CARDAN ON THE ENGLISH PEOPLE. 145 



And you penetrated, says the questioner, as far as 

 Scotland. u I did, and it was a great pleasure to me to 

 see so many provinces ; this is at any rate one pleasure 

 open to the living." But the questioner then urges the 

 discomforts that he must have endured; for example, 

 those resulting from his ignorance of the language. 

 " Truly so," replies Cardan. " And I wondered much, 

 especially when I was in England, and rode about on 

 horseback in the neighbourhood of London, for I seemed 

 to be in Italy. When I looked among those groups of 

 English sitting together, I completely thought myself to 

 be among Italians: they were like, as I said, in figure, 

 manners, dress, gesture, colour, but when they opened 

 their mouths I could not understand so much as a word, 

 and wondered at them as if they were my countrymen 

 gone mad and raving. For they inflect the tongue upon 

 the palate, twist words in the mouth, and maintain a sort 

 of gnashing with the teeth. But then what pleasure 

 could be taken there by one whose thoughts were with 

 his children? I was so racked by the thoughts of those 

 whom I had left at home, that for that cause only I was 

 ready at once to seek and beg for leave to go on with my 

 journey." 



The stay in London was not, therefore, very long ; but 

 an offer was there made to Cardan by which, if he had 

 accepted it, his departure might have been still more 



VOL. II. L 



