The Blazing World

A merchant travelling into a foreign country, fell extremely in love with a young lady; but being a stranger in that nation, and beneath her, both in birth and wealth, he could have but little hopes of obtaining his desire; however his love growing more and more vehement upon him, even to the slighting of all difficulties, he resolved at last to steal her away; which he had the better opportunity to do, because her father’s house was not far from the sea, and she often using to gather shells upon the shore, accompanied not with above two to three of her servants, it encouraged him the more to execute his design. Thus coming one time with a little light vessel, not unlike a packet-boat, manned with some few seamen, and well victualled, for fear of some accidents, which might perhaps retard their journey, to the place where she used to repair; he forced her away: But when he fancied himself the happiest man of the world, he proved to be the most unfortunate; for Heaven frowning at his theft, raised such a tempest, as they knew not what to do, or whither to steer their course; so that the vessel, both by its own lightness, and the violent motion of the wind, was carried as swift as an arrow out of a bow, towards the North-pole, and in a short time reached the Icy Sea, where the wind forced it amongst huge pieces of ice; but being little, and light, it did by the assistance and favour of the gods to this virtuous lady, so turn and wind through those precipices, as if it had been guided by some experienced pilot, and skilful mariner: But alas! Those few men which were in it, not knowing whither they went, nor what was to be done in so strange an adventure, and not being provided for so cold a voyage, were all frozen to death; the young lady only, by the light of

But to return to the wandering boat, and the distressed lady; she seeing all the men dead, found small comfort in life; their bodies which were preserved all that while from putrefaction and stench, by the extremity of cold, began now to thaw, and corrupt; whereupon she having not strength enough to fling them overboard, was forced to remove out of her small cabin, upon the deck, to avoid that nauseous smell; and finding the boat swim between two plains of ice, as a stream that runs betwixt two shores, at last perceived land, but covered all with snow: from which came, walking upon the ice, strange creatures, in shape like bears, only they went upright as men; those creatures coming near the boat, catched hold of it with their paws, that served them instead of hands; some two or three of them entered first; and when they came out, the rest went in one after another; at last having viewed and observed all that was in the boat, they spake to each other in a language which the lady did not understand; and having carried her out of the boat, sunk it, together with the dead men.

No sooner was the lady brought before the Emperor, but he conceived her to be some goddess, and offered to worship her; which she refused, telling him, (for by that time she had pretty well learned their language) that although she came out of another world, yet was she but a mortal. At which the Emperor rejoicing, made her his wife, and gave her an absolute power to rule and govern all that world as she pleased. But her subjects, who could hardly be persuaded to believe her mortal, tendered her all the veneration and worship due to a deity.

Her accoutrement after she was made Empress, was as followeth: On her head she wore a cap of pearl, and a half-moon of diamonds just before it; on the top of her crown came spreading over a broad carbuncle, cut in the form of the sun; her coat was of pearl, mixed with blue diamonds, and fringed with red ones; her buskins and sandals were of green diamonds; In her left hand she held a buckler, to signify the defence of her dominions; which buckler was made of that sort of diamond as has several different colours; and being cut and made in the form of an arch, showed like a rainbow; In her right hand she carried a spear made of white diamond, cut like the tail of a blazing-star, which signified that she was ready to assault those that proved her enemies.

Lastly, the Empress asked the Bird-men of the nature of thunder and lightning? and whether it was not caused by roves of ice falling upon each other? To which they answered, that it was not made that way, but by an encounter of cold and heat; so that an exhalation being kindled in the clouds, did dash forth lightning, and that there were so many rentings of clouds as there were sounds and cracking noises: But this opinion was contradicted by others, who affirmed that thunder was a sudden and monstrous blaze, stirred up in the air, and did not always require a cloud; but the Empress not knowing what they meant by blaze (for even they themselves were not able to explain the sense of this word) liked the former better; and, to avoid hereafter tedious disputes, and have the truth of the phenomenas of celestial bodies more exactly known, commanded the Bear-men, which were her experimental philosophers, to observe them through such instruments as are called telescopes, which they did according to her Majesty’s command; but these telescopes caused more differences and divisions amongst them, than ever they had before; for some said, they perceived that the sun stood still, and the earth did move about it; others were of opinion, that they both did move; and others said again, that the earth stood still, and sun did move: some counted more stars than others; some discovered new stars never seen before; some fell into a great dispute with others concerning the bigness of the stars; some said, the moon was another world like their terrestrial globe, and the spots therein were hills and valleys; but others would have the spots to be the terrestrial parts, and the smooth and glossy parts, the sea: At last, the Empress commanded them to go with their telescopes to the very end of the pole that was joined to the world she came from, and try whether they could perceive any stars in it: which they did; and, being returned to her Majesty,

One time, when the Duchess her soul was with the Empress, she seemed to be very sad and melancholy; at which the Empress was very much troubled, and asked her the reason of her melancholic humour? Truly, said the Duchess to the Empress, (for between dear friends there’s no concealment, they being like several parts of one united body) my melancholy proceeds from an extreme ambition. The Empress asked, what the height of her ambition was? The Duchess answered, that neither she herself, nor no creature in the world was able to know either the height, depth, or breadth of her ambition; but said she, my present desire is, that I would be a great princess. The Empress replied, so you are; for you are a princess of the fourth or fifth degree, for a duke or duchess is the highest title or honour that a subject can arrive to, as being the next to a king’s title; and as for the name of a prince of princess, it belongs to all that are adopted to the crown; so that those that can add a crown to their arms, are princes, and therefore a duke is a title above a prince; for example, the Duke of Savoy, the Duke of Florence, the Duke of Lorraine, as also kings’ brothers, are not called by the name of princes, but dukes, this being the higher title. ’Tis true, answered the Duchess, unless it be kings’ eldest sons, and they are created princes. Yes, replied the Empress, but no sovereign does make a subject equal to himself, such as kings’ eldest sons partly are: And although some dukes be sovereigns, yet I never heard that a prince by