could see no reason to believe a soul was lodged in such a body. The two travellers were actually inclined to think there was no such thing as mind in this our habitation, when by the help of their microscope, they perceived something as large as a whale floating upon the surface of the sea. It is well known, that at this period, a flight of philosophers was on its return from the polar circle, where they had been making observations, for which nobody has hitherto been the wiser. The gazettes record, that their vessel ran ashore on the coast of Bothnia, and that they with great difficulty saved their lives; but in this world one can never dive to the bottom of things: for my own part, I will ingeniously recount the transaction just as it happened, without any addition of my own; and this is no small effort in a modern historian

CHAPTER V.

AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.

Micromegas stretched out his hand gently towards the place where the object appeared, and advanced two fingers, which he instantly pulled back, for fear of being disappointed, then opening softly and shutting them all at once, he very dexterously seized the ship that contained those gentlemen and placed it on his nail, avoiding too much pressure, which might have crushed the whole in pieces. "This," said the Saturnian dwarf, "is a creature very different from the former: " upon which, the Sirian placing the supposed

1 Cassini, who had measured a degree of the meridian in France, published in 1718 his book upon the size and figure of the earth. in which he concludes it is lengthened at the poles, in contradiction to the theory of Newton and Huygens; the French king ordered a company of academicians to measure a degree of the equator, and another to take the dimensions of a degree at the polar circle, in order to determine this dispute. Messrs. Goden, Bouguer, and de la Condamine, were sent to Peru, while Maupertuis, Clairant, Camus, Monnier, and Outhier, set out for Lapland. The observations of

both companies, reinforced by those of Don Jorge Juan

and Antonio d 'Ulloa, two Spanish philosophers employ

ed by his Catholick Majesty, confirmed the theory of Sir Isaac Newton, that the earth was an oblate spheroid flattened at the poles. A curious account of the voy

age to Lapland, and of the observations there made, is to be found in the works of Maupertuis, published at

Lyons in the year 1756.

animal in the hollow of his hand, the passengers and crew, who believed themselves thrown by a hurricane upon some rock, began to put themselves in motion. The sailors having hoisted out some casks of wine, jumped after them into the hand of Micromegas; the mathematicians having secured their quadrants, sectors, and Lapland mistresses, went overboard at a different place, and made such a bustle in their descent, that the Sirian at length telt his fingers tickled by something that seemed to move. An iron crow chanced to penetrate about a foot deep into his fore finger; and from this prick he concluded that something had issued from the little animal he had held in his hand; but at first he suspected nothing more: for the microscope that scarce rendered a whale and a ship visible, had no effect upon an object so imperceptible as man. I do not intend to shock the vanity of any person whatever; but here I am obliged to beg your people of importance to consider, that supposing the stature of a man to be about five feet, we mortals make just such a figure upon the earth, as an animal the sixty-thousandth part of a foot in height, would exhibit upon a bowl ten feet in circumference. When you reflect upon a being who could hold this whole earth in the palm of his hand, and is endued with organs proportioned to those we possess, you will conceive that there must be a great variety of created substances;-and pray, what must such beings think of those battles by which a conqueror gains a small village, to lose it again in the sequel?

I do not at all doubt, but if some captain of grenadiers should chance to read this work, he would add two large feet at least to the caps of his company: but I assure him his labor will be in vain: for do what he will, he and his soldiers will never be other than infinitely diminutive and inconsiderable. What wonderful address must have been inherent in our Sirian philosopher, that enabled him to perceive those atoms of which we have been speaking. When Leuwenhoek and Hartsoecker observed the first rudiments of which we are formed, they did not make such an astonishing discovery. What pleasure, therefore, was the portion of Micromegas in observing the motion of those little machines, in examining all their pranks, and pursuing them in their

CHAPTER VI.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THEIR INTERCOURSE WITH MAN.

Micromegas being a much better observer than his dwarf, perceived distinctly that those atoms spoke; and made the remark to his companions, who would not believe such a puny species could possibly communicate their ideas: for though he had the gift of tongues, as well as his companion, he could not hear these particles speak; and therefore supposed they had no language: besides, how should such imperceptible beings have the organs of speech? and what in the name of God can they say one to another? in order to speak they must have something like thought, and if they think, they must surely have something equivalent to a soul: now, to attribute anything like a soul to such an insect species appears a mere absurdity.

But just now," replied the Sirian, "you believed they made love to each other; and do you think this could be done without thinking, without using some sort of language, or at least some way of making themselves understood? or do you suppose it is more difficult to advance an argument than to produce a child? for my own part, I look upon both these faculties as alike mysterious." "I will no longer venture to believe or deny," answered the dwarf: "in short I have no opinion at all. Let us endeavor to examine these insects, and we will reason upon them afterwards."

