I put it to you in full confidence of a response that shall be worthy of our national character , and calculated to increase , rather than diminish , the glory which our ancestors have transmitted to us , and which we ourselves have proudly vindicated in our warfare with the cranes . '' The orator was here interrupted by a burst of irrepressible enthusiasm ; every individual Pygmy crying out that the national honor must be preserved at all hazards . He bowed , and , making a gesture for silence , wound up his harangue in the following admirable manner : `` It only remains for us , then , to decide whether we shall carry on the war in our national capacity -- one united people against a common enemy -- or whether some champion , famous in former fights , shall be selected to defy the slayer of our brother Antaeus to single combat . In the latter case , though not unconscious that there may be taller men among you , I hereby offer myself for that enviable duty . And believe me , dear countrymen , whether I live or die , the honor of this great country , and the fame bequeathed us by our heroic progenitors , shall suffer no diminution in my hands . Never , while I can wield this sword , of which I now fling away the scabbard -- never , never , never , even if the crimson hand that slew the great Antaeus shall lay me prostrate , like him , on the soil which I give my life to defend . '' So saying , this valiant Pygmy drew out his weapon -LRB- which was terrible to behold , being as long as the blade of a penknife -RRB- , and sent the scabbard whirling over the heads of the multitude . His speech was followed by an uproar of applause , as its patriotism and self-devotion unquestionably deserved ; and the shouts and clapping of hands would have been greatly prolonged , had they not been rendered quite inaudible by a deep respiration , vulgarly called a snore , from the sleeping Hercules . It was finally decided that the whole nation of Pygmies should set to work to destroy Hercules ; not , be it understood , from any doubt that a single champion would be capable of putting him to the sword , but because he was a public enemy , and all were desirous of sharing in the glory of his defeat . There was a debate whether the national honor did not demand that a herald should be sent with a trumpet , to stand over the ear of Hercules , and after blowing a blast right into it , to defy him to the combat by formal proclamation . But two or three venerable and sagacious Pygmies , well versed in state affairs , gave it as their opinion that war already existed , and that it was their rightful privilege to take the enemy by surprise . Moreover , if awakened , and allowed to get upon his feet , Hercules might happen to do them a mischief before he could be beaten down again . For , as these sage counselors remarked , the stranger 's club was really very big , and had rattled like a thunderbolt against the skull of Antaeus . So the Pygmies resolved to set aside all foolish punctilios , and assail their antagonist at once . Accordingly , all the fighting men of the nation took their weapons , and went boldly up to Hercules , who still lay fast asleep , little dreaming of the harm which the Pygmies meant to do him . A body of twenty thousand archers marched in front , with their little bows all ready , and the arrows on the string . The same number were ordered to clamber upon Hercules , some with spades to dig his eyes out , and others with bundles of hay , and all manner of rubbish with which they intended to plug up his mouth and nostrils , so that he might perish for lack of breath . These last , however , could by no means perform their appointed duty ; inasmuch as the enemy 's breath rushed out of his nose in an obstreperous hurricane and whirlwind , which blew the Pygmies away as fast as they came nigh . It was found necessary , therefore , to hit upon some other method of carrying on the war . After holding a council , the captains ordered their troops to collect sticks , straws , dry weeds , and whatever combustible stuff they could find , and make a pile of it , heaping it high around the head of Hercules .
As a great many thousand Pygmies were employed in this task , they soon brought together several bushels of inflammatory matter , and raised so tall a heap , that , mounting XXXXX its summit , they were quite upon a level with the sleeper 's face .
against around as at in like on than to whether