Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, Page 33

  CHAPTER II.

  The author conducted by a Houyhnhnm to his house. The house described.The author's reception. The food of the Houyhnhnms. The author indistress for want of meat. Is at last relieved. His manner of feedingin this country.

  Having travelled about three miles, we came to a long kind of building,made of timber stuck in the ground, and wattled across; the roof was lowand covered with straw. I now began to be a little comforted; and tookout some toys, which travellers usually carry for presents to the savageIndians of America, and other parts, in hopes the people of the housewould be thereby encouraged to receive me kindly. The horse made me asign to go in first; it was a large room with a smooth clay floor, and arack and manger, extending the whole length on one side. There werethree nags and two mares, not eating, but some of them sitting down upontheir hams, which I very much wondered at; but wondered more to see therest employed in domestic business; these seemed but ordinary cattle.However, this confirmed my first opinion, that a people who could so farcivilise brute animals, must needs excel in wisdom all the nations of theworld. The gray came in just after, and thereby prevented any illtreatment which the others might have given me. He neighed to themseveral times in a style of authority, and received answers.

  Beyond this room there were three others, reaching the length of thehouse, to which you passed through three doors, opposite to each other,in the manner of a vista. We went through the second room towards thethird. Here the gray walked in first, beckoning me to attend: I waitedin the second room, and got ready my presents for the master and mistressof the house; they were two knives, three bracelets of false pearls, asmall looking-glass, and a bead necklace. The horse neighed three orfour times, and I waited to hear some answers in a human voice, but Iheard no other returns than in the same dialect, only one or two a littleshriller than his. I began to think that this house must belong to someperson of great note among them, because there appeared so much ceremonybefore I could gain admittance. But, that a man of quality should beserved all by horses, was beyond my comprehension. I feared my brain wasdisturbed by my sufferings and misfortunes. I roused myself, and lookedabout me in the room where I was left alone: this was furnished like thefirst, only after a more elegant manner. I rubbed my eyes often, but thesame objects still occurred. I pinched my arms and sides to awakemyself, hoping I might be in a dream. I then absolutely concluded, thatall these appearances could be nothing else but necromancy and magic.But I had no time to pursue these reflections; for the gray horse came tothe door, and made me a sign to follow him into the third room where Isaw a very comely mare, together with a colt and foal, sitting on theirhaunches upon mats of straw, not unartfully made, and perfectly neat andclean.

  The mare soon after my entrance rose from her mat, and coming up close,after having nicely observed my hands and face, gave me a mostcontemptuous look; and turning to the horse, I heard the word _Yahoo_often repeated betwixt them; the meaning of which word I could not thencomprehend, although it was the first I had learned to pronounce. But Iwas soon better informed, to my everlasting mortification; for the horse,beckoning to me with his head, and repeating the _hhuun_, _hhuun_, as hedid upon the road, which I understood was to attend him, led me out intoa kind of court, where was another building, at some distance from thehouse. Here we entered, and I saw three of those detestable creatures,which I first met after my landing, feeding upon roots, and the flesh ofsome animals, which I afterwards found to be that of asses and dogs, andnow and then a cow, dead by accident or disease. They were all tied bythe neck with strong withes fastened to a beam; they held their foodbetween the claws of their fore feet, and tore it with their teeth.

  The master horse ordered a sorrel nag, one of his servants, to untie thelargest of these animals, and take him into the yard. The beast and Iwere brought close together, and by our countenances diligently comparedboth by master and servant, who thereupon repeated several times the word_Yahoo_. My horror and astonishment are not to be described, when Iobserved in this abominable animal, a perfect human figure: the face ofit indeed was flat and broad, the nose depressed, the lips large, and themouth wide; but these differences are common to all savage nations, wherethe lineaments of the countenance are distorted, by the natives sufferingtheir infants to lie grovelling on the earth, or by carrying them ontheir backs, nuzzling with their face against the mothers' shoulders.The fore-feet of the _Yahoo_ differed from my hands in nothing else butthe length of the nails, the coarseness and brownness of the palms, andthe hairiness on the backs. There was the same resemblance between ourfeet, with the same differences; which I knew very well, though thehorses did not, because of my shoes and stockings; the same in every partof our bodies except as to hairiness and colour, which I have alreadydescribed.

