The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 1 (of 2)Paltock, Robert
Science
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 1 (of 2)
Paltock, Robert
Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction
Youwarkee and I having no other company than one another's, we talked
together almost from morn to night, in order to learn each other's
dialect But how compilable soever she was in all other respects, I could
not persuade her to go out with me to fetch water, or to the lake, in
the day-time. It being now the light season, I wanted her to be more
abroad; but she excused herself, telling me her people never came into
those luminous parts of the country during the false glare, as they
called it, but kept altogether at home, where their light was more
moderate and steadier; and that the place where I resided was not
frequented by them for half the year, and at other times only upon
parties of pleasure, it not being worth while to settle habitations
where they could not abide always. She said Normnbdsgrsutt was the
finest region in the world, where her king's court was, and a vast
kingdom. I asked her twice or thrice more to name the country to me,
but not all the art we could use, hers in dictating, and mine in
endeavouring to pronounce it, would render me conqueror of that
her monosyllable (for as such it sounded from her sweet lips); so I
relinquished the name to her, telling her whenever she had any more
occasion to mention the place, I desired it might be under the style of
Doorpt Swangeanti, which she promised; but wondered, as she could speak
the other so glibly, as she called it, I could not do so too.
I told her that the light of my native country was far stronger than any
I had seen since my arrival at Graundevolet (for that, I found by her,
was the name my dominions went by); and that we had a sun, or ball of
fire, which rolled over our heads every day, with such a light, and such
a heat, that it would sometimes almost scorch one, it was so hot, and
was of such brightness that the eye could not look at it without danger
of blindness. She was heartily glad, she said, she was not born in so
wretched a land; and she did not believe there was any other so good
as her own. I thought no benefit could arise from my combating these
innocent prejudices, so I let them alone.
She had often lamented to me the difference of our eyesight, and the
trouble it was to her that she could not at all times go about with me,
till it gave me a good deal of uneasiness to see her concern. At last I
told her, that though I believed it would be impossible to reduce my
sight to the standard of hers, yet I was persuaded I could bring hers to
bear the strongest light I had ever seen in this country. She was
mightily pleased with the thought of that, and said she wished I might,
for she was sensible of no grief like being obliged to stay at home when
I went abroad on my business, and was resolved to try my experiment if I
pleased, and in the meantime should heartily pray for the success. I hit
on the following invention.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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