I have got into my hands, by great chance, feveral manufcripts of these two eminent authors, which are filled with greater wonders than any of those they have communicated to the public; and indeed, were they not fo well attefted, would appear altogether improbable. I am apt to think the ingenious authors did not publish them with the reft of their work, leit they should pafs for fictions and fables: ution not unneceffary, when the reputaon of their veracity was not yet established in the world. But as this reafon has now no further weight, I fhall make the public a prefent of these curious pieces, at fuch times as I fhall find myself unprovided with other fubjects.. The prefent paper I intend to fill with an extract of fir John's journal, in which that learned and worthy knight gives an account of the freezing and thawing of feveral fhort fpeeches which he made in the territories of Nova Zembla. I need not inform my reader, that the author of Hudibras alludes to this ftrange quality in that cold climate, when, speaking of abstracted notions clothed in a vifible fhape, he adds that apt fimile, Like words congeal'd in northern air. Not to keep my reader any longer in fufpenf, the relation, put into modern language, is as follows: We were separated by a ftorm in the latitude ef feventy-three, infomuch that only the fhip which I was in, with a Dutch and French veffel, got fafe into a creek of Nova Zembla. We landed, in order to refit our veffels, and ftore ourselves with provifions. The crew of each veffel made themselves a cabin of turf and wood, at fome diftance from each other, to fence themselves against the inclemencies of the weather, which was fevere beyond imagination. We foon obferved, that in talking to one another we loft feveral of our words, and could not hear one another at above two yards diftance, and that too when we fat very near the fire. After much perplexity, I found that our words froze in the air, before they could reach the ears of the perfons to whom they were spoken. I was M 4 I was foon confirmed in the conjecture, when, upon the increafe of the cold, the whole company grew dumb, or rather deaf; for every man was fenfible, as we afterwards found, that he spoke as well as ever; but the founds no fooner took air, than they were condenfed and loft. It was now a miferable spectacle to fee us nodding and gaping at one another, every man talking and no man heard. One might obf.rve a feaman, that could ha a nar league's diftance, beckoning with his hand, ftraining his lungs, and tearing his throat; but all in vain. -Nic vox nec verba fequunter. OVID. Nor voice, nor words enfu'd. R. WYNNE. We continued here three weeks in this difmal plight. At length, upon a turn of wind, the air about us began to thaw. Our cabin was immediately filled with a dry clattering found, which I afterwards found to be the crackling of confonants that broke above our heads, and were often mixed with a gentle hifling, which, I imputed to the letter S, that occurs fo frequently in the English tongue. I foon after felt a breeze of whifpers rushing by my ear; for thofe being of a foft and gentle fubftance, immediately liquified in the warm wind that blew across our cabin. Thefe were foon followed by fyllables and fhort words, and at length by entire fentences, that melted fooner or later, as they were more or less congealed; fo that we now heard every thing that had been fpoken during the whole three weeks that we had been filent, if I may ufe that expreffion. It was now very early in the morning, and yet, to my furprife, I heard fomebody fay, Sir John, it is midnight, and time for the fhip's crew to go to bed. This I knew to be the pilot's voice, and, upon recollecting myself, I concluded that he had spoken thefe words to me fome days before, though I could not hear them until the prefent thaw. My reader will easily imagine, how the whole crew was amazed to hear every man talking, and fee no man open his mouth. In the midft of this great furprise we were all in, we heard a volley of oaths and curfes, lafting for a long while, and uttered in a very hoarse voice, which I knew belonged to the boatswain, who was a very choleric fellow, and had taken his opportunity of curfing and fwearing at me when he thought I could not hear him; for I had several times given him the ftrappado on that account, as I did not fail to repeat it, for these his pious foliloquies, when I got him on shipboard. I must not omit the names of feveral beauties in Wapping, which were heard every now and then, in the midst of a long figh that accompanied them; as, dear Kate! pretty Mrs. Peggy! when fhall I fee my Sue again? This betrayed feveral amours which had been concealed until that time, and furnished us with a great deal of mirth in our return to England. When this confufion of voices was pretty well over, though I was afraid to offer at fpeaking, as fearing I fhould not be heard, I proposed a visit to the Dutch cabin, which lay about a mile further up in the country. My crew were extremely rejoiced to find they had again recovered their hearing; though every man uttered his voice with the fame apprehenfions that I had done, Et timidè verba intermiffa retentat. OVID. Met. lib. I. vet. 747. And try'd his tongue, his filence foftly broke. DRYDEN. At about half a mile's distance from our cabin, we heard the groanings of a bear, which at first startled us; but upon inquiry we were informed by fome of our company that he was dead, and now lay in falt, having been killed upon that very spot about a fortnight before, in the time of the froft. Not far from the fame place, we were likewife entertained with fome pofthumous fnarls and barkings of a fox, We at length arrived at the little Dutch fettlement; and upon entering the room, found it filled with fighs that fmelt of brandy, and feveral other unfavoury founds, M 5 that 1 that were altogether inarticulate. My valet, who was an Irishman, fell into fo great a rage at what he heard, that he drew his fword; but not knowing where to lay the blame, he put it up again. We were ftunned with these confused noises, but did not hear a fingle word until about half an hour after; which I ascribed to the harsh and obdurate founds of that language, which wanted more time than ours to melt, and become audible. After having here met with a very hearty welcome, we went to the cabin of the French, who, to make amends for their three weeks filence, were talking and difputing with greater rapidity and confusion than I ever heard in an affembly even of that nation. Their language, as I found, upon the firft giving of the weather, fell afunder and diffolved. I was here convinced of an error into which I had before fallen; for I fancied, that for the freezing of the found, it was neceffary for it to be wrapped up, and, as it were, preferved in breath: but I found my mistake, when I heard the found of a kit playing a minuet over our heads. I asked the occafion of it; upon which one of the company told me, it would play there above a week longer, if the thaw continued; for, fays he, finding ourselves bereft of fpeech, we prevailed upon one of the company, who had his mufical inftrument about him, to play to us from morning to night; all which time we employed in dancing, in order to diffipate our chagrin, &tuer le temps. Here fir John gives very good philofophical reafons why the kit could not be heard during the froft; but as they are fomething prolix, I pafs them over in filence, and fhall only observe, that the honourable author feems by his quotations to have been well verfed in the ancient poets, which perhaps raifed his fancy above the ordinary pitch of hiftorians, and very much contributed to the embellishment of his writings. NO. NO. 255. - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1710. Nec te tua plurima, Pantheu, Nor, Pantheus, thee thy mitre, nor the bands From my own Apartment, November 24. To the Cenfor of Great Britain. SIR, I AM at prefent under very great difficulties, which it is not in the power of any one, befides yourself, to redress. Whether or no you fhall think it a proper cafe to come before your court of Honour, I cannot tell'; but thus it is. I am chaplain to an honourable family, very regular at the hours of devotion, and I hope of an unblameable life; but for not offering to rife at second course, I found my patron and his lady very fullen and out of humour, though at first I did not know the reason of it. At length, when I happened to help myfelf to a jelly, the lady of the house, otherwise a devout woman, told me that it did not become a man of my cloth to delight in fuch frivolous food: but as I ftill continued to fit out the laft courfe, I was yesterday informed by the butler, that his lordship had no farther occafion for my fervice. All which is humbly fubmitted to your confideration, by, |