Chapter 13

There was a King of a certain Country in the Moon, call'd in their Language, Ebronia, who was formerly a Confederate with the Solunarians. This Prince dying without Issue, the great Monarch we speak of, seiz'd upon all his Dominions as his Right.----- Tho' if I remember right, he had formerly Sworn never to lay Claim to it, and after that by a subsequent Treaty had agreed with the Solunarian Prince, that another Monarch who claim'd a Right as well as he, should divide it between them.

The breach of this Agreement, and seizing this Kingdom, put almost all the Lunar World into a Flame, and War hung over the Heads of all the Northern Nations of the Moon, for several Claims were made to the Succession by other Princes, and particularly by a certain Potent Prince call'd the Eagle, of an Ancient Family, whose Lunar Name I cannot well express, but in English it signifies the Men of the great Lip; whether it was Originally a sort of a Nick Name, or whether they had any such thing as a great Lip Hereditary to the Family, by which they were distinguisht, is not worth my while to Examine.

'Tis without question that the successive Right, if their Lunar Successions, are Govern'd as ours are in this world, devolv'd upon this Man with the Lip and his Families; but the Gallunarian Monarch brought things so to pass, by his extraordinary Conduct, that the Ebronian King was drawn in by some of his Nobility, who this Prince had Bought and Brib'd to betray their Country to his Interest, and particularly a certain High Priest of that Country, to make an Assignment, or deed of Gift of all his Dominions to the Grandson of this Gallunarian Monarch.

By Vertue of this Gift, or Legacy, as soon as the King dyed, who was then languishing, and as the other Parry alledg'd, not in a very good capacity to make a Will; the Gallunarian King sent his Grandson to seize upon the Crown, and backing him with suitable Forces, took Possession of all his strong Fortifications and Frontiers.

Nor was this all, the Man with the Lip indeed talkt big, and threatned War immediately, but the Solunarians were so unsettl'd at Home, so unprepar'd for War, having but just dismist their Auxiliar Troops, and disbanded their own, and the Prince was so ill serv'd by his Subjects, that both he and a Powerful Neighbour, Nations in the same Interest, were meerly Bullyed by this Gallunarian; and as he threatned immediately to Invade them, which they were then in no Condition to prevent, he forc'd them both to submit to his Demand, tacitely allow what he had done in breaking the Treaty with him, and at last openly acknowledge his new King.

This was indeed a most unaccountable Step, but there was a necessity to plead, for he was at their very Doors with his Forces; and this Neighbouring People, who they call Mogenites, could not resist him without help from the Solunarians, which they were very backward in, notwithstanding the earnest Sollicitations of their Prince, and notwithstanding they were oblig'd to do it by a solemn Treaty.

These delays oblig'd them to this strange Step of acknowledging the Invasion of their Enemy, and pulling off the Hat to the New King he had set up.

'Tis true, the Policy of these Lunar Nations was very Remarkable in this Case, and they out-witted the Gallunarian Monarch in it; for by the owning this Prince, whom they immediately after Declar'd a Usurper, and made War against; they stopt the Mouth of the Gallunarian his Grandfather, took from him all pretence of Invading them, and making him believe they were Sincere, Wheedl'd him to restore several Thousands of their Men who he had taken Prisoners in the Frontier Towns of the Ebronians.

Had the Gallunarian Prince had but the forecast to ha' seen, that this was but a forc'd pretence to gain Time, and that as soon as they had their Troops clear and Time to raise more, they would certainly turn upon him again, he would never ha' been put by with so weak a Trifle as the Ceremony of Congratulation; whereas had he immediately pusht at them with all his Forces, they must ha' been Ruin'd, and he had carry'd his Point without much Interruption.

But here he lost his Opportunity, which he never retriev'd; for 'tis in the Moon, just as 'tis here, when an Occasion is lost, it is not easy to be recover'd, for both the Solunarians and the Mogenites quickly threw off the Mask, and declaring this new Prince an Usurper, and his Grandfather an Unjust breaker of Treaties, they prepar'd for War against them both.

