thickness of an ordinary cane, to be brought me; whereupon his Majesty 
commanded the Master of his Woods to give Directions accordingly; and 
the next Morning six Wood-men arrived with as many Carriages, drawn by 
eight Horses to each. I took nine of these Sticks, and fixing them firmly in 
the Ground in a Quadrangular Figure, two Foot and a half Square, I took 
four other Sticks, and tied them parallel at each Corner, about two feet 
from the Ground; then I fastened my Handkerchief to the nine Sticks that 
stood erect, and extended it on all Sides till it was as tight as the top of a 
Drum; and the four parallel Sticks rising about five Inches higher than the 
Handkerchief served as Ledges on each side. When I had finished my 
Work, I desired the Emperor to let a Troop of his best Horse, twenty four 
in number, come and exercise upon this Plain. His Majesty approved of the 
Proposal, and I took them up one by one in my Hands, ready mounted and 
armed, with the proper Officers to exercise them. As soon as they got into 
order, they divided into two Parties, performed mock Skirmishes, 
discharged blunt Arrows, drew their Swords, fled and pursued, attacked 
and retired, and in short discovered the best Military Discipline I ever 
beheld. The parallel Sticks secured them and their Horses from falling over 
the Stage; and the Emperor was so much delighted, that he ordered this 
Entertainment to be repeated several days, and once was pleased to be lifted 
up and give the Word of Command; and, with great difficulty, persuaded 
even the Empress herself to let me hold her in her close Chair within two 
Yards of the Stage, from whence she was able to take a full View of the 
whole Performance. It was my good fortune that no ill Accident happened 
in these Entertainments, only once a fiery Horse that belonged to one of the 
Captains pawing with his Hoof struck a Hole in my Handkerchief, and his 
Foot slipping, he overthrew his Rider and himself; but I immediately 
relieved them both, and covering the Hole with one Hand, I set down the 
Troop with the other, in the same manner as I took them up. The Horse 
that fell was strained in the left Shoulder, but the Rider got no hurt, and I 
repaired my Handkerchief as well as I could: however I would not trust to 
the Strength of it any more in such dangerous Enterprizes.

About two or three days before I was set at liberty, as I was entertaining 
the Court with these kind of Feats, there arrived an express to inform his 
Majesty that some of his Subjects riding near the Place where I was first 
taken up, had seen a great black Substance lying on the Ground, very oddly 
shaped, extending its Edges round as wide as his Majesty's Bedchamber, 
and rising up in the middle as high as a Man; that it was no living Creature, 
as they at first apprehended, for it lay on the Grass without Motion, and 
some of them had walked round it several tunes: That by mounting upon 
each other's Shoulders, they had got to the top, which was flat and even, 
and stamping upon it they found it was hollow within; that they humbly 
conceived it might be something belonging to the Man-Mountain, and if his 
Majesty pleased, they would undertake to bring it with only five Horses. I 
presently knew what they meant, and was glad at heart to receive this 
Intelligence. It seems upon my first reaching the Shore after our 
Shipwreck, I was in such confusion, that before I came to the Place where I 
went to sleep, my Hat, which I had fastned with a String to my Head while 
I was rowing, and had stuck on all the time I was swimming, fell off after I 
came to Land; the String, as I conjecture, breaking by some Accident 
which I never observed, but thought my Hat had been lost at Sea. I 
entreated his Imperial Majesty to give Orders it might be brought to me as 
soon as possible, describing to him the Use and the Nature of it: And the 
next Day the Waggoners arrived with it, but not in a very good condition; 
they had bored two Holes in the Brim, within an Inch and a half of the 
Edge, and fastened two Hooks in the Holes; these Hooks were tyed by a 
long Cord to the Harness, and thus my Hat was dragged along for above 
half an English Mile: but the Ground in that Country being extremely 
smooth and level, it receiv'd less Damage than I expected.

Two Days after this Adventure, the Emperor having ordered that part of 
his Army which quarters in and about his Metropolis to be in a readiness, 
took a fancy of diverting himself in a very singular manner. He desired I 
would stand like a Colossus, with my Legs as far asunder as I conveniently 
could. He then commanded his General (who was an old experienced 
Leader, and a great Patron of mine) to draw up the Troops in close Order, 
and march them under me, the Foot by Twenty-four in a Breast, and the 
Horse by Sixteen, with Drums beating, Colours flying, and Pikes advanced. 
This Body consisted of three thousand Foot, and a thousand Horse. His 
Majesty gave Orders, upon pain of Death, that every Soldier in his March 
should observe the strictest Decency with regard to my Person; which, 
however, could not prevent some of the younger Officers from turning up 
their Eyes as they passed under me. And, to confess the Truth, my 
Breeches were at that time in so ill a Condition, that they afforded some 
Opportunities for Laughter and Admiration.

I had sent so many Memorials and Petitions for my Liberty, that his 
Majesty at length mentioned the Matter, first in the Cabinet, and then in a 
full Council ; where it was opposed by none, except Skyresh Bolgolam, 
who was pleased, without any Provocation, to be my mortal Enemy. But it 
was carried against him by the whole Board, and confirmed by the 
Emperor. That Minister was Galbet, or Admiral of the Realm, very much 
in his Master's confidence, and a Person well versed in Affairs, but of a 
morose and sour Complection. However, he was at length persuaded to 
comply; but prevailed that the Articles and Conditions upon which I should 
be set free, and to which I must swear, should be drawn up by himself. 
These Articles were brought to me by Skyresh Bolgolam in Person, 
attended by two Under-Secretarys, and several Persons of Distinction. 
After they were read, I was demanded to swear to the Performance of 
them; first in the manner of my own Country, and afterwards in the 
method prescribed by their Laws; which was to hold my right Foot in my 
left Hand, to place the middle Finger of my right Hand on the Crown of 
my Head, and my Thumb on the Tip of my right Ear. But because the 
Reader may perhaps be curious to have some Idea of the Style and Manner 
of Expression peculiar to that People, as well as to know the Articles upon 
which I recovered my Liberty, I have made a Translation of the whole 
Instrument word for word, as near as I was able, which I here offer to the 
Publick.