I wanted to venture on the back of some strong glumm; when Nasgig told me no one could endure my weight so long a flight. But what charmed me most was, the lovely Youwarkee offered to carry me herself if she could: "And if I can't hold out," says she, "my dear, we can but at last drop both together." I kissed the charming creature with tears in my eyes, but declined 'the experiment. I told Nasgig I wanted to divide my weight between two or four glumms, which I believed I could easily do; and asked if each could hold out with a fourth part of my weight.--He told me there was no doubt of that; but he was afraid I should drop between their graundees, he imagining I intended to lie along on their backs, part of me on each of them, or should bear so much on them as to prevent their flight. I told him I did not purpose to dispose of myself in the manner he presumed, but if two or four could undoubtedly bear my weight so long a flight, I would order myself without any other inconvenience to my bearers than their burden. He made light of my weight between four, as a trifle, and said he would be one with all his heart.--"Nay," says I, "if four cannot hold out, can eight?" He plainly told me, as he knew not what I meant, he could say nothing to it, nor could imagine how I could divide so small a body as mine into eight different weights, for it seemed impossible, he said, to him; but if I would show him my method, he would then give me his opinion. I then, leaving him, took out my tools: I pitched upon a strong board my wife had sent me from the ship, about twelve feet long, and a foot and a half broad, upon the middle of which I nailed down one of my chairs; then I took one cord of about thirty-four feet long, making handloops at each end, and nailed it down in the middle to the under-side of my board, as near as I could to the fore-end of it, and I took another cord of the same length and make, and this I nailed within three feet of the farther end of my board. I then took a cord of about twenty feet long, and nailed about three feet before the foremost, and a fourth of the same length, at the farther end of my board; by which means the first and third ropes being the longest and at such a distance from the short ropes, the glumms who held them would fly so much higher and forwarder than the short-rope ones, that they and their ropes would be quite out of the others' way, which would not have happened if either the ropes had been all of one length, or nearer to or farther from one another; and then considering that if I should receive a sudden jerk or twitch, I might possibly be shook off my chair, I took a smaller rope to tie myself with fast to the chair, and then I was sure if I fell into the sea I should at least have the board and chair with me, which might possibly buoy me up till the glumms could descend to my assistance.