CHA P. IV.

Mildendo, the metropolis of Lilliput, defcribed, together with the emperor's palace. A converfation between the author and a principal fecretary concerning the affairs of that empire. The author's offers to ferve the emperor in his wars.

The first request 1 made, after I had obtained my liberty, was, that I might have licence to fee Mildendo, the metropolis; which the emperor eafily granted me, but with a fpecial charge to do no hurt either to the inhabitants or their houfes. The people had notice by proclamation of my defign to vifit the town. The wall, which encompaffed it, is two feet and a half high, and at least eleven inches broad, fo that a coach and horfes may be driven very fafely round it; and it is flanked with ftrong towers at ten feet distance. I ftept over the great western gate, and paffed very gently, and fideling, through the two principal ftreets, only in my fhort waistcoat, for fear of damaging the roofs and eves of the houses with the skirts of my coat. I walked with the utmost circumfpection to avoid treading on any ftraggler, who might remain in the streets; although the orders were very strict, that all people fhould keep in their houfes at their own peril. The garret-windows and tops of houfes were fo crowded with fpectators, that I thought in all my travels I had not feen a more populous place. The city is an exact fquare, each fide of the wall being five hundred feet long. The two great treets, which run

crofs and divide it into four quarters, are five feet wide. The lanes and alleys, which I could not enter, but only viewed them as I paffed, are from twelve to eighteen inches. The town is capable of holding five hundred thousand fouls: the houfes are from three to five ftories: the fhops and markets well provided.

The emperor's palace is in the centre of the city, where the two great streets meet It is inclofed by a wall of two feet high, and twenty feet distance from the buildings. I had his majesty's permiflion to step over this wall; and the space being fo wide between that and the palace, I could easily view it on every fide. The outward court is a fquare of forty feet, and includes two other courts: in the inmoft are the royal apartments, which I was very defirous to fee, but found it extremely difficult; for the great gates, from one fquare into another, were but eighteen inches high, and feven inches wide. Now the buildings of the outer court were at least five feet high, and it was impoffible for me to ftride over them without infinite damage to the pile, though the walls were strongly built of hewn ftone, and four inches thick. At the fame time the emperor had a great defire that I fhould fee the magnificence of his palace; but this I was not able to do till three days after, which I spent in cutting down with my knife fome of the largest trees in the royal park, about an hundred yards diftant from the city. Of these trees I made two ftools, each about three feet high, and ftrong enough to bear my weight. The people having received notice a fecond time, I went again through the city to the palace with my two ftools in my hands. When I came to the fide of the outer court, I flood upon one ftool, and took the other in my hand; this I lifted over the roof, and gently fet it down on the space between the first and fecond court, which was eight feet wide. I then ftept over the building very conveni. ently from one ftool to the other, and drew up the firft after me with a hooked stick. By this contrivance I got into the inmoft court; and, lying down upon my fide, I applied my face to the windows of the middle ftories, which were left open on purpofe, and difcovered the moft fplendid apartments that can be imagined. There I faw the emprefs and the young princes in their feveral lodgings, with their chief attendants about them. Her imperial majefty was pleafed to fmile very gracioufly upon me, and gave m of the window her hand to kils.

3 K 4

Jut

But

But I fhall not anticipate the reader with farther defcriptions of this kind, because I referve them for a greater work, which is now almost ready for the prefs, containing a general description of this empire, from its first erection, through a long feries of princes, with a particular account of their wars and politics, laws, learning, and religion, their plants and animals, their peculiar manners and cuftoms, with other matters very curious and ufeful; my chief defign at prefent being only to relate fuch events and tranfactions, as happened to the public or to myself, during a refidence of about nine months in that empire.

One morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my liberty, Reldrefal, principal fecretary of state (as they style him) for private affairs, came to my house attended only by one fervant. He ordered his coach to wait at a distance, and defired I would give him an hour's audience; which I readily confented to, on account of his quality and perfonal merits, as well as of the many good offices he had done me during my folicitations at court. I offered to lie down, that he might the more conveniently reach my ear; but he chofe rather to let me hold him in my hand during our conversation. He began with compliments on my liberty; faid, he might pretend to fome merit in it: but however added, that, if it had not been for the prefent fituation of things at court, perhaps I might not have obtained it fo foon. For, faid he, as flourishing a condition as we may appear to be in to foreigners, we labour under two mighty evils; a violent faction at home, and the danger of an invafion by a moft potent enemy from abroad. As to the first, you are to understand, that for above feventy moons paft there have been two ftruggling parties in this empire, under the names of Trameckfan and Slameckfan*, from the high and low heels of their fhoes, by which they diftinguish themselves. It is alledged indeed, that the high heels are moft agreeable to our ancient conftitution; but, however this be, his majefty is determined to make ufe only of low heels in the adminiftration of the government, and all offices in the gift of the crown, as you cannot but obferve; and particularly, that his majesty's imperial * High-church and Low-church, or Whig and Tory. As every accidental difference between man and man in perfon and circumftances is by this work rendered extremely contemptible; fo fpeculative differences are shown to be equally ridiculous, when the zeal with which they are oppofed and defended too much exceeds their import

ance.