As to the Honesty of this matter, my Philosopher and I differ'd extremely, he exclaim'd against the Honour of acknowledging a King, with a design to Depose him, and pretending Peace when War is design'd; tho' 'tis true, they are too customary in our World; but however, as to him I insisted upon the lawfulness of it, from the universal Custom of Nations, who generally do things ten times more Preposterous and Inconsistent, when they suit their Occasions. Yet I hope no Body will think I am recommending them by this Relation to the Practice of our own Nations, but rather exposing them as unaccountable things never to be put in Practice, without quitting all pretences to Justice and national Honesty.

The Case was this.

As upon the Progress of Matters before related, the Solunarians and Mogenites had made a formal acknowledgment of this new Monarch, the Grandson of the Gallunarian King, so as I have hinted already, they had no other design than to Depose him, and pull him down.

Accordingly, as soon as by the aforesaid Wile they had gain'd Breath, and furnisht themselves with Forces, they declar'd War against both the Gallunarian King, and his Grandson, and entred into strict Confederacy with the Man of the great Lip, who was the Monarch of the Eagle, and who by right of Succession, had the true Claim to the Ebronian Crowns.

In these Declarations they alledge that Crowns do not descend by Gift, nor are Kingdoms given away by Legacy, like a Gold Ring at a Funeral, and therefore this young Prince could have no Right, the former deceas'd King having no Right to dispose it by Gift.

I must allow, that judging by our Reason, and the Practice in our Countries here, on this side the Moon; this seem'd plain, and I saw no difference in matters of Truth there, or here, but Right and Liberty both of Princes and People seems to be the same in that World, as it is in this, and upon this account I thought the Reasons of this War very Just, and that the Claim of Right to the Succession of the Ebronian Crown, was undoubtedly in the Man with the Lip, and his Heirs, and so far the War was most Just, and the Design reasonable.

And thus far my Lunar Companion agreed with me, and had they gone on so, says he, they had my good Wishes, and my Judgment had been Witness to my Pretences, that they were in the right.

But in the prosecution of this War, says he, they went on to one of the most Impolitick, Ridiculous, Dishonest, and Inconsistent Actions, that ever any Nation in the Moon was guilty of; the Fact was thus.

Having agreed among themselves that the Ebronian Crown should not be possest by the Gallunarian King's Grandson, they in the next Place began to consider who should have it.

The Man with the Lip had the Title, but he had a great Government of his own, Powerful, Happy and Remote, being as is noted, the Lord of the great Eagle, and he told them he could not pretend to come to Ebronia to be a King there; his eldest Son truly was not only declar'd Heir apparent to his Father, but had another Lunarian Kingdom of his own still more remote than that, and he would not quit all this for the Crown of Ebronia, so it was concerted by all the Confederated Parties, that the second Son of this Prince, the Man with the Lip, should be declar'd King, and here lay the Injustice of all the Case.

I confess at my first examining this Matter, I did not see far into it, nor could I reach the Dishonesty of it, and perhaps the Reader of these Sheets may be in the same Case; but my old Lunarian Friend being continually exclaiming against the Matter, and blaming his Country-men the Solunarians for the Dishonesty of it, but especially the Mogenites, he began to be something peevish with me that I should be so dull as not to reach it, and askt me if he should screw me into the Thinking-Press for the Clearing up my Understanding.

At last he told me he would write his particular Sentiments of this whole Affair in a Letter to me, which he would so order as it should effectually open mine Eyes; which indeed it did, and so I believe it will the Eyes of all that read it; to which purpose I have obtain'd of the Author to assist me in the Translation of it, he having some Knowledge also in our Sublunar Languages.

The Sustance of a Letter, wrote to the Author of these Sheets, while he was in the Regions of the Moon.

'Friend from the Moon,

'According to my promise, I hereby give you a Scheme of Solunarian Honesty, join'd with Mogenite Policy, and my Opinion of the Action of my Country-men and their Confederates, in declaring their new made Ebronian King.

