THE 
 SURPRISING 
 
 ADVEN FURES 
 
 Miraculous Escapes, 
 
 AND 
 
 WON DESIFUL TRAVELS, 
 
 OF THE REXOWNFD 
 
 £ ntcr ci according to Order. 
 
THE r* 
 SURPRISING ADVENTURES 
 Of the Renowned 
 
 BARON MUNCHAUSEN. 
 
 A BOUT the beginning of bis present Majesty's 
 reign, I had some business with a distant relation, 
 who then lived on the Isle of Thanet ; it was a 
 family dispute, and not likely to be finished soon.— 
 I made it a prctlice > during my residence there, 
 the weather being fine, to walk out every morning, 
 After a few of these excursions^ I observed an object 
 on a great eminence, about three miles distant; 
 I extended my walk to it, and found the ruins cf 
 an ancient temple ; on the eastern end were the 
 remains of a lofty tower, nssr 40 fiet high, over- 
 grown with ivy, the ^apparently flit : I surveyed 
 it on every side very minutely, thinking tbu if i 
 could gain its summit, I should enjoy the most de« 
 
 Irghtful prospsel of the circumjacent country. 
 
 Animated by this hepe, 1 resolved, if possible, to 
 gain the summit; which I at length effefted by 
 raeans of the ivy, tho' not without great difficulty 
 and danger. Tte top I found covered with this 
 evergreen, «xcept a lajga chasm in the middle.- 
 Curiosity prorapied me to sound the opening, m 
 order to ascertain m depth, as I entertained a 5 u- 
 
I ( 3 y • * 
 
 I rpicion that it might probably commnnicate with 
 ., some unexplored subterranean cavern in (be hili t 
 I but havin g >»»» 1 was at a loss how to proceed. 
 | After revolvmg the matter it, my thoughts for some 
 | t>ne, i rescind to drop a :tone down, and Ihttn 
 to the echo; which I lad no sooner done, than I 
 heard a rualing below, and suddenly a monstrous 
 eagle put up its head right opposite my face; and 
 rssmg op with irresistible force, ca;rhd mc .way, 
 seated on ,t t shoulders,--! instantly gra pd it round 
 
 I the . neck '. whlch I^ge enough to fiU my arms- 
 -and its wings, when extended, were ten yards from 
 one extremity to the otb*r.-As it arose with a 
 ngular ascent, my seat was p £r fc ftV easy, and I 
 enjoyed the. prospect below Mih inexpressible plea- 
 sure.-h hovered over Margate for sometime 
 then directed it course to Dover-cliff, wjiere" it a 
 
 Ptewnud by a sudden discharge ot mufketry (um 
 ' P,rty0fra ,rin£s that we re exercising on the beach. 
 It muautly re-asended, and flew over over the s-a 
 towards Calais'; bo. so very high, that the Channel 
 o be no broader than the Th. mes at London. bri.!, c 
 In a garter of an hour 1 found mysetf over a .hf* 
 woou n , where ,„. eagle d«Sn^ t y 
 
 ""PQ.y. which caused me to sljp down to the harfc 
 -f its head ; but ahghtinp on a W i 
 
 J" 1 " 8 StS hCad 1 covered my seat a /b £e but 
 «w no p^sihidty of disengaging my . e f ti '1 
 * e < la '^ of being killed by ,he Rh c rT 
 
