GULLIVER’S
TRAVELS
PART 5
CHAPTER IV.
Mildendo, the metropolis of
Lilliput, described, together with the emperor’s palace. A conversation
between the author and a principal secretary, concerning the affairs of that
empire. The author’s offers to serve the emperor in his wars.
The first
request I made, after I had obtained my liberty, was, that I might have license
to see Mildendo, the metropolis; which the emperor easily granted me, but with
a special charge to do no hurt either to the inhabitants or their houses.
The people had notice, by proclamation, of my design to visit the town.
The wall which encompassed it is two feet and a half high, and at least eleven
inches broad, so that a coach and horses may be driven very safely round it;
and it is flanked with strong towers at ten feet distance. I stepped over
the great western gate, and passed very gently, and sidling, through the two
principal streets, only in my short waistcoat, for fear of damaging the roofs
and eaves of the houses with the skirts of my coat. I walked with the
utmost circumspection, to avoid treading on any stragglers who might remain in
the streets, although the orders were very strict, that all people should keep
in their houses, at their own peril. The garret windows and tops of
houses were so crowded with spectators, that I thought in all my travels I had
not seen a more populous place. The city is an exact square, each side of
the wall being five hundred feet long. The two great streets, which run
across and divide it into four quarters, are five feet wide. The lanes
and alleys, which I could not enter, but only view them as I passed, are from
twelve to eighteen inches. The town is capable of holding five hundred
thousand souls: the houses are from three to five stories: the shops and markets
well provided.
The
emperor’s palace is in the centre of the city where the two great streets
meet. It is enclosed by a wall of two feet high, and twenty feet distance
from the buildings. I had his majesty’s permission to step over this
wall; and, the space being so wide between that and the palace, I could easily
view it on every side. The outward court is a square of forty feet, and
includes two other courts: in the inmost are the royal apartments, which I was
very desirous to see, but found it extremely difficult; for the great gates,
from one square into another, were but eighteen inches high, and seven inches
wide. Now the buildings of the outer court were at least five feet high,
and it was impossible for me to stride over them without infinite damage to the
pile, though the walls were strongly built of hewn stone, and four inches
thick. At the same time the emperor had a great desire that I should see
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 some of the largest trees in
the royal park, about a hundred yards distant from the city. Of these
trees I made two stools, each about three feet high, and strong enough to bear
my weight. The people having received notice a second time, I went again
through the city to the palace with my two stools in my hands. When I
came to the side of the outer court, I stood upon one stool, and took the other
in my hand; this I lifted over the roof, and gently set it down on the space
between the first and second court, which was eight feet wide. I then
stept over the building very conveniently from one stool to the other, and drew
up the first after me with a hooked stick. By this contrivance I got into
the inmost court; and, lying down upon my side, I applied my face to the
windows of the middle stories, which were left open on purpose, and discovered
the most splendid apartments that can be imagined. There I saw the
empress and the young princes, in their several lodgings, with their chief
attendants about them. Her imperial majesty was pleased to smile very
graciously upon me, and gave me out of the window her hand to kiss.
But I
shall not anticipate the reader with further descriptions of this kind, because
I reserve them for a greater work, which is now almost ready for the press;
containing a general description of this empire, from its first erection,
through along series of princes; with a particular account of their wars and
politics, laws, learning, and religion; their plants and animals; their
peculiar manners and customs, with other matters very curious and useful; my
chief design at present being only to relate such events and transactions as
happened to the public or to myself during a residence of about nine months in
that empire.
One
morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my liberty, Reldresal,
principal secretary (as they style him) for private affairs, came to my house
attended only by one servant. He ordered his coach to wait at a distance,
and desired I would give him an hours audience; which I readily consented to,
on account of his quality and personal merits, as well as of the many good
offices he had done me during my solicitations at court. I offered to lie
down that he might the more conveniently reach my ear, but he chose rather to
let me hold him in my hand during our conversation. He began with
compliments on my liberty; said “he might pretend to some merit in it;” but,
however, added, “that if it had not been for the present situation of things at
court, perhaps I might not have obtained it so soon. For,” said 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
invasion, by a most potent enemy, from abroad. As to the first, you are
to understand, that for about seventy moons past there have been two struggling
parties in this empire, under the names of Tramecksan and Slamecksan,
from the high and low heels of their shoes, by which they distinguish themselves.
