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+====== TRAVELS OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN ======
+===== CHAPTER XXV =====
+//Count Gosamer thrown by Sphinx into the snow on the top of
+Teneriffe--Gog and Magog conduct Sphinx for the rest of the voyage
+--The Baron arrives at the Cape, and unites his former chariot,
+&c., to his new retinue--Passes into Africa, proceeding from the
+Cape northwards--Defeats a host of lions by a curious stratagem--
+Travels through an immense desert--His whole company, chariot,
+&c., overwhelmed by a whirlwind of sand--Extricates them, and
+arrives in a fertile country.//
+The brave Count Gosamer, with a pair of hell-fire spurs on, riding
+upon Sphinx, directed the whole retinue towards the Madeiras. But the
+Count had no small share of an amiable vanity, and perceiving great
+multitudes of people, Gascons, &c., assembled upon the French coast,
+he could not refrain from showing some singular capers, such as they
+had never seen before: but especially when he observed all the members
+of the National Assembly extend themselves along the shore, as a piece
+of French politeness, to honour this expedition, with Rousseau,
+Voltaire, and Beelzebub at their head; he set spurs to Sphinx, and at
+the same time cut and cracked away as hard as he could, holding in the
+reins with all his might, striving to make the creature plunge and
+show some uncommon diversion. But sulky and ill-tempered was Sphinx at
+the time: she plunged indeed--such a devil of a plunge, that she
+dashed him in one jerk over her head, and he fell precipitately into
+the water before her. It was in the Bay of Biscay, all the world knows
+a very boisterous sea, and Sphinx, fearing he would be drowned, never
+turned to the left or the right out of her way, but advancing furious,
+just stooped her head a little, and supped the poor count off the
+water, into her mouth, together with the quantity of two or three tuns
+of water, which she must have taken in along with him, but which were,
+to such an enormous creature as Sphinx, nothing more than a spoonful
+would be to any of you or me. She swallowed him, but when she had got
+him in her stomach, his long spurs so scratched and tickled her, that
+they produced the effect of an emetic. No sooner was he in, but out he
+was squirted with the most horrible impetuosity, like a ball or a
+shell from the calibre of a mortar. Sphinx was at this time quite sea-
+sick, and the unfortunate count was driven forth like a sky-rocket,
+and landed upon the peak of Teneriffe, plunged over head and ears in
+the snow--//requiescat in pace!//
+I perceived all this mischief from my seat in the ark, but was in such
+a convulsion of laughter that I could not utter an intelligible word.
+And now Sphinx, deprived of her postillion, went on in a zigzag
+direction, and gambolled away after a most dreadful manner. And thus
+had everything gone to wreck, had I not given instant orders to Gog
+and Magog to sally forth. They plunged into the water, and swimming on
+each side, got at length right before the animal, and then seized the
+reins. Thus they continued swimming on each side, like tritons,
+holding the muzzle of Sphinx, while I, sallying forth astride upon the
+creature's back, steered forward on our voyage to the Cape of Good
+Hope.
+Arriving at the Cape, I immediately gave orders to repair my former
+chariot and machines, which were very expeditiously performed by the
+excellent artists I had brought with me from Europe. And now
+everything being refitted, we launched forth upon the water: perhaps
+there never was anything seen more glorious or more august. 'Twas
+magnificent to behold Sphinx make her obeisance on the water, and the
+crickets chirp upon the bulls in return of the salute; while Gog and
+Magog, advancing, took the reins of the great John Mowmowsky, and
+leading towards us chariot and all, instantly disposed of them to the
+forepart of the ark by hooks and eyes, and tackled Sphinx before all
+the bulls. Thus the whole had a most tremendous and triumphal
+appearance. In front floated forwards the mighty Sphinx, with Gog and
+Magog on each side; next followed in order the bulls with crickets
+upon their heads; and then advanced the chariot of Queen Mab,
+containing the curious seat and orrery of heaven; after which appeared
+the boat and ark of council, overtopped with two balloons, which gave
+an air of greater lightness and elegance to the whole. I placed in the
+galleries under the balloons, and on the backs of the bulls, a number
+of excellent vocal performers, with martial music of clarionets and
+trumpets. They sung the "Watery Dangers," and the "Pomp of Deep
+Cerulean!" The sun shone glorious on the water while the procession
+advanced toward the land, under five hundred arches of ice,
+illuminated with coloured lights, and adorned in the most grotesque
+and fanciful style with sea-weed, elegant festoons, and shells of
+every kind; while a thousand water-spouts danced eternally before and
+after us, attracting the water from the sea in a kind of cone, and
+suddenly uniting with the most fantastical thunder and lightning.
+Having landed our whole retinue, we immediately began to proceed
+toward the heart of Africa, but first thought it expedient to place a
+number of wheels under the ark for its greater facility of advancing.
+We journeyed nearly due north for several days, and met with nothing
+remarkable except the astonishment of the savage natives to behold our
+equipage.
+The Dutch Government at the Cape, to do them justice, gave us every
+possible assistance for the expedition. I presume they had received
+instruction on that head from their High Mightinesses in Holland.
+However, they presented us with a specimen of some of the most
+excellent of their Cape wine, and showed us every politeness in their
+power. As to the face of the country, as we advanced, it appeared in
+many places capable of every cultivation, and of abundant fertility.
