preliminary scrubbing and shaving, before the whole party
could appear on deck, properly attired for the occasion. Mr. Poke wore
a thin dress of linen, admirably designed to make him look like a
sea-lion; a conceit that he said was not only agreeable to his feelings
and habits, but which had a cool and pleasant character that was
altogether suited to a steam-climate. For my own part, I agreed with the
worthy sealer, seeing but little difference between his going in this
garb, and his going quite naked. My dress was made, on a design of
my own, after the social-stake system; or, in other words, it was so
arranged as to take an interest in half of the animals of Exeter Change,
to which MENAGERIE the artist by whom it had been painted was sent
expressly, in order to consult nature. Bob wore the effigy, as his
master called it, of a turnspit.

The monikins were by far too polished to crowd about us when we landed,
with an impertinent and troublesome curiosity. So far from this, we were
permitted to approach the capital itself without let or hindrance. As it
is less my intention to describe physical things than to dwell upon the
philosophy and the other moral aspects of the Leaphigh world, little
more will be said of their houses, domestic economy, and other
improvements in the arts, than may be gathered incidentally, as the
narrative shall proceed. Let it suffice to say on these heads, that the
Leaphigh monikins, like men, consult, or think they consult--which,
so long as they know no better, amounts to pretty much the same
thing--their own convenience in all things, the pocket alone excepted;
and that they continue very laudably to do as their fathers did before
them, seldom making changes, unless they may happen to possess the
recommendation of being exotics; when, indeed, they are sometimes
adopted, probably on account of their possessing the merit of having
been proved suitable to another state of things.

Among the first persons we met, on entering the great square of
Aggregation, as the capital of Leaphigh is called when rendered into
English, was my Lord Chatterino. He was gayly promenading with a company
of young nobles, who all seemed to be enjoying their youth, health,
rank, and privileges with infinite gusto. We met this party in a way to
render an escape from mutual recognition impossible. At first I thought,
from his averted eye, that it was the intention of our late shipmate
to consider our knowledge of each