It is alleged, indeed, that the high heels are most agreeable to our ancient
constitution; but, however this be, his majesty has determined to make use only
of low heels in the administration of the government, and all offices in the gift
of the crown, as you cannot but observe; and particularly that his majesty’s
imperial 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 animosities
between these two parties run so high, that they will neither eat, nor drink,
nor talk with each other. We compute the Tramecksan, or high
heels, to exceed us in number; but the power is wholly on our side. We
apprehend his imperial highness, the heir to the crown, to have some tendency
towards the high heels; at least we can plainly discover that one of his heels
is higher than the other, which gives him a hobble in his gait. Now, in
the midst of these intestine disquiets, we are threatened with an invasion from
the island of Blefuscu, which is the other great empire of the universe, almost
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 philosophers are in much
doubt, and would rather conjecture that you dropped from the moon, or one of
the stars; because it is certain, that a hundred mortals of your bulk would in
a short time destroy all the fruits and cattle of his majesty’s dominions:
besides, our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other
regions than the two great empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu. Which two
mighty powers have, as I was going to tell you, been engaged in a most
obstinate war for six-and-thirty moons past. It began upon the following
occasion. It is allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking
eggs, before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but his present majesty’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 subjects, upon
great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so
highly resented this law, that our histories tell us, there have been six
rebellions raised on that account; wherein one emperor lost his life, and
another his crown. These civil commotions were constantly fomented by the
monarchs of Blefuscu; and when they were quelled, the exiles always fled for
refuge to that empire. It is computed that eleven thousand persons have
at several times suffered death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the
smaller 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 rendered incapable by law of holding employments. During the
course of these troubles, the emperors of Blefusca did frequently expostulate
by their ambassadors, accusing us of making a schism in religion, by offending
against a fundamental doctrine of our great prophet Lustrog, in the
fifty-fourth chapter of the Blundecral (which is their Alcoran). This,
however, is thought to be a mere strain upon the text; for the words are these:
‘that all true believers break their eggs at the convenient end.’ And
which is the convenient end, seems, in my humble opinion to be left to every
man’s conscience, or at least in the power of the chief magistrate to
determine. Now, the Big-endian exiles have found so much credit in the
emperor of Blefuscu’s court, and so much private assistance and encouragement
from their party here at home, that a bloody war has been carried on between
the two empires for six-and-thirty moons, with various success; during which
time we have lost forty capital ships, and a much a greater number of smaller
vessels, together with thirty thousand of our best seamen and soldiers; and the
damage received by the enemy is reckoned to be somewhat greater than
ours. However, they have now equipped a numerous fleet, and are just
preparing to make a descent upon us; and his imperial majesty, placing great
confidence in your valour and strength, has commanded me to lay this account of
his affairs before you.”
I desired
the secretary to present 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 person and
state against all invaders.”
CHAPTER V.
The author, by an extraordinary
stratagem, prevents an invasion. A high title of honour is conferred upon
him. Ambassadors arrive from the emperor of Blefuscu, and sue for
peace. The empress’s apartment on fire by an accident; the author
instrumental in saving the rest of the palace.
The empire
of Blefuscu is an island situated to the north-east of Lilliput, from which it
is parted only by a channel of eight hundred yards wide. I had not yet
seen it, and upon this notice of an intended invasion, I avoided appearing on
that side of the coast, for fear of being discovered, by some of the enemy’s
ships, who had received no intelligence of me; all intercourse between the two
empires having been strictly forbidden during the war, upon pain of death, and
an embargo laid by our emperor upon all vessels whatsoever. I
communicated to his majesty a project I had formed of seizing the enemy’s whole
fleet; which, as our scouts assured us, lay at anchor in the harbour, ready to
sail with the first fair wind. I consulted the most experienced seamen
upon the depth of the channel, which they had often plumbed; who told me, that
in the middle, at high-water, it was seventy glumgluffs deep, which is
about six feet of European measure; and the rest of it fifty glumgluffs
at most. I walked towards the north-east coast, over against Blefuscu,
where, lying down behind a hillock, I took out my small perspective glass, and
viewed the enemy’s fleet at anchor, consisting of about fifty men of war, and a
great number of transports: I then came back to my house, and gave orders (for
