cells, each cell capable of holding three of your majefty's fubjects. In one of thefe cells were feveral globes, or balls, of a moft ponderous metal, about the bignefs of our heads, and required a strong hand to lift them; the other cell contained a heap of certain black grains, but of no great bulk or weight, for we could hold above fifty of them in the palms of our hands.

This is an exact inventory of what we found about the body of the Man-mountain, who used us with great civility, and due refpect to your majesty's commiffion. Signed and fealed, on the fourth day of the eighty-ninth moon of your majefty's aufpicious reign.

Clefrin Frelock, Marfi Frelock.

When this inventory was read over to the emperor, he directed me, although in very gentle terms, to deliver up the feveral particulars. He firft called for my fcymiter, which I took out, fcabbard and all. In the mean time he ordered three thoufand of his choiceft troops (who then at tended him) to furround me at a distance, with their bows and arrows juft ready to discharge: but I did not obferve it, for mine eyes were wholly fixed upon his majefty. He then defired me to draw my fcymiter, which, although it had got fome ruft by the fea-water, was in moft parts exceeding bright. I did fo, and immediately all the troops gave a fhout between terror and furprife; for the fun fhone clear, and the reflection dazzled their eyes, as I waved the fcymiter to and fro in my hand. His majefty, who is a moft magnanimous prince, was lefs daunted than I could expect; he ordered me to return it into the fcabbard, and caft it on the ground as gently as I could, about fix feet from the end of my chain. The next thing he demanded, was one of the hollow iron pillars; by which he meant my pocket-piftols. I drew it out, and at his defire, as well as I could, expreffed to him the ufe of it; and charging it only with powder, which by the clofenefs of my pouch happened to efcape wetting in the fea (an inconvenience against which all prudent mariners take special care to provide) I first cau

He who does not find himself difpofed to honour this magnanimity should reflect, that a right to judge of moral and intellectual excellence is with great abfurdity and injuftice arrogated by him who admires, in a being fix feet high, any qualities that he defpifes in one whofe ftature does not exceed fix inches.

tioned the emperor not to be afraid, and then I let it off in the air. The aftonishment here was much greater than at the fight of my feymiter. Hundreds fell down, as if they had been struck dead; and even the emperor, although he had flood his ground, could not recover himself in fome time. I delivered up both my piftols in the fame manner I had done my fcymiter, and then my pouch of powder and bullets; begging him that the former might be kept from fire, for it would kindle with the fmalleft fpark, and blow up his imperial palace into the air. I likewife delivered up my watch, which the emperor was very curious to fee, and commanded two of his talleft yeomen of the guards to bear it on a pole upon their fhoulders, as draymen in England do a barrel of ale. He was amazed at the continual noife it made, and the motion of the minute-hand, which he could eafily difcern; for their fight is much more acute than ours: he afked the opinions of his learned men about it, which were various and remote, as the reader may well imagine without my repeating it; although indeed I could not very perfectly understand them. I then gave up my filver and copper money, my purfe with nine large pieces of gold, and fome fmaller ones; my knife and razor, my comb and filver fnuff-box, my handkerchief and journal-book. My fcymiter, pistols, and pouch, were conveyed in carriages to his majesty's flores; but the rest of my goods were returned me.

I had, as I before obferved, one private pocket, which efcaped their fearch, wherein there was a pair of fpectacles (which I fometimes ufe for the weakness of mine eyes) a pocket perfpective, and fome other little conveniencies; which being of no confequence to the emperor, I did not think myfelf bound in honour to difcover, and I apprehended they might be loft or spoiled, if I ventured them out of my poffeffion.

all poffible methods to cultivate this favourable difpofition. The natives came by degrees to be lefs apprehenfive of any danger from me. I would fometimes lie down, and let five or fix of them dance on my hand and at last the boys and girls would venture to come and play at hide and feek. in my hair. I had now made a good progrefs in understanding and fpeaking their language. The emperor had a mind one day to entertain me with feveral of the country fhows, wherein they exceed all nations I have known both for dexterity and magnificence. I was diverted with none fo much as that of the rope-dancers, performed upon a flender white thread, extended about two feet, and twelve inches from the ground. Upon which I fhall defire liberty, with the reader's patience, to enlarge a little.

