"It has been the opinion of
antiquity," said Imlac, "that human reason borrowed many arts from
the instinct of animals; let us, therefore, not think ourselves
degraded by learning from the coney. We may escape by piercing the
mountain in the same direction. We will begin where the summit
hangs over the middle part, and labour upward till we shall issue
out beyond the prominence."
The eyes of the Prince, when he heard this proposal, sparkled with
joy. The execution was easy and the success certain.
No time was now lost. They hastened early in the morning to choose
a place proper for their mine. They clambered with great fatigue
among crags and brambles, and returned without having discovered
any part that favoured their design. The second and the third day
were spent in the same manner, and with the same frustration; but
on the fourth day they found a small cavern concealed by a thicket,
where they resolved to make their experiment.
Imlac procured instruments proper to hew stone and remove earth,
and they fell to their work on the next day with more eagerness
than vigour.
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