The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen
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PREFACE
TO THE SECOND VOLUME
Baron Munchausen has certainly been productive of much benefit to theliterary world; the numbers of egregious travellers have been such,that they demanded a very Gulliver to surpass them. If Baron de Tottdauntlessly discharged an enormous piece of artillery, the BaronMunchausen has done more; he has taken it and swam with it across thesea. When travellers are solicitous to be the heroes of their own story,surely they must admit to superiority, and blush at seeing themselvesout-done by the renowned Munchausen: I doubt whether any one hitherto,Pantagruel, Gargantua, Captain Lemuel, or De Tott, has been able toout-do our Baron in this species of excellence: and as at present ourcuriosity seems much directed to the interior of Africa, it must beedifying to have the real relation of Munchausen's adventures therebefore any further intelligence arrives; for he seems to adapt himselfand his exploits to the spirit of the times, and recounts what he thinksshould be most interesting to his auditors.
I do not say that the Baron, in the following stories, means a satire onany political matters whatever. No; but if the reader understands themso, I cannot help it.
If the Baron meets with a parcel of negro ships carrying whites intoslavery to work upon their plantations in a cold climate, should wetherefore imagine that he intends a reflection on the present traffic inhuman flesh? And that, if the negroes should do so, it would be simplejustice, as retaliation is the law of God! If we were to think this areflection on any present commercial or political matter, we shouldbe tempted to imagine, perhaps, some political ideas conveyed in everypage, in every sentence of the whole. Whether such things are or are notthe intentions of the Baron the reader must judge.
We have had not only wonderful travellers in this vile world, butsplenetic travellers, and of these not a few, and also conspicuousenough. It is a pity, therefore, that the Baron has not endeavoured tosurpass them also in this species of story-telling. Who is it can readthe travels of Smellfungus, as Sterne calls him, without admiration?To think that a person from the North of Scotland should travel throughsome of the finest countries in Europe, and find fault with everythinghe meets--nothing to please him! And therefore, methinks, the Tour tothe Hebrides is more excusable, and also perhaps Mr. Twiss's Tour inIreland. Dr. Johnson, bred in the luxuriance of London, with more reasonshould become cross and splenetic in the bleak and dreary regions of theHebrides.
The Baron, in the following work, seems to be sometimes philosophical;his account of the language of the interior of Africa, and its analogywith that of the inhabitants of the moon, show him to be profoundlyversed in the etymological antiquities of nations, and throw new lightupon the abstruse history of the ancient Scythians, and the Collectanea.
His endeavour to abolish the custom of eating live flesh in the interiorof Africa, as described in Bruce's Travels, is truly humane. But far beit from me to suppose, that by Gog and Magog and the Lord Mayor's showhe means a satire upon any person or body of persons whatever: or, bya tedious litigated trial of blind judges and dumb matrons followinga wild goose chase all round the world, he should glance at any trialwhatever.
Nevertheless, I must allow that it was extremely presumptuous inMunchausen to tell half the sovereigns of the world that they werewrong, and advise them what they ought to do; and that instead ofordering millions of their subjects to massacre one another, it would bemore to their interest to employ their forces in concert for the generalgood; as if he knew better than the Empress of Russia, the Grand Vizier,Prince Potemkin, or any other butcher in the world. But that he shouldbe a royal Aristocrat, and take the part of the injured Queen of Francein the present political drama, I am not at all surprised; but I supposehis mind was fired by reading the pamphlet written by Mr. Burke.