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HEN the four Indian kings were in this country about a twelvemonth ago, I often mixed with the rabble, and followed them a whole day together, being wonderfully ftruck with the fight of every thing that is new or uncommon. have, fince their departure, employed a friend to make many inquiries of their landlord the upholfterer, relating to their manners and converfation, as alfo concerning the remarks which they made in this country for, next to forming a right notion of fuch strangers, I should be defirous of learning what ideas they have conceived of us.

The upholsterer, finding my friend very inquifitive about these his lodgers, brought him fome time fince a little bundle of papers, which he affured him were written by king Sa Ga Yean Qua Rash Tow, and as he supposes, left behind by fome mistake. These papers are now tranflated, and contain abundance

of

very odd obfervations, which I find this little fraternity of kings made during their ftay in the ifle of Great-Britain. I fhall prefent my reader with a short fpecimen of them in this paper, and may perhaps communicate more to him hereafter. In the article of London are the following words, which without doubt are meant of the church of St. Paul:

"On the most rifing part of the town there "ftands a huge houfe, big enough to contain the "whole nation of which I am king. Our good "brother E Tow O Koam, king of the Rivers, "is of opinion it was made by the hands of that great God to whom it is confecrated. The kings "of Granajah and of the Six Nations believe that it was created with the earth, and produced on the "fame day with the fun and moon. But for my own part, by the beft information that I could get of this matter, I am apt to think that this "prodigious pile was fashioned into the shape it now bears by feveral tools and inftruments, of "which they have a wonderful variety in this country. It was probably at first a huge mifshapen rock that grew upon the top of the hill, "which the natives of the country (after having

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66

cut it into a kind of regular figure) bored and "hollowed with incredible pains and industry, till

they had wrought it into all thofe beautiful vaults "and caverns into which it is divided at this day. "As foon as this rock was thus curiously scooped to "their liking, a prodigious number of hands must "have been employed in chipping the outfide of "it, which is now as fmooth as the furface of a

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pebble; and is in feveral places hewn out into pillars, that ftand like the trunks of fo many trees "bound about the top with garlands of leaves. It "is probable that when this great work was be<< gun, which must have been many hundred years ago, there was fome religion among this people; "for they give it the name of a temple, and have

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a tradition that it was defigned for men to pay "their devotion in. And indeed there are feveral "reafons which make us think that the natives of "this country had formerly among them fome fort "of worship; for they fet apart every feventh day σε as facred: but, upon my going into one of these "holy houfes on that day, I could not obferve any "circumftance of devotion in their behaviour. "There was indeed a man in black, who was "mounted above the reft, and feemed to utter "fomething with a great deal of vehemence; but

as for those underneath him, inftead of paying "their worship to the deity of the place, they were "most of them bowing and courtefying to one "another, and a confiderable number of them faft afleep.

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"The queen of the country appointed two men "to attend us, that had enough of our language to "make themselves understood in fome few parti"culars. But we foon perceived these two were

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great enemies to one another, and did not always agree in the fame ftory. We could make "fhift to gather out of one of them, that this "island was very much infefted with a monftrous "kind of animals, in the fhape of men, called

"Whigs;

"Whigs; and he often told us, that he hoped we "fhould meet with none of them in our way, for

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that, if we did, they would be apt to knock us "down, for being kings.

"Our other interpreter ufed to talk

very much "of a kind of animal called a Tory, that was as

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great a monster as the Whig, and would treat us "ill for being foreigners. These two creatures, it "feems, are born with a fecret antipathy to one

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another, and engage when they meet as naturally as the elephant and the rhinoceros. But, as we "faw none of either of thefe fpecies, we are apt to "think that our guides deceived us with mifrepre"feritations and fictions, and amufed us with an account of fuch monsters as are not really in their country. These particulars we made a fhift to “ pick out from the difcourfe of our interpreters; "which we put together as well as we could, being "able to understand but here and there a word of “what they said, and afterwards making up the

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meaning of it among ourfelves. The men of "the country are very cunning and ingenious in "handicraft works, but withal fo very idle, that we often faw young lufty raw-boned fellows car"ried up and down the streets in little covered rooms by a couple of porters, who are hired for "that fervice. Their drefs is likewise very barbarous; for they almoft ftrangle themselves about "the neck, and bind their bodies with many liga66 tures, that we are apt to think are the occafion of "feveral diftempers among them, which our coun

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try is entirely free from. Inftead of those beau

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"tiful

"tiful feathers with which we adorn our heads,

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they often buy up a monftrous bufh of hair, "which covers their heads, and falls down in a large fleece below the middle of their backs; "with which they walk up and down the ftreets, " and are as proud of it as if it was of their own "growth.

"We were invited to one of their public diver"fions, where we hoped to have feen the great men of their country running down a ftag, or pitching a bar, that we might have difcovered "who were the perfons of the greatest abilities 66 among them; but instead of that, they conveyed

us into a huge room lighted up with abundance "of candles, where this lazy people fat ftill above "three hours, to see several feats of ingenuity "performed by others, who it seems were paid " for it.

"As for the women of the country, not being "able to talk with them, we could only make our "remarks upon them at a distance. They let the "hair of their heads grow to a great length; but

as the men make a great fhew with heads of hair "that are none of their own, the women, who 66 they say have very fine heads of hair, tie it up "in a knot, and cover it from being feen. The

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women look like angels; and would be more "beautiful than the fun, were it not for little "black spots that are apt to break out in their "faces, and fometimes rife in very odd figures. I "have obferved that thofe little blemishes wear "off very foon; but when they difappear in one

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