'The Mogenites and Solunarians are look'd upon here to be the Original Contrivers of this ridiculous piece of Pageantry, and tho' some of their Neighbours are suppos'd to have a Hand in it, yet we all lay it at the door of their Politicks, and for the Honesty of it let them answer it if they can.

''Tis observ'd here, that as soon as the King of Gallunaria had declar'd that he accepted the Will and Disposition of the Crown of Ebronia, in favour of his Grandson, and that according to the said Disposition, he had own'd him for King; and in order to make it effectual, had put him into immediate Possession of the Kingdom. The Mogenites and their Confederates made wonderful Clamours at the Injustice of his Proceedings, and particularly on account of his breaking the Treaty then lately entred into with the King of the Solunarians and the Mogenites, for the settling the Matter of Right and Possession, in case of the Demise of the Ebronian King.

'However, the King of Gallunaria had no sooner plac'd his Grandson on the Throne, but the Mogenites and other Nations, and to all our Wonder, the King of Solunaria himself acknowledg'd him, own'd him, sent their Ministers, and Compliments of Congratulation, and the like, giving him the Title of King of Ebronia.

'Tho' this proceeding had something of Surprize in it, and all Men expected to see something more than ordinary Politick in the effect of it, yet it did not give half the astonishment to the Lunar World, as this unaccountable Monster of Politicks begins to do.

'We have here two unlucky Fellows, call'd Pasquin and Marforio, these had a long Dialogue about this very Matter, and Pasquin as he always lov'd Mischief, told a very unlucky Story to his Comrade, of a high Mogenite Skipper, as follows.

'A Mogenite Ship coming from a far Country, the Custom House Officers found some Goods on Board, which were Controband, and for which they pretended the Ship and Goods were all Confiscated; the Skipper, or Captain in a great Fright, comes up to the Custom-House, and being told he must Swear to something relating to his taking in those Goods, reply'd in his Country Jargon, Ya, dat sall Ick doen Myn Heer; or in English, Ay, Ay, I'll Swear.----- But finding they did not assure him that it would clear his Ship he scruples the Oath again, at which they told him it would clear his Ship immediately. Hael, well Myn Heer, says the Mogen Man, vat mot Ick sagen, Ick sall all Swear myn Skip to salvare, i.e. I shall Swear any thing to save my Skip.

'We apply this Story thus.

'If the Mogenites did acknowledge the King of Ebronia, we did believe it was done to save the Skip; and when they reproacht the Gallunarian King, with breaking the Treaty of Division, we us'd to say we would all break thro' twice as many Engagements for half as much Advantage.

'This setting up a new King, against a King on the Throne, Acknowledg'd and Congratulated by them, is not only look'd on in the Lunar World, as a thing Ridiculous, but particularly Infamous, that they should first acknowledge a King, and then set up the Title of another. If the Title of the first Ebronian King be good, this must be an Impostor, an Usurper of another Man's Right; if it was not good, why did they acknowledge him, and give him the full Title of all the Ebronian Dominions? Caress and Congratulate him, and make a publick Action of it to his Ambassador.

'Will they tell us they were Bully'd, and Frighted into it? that is to own they may be hufft into an ill Action; for owing a Man in the Posession of what is none of his own, is an ill thing, and he that may be hufft into one ill Action, may by Consequence be hufft into another, and so into any thing.

'What will they say for doing it? we have heard there has been in the World you came from, a way found out to own Kings de Facto, but not de Jure; if they will fly to that ridiculous Shift, let them tell the World so, that we may know what they mean, for those foolish things are not known here.

'If they own'd the King of Ebronia voluntarily, and acknowledg'd his Right as we thought they had; how then can this young Gentleman have a Title, unless they have found out a new Division, and so will have two Kings of Ebronia, make them Partners, and have a Gallunarian King of Ebronia, and a Mogenite King of Ebronia, both together?

