Jonathan Swift

Gulliver`s Travels (1721-25)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Book 1, Chapter 2

I took up the two officer in my hands, put them first into my coat-pockets, and then into every other pocket about me, except my two fobs, and another secret pocket which I had no mind should be searched, wherein I had some little necessaries of no consequence to any but myself. In one of my jobs there was a silver watch, and in the other a small quantity of gold in a purse. These gentlemen, having pen, ink and paper about them, made an exact inventory of everything they saw; and when they had done, desired I would set them down, that they might deliver it to the Emperor. This inventory O afterwards translated into English, and is word for  word as follow.   IMPRIMIS, In the right coat-pocket of the Great Man-mountain (for so I interpret the words Quinbus Flestrin ) after the strictest search, we found only one great piece of coarse cloth, large enough to be a foot-cloth fir your Majesty`s chief room of state. In the left pocket, we saw a huge silver chest, with a cover of the same metal, which we the searchers were not able to lift. We desired it should be opened, and one of us stepping into it, found himself up to the leg in a sort of dust, some part whereof flying up to our faces set us both a sneezing for several times together. In his right waistcoat-pocket, we found a prodigious bundle of white thin substances, folded one over another, about the bigness of three men, tied with a strong cable, and marked with black figures; which we humbly conceive to be writings, every letter almost half as large as the palm of our hands. In the left, there was a sort of engine, from the back of  which were extended twenty long poles, resembling the palisados before your Majesty`s Court; wherewith we conjecture the Man-Mountain combs his head for we did not always trouble him with  questions, because we found it a great difficulty to make him  understand us. […] There were two pockets which we could not enter: these he called his fobs; they were two large slits cut into the top of his middle cover, but squeezed close by the  pressure of his belly. Out of the right fob hung a great silver chain, with a wonderful  kind of engine at the bottom. We directed him to draw out whatever was at the end  of that chain; which appeared to be a globe, half silver, and half of some transparent metal: foron the transparent  side we saw certain strange figures circularly drawn, and thought we could touch them, till we found fingers stopped with that lucid substance. he put his engine to our ears, which made an incessant noise like that of watermill. And we conjecture it is either some unknown animal, or the god that he worships: but we are more inclined to the latter opinion, because he assured us (if we understood him right, for he expressed himself very imperfectly), that he seldom did anything without  consulting it. He called it his oracle, and said it pointed out the time for every action of his life.