which I had a warrant) for a great quantity of the strongest cable and bars of
iron. The cable was about as thick as packthread and the bars of the
length and size of a knitting-needle. I trebled the cable to make it
stronger, and for the same 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-east coast, and putting off my coat, shoes,
and stockings, walked into the sea, in my leathern jerkin, about half an hour
before high water. I waded with what haste I could, and swam in the
middle about thirty yards, till I felt ground. I arrived at the fleet in
less than half an hour. The enemy was so frightened when they saw me,
that they leaped out of their ships, and swam to shore, where there could not
be fewer than thirty thousand souls. I then took my tackling, and,
fastening a hook to the hole at the prow of each, I tied all the cords together
at the end. While I was thus employed, the enemy discharged several
thousand arrows, many of which stuck in my hands and face, and, beside the
excessive smart, gave me much disturbance in my work. My greatest
apprehension was for mine eyes, which I should have infallibly lost, if I had
not suddenly thought of an expedient. I kept, among other little
necessaries, a pair of spectacles in a private pocket, which, as I observed
before, had escaped the emperor’s searchers. These I took out and
fastened as strongly as I could upon my nose, and thus armed, went on boldly
with my work, in spite of the enemy’s arrows, many of which struck against the
glasses of my spectacles, but without any other effect, further than a little
to discompose them. I had now fastened all the hooks, and, taking the
knot in my hand, began to pull; but not a ship would stir, for they were all
too fast held by their anchors, so that the boldest part of my enterprise
remained. I therefore let go the cord, and leaving the hooks fixed to the
ships, I resolutely cut with my knife the cables that fastened the anchors,
receiving about two hundred shots in my face and hands; then I took up the
knotted end of the cables, to which my hooks were tied, and with great ease
drew fifty of the enemy’s largest men of war after me.
The
Blefuscudians, who had not the least imagination of what I intended, were at
first confounded with astonishment. They had seen me cut the cables, and
thought my design was only to let the ships run adrift or fall foul on each
other: but when they perceived the whole fleet moving in order, and saw me
pulling at the end, they set up such a scream of grief and despair as it is
almost impossible to describe or conceive. When I had got out of danger,
I stopped awhile to pick out the arrows that stuck in my hands and face; and
rubbed on some of the same ointment that was given me at my first arrival, as I
have formerly mentioned. I then took off my spectacles, and waiting about
an hour, till the tide was a little fallen, I waded through the middle with my
cargo, and arrived safe at the royal port of Lilliput.
The
emperor and his whole court stood on the shore, expecting the issue of this
great adventure. They saw the ships move forward in a large half-moon,
but could not discern me, who was up to my breast in water. When I
advanced to the middle of the channel, they were yet more in pain, because I
was under water to my neck. The emperor concluded me to be drowned, and
that the enemy’s fleet was approaching in a hostile manner: but he was soon
eased of his fears; for the channel growing shallower every step I made, I came
in a short time within hearing, and holding up the end of the cable, by which
the fleet was fastened, I cried in a loud voice, “Long live the most puissant
king of Lilliput!” This great prince received me at my landing with all
possible encomiums, and created me a nardac upon the spot, which is the
highest title of honour among them.
His
majesty desired I would take some other opportunity of bringing all the rest of
his enemy’s ships into his ports. And so unmeasureable is the ambition of
princes, that he seemed to think of nothing less than reducing the whole empire
of Blefuscu into a province, and governing it, by a viceroy; of destroying the
Big-endian exiles, and compelling that people to break the smaller end of their
eggs, by which he would remain the sole monarch of the whole world. But I
endeavoured to divert him from this design, by many arguments drawn from the
topics of policy as well as justice; and I plainly protested, “that I would
never be an instrument of bringing a free and brave people into slavery.”
And, when the matter was debated in council, the wisest part of the ministry
were of my opinion.
This open
bold declaration of mine was so opposite to the schemes and politics of his
imperial majesty, that he could never forgive me. He mentioned it in a
very artful manner at council, where I was told that some of the wisest
appeared, at least by their silence, to be of my opinion; but others, who were
my secret enemies, could not forbear some expressions which, by a side-wind,
reflected on me. And from this time began an intrigue between his majesty
and a junto of ministers, maliciously bent against me, which broke out in less
than two months, and had like to have ended in my utter destruction. Of
so little weight are the greatest services to princes, when put into the
balance with a refusal to gratify their passions.
About
three weeks after this exploit, there arrived a solemn embassy from Blefuscu,
with humble offers of a peace, which was soon concluded, upon conditions very
advantageous to our emperor, wherewith I shall not trouble the reader.