'Our Lunar Nations, Princes and States, whatever they may do in your World, always seek for some Pretences at least to make their Actions seem Honest, whither they are so or no; and therefore they generally publish Memorials, Manifesto's and Declarations, of their Reasons why, and on what account they do so, or so; that those who have any Grounds to charge them with Unjustice, may be answer'd, and silenc'd; 'tis for the People in your Country, to fall upon their Neighbours, only because they will do it, and make probability of Conquest, a sufficient Reason of Conquest; the Lunarian Nations are seldom so destitute of Modesty, but that they will make a shew of Justice, and make out the Reasons of their Proceedings; and tho' sometimes we find even the Reasons given for some Actions are weak enough; yet it is a bad Cause indeed, that can neither have a true Reason, nor a pretended one. The custom of the Moon has oblig'd us to show so much respect to Honesty, that when our Actions have the least colour of Honesty, yet we will make Reasons to look like a Defence, whether it be so or no.

'But here is an Action that has neither reality, nor pretence, here is not Face enough upon it to bear an Apology. First, they acknowledge one King, and then set up another King against him; either they first acknowledg'd a wrong King, and thereby became Parties to a Usurper, or they act now against all the Rules of common Justice in the World, to set up a sham King, to pull down a true one, only because 'tis their Interest to have it so.

'This makes the very Name of a Solunarian scandalous to all the Moon, and Mankind look upon them with the utmost Prejudice, as if they were a Nation who had sold all their Honesty to their Interest; and who could act this way to Day, and that way to Morrow, without any regard to Truth, or the Rule of Honour, Equity or Conscience; This is Swearing any thing to save the Skip; and never let any Man Reproach the Gallunarian King with breaking the Treaty of Division, and disregarding the Faith and Stipulations of Leagues; for this is an Action so inconsistent with it self, so incongruous to common Justice, to the Reason and Nature of things, that no History of any of these latter Times can parallel it, and 'tis past the Power of Art to make any reasonable Defence for it.

'Indeed some lame Reasons are given for it by our Polititians. First, they say the Prince with the great Lip was extremely prest by the Gallunarians at Home in his own Country, and not without apprehensions of seeing them e'er long, under the Walls of his capital City.

'From this circumstance of the Man with the Lip, 'twas not irrational to expect that he might be induc'd to make a separate Peace with the Gallunarians, and serve them as he did once the Prince of Berlindia at the Treaty of Peace in a former War, where he deserted him after the solemnest Engagements never to make Peace without him; but his pressing Occasions requiring it, concluded a Peace without him, and left him to come out of the War, as well as he could, tho' he had come into it only for his Assistance. Now finding him in danger of being ruin'd by the Gallunarian Power, and judging from former Practice in like Cases, that he might be hurry'd into a Peace, and leave them in the Lurch; they have drawn him into this Labrinth, as into a Step, which can never be receded from without the utmost Affront and Disgrace, either to the Family of the Gallunarian, or of the Lip; an Action which in its own Nature, is a Defiance of the whole Gallunarian Power, and without any other Manifesto, may be taken as a Declaration from the House of the Lip, to the Gallunarian, that this War shall never end, till one of those two Families are ruin'd and reduc'd.

'What Condition the Prince with the Lip's Power is in, to make such a huff at this Time, shall come under Examination by and by; in the mean time the Solunarians have clench'd the Nail, and secur'd the War to last as long as they think convenient.

'If the Gallunarians should get the better, and reduce the Man with the Lip to Terms never so disadvantageous, he cannot now make a Peace without leave from the Solunarians and the Mogenites, least his Son should be ruin'd also.----- Or if he should make Articles for himself, it must be with ten times the Dishonour that he might have done before.

'Politicians say, 'tis never good for a Prince to put himself into a case of Desperation. This is drawing the Sword, and throwing away the Scabbard; if a Disaster should befal him, his Retreat is impossible, and this must have been done only to secure the Man with the Lip from being hufft, or frighted into a separate Peace.

'The second Reason People here give, why the Solunarians are concerning themselves in this Matter, is drawn from Trade.

'The continuing of Ebronia in the Hands of the Gallunarians, will most certainly be the Destruction of the Solunarian and Mogenites Trade, both to that Kingdom, and the whole Seas on that side of the Moon; as this Article includes a fifth Part of all the Trade of the Moon, and would in Conjunction with the Gallunarians at last bring the Mastership of the Sea, out of the Hands of the other, so it would in effect be more detriment to those two Nations, than ten Kingdoms lost, if they had them to part with.

