iage of trees and other
great weights. He often builds his largest men-of-war, whereof some
are nine feet long, in the woods where the timber grows, and has them
carried on these engines three or four hundred yards to the sea. Five
hundred carpenters and engineers were immediately set at work to
prepare the greatest engine they had. It was a frame of wood raised
three inches from the ground, about seven feet long and four wide,
moving upon twenty-two wheels. The shout I heard was upon the arrival
of this engine, which, it seems, set out in four hours after my
landing. It was brought parallel to me, as I lay. But the principal
difficulty was to raise and place me in this vehicle. Eighty poles,
each of one foot high, were erected for this purpose, and very strong
cords, of the bigness of pack-thread, were fastened by hooks to many
bandages, which the workmen had girt round my neck, my hands, my body,
and my legs. Nine hundred of the strongest men were employed to draw
up these cords, by many pulleys fastened on the poles; and thus, in
less than three hours, I was raised and slung into the engine, and
there tied fast. All this I was told; for, while the whole operation
was performing, I lay in a profound sleep, by the force of that
soporiferous medicine infused into my liquor. Fifteen hundred of the
emperor's largest horses, each about four inches and a half high, were
employed to draw me towards the metropolis, which, as I said, was half
a mile distant.

About four hours after we began our journey, I awaked by a very
ridiculous accident; for the carriage being stopped awhile, to adjust
something that was out of order, two or three of the young natives had
the curiosity to see how I looked when I was asleep; they climbed up
into the engine, and advancing very softly to my face, one of them, an
officer in the guards, put the sharp end of his half-pike a good way
up into my left nostril, which tickled my nose like a straw, and made
me sneeze violently; whereupon they stole off unperceived, and it was
three weeks before I knew the cause of my waking so suddenly. We made
a long march the remaining part of that day, and rested at night with
five hundred guards on each side of me, half with torches, and half
with bows and arrows, ready to shoot me if I should offer to stir. The
next morning at sunrise we continued our march, and arrived within two
hundred yards of the city gates about noon. The emperor and all his
court, came o