  The great difficulty that seemed to stick with the two horses, was to seethe rest of my body so very different from that of a _Yahoo_, for which Iwas obliged to my clothes, whereof they had no conception. The sorrelnag offered me a root, which he held (after their manner, as we shalldescribe in its proper place) between his hoof and pastern; I took it inmy hand, and, having smelt it, returned it to him again as civilly as Icould. He brought out of the _Yahoos_' kennel a piece of ass's flesh;but it smelt so offensively that I turned from it with loathing: he thenthrew it to the _Yahoo_, by whom it was greedily devoured. He afterwardsshowed me a wisp of hay, and a fetlock full of oats; but I shook my head,to signify that neither of these were food for me. And indeed I nowapprehended that I must absolutely starve, if I did not get to some of myown species; for as to those filthy _Yahoos_, although there were fewgreater lovers of mankind at that time than myself, yet I confess I neversaw any sensitive being so detestable on all accounts; and the more Icame near them the more hateful they grew, while I stayed in thatcountry. This the master horse observed by my behaviour, and thereforesent the _Yahoo_ back to his kennel. He then put his fore-hoof to hismouth, at which I was much surprised, although he did it with ease, andwith a motion that appeared perfectly natural, and made other signs, toknow what I would eat; but I could not return him such an answer as hewas able to apprehend; and if he had understood me, I did not see how itwas possible to contrive any way for finding myself nourishment. Whilewe were thus engaged, I observed a cow passing by, whereupon I pointed toher, and expressed a desire to go and milk her. This had its effect; forhe led me back into the house, and ordered a mare-servant to open a room,where a good store of milk lay in earthen and wooden vessels, after avery orderly and cleanly manner. She gave me a large bowlful, of which Idrank very heartily, and found myself well refreshed.

  About noon, I saw coming towards the house a kind of vehicle drawn like asledge by four _Yahoos_. There was in it an old steed, who seemed to beof quality; he alighted with his hind-feet forward, having by accidentgot a hurt in his left fore-foot. He came to dine with our horse, whoreceived him with great civility. They dined in the best room, and hadoats boiled in milk for the second course, which the old horse ate warm,but the rest cold. Their mangers were placed circular in the middle ofthe room, and divided into several partitions, round which they sat ontheir haunches, upon bosses of straw. In the middle was a large rack,with angles answering to every partition of the manger; so that eachhorse and mare ate their own hay, and their own mash of oats and milk,with much decency and regularity. The behaviour of the young colt andfoal appeared very modest, and that of the master and mistress extremelycheerful and complaisant to their guest. The gray ordered me to stand byhim; and much discourse passed between him and his friend concerning me,as I found by the stranger's often looking on me, and the frequentrepetition of the word _Yahoo_.

  I happened to wear my gloves, which the master gray observing, seemedperplexed, discovering signs of wonder what I had done to my fore-feet.He put his hoof three or four times to them, as if he would signify, thatI should reduce them to their former shape, which I presently did,pulling off both my gloves, and putting them into my pocket. Thisoccasioned farthe
r talk; and I saw the company was pleased with mybehaviour, whereof I soon found the good effects. I was ordered to speakthe few words I understood; and while they were at dinner, the mastertaught me the names for oats, milk, fire, water, and some others, which Icould readily pronounce after him, having from my youth a great facilityin learning languages.

  When dinner was done, the master horse took me aside, and by signs andwords made me understand the concern he was in that I had nothing to eat.Oats in their tongue are called _hlunnh_. This word I pronounced two orthree times; for although I had refused them at first, yet, upon secondthoughts, I considered that I could contrive to make of them a kind ofbread, which might be sufficient, with milk, to keep me alive, till Icould make my escape to some other country, and to creatures of my ownspecies. The horse immediately ordered a white mare servant of hisfamily to bring me a good quantity of oats in a sort of wooden tray.These I heated before the fire, as well as I could, and rubbed them tillthe husks came off, which I made a shift to winnow from the grain. Iground and beat them between two stones; then took water, and made theminto a paste or cake, which I toasted at the fire and eat warm with milk.It was at first a very insipid diet, though common enough in many partsof Europe, but grew tolerable by time; and having been often reduced tohard fare in my life, this was not the first experiment I had made howeasily nature is satisfied. And I cannot but observe, that I never hadone hours sickness while I stayed in this island. It is true, Isometimes made a shift to catch a rabbit, or bird, by springs made of_Yahoo's_ hairs; and I often gathered wholesome herbs, which I boiled,and ate as salads with my bread; and now and then, for a rarity, I made alittle butter, and drank the whey. I was at first at a great loss forsalt, but custom soon reconciled me to the want of it; and I am confidentthat the frequent use of salt among us is an effect of luxury, and wasfirst introduced only as a provocative to drink, except where it isnecessary for preserving flesh in long voyages, or in places remote fromgreat markets; for we observe no animal to be fond of it but man, and asto myself, when I left this country, it was a great while before I couldendure the taste of it in anything that I ate.

  This is enough to say upon the subject of my diet, wherewith othertravellers fill their books, as if the readers were personally concernedwhether we fare well or ill. However, it was necessary to mention thismatter, lest the world should think it impossible that I could findsustenance for three years in such a country, and among such inhabitants.

  When it grew towards evening, the master horse ordered a place for me tolodge in; it was but six yards from the house and separated from thestable of the _Yahoos_. Here I got some straw, and covering myself withmy own clothes, slept very sound. But I was in a short time betteraccommodated, as the reader shall know hereafter, when I come to treatmore particularly about my way of living.