"Dear son," says my father, "these will be glorious days indeed! But, come, come, you have played a good part already; don't, by attempting what you can't master, eclipse the glory so justly due to you."—"No, sir," says I, "nothing shall be attempted by me to my dishonour; for I shall ever remember my friend Glanepze. Sir," says I, "see here." (showing him my watch).—"Why, this," says he, "hung by my daughter's side at Graundevolet."—"It did so," says I; "and, pray, what did you take it for?"—"A bott," says he.—"I thought so," says I; "but as you asked no questions, I did not then force the knowledge of it upon you. But put it to your ear."—He did so. "What noise is that?" says he. "Is it alive?"—"No," says I, "it is not; but it is as significant. If I ask it what time of the day it is, or how long I have been going from this place to that, I look but in its face, and it tells me presently."
My father, looking upon it a good while, and perceiving that the minute hand had got farther than it was at first, was just dropping it out of his hand, had I not caught it. "Why, it is alive," says he; "it moves!"—"Sir," says I, "if you had dropped it, you had done me an inexpressible injury."—"Oh ho," says he, "I find now how you do your wonders; it is something you have shut up here that assists you; it is an evil spirit!" I laughing heartily, he was sorry for what he had said, believing he had shown some ignorance. "No, sir," says I, "it is no spirit, good or evil, but a machine made by some of my countrymen, to measure time with."—"I have heard," says he, "of measuring an abb, or the ground, or a rock; but never yet heard of measuring time."—"Why, sir," says I, "don't you say three days hence I will do so; or such a one is three years old? Is not that a measuring of time by so many days or years?"—"Truly," says he, "in one sense I think it is."—"Now, sir," says I, "how do you measure a day?"—"Why, by rising and lying down," says he.—"But suppose I say I will go now, and come again, and have a particular time in my head when I will return, how shall I do to make you know that time?"—"Why, that will be afterwards, another time," says he; "or I can think how long it will be."—"But," says I, "how can you make me know when you think it will be?"—"You must think too," says he.—"But then," says I, "we may deceive each other, by thinking differently. Now this will set us to rights:" then I described the figures to him, telling him how many parts they divided the day into, and that by looking on it I could tell how many of such parts were passed; and that if he went from me, and said he would come one, or two, or three parts hence, I should know when to expect him. I then showed him the wheels, and explained where the force lay, and why it went no faster or slower, as well as I could; and from my desire of teaching, insensibly perfected myself more and more in it. So that beginning to have a little idea of it, he wished he had one. "And," says he, "will you teach all our people to make such things?"—"Then they would be disregarded, sir," says I.—"It is impossible," says he.—"I'll tell you, sir, how I mean," said I. "I can, hereafter, show you a hundred things as useful as this; now, if everybody was to make these, how would other things be made? Besides, if everybody made them, nobody would want them; and then what would anybody get by them, besides the pleasing their own fancy? But if only twenty men make them in one town, all the rest must come to them; and they who make these, must go to one of twenty others, who make another thing that these men want, and so on; by which means, every man wanting something he does not make, it will be the better for every maker of everything."
"Son," says my father, "excuse me; I am really ashamed, now you have better informed me, I asked so foolish a question." I told him we had a saying in my country, that everything is easy when it is known. "I think," says he, "a man might find everything in your country."
Two days after, my wife and daughter Sally came very early; but sure no joy could be greater than ours at sight of each other. I embraced them both over and over, as did my father, especially Sally, who was a charming child. They told me I might expect everything that evening, for they left them alighting at the height of Battringdrigg; for though they came out the last, yet the body of the people with their baggage could not come so fast as they did. And little Sally said, "We stayed and rested ourselves, purely, daddy, at Battringdrigg, before the crowd came; but as soon as mammy had seen all my brothers safe, who came before the rest, and kissed Dicky, we set out again."
About seven hours after arrived the second convoy from abroad, that ever entered that country. I had too much to do with my wife and children that night, to spare a thought to my cargo; so I only set a guard over them; for though I had now been married about sixteen years, Youwarkee was ever new to me.
I was now obliged to the king again, for some additional conveniences to my former apartment; and the young ones were mightily pleased to have so much more room than we had at home, and to see the sweecoes; but finding themselves waited upon in so elegant a manner, and by so many servants (for with our new rooms, we had all the servants belonging to them), they thought themselves in a paradise to the grotto, where all we wanted we were forced to help ourselves to.
The next day Tommy came to see us, the king having given him a very pretty post, since the death of Yaccombourse; and Hallycarnie, with the Princess Jahamel, her mistress, who was mightily pleased to see Youwarkee in her English dress, and invited her and the children to her apartment.
It was but a few months since my wife saw the children; yet she scarce knew them, they were so altered; for the two courtiers behaved with so much politeness, that their brothers and Sally looked but with an ill eye upon them, finding all the fault, and dropping as many little invidious expressions on them as possible. But I sharply rebuked them: "We were all made chiefly," I told them, "to please our Maker, and that could be done only by the goodness of the heart; and if their hearts were more pure, they were the best children; but if they liked their brothers' and sisters' outward behaviour better than their own, they might so far imitate them."
When we were settled in our new apartment, I unpacked my chairs and tables, and set out my side-board, and made such a figure as had never before been seen in that part of the world. I wanted now some shoes for Pedro, his own being almost past wear, for the young ones never had worn any, but could find none; till applying to Lasmeel, and showing him what I wanted, he pointed to one of the great water-casks; but as there were eleven of them, big and little, I knew not where to begin; till, having invited the king and several of the ministers to dine with me, I was forced to look over my goods for several other things I should want.
In my search, I found half a ream of paper, a leathern ink-bottle, but no ink in it, some quills, and books of accounts, and several other things relative to writing. The prize gave me courage to attempt the other casks; but I found little more that I immediately wanted. In the last cask were several books, two of them romances, six volumes of English plays, two of devotion; the next were either Spanish or Portuguese, and the last looked like a Bible; but just opening it, and taking it to be of the same language, I put them all in again, thinking to divert myself with them some other time. I here found some more paper, and so many shoes, as, when I had fellowed them, served me as long as I stayed in the country.