 f £d 10 * ^/-After^J^- 
 J - ^ing ; nd ir cecded -I^ hree : £ ; -; 
 e rock ot Gioralter very di*Unaii> —it V 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 the earth's surface, appeared just like 2 map, where 
 land, sea, lakes, rivers, mountains, and the like, 
 were perfectly distinguishable; and having tf&ie 
 knowledge of geogeaphy., I at no loss to der^r. 
 mine what pari of the gtob.C I was m —My e$gje, 
 however, proceeded and looking before me yuth 
 inexpressible pleasure, 1 observed that he was gre- 
 taring to aiiVht- arid descended on the top of a my 
 high mountain.— At this time the moon, far Gfctant 
 In the west, and ob cared by dark clouds, bill p&t 
 r,flbrded light s&Ecient to discover a kind of shrub- 
 bery ail around — The f^gl.e began to stagger 
 igalnst the shrubs ; I endeavoured to £eep my sear, 
 but was tocn t rown to some distance among tlio 
 bushes. — In attempting to rise, I put my hand en 
 a large hedge. hog, which happened to lie amor-; 
 the grass upon us b*ck ; it instantly dosed rotin! 
 my hand, so that I found it impossible to shake it oil, 
 I struck it several times agaimt the ground Without 
 efflcl; bat while I was thu^s employed, I heart! a 
 rustling among ti)| shrubbery, and locking up, 
 I GAw aharc anispa) within three yards of me M 
 could make no defence, but held out both my IwA 
 when it ru,hed on me, and seized that on wh4 
 the hedge hog was fixed. — My h$hd being soon 
 ie .;>tvecr i ran to some distance, where I saw the 
 creature suddenly drop down and rxpire,.^ & 
 hi^hbg kriis iluoai ! —A, soon as day appears 
 ihera^e'fied fefif, and I travelled to the town 1* 
 Vexing for Rome. - I a a veiled post, and finding 
 myself hi a narrow Sane, hade the posthhon give a 
 signal with his horn, that other travellers might oflj 
 meet us in the narrow p^nge.-Ihe blew w;tn a 
 his m^ht;butMs eo^purs v. eiem v,m; he c - - 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 not make the horn sound, which was unaccountable 
 51 mi rather unfortunate ; tor scon after we Uiund 
 aiyi flier coach coming the other way : there was 
 110 proceeding ; however, I got out of rny carriage, 
 30^ being pretty strong, placed it, wheels anc} 
 on my head ; i then juptprd over a hedge about 
 uir.e feet l.i^b (which, considering the weight of 
 the coach, Was rather difficult) into a field; fend 
 came put air-am by another ivirop into the road be- 
 yoncj the on or can iage, — 1 then went back for the 
 hor-.es. a#d placing one on my head, and the other 
 under my left arm, by the sarn£ means brought 
 them to n)v coach,, and proceeded to an, inn at the 
 end of cur stage, — After we arrived at the inn, 
 rny posthhen and I refreshed ourselves: he hung 
 his horn on a. pe^ near the kitchen lie, and I sar 
 on the other side. — Suddenly we he-id a Tereng ! 
 tereng! tcng ! teng ! We looked round, and now 
 found the icasori the postillion had*aot been ah:e 
 to sound his horn ; his tones were fri zen up in it, 
 and came out now by inawihg, plain enough, and 
 much to tl\e credit of the drtvtr, so tint the honest 
 fellow entertained us, for some time witii a s*uas;We 
 Variety cf tunes, without putting his mouth to the 
 h o r rL to our g r e 2 1 at : on u h m £ n t ! 
 
 Having a: length arrived at Rome, after Pay- 
 ipg a tot wile ti:;;e v i set tit horn -Rome on 
 a j ■••mm y tu Hussta, m the midu of w,nt~r, on horseV 
 ..hack, as the most convenient maimer of ira.yeiikig< 
 1 was hut lightly coined, and of this 1 felt the 
 inconvenience, the mo;e I advanced north e£st 
 C hanty, however, induced me to throw my numV 
 ever sn old man, lying % most * naked, <n a.blcik 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 common in Poland.— At length night and darkness 
 cvcnook me; no *iU*ge wa* to be seen : end die 
 country was covered wnh ^ —Tim, I l i ghted, 
 and fastened my horse to soman ng life? a pointed 
 Stuap of a tree, which appeared abuve the snow; 
 and Uydoyn on the snow, where I slept so soundly, 
 that 1 did not open my < yes till full day. light.— 
 Coeceive my astonishment, to find myself in the 
 midst of a village, lying in a church yard. — My 
 horse was not to be seen; but I heard him soon 
 after neigh somewhere above me. — On looking 
 upwards, I beheld him hanging, by his bridle, to 
 the weather cock of the steeple. — Matters were 
 now very plain : the village had been covered with 
 snow ever night; a sudden thaw had taken place • 
 1 had si^k down gently to the church yard as the 
 snow had melted away ; and what in the dark I had 
 taken to oe a stump of a tree, appearing above 
 % snow, proved to have been the weather- cock 
 of the steeple! 1 tod: one of my pistols, shot the 
 bridie in two, brought down the horse, and pro- 
 ceeded on my journey, 
 
