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Article A FRENCH NOVELIST OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. ← Page 8 of 12 →
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A French Novelist Of The Seventeenth Century.
bruised had not the capacious folds of his dress , inflated by the wind , sustained him until he gently reached the ground . " So extraordinary a proof of prescience as this requires no comment . It is truly a literary curiosity . After parting with his new and garrulous friend , Bergerac resumed his wanderings ; and in the midst of a great plain was
suddenly surrounded by a herd of enormous animals utterly unknown to him , and which he was anxious to inspect . This opportunity was , however , not afforded , as without the delay of an instant one of them seized him by the neck , ancl flinging him upon his back , set off at speed towards a city in the distance . This new world , as he soon discovered , was
inhabited by gigantic beings twelve cubits high , who walked on all fours , ancl lived for three or four thousand years ; while then * agility was so great that the stoutest among them could
outrun a stag . All verbal communication Avith his captors was rendered impossible to the poor philosopher from the fact that they were ignorant of any spoken language ; the higher classes expressing themselves by a series of inarticulate sounds somewhat similar to our music , ancl when weary of this exertion continuing their conversation through the medium of a lute or
some other instrument , by means of which they imparted their thoughts and wishes , —an alternative which resolved all their political discussions into the most delicious concerts ; while the lower orders , not being possessed of the taste ancl refinement essential to so harmonious an arrangement , expressed themselves by a fluttering movement of the limbs ; the itation of
ag an eye , an ear , a finger , or a hand signified a whole phrase ; a frown , or the contraction of a muscle , denoted certain words ; and the consequence of this system in the case of the greatest talkers was to make them appear like men suffering under an universal convulsion .
The Lunarians , on examining the luckless aeronaut , at once decided that the little creature before them was of precisely the same description as one already possessed by their queen ; ancl they accordingly sent off an express to the court to announce his capture ; transferring the indignant philosopher , while awaiting a reply from their sovereign , to the
guardianship of a famous juggler , by whom he was taught to play the merry-andreAV , to perform somersets in the air , and to make grimaces ; ancl thus Bergerac , to his intense disgust , found himself compelled to half-dislocate his courtly limbs , and to distort his handsome features , for the amusement of a throng of ill-nurtured giants . Fortunately for our adventurer , he was , after some time ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A French Novelist Of The Seventeenth Century.
bruised had not the capacious folds of his dress , inflated by the wind , sustained him until he gently reached the ground . " So extraordinary a proof of prescience as this requires no comment . It is truly a literary curiosity . After parting with his new and garrulous friend , Bergerac resumed his wanderings ; and in the midst of a great plain was
suddenly surrounded by a herd of enormous animals utterly unknown to him , and which he was anxious to inspect . This opportunity was , however , not afforded , as without the delay of an instant one of them seized him by the neck , ancl flinging him upon his back , set off at speed towards a city in the distance . This new world , as he soon discovered , was
inhabited by gigantic beings twelve cubits high , who walked on all fours , ancl lived for three or four thousand years ; while then * agility was so great that the stoutest among them could
outrun a stag . All verbal communication Avith his captors was rendered impossible to the poor philosopher from the fact that they were ignorant of any spoken language ; the higher classes expressing themselves by a series of inarticulate sounds somewhat similar to our music , ancl when weary of this exertion continuing their conversation through the medium of a lute or
some other instrument , by means of which they imparted their thoughts and wishes , —an alternative which resolved all their political discussions into the most delicious concerts ; while the lower orders , not being possessed of the taste ancl refinement essential to so harmonious an arrangement , expressed themselves by a fluttering movement of the limbs ; the itation of
ag an eye , an ear , a finger , or a hand signified a whole phrase ; a frown , or the contraction of a muscle , denoted certain words ; and the consequence of this system in the case of the greatest talkers was to make them appear like men suffering under an universal convulsion .
The Lunarians , on examining the luckless aeronaut , at once decided that the little creature before them was of precisely the same description as one already possessed by their queen ; ancl they accordingly sent off an express to the court to announce his capture ; transferring the indignant philosopher , while awaiting a reply from their sovereign , to the
guardianship of a famous juggler , by whom he was taught to play the merry-andreAV , to perform somersets in the air , and to make grimaces ; ancl thus Bergerac , to his intense disgust , found himself compelled to half-dislocate his courtly limbs , and to distort his handsome features , for the amusement of a throng of ill-nurtured giants . Fortunately for our adventurer , he was , after some time ,