our arrival.
Before the echoes of the blast from the trumpet had subsided, (and they
seemed to penetrate farther and reverberate longer than usual from the
perfect stillness of this apparently void region,) about thirty musical
instruments came hopping towards us. These were bass-viols. On the very
long neck of each was placed a little head; the body was also small, and
covered by a smooth bark, which, however, did not close entirely around
the frame, but was open in front and disposed loosely about them. Over
the navel, nature had built a bridge, above which four strings were
drawn. The whole machine rested on a single leg, so that their motion
was a spring rather than a walk. Their activity was very great, and they
jumped with much agility over the fields. In short, we should have taken
them for musical instruments, as their general appearance purported, if
they had not had each two arms and hands. In the one hand was a bow, the
other was used upon the frets. When our interpreter would converse with
them, he put his viol in its position, and commenced playing an air.
They immediately answered him by touching their strings, and thus
alternating with each other, a regular musical conversation was carried
on. At first they played only Adagio, with much harmony; then they
passed over to discordant tunes; and finally concluded with a very
pleasant and lively Presto. As soon as our people heard this, they
leaped and sung for joy, saying, that the bargain for the wares was now
fixed. Afterwards I learnt that the Adagio, they first played, was
merely an opening or preface to the conversation, and consisted only of
compliments; that the discordant tones which followed, were bickerings
and disputes about prices; and, finally, that the sweet sounding Presto
indicated that an agreement had been made. At the conclusion of these
negotiations, the wares stipulated for were landed. The most important
of these is Kolofonium, with which the inhabitants rub their bows or
organs of speech.

Late in the month of Cusan, we set sail from Music-land, and after some
days sailing hove in sight of a new land, which, on account of the foul
smell that reached our noses at a great distance, our seamen supposed to
be Pyglossia.

The inhabitants of this land are not very unlike the human race in their
general appearance; the sole difference being, that these people have no
mouth: they speak from the face which turns towards the south when the
nos