After some compliments about my journey, and accommodation since, the king told me I had not waited so long without, but he had some urgent despatches to make; and as he chose to have me in private with him, he imagined, he said, I would be able to divert myself in the boskee. I declared I had never seen anything like it for grandeur and magnificence before; but the beauty of the sculpture, and disposition of the lights, were most exquisite.
All this while I felt the other glumm handling my long wig, and feeling whether it grew to my head, or what it was; for he had by this time got his finger under the caul, and was pulling my hair down; when I turning about my head, "Glumm Peter," says the king, "don't be uneasy, the ragan will do you no hurt, it is only to satisfy his curiosity; and I chose to have the ragan here, that we may more leisurely advise with you what course to take in the present exigencies of my State. I have fully heard the story of your travels from my colambs, and we have returned thanks to the Great Image for bringing you, after so many hazards and deliverances, safe to my dominions for our defence."
The ragan desired to know whether all that hair (meaning my wig) grew upon my head or not. I told him no, it was a covering only, to put on occasionally; but that hair did grow on my head, and pulling off my wig I showed them. The ragan then asked me if I had hair of my own growing under that too (meaning my beard, which he then had in his hand, for their glumms have no beards); but I told him that grew there of itself.—"O parly Puly!" says the ragan, rising up, and smiting his hands together, "It is he! It is he!"
"Pray," says I, "ragan, who is this Puly you speak of?"—"It is the image," says he, "of the great Collwar."—"Who is that?" says I.—"Why, he that made the world," says he.—"And, pray," says I, "what did his image make?"—"Oh," says he, "we made the image."—"And, pray," says I, "can't you break it again?"—"Yes," says he, "if we had a mind to be struck dead, we might; for that would be the immediate consequence of such an attempt; nay, of but holding up a finger against it in contempt."—"Pray," says I, "did ever anybody die that way?"—"No," says he, "no one ever durst presume to do it."—"Then, perhaps," said I, "upon trial, the punishment you speak of might not be the consequence of such an attempt. Pray," says I, "what makes Collwar have so great a kindness for that image?"—"Because," says he, "it is his very likeness, and he gives him all he asks for us; for we only ask him. Why," says he, "it is the image that has brought you amongst us."
I did not then think it a proper time to advance the contrary to the person I then had to do with, as I was sure it would have done no good; for a priest is only to be convinced by the strongest party: so I deferred my argument on that head to a fitter opportunity.
"Most admirable Peter," says the king, "you are the glumm we depend upon to fulfil an ancient prediction delivered by a venerable ragan. If you will, Ragan I. O. shall repeat it to you, and therein you will be able to discern yourself plainly described, in not only similar, but the express words I myself, from your story, should describe you in."
In good earnest, I had from divers circumstances concluded that I might be the person; and resolved, as I thought I had the best handle in the world for it from the prediction, to do what I could in the affair of religion, by fair means or stratagem (for I was sensible my own single force would not do it), before I began to show myself in their cause, or else to desert them; and having had a small hint from Nasgig of what the old ragan's design was in part, and which I approved of, I purposed to add what else was necessary as part of his design, if his proposals had been approved of.
I told the king I would excuse the ragan the repetition of the prediction, as I had partly been informed of it by Nasgig; and that conceiving myself, as he did, to be the person predicted of by the ragan, I had the more readily set out on this expedition, which nothing but the hopes of performing so great a good could have prevailed with me to undertake; and I did not doubt, with God's blessing, to accomplish it.
The king grew exceeding joyous at what I said, and told me he would call a moucheratt, at which all his colambs should attend, to have their advice, and then we would proceed to action; and ordered the ragan to let it be for the sixth day, and in the meantime that he and his brethren should, day and night, implore the Image to guide their deliberations.
The ragan being gone, I told the king I had something to impart to him, in which it was my duty to obtain his majesty's sentiments before I appeared publicly at the moucheratt. He desired me to proceed: I told him I had been some time considering the old ragan's prediction, with the occasion of it; "and," says I, "it is plain to me that all these mischiefs have befallen you for neglect of the ragan's proposal concerning religion; as I understand your great ancestor would have come into it, and would have had his people done so too, but for the ragans, who hindered it.