This diverfion is only practifed by thofe perfons, who are candidates for great employments, and high favour at court. They are trained in this art from their youth, and are not always of noble birth, or liberal education. When a great office is vacant either by death or difgrace (which often happens) five or fix of thofe candidates petition the emperor to entertain his majefty and the court with a dance on the rope, and whoever jumps the highest without falling, fucceeds in the office. Very often the chief minifters themselves are commanded to fhew their skill, and to convince the emperor that they have not loft their faculty. Flimnap, the treasurer, is allowed to cut a caper on the ftrait rope at leaft an inch higher than any other lord in the whole empire. I have feen him do the fummerfet feveral times together upon a trencher, fixed on a rope, which is no thicker than a common packthread in England, My friend Reldrefal, principal fecretary for private affairs, is, in my opinion, if I am not partial, the fecond after the treasurer; the rest of the great officers are much upon

a par.

Thefe diverfions are often attended with fatal accidents, whereof great numbers are on record. I myself have seen two or three candidates break a limb. But the danger is much greater, when the minifters themfelves are commanded to fhew their dexterity; for, by contending to excel themfelves and their fellows, they strain fo far, that there is hardly one of them, who hath not received a fall, and fome of them two or three. I was affured, that a year or two before my arrival Flimnap would have infallibly broke

his neck, if one of the king's cushions, that accidentally lay on the ground, had not weakened the force of his fall.

There is likewife another diversion, which is only fhewn before the emperor and emprefs, and firft minifter, upon particular occafions. The emperor lays on the table three fine filken threads of fix inches long; one is blue, the other red, and the third green. These threads are proposed as prizes for thofe perfons, whom the emperor hath a mind to distinguish by a peculiar mark of his favour. The ceremony is performed in his majefty's great chamber of ftate, where the candidates are to undergo a trial of dexterity very different from the former, and fuch as I have not observed the least resemblance of in any other country of the old or new world. The emperor holds a stick in his hands, both ends parallel to the horizon, while the candidates advancing, one by one, fometimes leap over the stick, fometimes creep under it backwards and forwards feveral times, according as the stick is advanced or depreffed. Sometimes the emperor holds one end of the stick, and his first minifter the other; fometimes the minifter has it entirely to himself. Whoever performs his part with most agility, and holds out the longeft in leaping and creeping, is rewarded with the blue-coloured filk; the red is given to the next, and the green to the third; which they all wear girt twice round about the middle; and you fee few great perfons about this court, who are not adorned with one of these girdles.

The horses of the army, and those of the royal ftables, having been daily led before me, were no longer thy, but would come up to my very feet without ftarting. The riders would leap them over my hand, as I held it on the ground; and one of the emperor's huntfmen upon a large courfer took my foot, fhoe and all; which was indeed a prodigious leap. I had the good fortune to divert the emperor one day after a very extraordinary manner. I defired he would order feveral sticks of two feet high, and the thickness of an ordinary cane, to be brought me; whereupon his majesty commanded the mafter of his woods to give directions accordingly, and the next morning fix woodmen arrived with as many carriages, drawn by eight horfes to each. I took nine of thefe fticks, and fixing them firmly in the ground in a quadrangular figure, two feet and a half fquare, I took four other sticks, and tied them parallel at each corner about two feet from the ground; then I faftened