 I was at Count PrZobosky's noble country. feat, 
 in Lithuania; "and b,ing at tea, 1 remained with 
 the ladies in the dra win^rocm, while the rentie- 
 men were down m the yard, to see a young horse 
 <>fb!uod, whkh was just arrived from'the stud,— 
 We heard a noise ! j hastened down stairs, and 
 thc l!0fse so unruly, that nobody durst ap- 
 proach or mount him — At osje leap, I was on his 
 hac£, took him by surprise, and worked him quite 
 »nto gentleness and obedience. To shew my horse- 
 ^anship to the kdies, I forced him to leao in at 
 
one cf the windows of uie drawing-room ; walked 
 round several times, pace, trot, and gallop ; and, 
 at last, made him mpur/£ the tea-table, there to 
 repeat his lessons in a style which was exceedingly 
 pleasing to ths ladies; for he performed them amaz. 
 inply well; and did not brenk a single cup or saucer! 
 The noble Lord, with his usual politeness, begged 
 \1 would accept of this young* horse, and ride him 
 to conquest and honor, in the campaign sgahist 
 tthe Furies, which wjs soon to be open - i, under 
 the command of Count Munich. 
 
 Some years before my beard announced ap- 
 proaching manhood; i expressed a strong desire or* 
 being the world, from which I was discouraged 
 by my parents — A cousin^ by my mother's side, 
 took a Iking to me, And was much inclined to gra- 
 tify my curiosity. — His elcqjfcnce had more efllft 
 than mine, for my father consented to my accom- 
 panying him in a voyage to the Island cf Ceylon, 
 and we sailed from Amsterdam —The. only circum- 
 Stance which happened on cur voy 3 ge^vorth notice, 
 was the wonderful effcclsof a storm, which had tern 
 up by the roots a great number of trees of- enorm- 
 ous bulk, that had been carried by the w ind so high, 
 that they appeared like the feathers of small birds 
 ■bating in the air ; for they were at least five mjles, 
 above the earth ! Howevex, as soon as the srerm 
 sir <. d-d they ail foil perpendicular into their re- 
 jfpecTive places, and tovk roc-: again, except th* 
 large it which happened when it was blown into 
 the i.ir, to hive a man and his wife on' its branches, 
 gathering cucumbers, which here grovV on trees! 
 The weight of^this couple, as the tree dcsccudciS, 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 overbalanced the crunk, and brought if down in 
 a horizontal position : It fell upon the chief man of 
 the Island, and felled hfrfi on the spot, to i&C 
 joy of die m&abkints! 
 
 ' On my return to England, I had pfiswfipja to 
 go down to Wapping to ice fomfe fliipj^l 
 for Hamburgh i after that, I cook the towtr Vv fcatt 
 iB my way buck. I was fo much ratified, that 
 I ftepped into one of the cannon to com£af<i me, 
 where I fell feft dleep. This was jrbcut noon: 
 it was the fourth ol jane: at one o f citxM, the 
 cannon were difcliatged in memory of the My ; anu 
 I w*s fhet over the houfes, on the oppo%! fide oi 
 thl river, into a farmer's pyd> where 1 fell upor 
 a large hay.fhck, without waking, and c£ritjnue< 
 there, in a found ib>p, till hay became fc tfk$r*va 
 enndy dear, (which was about three months after, 
 That (he farnitr found it his interoll to fend i ; 
 wkole flock lo rm.iket; The fkvk I was fjpbGtij 
 ■ upon, was the largdt in the yard, c^taimRg ah< v 
 ^OG load; i hey began to cut that firft, I wakei 
 with the voices of the people, who h:.d r.:ccr.d:t 
 the ladders to begin at the top. and pot up, tdfall] 
 ignorant of my fr.ua cion: In attempting r C ru? 
 a*way, I :eli rn the fanner to vshom the hay he 
 longed, and broke hi: neck, y n received no in 
 jury mytcIH 
 
 v Thus, have I related the moPt ^nfcrefting pa; 
 of my adventures. 
 
 F I N I S* ■