg. I do
not exactly recollect whether it was in Eastland or Jugemanland, but I
remember that in the midst of a dreary forest I spied a terrible wolf
making after me, with all the speed of ravenous winter hunger. He soon
overtook me. There was no possibility of escape. Mechanically I laid
myself down flat in the sledge, and let my horse run for our safety.
What I wished, but hardly hoped or expected, happened immediately
after. The wolf did not mind me in the least, but took a leap over me,
and falling furiously on the horse, began instantly to tear and devour
the hind part of the poor animal, which ran the faster for his pain
and terror. Thus unnoticed and safe myself, I lifted my head slyly up,
and with horror I beheld that the wolf had eaten his way into the
horse's body; it was not long before he had fairly forced himself into
it, when I took my advantage, and fell upon him with the butt end of
my whip. This unexpected attack in his rear frightened him so much,
that he leaped forward with all his might: the horse's carcass dropped
on the ground, but in his place the wolf was in the harness, and I on
my part whipping him continually; we both arrived in full career safe
at St. Petersburg, contrary to our respective expectations, and very
much to the astonishment of the spectators.
I shall not tire you, gentlemen, with the politics, arts, sciences,
and history of this magnificent metropolis of Russia, nor trouble you
with the various intrigues and pleasant adventures I had in the
politer circles of that country, where the lady of the house always
receives the visitor with a dram and a salute. I shall confine myself
rather to the greater and nobler objects of your attention,--horses
and dogs, my favorites in the brute creation; also to foxes, wolves,
and bears, with which, and game in general, Russia abounds more than
any other part of the world; and to such sports, manly exercises, and
feats of gallantry and activity as show the gentleman better than
musty Greek or Latin, or all the perfume, finery, and capers of French
wits or _petit-maîtres._
THE BARON'S WONDERFUL HORSE
_By Rodolph Eric Raspe_
I remember with pleasure and tenderness a superb Lithuanian horse,
which no money could have bought. He became mine by an accident, which
gave me an opportunity of showing my horsemanship to a great
advantage. I was at Count Przobossky's noble country seat in
Lithuania, and remained with the ladies at tea in the drawing-room,
while the gentlemen were down in the yard to see a young horse of
blood which had just arrived from the stud. We suddenly heard a noise
of distress; I hastened downstairs, and found the horse so unruly that
nobody durst approach or mount him. The most resolute horsemen stood
dismayed and aghast; despondency was expressed in every countenance,
when, in one leap, I was on his back, took him by surprise, and worked
him quite into gentleness and obedience, with the best display of
horsemanship I was master of. Fully to show this to the ladies, and
save them unnecessary trouble, I forced him to leap in at one of the
open windows of the tea room, walk round several times, pace, trot,
and gallop, and at last made him mount the tea table, there to repeat
his lessons in a pretty style of miniature which was exceedingly
pleasing to the ladies, for he performed them amazingly well, and did
not break either cup or saucer. It placed me so high in their opinion,
and so well in that of the noble lord, that, with his usual
politeness, he begged I would accept of this young horse, and ride him
full career to conquest and honor in the campaign against the Turks,
which was soon to be opened, under the command of Count Munich.
I could not indeed have received a more agreeable present, nor a more
ominous one at the opening of that campaign, in which I made my
apprenticeship as a soldier. A horse so gentle, so spirited, and so
fierce--at once a lamb and a Bucephalus--put me always in mind of the
soldier's and the gentleman's duty, of young Alexander, and of the
astonishing things he performed in the field.
We took the field, among several other reasons, it seems, with an
intention to retrieve the character of the Russian arms, which had
been blemished a little by Czar Peter's last campaign on the Pruth;
and this we fully accomplished by several very fatiguing and glorious
campaigns under the command of that great general I mentioned before.
Modesty forbids individuals to arrogate to themselves great successes
or victories, the glory of which is generally engrossed by the
commander--nay, which is rather awkward, by kings and queens who never
smelled gunpowder but at the field days and reviews of their troops;
never saw a field of battle, or an enemy in battle array.