im, viz., of the
pudding, and the cow's belly. As to the former, he said it was a
ridiculous legend, worthy to be laughed at; but as to the latter, he
could not help owning there was some truth in it: nor had he any reason
to be ashamed of it, as he was swallowed by surprise; adding, with great
fierceness, that if he had had any weapon in his hand the cow should
have as soon swallowed the devil.

He spoke the last word with so much fury, and seemed so confounded,
that, perceiving the effect it had on him, I immediately waived the
story, and, passing to other matters, we had much conversation touching
giants. He said, so far from killing any, he had never seen one alive;
that he believed those actions were by mistake recorded of him, instead
of Jack the giant-killer, whom he knew very well, and who had, he
fancied, extirpated the race. I assured him to the contrary, and told
him I had myself seen a huge tame giant, who very complacently stayed in
London a whole winter, at the special request of several gentlemen and
ladies; though the affairs of his family called him home to Sweden.

I now beheld a stern-looking spirit leaning on the shoulder of another
spirit, and presently discerned the former to be Oliver Cromwell, and
the latter Charles Martel. I own I was a little surprised at seeing
Cromwell here, for I had been taught by my grandmother that he was
carried away by the devil himself in a tempest; but he assured me, on
his honor, there was not the least truth in that story. However, he
confessed he had narrowly escaped the bottomless pit; and, if the former
part of his conduct had not been more to his honor than the latter, he
had been certainly soused into it. He was, nevertheless, sent back to
the upper world with this lot:--ARMY, CAVALIER, DISTRESS.

He was born, for the second time, the day of Charles II's restoration,
into a family which had lost a very considerable fortune in the service
of that prince and his father, for which they received the reward very
often conferred by princes on real merit, viz.--000. At 16 his father
bought a small commission for him in the army, in which he served
without any promotion all the reigns of Charles II and of his brother.
At the Revolution he quitted his regiment, and followed the fortunes
of his former master, and was in his service dangerously wounded at the
famous battle of the Boyne, where he fought in the capacity of a private
soldier. He recovered of this wound, an