20 
LABRADOR, 
together with whatever elfewas neceffary; and the women, 
now having ieilure to work, and being excellent tailors, 
foon clothed them all anew ; preferving their own falhion 
in the cut of their garments. 
“ I once took the men to the opera when their majefties 
were there j and we chanced to fit near Mr. Colman, the 
manager of Covent Garden Theatre, who politely invited 
all the Indians and myfelf to a play at his houfe. He fix¬ 
ed on Cymbeline, and they were greatly delighted with 
the reprefentation. But their pride was moft highly gra¬ 
tified, at being received with a thundering applaufe by 
the audience, on entering the box. The men foon ob¬ 
ferved to their wives, that they were placed in the king’s 
box, and received in the fame manner as their majefties 
were at the opera ; which added confiderably to the plea- 
fure which they felt from the tout enfemble. Never did I 
obferve lb young a child pay Inch unremitting attention 
to the whole reprefentation, as little ickeuna ; no fooner 
did the fwords begin to clafh, in the fighting-feene be¬ 
tween PofthumuS and Iachimo, but fhe fet up a molt feel¬ 
ing feream. 
“ About a fortnight after our arrival in town, having 
provided great-coats, boots, and hats, for the men, in or¬ 
der that they might pafs through the ftreets unobferved, 
I took Attuiock with me, and walked beyond the Tow'er. 
We there took boat, rowed up the river, and landed at 
Weltminfter Bridge; from whence we walked to Hyde- 
Park Corner, and then home again. I w\as in great ex¬ 
pedition, that he would begin to relate the wonders 
which he had feen, the inftant he entered the room ; but 
I found myfelf greatly difappointed. He immediately 
fat down by the fire-fide, placed both his hands on his 
knees, leaned his head forward, fixed his eyes on the 
ground in a ftupid ftare ; and continued in that pofture 
for a confiderable time. At length, tolling up his head, 
and fixing his eyes on the ceiling, he broke out in the 
following foliloquy : Ok ! I am tired ; here are too many houfes ; 
too viuchfmoke ; too many people ; Labrador is very goodjfeals 
are plentiful there ; 1 wijh I was bach again. By which I 
could plainly perceive, that the multiplicity and variety 
of objeds had confounded his ideas ; which were too much 
confined to comprehend, at firft, any thing but the incon¬ 
veniences that he had met with. And, indeed, the longer 
they continued in England, the more was I convinced of 
the truth of that opinion ; for their admiration increased 
in proportion as their ideas expanded ; till at length they 
began more clearly to comprehend the ufe, beauty, and 
mechanifm, of what they faw. 
“Although they had often palfed St. Paul’s without be¬ 
traying any great aftonifhment, or at leak not fo much as 
all Europeans do at the find fight of one of thofe ftupen- 
dous illands of ic-e which are daily to be feen near the eaft 
coaft of their own country, yet, when I took them to the 
top of it and convinced them that it was built by the 
hands of men, (a circumftance which had not entered 
their heads before, for they had fuppofed it a natural pro- 
dudion,) they were quite loft in amazement. The peo¬ 
ple below, they compared to mice ; and infilled that it 
anuft be at leaft as high as Cape Charles, which is a moun¬ 
tain of confiderable altitude. Upon my alking them how 
they fhoukl deferibe it to their countrymen on their return, 
they replied, with a look of the utmoft expreftion, that 
they flrndd neither mention it, nor many other things which they 
had feen, left they faould be called liars, from the feeming irnpof- 
fibility of fuck ajlonijhing fabls. 
“ Walking along Piccadilly one day with the two men, 
I took them into a fticp to Ihow them a coiledion of ani¬ 
mals. We had no fooner entered than I obferved their 
attention riveted on a fmall monkey ; and I could perceive 
horror inoft ftrongly depicted in their countenances. At 
length the old man turned to me, and faltered out, “ Is 
that an Efquimau?” I rnuft.confefs, that both the co¬ 
lour and contour of the countenance had confiderable re¬ 
semblance to the people of their nation ; but how they 
could conceive it poffible for an Efquimau to be reduced 
to that diminutive fize, I am wholly at a lots to account 
for; unlefs they had fixed their attention on the counte¬ 
nance only, and had not adverted to any other particulars. 
