a most extravagant dimension, and that a great worm
of proportionable enormity had bored a hole in the
shell. Through this same entrance I was ushered.
It was as large as a coach-door, and I took my seat
in the centre, a kind of chair self-balanced without
touching anything, like the fancied tomb of Mahomet.
The whole interior surface of the nutshell appeared
a luminous representation of all the stars of heaven,
the fixed stars, the planets, and a comet. The
stars were as large as those worn by our first nobility,
and the comet, excessively brilliant, seemed as if
you had assembled all the eyes of the beautiful girls
in the kingdom, and combined them, like a peacock’s
plumage, into the form of a comet—that
is, a globe, and a bearded tail to it, diminishing
gradually to a point. This beautiful constellation
seemed very sportive and delightful. It was much
in the form of a tadpole! and, without ceasing, went,
full of playful giddiness, up and down, all over the
heaven on the concave surface of the nutshell.
One time it would be at that part of the heavens under
my feet, and in the next minute would be over my head.
It was never at rest, but for ever going east, west,
north, or south, and paid no more respect to the different
worlds than if they were so many lanterns without
reflectors. Some of them he would dash against
and push out of their places; others he would burn
up and consume to ashes: and others again he
would split into fritters, and their fragments would
instantly take a globular form, like spilled quicksilver,
and become satellites to whatever other worlds they
should happen to meet with in their career. In
short, the whole seemed an epitome of the creation,
past, present, and future; and all that passes among
the stars during one thousand years was here generally
performed in as many seconds.
I surveyed all the beauties of the chariot with wonder
and delight. “Certainly,” cried I,
“this is heaven in miniature!” In short,
I took the reins in my hand. But before I proceed
on my adventures, I shall mention the rest of my attendant
furniture. The chariot was drawn by a team of
nine bulls harnessed to it, three after three.
In the first rank was a most tremendous bull named
John Mowmowsky; the rest were called Jacks in general,
but not dignified by any particular denomination.
They were all shod for the journey, not indeed like
horses, with iron, or as bullocks commonly are, to
drag on a cart; but were shod with men’s skulls.
Each of their feet was, hoof and all, crammed into
a man’s head, cut off for the purpose, and fastened
therein with a kind of cement or paste, so that the
skull seemed to be a part of the foot and hoof of the
animal. With these skull-shoes the creatures could
perform astonishing journeys, and slide upon the water,
or upon the ocean, with great velocity. The harnesses
were fastened with golden buckles, and decked with
studs in a superb style, and the creatures were ridden
by nine postillions, crickets of a great size, as
large as monkeys, who sat squat upon the heads of
the bulls, and were continually chirping at a most
infernal rate, loud in proportion to their bodies.