my

my handkerchief to the nine flicks that flood erect; and extended it on all fides, till it was tight as the top of a drum; and the four parallel fticks, rifing about five inches higher than the handkerchief, ferved as ledges on each fide. When I had finished my work, I defired the emperor to let a troop of his beft horfe, twenty-four in number, come and exercife upon this plain. His majefty approved of the propofal, and I took them up one by one in my hands, ready mounted and armed, with the proper officers to exercife them. As foon as they got into order, they divided into two parties, performed mock fkirmishes, difcharged blunt arrows, drew their fwords, fled and purfued, attacked and retired, and in short discovered the best military difcipline I ever beheld. The parallel fticks fecured them and their horfes from falling over the stage; and the emperor was fo much delighted, that he ordered this entertainment to be repeated feveral days, and once was pleafed to be lifted up, and give the word of command; and, with great difficulty, perfuaded even the emprefs herself to let me hold her in her close chair within two yards of the stage, from whence fhe was able to take a full view of the whole performance. It was my good fortune, that no ill accident happened in thefe entertainments, only once a fiery horfe, that belonged to one of the captains, pawing with his hoof, ftruck a hole in my handkerchief, and his foot flipping he overthrew his rider and himself; but I immediately relieved them both, and covering the hole with one hand, I fet down the troop with the other, in the fame manner as I took them up. The horse that fell was strained in the left shoulder, but the rider got no hurt, and I repaired my handkerchief as well as I could; however, I would not trust to the ftrength of it any more in fuch dangerous enterprizes.

About two or three days before I was fet at liberty, as I was entertaining the court with this kind of feats, there arrived an exprefs to inform his majesty, that fome of his fubjects, riding near the place where I was first taken up, had feen a great black fubftance lying on the ground, very oddly fhaped, extending its edges round as wide as his majefty's bedchamber, and rifing up in the middle as high as a man; that it was no living creature, as they at firft apprehended, for it lay on the grafs without motion; and fome of them had walked round it feveral times; that, by mounting up on each other's fhoulders, they had got to the top, which was flat and even, and, ftamping upon it, they found it was hollow within; that they

humbly conceived it might be fomething belonging to the Man-mountain; and if his majefty pleafed, they would undertake to bring it with only five horses. I prefently knew what they meant, and was glad at heart to receive this intelligence. It feems, upon my firft reaching the fhore after our fhipwreck, I was in fuch confufion, that, before I came to the place where I went to fleep, my hat, which I had fastened with a ftring to my head while I was rowing, and had tuck on all the time I was fwimming, fell off after I came to land; the ftring, as I conjecture, breaking by fome accident, which I never obferved, but thought my hat had been loft at fea. I entreated his imperial majefty to give orders it might be brought to me as foon as poffible, defcribing to him the use and the nature of it: and the next day the waggoners arrived with it, but not in a very good condition; they had bored two holes in the brim within an inch and a half of the edge, and fastened two hooks in the holes; thefe hooks were tied by a long cord to the harness, and thus my hat was dragged along for above half an English mile; but the ground in that country being extremely fmooth and level, it received lefs damage than I expected.

Two days after this adventure, the emperor having ordered that part of his army, which quarters in and about his metropolis, to be in readiness, took a fancy of diverting himself in a very fingular manner. He defired I would ftand like a coloffus, with my legs as far afunder as I conveniently could. He then commanded his general (who was an old experienced leader, and a great patron of mine) to draw up the troops in clofe order, and march them under me; the foot by twenty-four in a breaft, and the horse by fixteen, with drums beating, colours flying, and pikes advanced. This body confifted of three thousand foot and a thousand horfe. His majefty gave orders, upon pain of death, that every foldier in his march fhould obferve the ftricteft decency with regard to my perfon; which however could not prevent fome of the younger officers from turning up their eyes, as they paffed under me; and, to confefs the truth, my breeches were at that time in fo ill a condition, that they afforded fome opportunities for laughter and admi ration.