heels are lower at least by a drurr than any of his court (drurr is a measure about the fourteenth part of an inch.) The animofities between these two parties run fo high, that they will neither eat nor drink, nor talk with each other. We compute the Trameckfan, or high-heels, to exceed us in number; but the power is wholly on our fide. We apprehend his imperial highness, the heir to the crown, to have fome tendency towards the high-heels; at least, we can plainly difcover, that one of his heels is higher than the other, which gives him a hobble in his gait. Now, in the midft of thefe inteftine difquiets we are threatened with an invafion from the island of Blefufcu, which is the other great empire of the univerfe, almoft as large and powerful as this of his majesty. For as to what we have heard you affirm, that there are other kingdoms and states in the world, inhabited by human creatures as large as yourself, our philofophers are in much doubt, and would rather conjecture that you dropped from the moon, or one of the stars; because it is certain, that an hundred mortals of your bulk would, in a fhort time, destroy all the fruits and cattle of his majesty's dominions: befides, our hiftories of fix thousand moons make no mention of any other regions, than the two great empires of Lilliput and Blefufcu. Which two mighty powers have, as I was going to tell you, been engaged in a moft obftinate war for fix-and-thirty moons paft. It began upon the following occa fion: it is allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking eggs, before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but his prefent majefty's grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers. Whereupon the emperor, his father, published an edict, commanding all his fubjects, upon great penalties, to break the fmaller end of their eggs. The people fo highly refented this law, that our hiftories tell us, there have been fix rebellions raised on that account; wherein one emperor loft his life, and another his crown. These civil commotions were conftantly fomented by the monarchs of Blefufcu; and when they were quelled, the exiles always fied for refuge to that empire. It is computed that eleven thousand perfons have at feveral times fuffered death, rather than fubmit to break their eggs at the fmaller end. Many hundred large volumes have been published upon this controversy: but the books of the Big-endians have been long forbidden, and the whole party ren

dered

dered incapable by law of holding employments. During the courfe of thefe troubles, the emperors of Blefufcu did frequently expoftulate by their ambaffadors, accufing us of making a fchifm in religion by offending against a fundamental doctrine of our great prophet Luftrog, in the fifty-fourth chapter of the Blundecral (which is their Alcoran.) This however is thought to be a mere ftrain upon the text; for the words are thefe: "That all true believers break their "eggs at the convenient end." And which is the convenient end, feems in my humble opinion be left to every man's confcience, or at leaft in the power of the chief magiftrate to determine. Now, the Big-endian exiles have found fo much credit in the emperor of Blefufcu's court, and fo much private affistance and encouragement from their party here at home, that a bloody war hath been carried on between the two empires for fix-and-thirty moons,'with various fuccefs; during which time we have loft forty capital hips, and a much greater number of smaller veffels, together with thirty thousand of our beft feamen and foldiers; and the damage received by the enemy is reckoned to be fomewhat greater than ours. However, they have now equipped a numerous fleet, and are juft preparing to make a defcent upon us; and his imperial majefty, placing a great confidence in your valour and ftrength, hath commanded me to lay this account of his affairs before you.

I defired the fecretary to prefent my humble duty to the emperor, and to let him know, that I thought it would not become me, who was a foreigner, to interfere with parties; but I was ready with the hazard of my life to defend his perfon and ftate against all invaders.

CHAP. V.

The author, by an extraordinary fratagem, prevents an invafion. A high title of bonour is conferred upon him. Ambajadors arrive from the emperor of Blefujcu, and fue for peace. The empress's apartment on fire by an accident; the author inftrumental in faving the rest of the palace."

The empire of Blefufcu is an ifland, fituated to the north-eaft fide of Lilliput, from