'This the Solunarians foreseeing, and being extremely sensible of the entire Ruin of their Trade, have left no Stone unturn'd to bring this piece of Pageantry on the Stage, by which they have hook'd in the Old Black Eagle to plunge himself over Head and Ears in the Quarrel, in such a manner, as he can never go back with any tolerable Honour; he can never quit his Son and the Crown of Ebronia, without the greatest Reproach and Disgrace of all the World in the Moon.

'Now whether one, or both of these Reasons are true in this Case, as most believe both of them to be true; the Policy of my Country-men, the Solunarians is visible indeed, but as for their Honesty, it is past finding out.

'But it is objected here, this Son of the Lip has an undoubted Right to the Crown of Ebronia. We do not Fight now to set up an Usurper, but to pull down an Usurper, and it has been made plain by the Manifesto, that the giving a Kingdom by Will, is no conveyance of Right; the Prince of the Eagle has an undoubted Right, and they Fight to maintain it.

'If this be true, then we must ask these High and Mighty Gentlemen how came they to recognize and acknowledge the present King on the Throne? why did they own an Usurper if he be such? either one or other must be an act of Cowardize and Injustice, and all the Politicks of the Moon cannot clear them of one of these two Charges; either they were Cowardly Knaves before, or else they must be Cunning Knaves now.

'If the Young Eagle has an undoubted Title now, so he had before, and they knew it as well before, as they do now; what can they say for themselves, why they should own a King, who they knew had no Title, or what can they say for going to pull down one that has a Title?

'I must be allow'd to distinguish between Fighting with a Nation, and Fighting with the King. For Example. Our Quarrel with the Gallunarians is with the whole Nation, as they are grown too strong for their Neighbours. But our Quarrel with Ebronia is not with the Nation, but with their King, and this Quarrel seems to be unjust in this particular, at least in them who own'd him to be King, for that put an end to the Controversy.

''Tis true, the Justice of publick Actions, either in Princes, or in States, is no such nice Thing, that any Body should be surpriz'd, to see the Government forfeit their Faith, and it seems the Solunarians are no more careful this way, than their Neighbours. But then those People should in especial manner forbear to reproach Other Nations and Princes, with the breaches which they themselves are subject too.

'As to the Eagle, we have nothing to say to the Honesty of his declaring his Son King of Ebronia, for as is hinted before, he never acknowledg'd the Title of the Usurper, but always declar'd, and insisted on his own undoubted Right, and that he would recover it if he could.

'Without doubt the Eagle has a Title by Proximity of Blood, founded on the renunciation of the King of Gallunaria formerly mention'd, and if the Will of the late King be Invalid, or he had no Right to give the Soveraignty of his Kingdoms away, then the Eagle is next Heir.

'But as we quit his Morals, and justify the Honesty of his Proceedings in the War, against the present King of Ebronia, so in this Action of declaring his second Son. We must begin to question his Understanding, and saying a respect of decency, it looks as if his Musical Head was out of Tune, to Illus tratellus. I crave leave to tell you a Story out of your own Country, which we have heard of hither. A French Man that could speak but broken English, was at the Court of England, when on some occasion he happen'd to hear the Title of the King of England read thus, Charles the II. King of England, Scotland France and Ireland.

'Vat is dat you say? says Monsieur, being a little affronted, the Man reads it again, as before. Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland.------ Charles the Second, King of France! Ma Foy, says the French Man, you can no read, Charles the Second, King of France, ha! ha! ha! Charles the Second, King of France, when he can catch. Any one may apply the Story, whether it was a true one or no.

'All the Lunar World looks on it, therefore, as a most Ridiculous, Senseless Thing, to make a Man a King of a Country he has not one Foot of Land in, nor can have a Foot there, but what he must Fight for. As to the probability of gaining it, I have nothing to say to it, but if we may guess at his Success there, by what has been done in other Parts of the Moon, we find he has Fought three Campaigns, to lose every Foot he had got.