"With all my heart," said Micromegas, who, taking out a pair of scissors which he kept for paring his nails, cut off a paring from his thumb nail, from which he formed a large kind of speaking trumpet, like a vast tunnel, and clapped the pipe to his ear: as the circumference of this machine included the ship and all the crew, the most feeble voice was conveyed along the circular fibres of the nail; so

Mi

instant. They heard a nest of mites talk in a pretty sensible strain: and that Lusus Naturæ seemed to them inexplicable. You need not doubt but the Sirian and his dwarf glowed with impatience to enter into conversation with such atoms. cromegas being afraid that his voice, like thunder, would deafen and confound the mites, without being understood by them, saw the necessity of diminishing the sound; each, therefore put into his mouth a sort of small tooth-pick, the slender end of which reached the vessel. The Sirian setting the dwarf upon his knees, and the ship and crew upon his nail, held down his head and spoke softly.-In fine, having taken these and a great many more precautions, he addressed himself to them in these words.

"O ye invisible insects, whom the hand of the Creator hath deigned to produce in the abyss of infinite littleness, I give praise to His goodness, in that He hath been pleased to disclose unto me those secrets that seemed to be impenetrable; perhaps the court of Sirius will not disdain to behold you with admiration for my own part, I despise no creature, and therefore offer you my protection."

If ever there was such a thing as astonishment, it seized upon the people who heard this address, and could not conceive from whence it proceeded. The chaplain of the ship repeated exorcisms, the sailors swore, and the philosophers formed a system: but, notwithstanding all their systems, they could not divine who the person was that spoke to them. Then the dwarf of Saturn, whose voice was softer than that of Micromegas, gave them briefly to understand what species of beings they had to do with. He related the particulars of their voyage from Saturn, made them acquainted with the rank and quality of Monsieur Micromegas; and after having pitied their smallness, asked if they had always been in that miserable state, so near akin to annihilation; and what their business was upon that globe which seemed to be the property of whales;

like nature.

A certain mathematician on board, more courageous than the rest, and shocked to hear his soul called in question, planted his quadrant, and having taken two observations of this interlocutor, "You believe then, Mr. what d'ye callum," said he, "that because you measure from head to foot a thousand fathoms-" "A thousand fathoms!" cried the dwarf, “good heaven, how should he know the height of my stature? a thousand fathoms! my very dimensions to a hair. What, measured by a mite! this atom, forsooth is a geometrician, and knows exactly how tall I am: while I, who can scarce see him through a microscope, am utterly ignorant of his extent!" "Yes, I have taken your measure," answered the philosopher, "and I will now do the same by your tall companion." The proposal was embraced; his excellency laid himself along for, had he stood upright, his head would have reached too far above the clouds. Our mathematicians planted a tall tree in a certain part of him: then, by a series of triangles joined together, they discovered that the object of their observations was a strapping youth, exactly one hundred and twenty thousand royal feet in length.

In consequence of this calculation, Micromegas uttered these words: "I am now more than ever convinced that we ought to judge of nothing by its external magnitude. O God, who hast bestowed understanding upon such seemingly contemptible substances, thou canst with equal ease produce that which is infinitely small, as that which is incredibly great: and if it be possible, that among thy works there are beings still more diminutive than these, they may nevertheless be indued with understanding superior to the intelligence of those stupendous animals I have seen in heaven, a single foot of whom is larger than this whole globe on which I have alighted." One of the philosophers bid him be assured, that there were intelligent beings much smaller than man, and recounted not only Virgil's whole fable of the bees, but also described all that Swammerdam hath discovered and Reaum dissected. In a word, he informed him that there were animals which

bees bear to man; the same as the Sirian himself was to those vast beings whom he had mentioned; and as those huge animals were to other substances, before whom they would appear like so many particles of dust. Here the conversation became very interesting, and Micromegas proceeded in these words.

CHAPTER VII.

A CONVERSATION THAT PASSED BETWEEN OUR TRAVELLERS AND THE MEN THEY HAD ENCOUNTERED.

"O ye intelligent atoms, in whom the Supreme Being hath been pleased to manifest his omniscience and power, without all doubt your joys on this earth must be pure and exquisite: for being unencumbered with matter, and to all appearance, little else than soul, you must spend your lives in the delights of love and reflection, which are the true enjoy. ments of a perfect spirit. True happiness I have nowhere found; but certainly bere it dwells." At this harangue, all the philosophers shook their heads, and one among the rest more candid than his brethren, frankly avowed, that, excepting a very small number of the inhabitants, who were very little esteemed by their fellows, all the rest were a parcel of knaves, fools, and miserable wretches. "We have matter enough," said he, "to do abundance of mischief, if mischief comes of matter, and too much understanding, if evil flows from understanding; you must know, for example, that this very moment, while I am speaking, there are one hundred thousand animals of our own species, covered with hats, slaying an equal number of fellow-creatures, who wear turbans; at least, they are either slaying or slain; and this hath been nearly the case all over the earth from time immemorial." The Sirian shuddering at this information, begged to know the cause of those horrible quarrels among such a puny race; and was given to understand, that the subject of the dispute was some pitiful molehill no bigger than his heel: nor that any one of those millions who cut one another's throats pretends to have the least claim to the