An Island in the Moon/Chapter X

Chap 10 

Thus these happy Islanders spent their time. But felicity does not last long, for being met at the house of Inflammable Gass the windfinder, the following affairs happen’d.

”Come, Flammable,” said Gibble Gabble, “& let’s enjoy ourselves. Bring the Puppets.”

“Hay, — Hay,” said he, “you—sho—why—ya, ya, how can you be so foolish? Ha! Ha! Ha! She calls the experiments puppets!”

Then he went up stairs & loaded the maid, with glasses, & brass tubes, & magic pictures.

“Here ladies & gentlemen,” said he I’ll shew you a louse, [climing] or a flea, or a butterfly, or a cock chafer, the blade bone of a tittle back. No, no. Here’s a bottle of wind that I took up in the bog house, O dear, O dear, the water’s got into the sliders! Look here, Gibble Gabble! Lend me your handkerchief, Tilly Lally. Tilly Lally took out his handkerchief, which smear’d the glass worse than ever. Then he screw’d it on. Then he took the sliders, & then he set up the glasses for the Ladies to view the pictures. Thus he was employ’d, & quite out of breath. While Tilly Laily & Scopprell were pumping at the air pump, Smack went the glass.

“Hang!” said Tilly Lally.

Inflammable Gass turn’d short round & threw down the table & Glasses, & Pictures, & broke the bottles of wind, & let out the Pestilence. He saw the Pestilence fly out of the bottle, & cried out, [PAGE 14] while he ran out of the room:

“[Go] Come out! Come out! [you ar] We are putrified! We are corrupted! Our lungs are destroy’d with the Flogiston. This will spread a plague all thro' the Island!

He was down stairs the very first. On the back of him came all the others in a heap. So they need not bidding go.