+The natives and Hottentots of this part of Africa have been frequently
+described by travellers, and therefore it is not necessary to say any
+more about them. But in the more interior parts of Africa the
+appearance, manners, and genius of the people are totally different.
+We directed our course by the compass and the stars, getting every day
+prodigious quantities of game in the woods, and at night encamping
+within a proper enclosure for fear of the wild beasts. One whole day
+in particular we heard on every side, among the hills, the horrible
+roaring of lions, resounding from rock to rock like broken thunder. It
+seemed as if there was a general rendezvous of all these savage
+animals to fall upon our party. That whole day we advanced with
+caution, our hunters scarcely venturing beyond pistol shot from the
+caravan for fear of dissolution. At night we encamped as usual, and
+threw up a circular entrenchment round our tents. We had scarce
+retired to repose when we found ourselves serenaded by at least one
+thousand lions, approaching equally on every side, and within a
+hundred paces. Our cattle showed the most horrible symptoms of fear,
+all trembling, and in cold perspiration. I directly ordered the whole
+company to stand to their arms, and not to make any noise by firing
+till I should command them. I then took a large quantity of tar, which
+I had brought with our caravan for that purpose, and strewed it in a
+continued stream round the encampment, within which circle of tar I
+immediately placed another train or circle of gunpowder, and having
+taken this precaution, I anxiously waited the lions' approach. These
+dreadful animals, knowing, I presume, the force of our troop, advanced
+very slowly, and with caution, approaching on every side of us with an
+equal pace, and growling in hideous concert, so as to resemble an
+earthquake, or some similar convulsion of the world. When they had at
+length advanced and steeped all their paws in the tar, they put their
+noses to it, smelling it as if it were blood, and daubed their great
+bushy hair and whiskers with it equal to their paws. At that very
+instant, when, in concert, they were to give the mortal dart upon us,
+I discharged a pistol at the train of gunpowder, which instantly
+exploded on every side, made all the lions recoil in general uproar,
+and take to flight with the utmost precipitation. In an instant we
+could behold them scattered through the woods at some distance,
+roaring in agony, and moving about like so many Will-o'-the-Wisps,
+their paws and faces all on fire from the tar and the gun-powder. I
+then ordered a general pursuit: we followed them on every side through
+the woods, their own light serving as our guide, until, before the
+rising of the sun, we followed into their fastnesses and shot or
+otherwise destroyed every one of them, and during the whole of our
+journey after we never heard the roaring of a lion, nor did any wild
+beast presume to make another attack upon our party, which shows the
+excellence of immediate presence of mind, and the terror inspired into
+the savage enemies by a proper and well-timed proceeding.
+We at length arrived on the confines of an immeasurable desert--an
+immense plain, extending on every side of us like an ocean. Not a
+tree, nor a shrub, nor a blade of grass was to be seen, but all
+appeared an extreme fine sand, mixed with gold-dust and little
+sparkling pearls.
+The gold-dust and pearls appeared to us of little value, because we
+could have no expectation of returning to England for a considerable
+time. We observed, at a great distance, something like a smoke arising
+just over the verge of the horizon, and looking with our telescopes we
+perceived it to be a whirlwind tearing up the sand and tossing it
+about in the heavens with frightful impetuosity. I immediately ordered
+my company to erect a mound around us of a great size, which we did
+with astonishing labour and perseverance, and then roofed it over with
+certain planks and timber, which we had with us for the purpose. Our
+labour was scarcely finished when the sand came rolling in like the
+waves of the sea; 'twas a storm and river of sand united. It continued
+to advance in the same direction, without intermission, for three
+days, and completely covered over the mound we had erected, and buried
+us all within. The intense heat of the place was intolerable; but
+guessing, by the cessation of the noise, that the storm was passed, we
+set about digging a passage to the light of day again, which we
+effected in a very short time, and ascending, perceived that the whole
+had been so completely covered with the sand, that there appeared no
+hills, but one continued plain, with inequalities or ridges on it like
+the waves of the sea. We soon extricated our vehicle and retinue from
+the burning sands, but not without great danger, as the heat was very
+violent, and began to proceed on our voyage. Storms of sand of a
+similar nature several times attacked us, but by using the same
+precautions we preserved ourselves repeatedly from destruction. Having
+travelled more than nine thousand miles over this inhospitable plain,
+exposed to the perpendicular rays of a burning sun, without ever
+meeting a rivulet, or a shower from heaven to refresh us, we at length
+became almost desperate, when, to our inexpressible joy, we beheld
+some mountains at a great distance, and on our nearer approach
+observed them covered with a carpet of verdure and groves and woods.
+Nothing could appear more romantic or beautiful than the rocks and
+precipices intermingled with flowers and shrubs of every kind, and
+palm-trees of such a prodigious size as to surpass anything ever seen
+in Europe. Fruits of all kinds appeared growing wild in the utmost
+abundance, and antelopes and sheep and buffaloes wandered about the
+groves and valleys in profusion. The trees resounded with the melody
+of birds, and everything displayed a general scene of rural happiness
+and joy.
+----
+Go to [[CHAPTER XXVI]]