mber till sent
for, and went himself into the Presence. He had not been there five
Minutes, before I heard that Door open, and a Jay with a strait-body'd
Coat, which button'd on his Breast, and thro' which his Wings and Legs
pass'd, came hopping into the Room where I was, surrounded by the
Courtiers, who view'd me with Surprize, but were so well bred as to
whisper their Sentiments of me. This impertinent Jay peck'd 'em by the
Legs, or pull'd 'em by the Crown-feathers, without Distinction: Nay, I
saw some _Cacklogallinians_ of the great Order, whose Heads he could not
reach, stoop to him, and beg he would do them the Honour to pull their
Crowns. Every one shew'd him Respect, and made way for him to come up
to me; he view'd me some time, and then peck'd me by the Finger; for he
did not reach higher than my Hand, when it hung down. I returned the
Compliment with a Wherret of my Fist, which knock'd him over, and had
cost me my Life, durst any have struck in the Palace. There was a
terrible Uproar, and I was apprehensive, that I should pay dear for my
Resentment; but the Emperor to whom my Lord was then giving an Account
of me, being inform'd, that the Impertinence of the Jay had caus'd the
Disturbance, he order'd him to be carried to the Guard, that he should
be lock'd up for three Days, and take two Purges and a Vomit (for
Criminals not guilty of Capital Crimes, are punish'd by a Number of
Vomits or Purges, which are more or less, according to the Vileness
of the Fact) I was called into the Presence-chamber, where I made my
Compliment as instructed, and then address'd my self to the Ladies,
giving the Precedence always to the bulkiest, according to my
Instructions. The first _Squabbaw_ whom I address'd my self to, was
about Seven Foot round; her Crop hung within Six Inches of the Floor,
which I have since learn'd is a particular Beauty; the Effluvia of her
Body were extreamly strong, and oblig'd his Imperial Majesty, when she
spread her Tail to me, to smell to an Aromatick Leaf.

This Prince, tho' of a very advanced Age, has been represented, both
by the Reports of his Ministers, and others, as a Person of great
Incontinency, in which I think he was injured; for tho' he pass'd
most of his private Hours only in the Company of the _Vultuaquilian
Squabbaws_ (so call'd from the Province where they were born) he did it,
partly because of his long Accquaintance with them, and partly to hinder
the too frequent Visits of the first