ilt on a volcanic mountain! Little firmness has that
political structure which rests not on the foundation of religion.

Leaving this atheistic land, I crossed a very high mountain to Bragmat,
which lays in a dale at the foot of the mountain. The people of this
city are juniper trees. The first that I met rushed towards me, and
pressing with the weight of his body, felled me to the ground. When I
demanded the reason of this rough salutation, he begged my pardon in the
most polite and elegant expressions. A few minutes after, another
struck me in the side with a hedge-pole, and likewise excused his
carelessness in a pretty speech. I thought they must be blind, and gave
to all I passed a very wide berth.

I was afterwards informed that some among them were possessed of a very
sharp sight, so that they can behold objects far beyond the view of
others, but they could not see what was directly before them. These
sharp-sighted people are called Makkati, and are, most of them, adepts
in astronomy and transcendental philosophy.

I passed through several other provinces, in which I found nothing
worthy to be recorded in this history; and returned to Potu after an
absence of two months.

I entered the city of Potu on the tenth day of the Ash month. The first
thing I did was to deliver my journal to the king, who ordered it to be
printed.

It must be observed that the art of printing, which both the Europeans
and Chinese claim to have invented, has been well known in Nazar for
ages. The Potuans were so much pleased with my book that they were never
tired of reading it. Little trees carried it about the streets and
cried: "Court-footman Skabba's Travels around the Globe."

Puffed up by my success, I now strove for higher things, and awaited,
somewhat impatiently, an appointment to a great and respectable office.
My expectations not being answered, I gave in a new petition, in which I
eulogized my work and claimed a suitable reward for my uncommon merit.

The mild and beneficent king was moved by my prayers, and promised to
keep me in gracious remembrance.

He kept his promise, but not to my liking, for his grace consisted only
in making an addition to my stipend.

I had pointed my nose another way, but not daring to press the king with
more petitions, I made my complaint to the great chancellor. This very
sensible personage listened to me with his usual urbanity, and promised
to serve me. At the same time he advised me to