Gulliver, without examining the fubject of difpute, readily engaged to defend the emperor against invafion; because he knew that no fuch monarch had a right to invade the dominions of another, for the propagation of truth,

whence it is parted only by a channel of eight hundred yards wide. I had not yet feen it, and upon this notice of an intended invafion I avoided appearing on that fide of the coaft, for fear of being difcovered by fome of the enemy's fhips, who had received no intelligence of me, all intercourse between the two empires having been ftrictly forbidden during the war upon pain of death, and an embargo laid by our emperor upon all veffels whatfoever. I communicated to his majefty a project I formed of feizing the enemy's whole fleet: which, our fcouts affured us, lay at anchor in the harbour ready to fail with the firft fair wind. I confulted the most experienced feamen upon the depth of the channel, which they had often plummed; who told me, that in the middle at high-water it was feventy glumgluffs deep, which is about fix feet of European measure; and the reft of it fifty glumgluffs at most. I walked towards the north-east coast, over against Blefufcu; where, lying down behind a hillock, I took out my fmall perfpective-glafs, and viewed the enemy's fleet at anchor, confifting of about fifty men of war, and a great number of tranfports: I then came back to my house, and gave orders (for which I had a warrant) for a great quantity of the ftrongeft cable and bars of iron. The cable was about as thick as packthread, and the bars of the length and fize of a knitting-needle. I trebled the cable to make it stronger, and for the fame reason I twisted three of the iron bars together, bending the extremities into a hook. Having thus fixed fifty hooks to as many cables, I went back to the north-eaft coaft, and putting off my coat, thoes, and ftockings, walked into the fea in my leathern jerkin, about half an hour before high-water. I waded with what hafte I could, and fwam in the middle about thirty yards, till I felt ground; I arrived at the fleet in lefs than half an hour. The enemy was fo frighted, when they faw me, that they leaped out of their fhips, and fwam to fhore, where there could not be fewer than thirty thousand fouls: I then took my tackling, and, fastening a hook to the hole at the prow of each, I tied all the thus employed, the enemy difcharged fecords together at the end. While I was veral thousand arrows, many of which ftuck in my hands and face; and, befides the exceflive fmart, gave me much disturbance in my work. My greatest apprehenfion was for mine eyes, which I fhould have

infallibly

infallibly loft, if I had not fuddenly thought of an expedient. I kept, among other little neceffaries, a pair of fpectacles in a private pocket, which, as I obferved before, had escaped the emperor's fearchers. Thefe I took out and fastened as ftrongly as I could upon my nofe, and thus armed went on boldly with my work, in fpite of the enemy's arrows, many of which ftruck against the glaffes of my fpectacles, but without any other effect, farther than a little to difcompofe them. I had now faftened all the hooks, and taking the knot in my hand began to pull; but not a fhip would ftir, for they were all too fast held by their anchors, fo that the boldest part of my enterprize remained. I therefore let go the cord, and leaving the hooks fixed to the fhips, I refolutely cut with my knife the cables that fatened the anchors, receiving above two hundred fhots in my face and hands; then I took up the knotted end of the cables, to which my hooks were tied, and with great cafe drew fifty of the enemy's largest men of war after me.

The Blefufcudians, who had not the leaft imagination of what I intended, were at first confounded with aftonishment. They had feen me cut the cables, and thought my defign was only to let the fhips run adrift, or fall foul on each other: but when they perceived the whole fleet moving in order, and faw me pulling at the end, they fet up fuch a fcream of grief and despair, as it is almoft impofiible to defcribe or conceive. When I had got out of danger, I ftopt awhile to pick out the arrows that ftuck in my hands and face; and rubbed on fome of the fame ointment, that was given me at my first arrival, as I have formerly mentioned. I then took off my fpectacles, and waiting about an hour, till the tide was a little fallen, I waded through the middle with my cargo, and arrived fafe at the royal port of Lilliput.

The emperor and his whole court food on the shore expecting the iffue of this great adventure. They faw the fhips move forward in a large half-moon, but could not difcern me, who was up to my breaft in water. When I advanced to the middle of the channel,, they were yet in more pain, becaufe I was under water to my neck. The emperor concluded me to be drowned, and that the enemy's flect was approaching in an hoftile manner: but he was foon eafed of his fears, for the channel growing fhallower every step I made, I came in a fhort time within hearing; and holding up the end of the cable, by which

3

the fleet was fastened, I cried in a loud voice," Long live the moft puiffant emperor of Lilliput !" This great prince received me at my landing with all poble encomiums, and created me a nardac upon the spot, which is the highest title of honour among them.

His majefty defired I would take fome other opportunity of bringing all the reft of his enemy's fhips into his ports. And fo unmeafurable is the ambition of princes, that he feemed to think on nothing leis than reducing the whole empire of Blefafen into a province, and governing it by a viceroy: of deftroying the Big-endian exiles, and compelling that people to break the fmaller end of their eggs, by which he would remain the fole monarch of the whole world. But I endeavoured to divert, him from this defign, by many arguments drawn from the topics of policy as well as juice: and I plainly protetted, that I would never be an inftrument of bringing a free and brave people into flavery. And when the matter was debated in council, the wifeft part of the ministry were of my opinion.