There were six ambassadors, with a train of about five hundred persons, and
their entry was very magnificent, suitable to the grandeur of their master, and
the importance of their business. When their treaty was finished, wherein
I did them several good offices by the credit I now had, or at least appeared
to have, at court, their excellencies, who were privately told how much I had
been their friend, made me a visit in form. They began with many
compliments upon my valour and generosity, invited me to that kingdom in the
emperor their master’s name, and desired me to show them some proofs of my
prodigious strength, of which they had heard so many wonders; wherein I readily
obliged them, but shall not trouble the reader with the particulars.
When I had
for some time entertained their excellencies, to their infinite satisfaction
and surprise, I desired they would do me the honour to present my most humble
respects to the emperor their master, the renown of whose virtues had so justly
filled the whole world with admiration, and whose royal person I resolved to
attend, before I returned to my own country. Accordingly, the next time I
had the honour to see our emperor, I desired his general license to wait on the
Blefuscudian monarch, which he was pleased to grant me, as I could perceive, in
a very cold manner; but could not guess the reason, till I had a whisper from a
certain person, “that Flimnap and Bolgolam had represented my intercourse with
those ambassadors as a mark of disaffection;” from which I am sure my heart was
wholly free. And this was the first time I began to conceive some
imperfect idea of courts and ministers.
It is to
be observed, that these ambassadors spoke 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 tongue, with an avowed contempt for that of their neighbour; yet
our emperor, standing upon the advantage he had got by the seizure of their
fleet, obliged them to deliver their credentials, and make their speech, in the
Lilliputian tongue. And it must be confessed, that from the great
intercourse 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 send their young nobility and richer gentry to the other, in order
to polish themselves by seeing the world, and understanding men and manners;
there are few persons of distinction, or merchants, or seamen, who dwell in the
maritime parts, but what can hold conversation in both tongues; as I found some
weeks after, when I went to pay my respects to the emperor of Blefuscu, which,
in the midst of great misfortunes, through the malice of my enemies, proved a
very happy adventure to me, as I shall relate in its proper place.
The reader
may remember, that when I signed those articles upon which I recovered my
liberty, there were some which I disliked, upon account of their being too
servile; neither could anything but an extreme necessity have forced me to
submit. But being now a nardac of the highest rank in that empire,
such offices were looked upon as below my dignity, and the emperor (to do him
justice), never once mentioned them to me. However, it was not long
before I had an opportunity of doing his majesty, at least as I then thought, a
most signal service. I was alarmed at midnight with the cries of many
hundred people at my door; by which, being suddenly awaked, I was in some kind
of terror. I heard the word Burglum repeated incessantly: several
of the emperor’s court, making their way through the crowd, entreated me to
come immediately to the palace, where her imperial majesty’s apartment was on
fire, by the carelessness of a maid of honour, who fell asleep while she was
reading a romance. I got up in an instant; and orders being given to
clear the way before me, and it being likewise a moonshine night, I made a
shift 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 some distance. These
buckets were about the size of large thimbles, and the poor people supplied me
with them as fast as they could: but the flame was so violent that they did
little good. I might easily have stifled it with my coat, which I
unfortunately left behind me for haste, and came away only in my leathern
jerkin. The case seemed wholly desperate and deplorable; and this
magnificent palace would have infallibly been burnt down to the ground, if, by
a presence of mind unusual to me, I had not suddenly thought of an
expedient. I had, the evening before, drunk plentifully of a most
delicious wine called glimigrim, (the Blefuscudians call it flunec,
but ours is esteemed the better sort,) 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
labouring to quench them, made the wine begin to operate by urine; which I
voided in such a quantity, and applied so well to the proper places, that in
three minutes the fire was wholly extinguished, and the rest of that noble
pile, which had cost so many ages in erecting, preserved from destruction.
It was now
day-light, and I returned to my house without waiting to congratulate with the
emperor: because, although I had done a very eminent piece of service, yet I
could not tell how his majesty might resent the manner by which I had performed
it: for, by the fundamental laws of the realm, it is capital in any person, of
what quality soever, to make water within the precincts of the palace.
But I was a little comforted by a message from his majesty, “that he would give
orders to the grand justiciary for passing my pardon in form:” which, however,
I could not obtain; and I was privately assured, “that the empress, conceiving
the greatest abhorrence of what I had done, removed to the most distant side of
the court, firmly resolved that those buildings should never be repaired for
her use: and, in the presence of her chief confidents could not forbear vowing
revenge.”
To be continued
