has been loft by the crime or folly of my ancestors, and the abfurd inflitutions of my country; I remember it with difguft, yet without remorfe: but the months that have paffed fince new light darted into my foul, fince I formed a fcheme of reafonable felicity, have been fquandered by my own fault. I have loft that which can never be restored: I have feen the fun rife and fet for twenty months, an idle gazer on the light of heaven: In this time the birds have left the neft of their mother, and committed themfelves to the woods and to the fkies the kid has forfaken the teat, and learned by degrees to climb the rocks in queft of independent fuftenance. I only have made no advances, but am still helpless and ignorant. The moon, by more than twenty changes, admonished me of the flux of life; the Atream that rolled before my feet upbraided my inactivity. I fat feafting on intellectual luxury, regardless alike of the examples of the earth, and the inftructions of the planets. Twenty months are paffed, who fhall restore them ?”

These forrowful meditations faftened upon his mind; he paffed four months in refolving to lofe no more time in idle refolves, and was awakened to more vigorous exertion, by hearing a maid, who had broken a porcelain cup, remark, that what cannot be repaired is not to be regretted.

This was obvious; and Raffelas reproached himfelf that he had not difcovered it, having not known, or not confidered, how many useful hints are obtained by chance, and how often the mind, hurried by her own ardour to diftant views, neglects the truths that lie open before her. He, for a few

hours,

hours, regretted his regret, and from that time bent his whole mind upon the means of escaping from the valley of happiness.

CHAP. V.

THE PRINCE MEDITATES HIS ESCAPE.

HE now found that it would be very difficult to effect that which it was very easy to fuppose effected. When he looked round about him, he faw himself confined by the bars of nature which had never yet been broken, and by the gate, through which none that once had paffed it were ever able to return. He was now impatient as an eagle in a grate. He paffed week after week in clambering the mountains, to fee if there was any aperture which the bushes might conceal, but found all the fummits inacceffible by their prominence. The iron gate he defpaired to open; for it was not only fecured with all the power of art, but was always watched by fucceffive fentinels, and was by its pofition expofed to the perpetual obfervation of all the inhabitants.

He then examined the cavern through which the waters of the lake were discharged; and, looking down at a time when the fun fhone ftrongly upon its mouth, he discovered it to be full of broken rocks, which, though they permitted the stream to flow through many narrow paffages, would stop any body of folid bulk. He returned difcouraged and dejected; but, having now known the blessing of hope, refolved never to despair.

In these fruitless fearches he spent ten months. The time, however, paffed cheerfully away: in the morning he rofe with new hope, in the evening applauded his own diligence, and in the night flept found after his fatigue. He met a thoufand amufements which beguiled his labour, and diverfified his thoughts. He difcerned the various inftincts of animals, and properties of plants, and found the place replete with wonders, of which he purposed to folace himself with the contemplation, if he fhould never be able to accomplish his flight; rejoicing that his endeavours, though yet unfuccefsful, had fupplied him with a source of inexhaustible enquiry.

But his original curiofity was not yet abated; he refolved to obtain fome knowledge of the ways of men. His wish still continued, but his hope grew lefs. He ceased to furvey any longer the walls of his prison, and spared to fearch by new toils for interstices which he knew could not be found, yet determined to keep his defign always in view, and lay hold on any expedient that time should offer.

CHAP. VI.

A DISSERTATION ON THE ART OF FLYING.

MONG the artifts that had been allured into

AMONG

the happy valley, to labour for the accommodation and pleasure of its inhabitants, was a man eminent for his knowledge of the mechanick powers, who had contrived many engines both of use and recreation. By a wheel, which the ftream turned, he forced the water into a tower, whence

pa

it was diftributed to all the apartments of the lace. He erected a pavilion in the garden, around which he kept the air always cool by artificial fhowers. One of the groves, appropriated to the ladies, was ventilated by fans, to which the rivulet that run through it gave a conftant motion; and inftruments of foft mufick were placed at proper, diftances, of which fome played by the impulfe of the wind, and fome by the power of the stream.

This artist was fometimes vifited by Raffelas, who was pleased with every kind of knowledge, imagining that the time would come when all his acquifitions should be of use to him in the open world. He came one day to amuse himself in his ufual manner, and found the mafter bufy in building a failing chariot: he faw that the defign was practicable upon a level furface, and with expreffions of great esteem folicited its completion. The workman was pleased to find himself so much regarded by the prince, and resolved to gain yet higher honours. "Sir, faid he, you have feen but a small part of what the mechanick sciences can perform. I have been long of opinion, that instead of the tardy conveyance of ships and chariots, man might use the fwifter migration of wings; that the fields of air are open to knowledge, and that only ignorance and idleness need crawl upon the ground."

This hint rekindled the prince's defire of paffing the mountains; having feen what the mechanist had already performed, he was willing to fancy that he could do more; yet refolved to enquire further, before he suffered hope to afflict him by disappointment. "I am afraid, faid he to the artist, that

your

your imagination prevails over your skill, and that you now tell me rather what you wifh, than what you know. Every animal has his element affigned him; the birds have the air, and man and beafts the earth." "So, replied the mechanift, fishes have the water, in which yet beafts can swim by nature, and men by art. He that can swim needs not despair to fly: to fwim is to fly in a groffer fluid, and to fly is to fwim in a fubtler. We are only to proportion our power of refiftance to the different density of matter through which we are to pafs. You will be neceffarily upborn by the air, if you can renew any impulfe upon it, fafter than the air can recede from the preffure."

"But the exercife of fwimming, faid the prince, is very laborious; the ftrongest limbs are foon wearied; I am afraid the act of flying will be yet more violent, and wings will be of no great use, unless we can fly further than we can swim."

"The labour of rifing from the ground, faid the artist, will be great, as we fee it in the heavier domestick fowls, but as we mount higher, the earth's attraction, and the body's gravity, will be gradually diminished, till we shall arrive at a region where the man will float in the air without any tendency to fall: no care will then be neceffary but to move forwards, which the gentleft impulfe will effect. You, Sir, whofe curiofity is fo extenfive, will eafily conceive with what pleasure a philofopher, furnished with wings, and hovering in the sky, would see the earth, and all its inhabitants, rolling beneath him, and prefenting to him fucceffively, by its diurnal motion, all the countries within the VOL. XI. C fame