“And what would you say, Fragrantia, if you were to write a tour to the Hebrides?” “Peace to the heroes,” replied she, in a delicate and theatrical tone; “peace to the heroes who sleep in the isle of Iona; the sons of the wave, and the chiefs of the dark-brown shield!  The tear of the sympathising stranger is scattered by the wind over the hoary stones as she meditates sorrowfully on the times of old!  Such could I say, sitting upon some druidical heap or tumulus.  The fact is this, there is a right and wrong handle to everything, and there is more pleasure in thinking with pure nobility of heart than with the illiberal enmities and sarcasm of a blackguard.”

CHAPTER XXXI

A litigated contention between Don Quixote, Gog, Magog, &c.—­A grand court assembled upon it—­The appearance of the company—­The matrons, judges, &c.—­The method of writing, and the use of the fashionable amusement quizzes—­Wauwau arrives from the country of Prester John, and leads the whole Assembly a wild-goose chase to the top of Plinlimmon, and thence to Virginia—­The Baron meets a floating island in his voyage to America—­Pursues Wauwau with his whole company through the deserts of North America—­His curious contrivance to seize Wauwau in a morass.

The contention between Gog and Magog, and Sphinx, Hilaro Frosticos, the Lord Whittington, &c., was productive of infinite litigation.  All the lawyers in the kingdom were employed, to render the affair as complex and gloriously uncertain as possible; and, in fine, the whole nation became interested, and were divided on both sides of the question.  Colossus took the part of Sphinx, and the affair was at length submitted to the decision of a grand council in a great hall, adorned with seats on every side in form of an amphitheatre.  The assembly appeared the most magnificent and splendid in the world.  A court or jury of one hundred matrons occupied the principal and most honourable part of the amphitheatre; they were dressed in flowing robes of sky-blue velvet adorned with festoons of brilliants and diamond stars; grave and sedate-looking matrons, all in uniform, with spectacles upon their noses; and opposite to these were placed one hundred judges, with curly white wigs flowing down on each side of them to their very feet, so that Solomon in all his glory was not so wise in appearance.  At the ardent request of the whole empire I condescended to be the president of the court, and being arrayed accordingly, I took my seat beneath a canopy erected in the centre.  Before every judge was placed a square inkstand, containing a gallon of ink, and pens of a proportionable size; and also right before him an enormous folio, so large as to serve for table and book at the same time.  But they did not make much use of their pens and ink, except to blot and daub the paper; for, that they should be the more impartial, I had ordered that none but the blind should be honoured