This open bold declaration of mine was fo oppofite to the fchemes and politics of his imperial majefty, that he could never forgive me; he mentioned it in a very artful manner at council, where I was told that fome of the wifeft appeared at leaft by their filence to be of my opinion; but others, who were my fecret enemies, could not forbear fome expreffions, which by a fide-wind reflected on me. And from this time began an intrigue between his majefty and a junto of minifters maliciously bent against me, which broke out in leis than two months, and had like to have ended in my utter deftruction. Of fo little weight are the greatest fervices to princes, when put into the balance with a refufal to gratify their paffions.

About three weeks after this exploit, there arrived a folemn embafly from Blefufcu, with humble offers of a peace; which was foon concluded upon conditions very advantageous to our emperor, wherewith I fhall not trouble the reader. There were fix ambassadors, with a train of about five hundred perfons; and their entry was very magnificent, fuitable to the grandeur of their mafter, and the importance of their bufinefs. When their treaty was finished, wherein I did them feveral good offices by the credit I now had, or at leaft appeared to have at court, their excellencies, who were privately told how much I had been

their

their friend, made me a vifit in form. They began with many compliments upon my valour and generofity, invited me to that kingdom in the emperor their master's name, and defired ine to fhew them fome proofs of my prodigious ftrength, of which they had heard fo many wonders; wherein I readily obliged them, but fhall not trouble the readers with the particulars.

When I had for fome time entertained their excellencies to their infinite fatisfaction and surprise, I defi ed they would do me the honour to prefent my most humble respects to the emperor their mafter, the renown of whofe virtues had fo juftly filled the whole world with admiration, and whofe royal perfon I refolved to attend before I returned to my own country; accordingly the next time I had the honour to see our emperor, I defired his general licence to wait on the Blefufcudian monarch, which he was pleafed to grant me, as I could plainly perceive, in a very cold manner but could not guefs the reafon, till I had a whifper from a certain perfon, that Flimnap and Bolgolam had reprefented my intercourfe with thofe ambaftadors as a mark of difaffection, from which I am fure my heart was wholly free. And this was the first time I began to conceive fome imperfect idea of courts and minifters.

It is to be obferved, that thefe ambassadors fpoke to me by an interpreter, the languages of both empires differing as much from each other as any two in Europe, and each nation priding itself upon the antiquity, beauty, and energy of their own tongues, with an avowed contempt for that of their neighbour; yet our emperor, ftanding upon the advantage he had got by the feizure of their fleet, obliged them to deliver their credentials, and make their fpeech in the Lilliputian tongue. And it must be confeffed, that from the great intercourfe of trade and commerce between both realms, from the continual reception of exiles, which is mutual among them, and from the custom in each empire to fend their young nobility and richer gentry to the other in order to polith themfelves by feeing the world, and understanding men and manners; there are few perfons of diftinction, or merchants, or feamen, who dwell in the maritime parts, but what can hold converfation in both tongues; as I found fome weeks after, when I went to pay my refpects to the emperor of Blefufcu, which in the midst of great misfortunes, through

the malice of my enemies, proved a very happy adventure to me, as I fhall relate in its proper place.

The reader may remember, that when I figned thofe articles upon which I recovered my liberty, there were fome which I difliked upon account of their being too fervile, neither could any thing but an extreme neceffity have forced me to fubmit. But being now a nardac of the higheft rank in that empire, fuch offices were looked upon as below my dignity, and the emperor (to do him juftice) never once mentioned them to me. However, it was not long before I had an opportunity of doing his majefty, at least as I then thought, a moft fignal fervice. I was alarmed at midnight with the cries of many hundred peopie at my door; by which being fuddenly awaked, I was in fome kind of terror. I heard the word burglum repeated inceffantly: feveral of the emperor's court making their way through the crowd, intreated me to come immediately to the palace, where her imperial majesty's apartment was on fire by the careleffnefs of a maid of honour, who fell asleep while fhe was reading a romance. I got up in an inftant; and orders being given to clear the way before me, and it being likewife a moonshine night, I made a fhift to get to the palace without trampling on any of the people. I found they had already applied ladders to the walls of the apartment, and were well provided with buckets, but the water was at fome diftance. Thefe buckets were about the fize of a large thimble, and the poor people fupplied me with them as faft as they could; but the flame was so violent that they did little good. I might easily have ftifled it with my coat, which I unfortunately left behind me for haste, and came away only in my leathern jerkin. The cafe feemed wholly defperate and deplorable, and this magnificent palace would have infallibly been burnt down to the ground, if by a prefence of mind unufual to me, I had not fuddenly thought of an expedient. I had the evening before drank plentifully of a moft delicious wine, called glimigrim (the Blefufcudians call it flunec, but ours is esteemed the better fort) which is very diuretic. By the luckiest chance in the world I had not discharged myself of any part of it. The heat I had contracted by coming very near the flames, and by my labouring to quench them, made the wine begin to operate by urine; which I voided in fuch a quantity, and applied fo

well