On pointing out feveral other monkeys of different kinds, 
they were greatly diverted at the miftake which they had 
made ; but were not well pleafed to obferve, that mon¬ 
keys refembled their race much morn than ours. The 
parrots, and other talkative birds, next attracted their no¬ 
tice. And it was a great treat to me,' both then and at 
all other times, to obferve their different emotions, much 
more forcibly expreffedin their countenances than is pof- 
fible to he done by thofe whofe feelings are not equally 
genuine. Civilized nations imperceptibly contract an ar¬ 
tificial expreffion of countenance, to help out their lan¬ 
guid feelings ; for knowledge, by a communication with 
the world and books, enlightens our ideas fo much, that 
they are not fo liable to be taken by furprife as the unin¬ 
formed mind of the favage, who never had the leaft hint 
given him that certain things are in exiftence; confe- 
quently, they break upon them as unexpectedly, and for¬ 
cibly, as the fun w'ould do upon a man who was born deaf 
and blind, in cafe he Ihould fuddenly be brought to fight 
on a clear day. 
“ Being on a dining-vifit with that excellent furgeon 
and anatomift, the ingenious John Hunter; in the after¬ 
noon Attuiock walked out of the room by himfelf, but 
prefently returned with fuch evident marks of terror, that 
we were all greatly alarmed, fearing fome accident had 
happened to 1 him, or that he had met with an infult from 
one of the fervants. Pie feized hold of my hand, and ea¬ 
gerly preffed me to go along with him. I a iked the caufe 
of his emotion, but could get nothing more from him 
than ‘Come along, come along with me and he haftily 
led me into a room in the yard, in which ftood a glafs 
cafe containing many human bones. ‘Look there,’ lays 
he, with more horror and confternation in his counte¬ 
nance, than lever beheld in that of man before ; ‘are thofe 
the bones of Efquimaux whom Mr. Hunter has killed and 
eaten? Are we to be killed? Will he eat us, and put 
our bones there ?’ As the whole company followed us, 
the other Indians had alio taken the alarm before the old 
prieft had finilhed his interrogatories; nor did any of them 
feem more at eafe, by the reft of us breaking out into a Bid¬ 
den and hearty laugh, till I explained to them that thofe 
were the bones of our own people, who had been executed 
for certain crimes committed by them, and were preferred 
there, that Mr. Hunter might better know how to fet thofe 
of the living, in cafe any of them Ihould chance to be 
broken ; which often happened in fo populous a country. 
They were then perfectly fatisfied, and approved of the 
practice ; but Attuiock’s nerves had received too great a 
fnock to enable him to refume his ufual tranquillity, till 
he found himfelf fafe in my houfe again. 
“ Palling through Hyde Park in our way to Holland 
Houfe, and obferving his majelty looking at the regiment 
of Old Buffs, which were then going to Plymouth, we 
got out of the coach and went up to the front; where I 
explained to them the ufe of that body of men, and of 
the evolutions which they were performing. After his 
majefty had viewed the regiment colleClively, the recruits 
were drawn out at a few paces diftant from the left flank, 
thathe.might examine them feparately. So great a crowd 
had gathered round us, as incommoded our view of the 
troops, and attrafted the notice of the king, who then 
lent general Harvey to order me, with the Indians, into 
the vacant lpace between the regiment and the recruits. 
Here his majefty rode llowly pad them, and condefcended 
to falute them by taking off his hat, accompanied with a 
gracious fmile ; honours which they were highly pleafed 
with, and often mentioned afterwards with great exul¬ 
tation. Nor were they in the leaft difpleafed that his ma¬ 
jefty did not fpeak to them; lince I had previoully told 
them not to expeft it; and they obferved that he lpoke to 
none but the commanding officer, and one or two of thofe 
who were in attendance,’ 
3 
i{ The 