I had fent fo many memorials and petitions for my liberty, that his majefty at length mentioned the matter firft in the cabinet, and then in a full council; where it was oppofed by none, except Skyresh Bol

3K3

golam,

golam, who was pleafed, without any provocation, to be my mortal enemy. But it was carried against him by the whole board, and confirmed by the emperor. That minifter was galbet, or admiral of the realin, very much in his mafter's confidence, and a perfon well verfed in affairs, but of a morofe and four complexion. However, he was at length perfuaded to comply; but prevailed that the articles and conditions upon which I fhould be fet free, and to which I must fwear, fhould be drawn up by himfelf. These articles were brought to me by Skyresh Bolgolam in perfon, attended by two under-fecretaries, and several perfons of diftinction. After they were read, I was demanded to fwear to the perform ance of them; firft in the manner of my own country, and afterwards in the method prefcribed by their laws, which was to hold my right foot in my left hand, and to place the middle finger of my right hand on the crown of my head, and my thumb on the tip of my right ear. But because the reader may be curious to have fome idea of the style and manner of expreffion peculiar to that people, as well as to know the articles upon which I recovered my liberty, I have made a tranflation of the whole inftrument word for word, as near as I was able, which I here offer to the public.

Golbafto Momaren Evlame Gurdilo Shefin Mully Ully Gue, moft mighty emperor of Lilliput, delight and terror of the univerfe, whofe dominions extend five thoufand bluftrugs (about twelve miles in circumference) to the extremities of the globe; monarch of all monarchs, taller than the fons of men; whole feet prefs down to the centre, and whofe head ftrikes against the fun; at whofe nod the princes of the earth fhake their knees; pleafant as the fpring, comfortable as the fummer, fruitful as autumn, dreadful as winter. His moft fublime majefty propofeth to the Man-mountain, lately arrived at our celeftial dominions, the following articles, which by a folemn oath he fhall be obliged to perform.

1t. The Man-mountain fhall not depart from our dominions without our licence under our great feal.

2d. He fhall not prefume to come into our metropolis without our exprefs order; at which time the inhabitants fhall have two hours warning to keep within doors.

3d. 'I he faid Man-mountain fhall confine his walks to our principal high roads, and not offer to walk or lie down in a meadow or field of corn.

4th. As he walks the faid roads, he fhal take the utmost care not to trample upon the bodies of any of our loving fubjects, their horfes or carriages, nor take any of our fubjects into his hands without their

own confent.

5th. If an exprefs requires extraordinary difpatch, the Man-mountain fhall be obliged to carry in his pocket the meffenger and horfe a fix days journey once in every moon, and return the faid meffenger back (if fo required) fafe to our imperial prefence.

6th. He fhall be our ally against our enemies in the island of Biefufcu, and do his utmost to deftroy their fleet, which is now preparing to invade us.

7th. That the faid Man-mountain fhall, at his times of leisure, be aiding and affitting to our workmen, in helping to raife certain great ftones, towards covering the wall of the principal park and other our royal buildings.

8th. That the faid Man-mountain fhall, in two moons time, deliver in an exact furvey of the circumference of our dominions by a computation of his own paces round the coaft.

Laftly, That, upon his folemn oath to obferve all the above articles, the faid Manmountain shall have a daily allowance of meat and drink fufficient for the fupport of 1724 of our fubjects, with free access to our royal perfon, and other marks of our favour. Given at our palace at Belfaborac, the twelfth day of the ninety-first moon of our reign.

I fwore and fubfcribed to thefe articles with great chearfulness and content, although fome of them were not fo honourable as I could have wished; which proceeded wholly from the malice of Skyreth Bolgolam, the high-admiral; whereupon my chains were immediately unlocked, and I was at full liberty. The emperor himielf in perfon did me the honour to be by at the whole ceremony. I made my acknowledg ments by proftrating myfelf at his majefty's feet, but he commanded me to rife; and after many gracious expreffions, which, to avoid the cenfure of vanity, I shall not repeat, he added, that he hoped I should prove a useful fervant, and well deserve all the favours he had already conferred upon me, or might do for the future,