( 823 ) and filver fnuff-box, my handkerchief and journal-book. My fcymiter, piftols, and pouch, were conveyed in carriages to his majesty's flores; but the reft 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 weaknefs 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 discover, and I apprehended they might be loft or fpoiled, if I ventured them out of my poffeffion. СНАР. III. The author diverts the emperor and his nobility of both fexes in a very uncommon The diverfions of the court of Lilliput defcribed. The author hath his liberty granted him upon certain condi manner. tions. My gentleness and good behaviour had gained fo far on the emperor and his court, and indeed upon the army, and people in general, that I began to conceive hopes of getting my liberty in a fhort time. I took all poflible 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 progreis 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 li berty, 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. Wang Thefe diverfions are often attended with fatal accidents, whereof great numtwo or three candidates break a limb. bers are on record. I myself have feen 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 ftrain 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 diverfion, which is only fhewn before the empeThe emperor lays ror and emprefs, and first minister, upon on the table three fine filken threads of particular occafions. fix inches long; one is blue, the other red, and the third green. These threads are propofed as prizes for thofe perfons, whom the emperor hath a mind to diftinguish by a peculiar mark of his favour. The ceremony is performed in his majesty's great chamber of state, where the candidates are to undergo a ferved trial of dexterity very different from the former, and fuch as I have not ob 3G 4 ferved the leaft refemblance of in any other country of the old or new world. The emperor holds a ftick in his hands, both ends parallel to the horizon, while the candidates advancing, one by one, fometimes leap over the ftick, fometimes creep under it backwards and forwards feveral times, according as the flick is advanced or depreffed. Sometimes the emperor holds one end of the ftick, and his first minifter the other; fometimes the minifter has it entirely to himself. Whoever performs his part with moft agility, and holds out the longest 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 midale; and you fee few great perfons about this court, who are not adorned with one of thefe gir dles. The horfes of the army, and thofe of the royal ftables, having been daily led before me, were no longer fhy, 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 huntmen 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 fticks of two feet high, and the thickness of an ordinary cane, to be brought me; whereupon his majely commanded the maf ter 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 flicks, and tied them parallel at each corner about two feet from the ground; then I faftened my handkerchief to the nine ticks that ftood 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 skirmishes, difcharged blunt arrows, drew their fwords, fled and purfued, attacked and retired, and in fhort difcovered the beft military difcipline I ever beheld. The parallel fticks fecured them and their horfes from falling over the ftage; 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 empress herfelf to let me hold her in her clofe 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 himfeif; 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 horfe that fell was ftrained in the left fhoulder, but the rider got no hurt, and I repaired my handkerchief as well as I could; however, I would not truft 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 majefty, 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 first apprehended, for it lay on the grafs without motion; and fome of them had walked round it feveral times; that, by 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 horfes. 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 faftened with a ftring to my head while I was rowing, and had fuck on all the time I was fwimming, fell off after I came to land; the tring, 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 ufe 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 faftened 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 smooth 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 readinefs, took a fancy of diverting himfelf in à very He defired I would fingular manner. 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 breast, and the horfe 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 翟 fhould obferve the ftricteft decency with But it was car I had fent fo many memorials and petitions for my liberty, that his majefty at length mentioned the matter first in the cabinet,, and then in a full council; where it was oppofed by none, except Skyresh Bolgolam, who was pleafed, without any provocation, to be my mortal enemy. ried against him by the whole board, and confirmed by the emperor. That minifter was galbet, or admiral of the realm, very much in his master's confidence, and a perfon well versed 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 himself. These articles were brought to me by Skyresh Bolgolam in perfon, attended by two under-fecretaries, and feveral perfons of distinction. After they were read, I was demanded to fwear to the performance of them; first 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 ftyle and manner of expreffion pe culiar to that people, as well as to know the articles upon which I reco vered my liberty, I have made a translation 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 extwelve tend five thousand bluftrugs (about twelve miles in circumference) to the extremities of the globe; monarch of all monarchs, taller than the fons of men; whofe 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 shall be obliged to perform. ift. 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. The 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 fhall 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 Blefufcu*, 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 leifure, be aiding and affifting to our workmen, in helping to raise 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 *In his defcription of Lilliput he feems to have had England more immediately in view. In his defcription of Blefufcu, he feems to intend the people and kingdom of France, ORRERY. dominions by a computation of his own paces round the coast. Laftly, That, upon his folemn oath to obferve all the above articles, the faid Man-mountain fhall have a daily allowance of meat and drink fufficient for the fupport of 1724 of our subjects, 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 these 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 Skyrefh Bolgolam, the high admiral; whereupon my chains were immediately unlocked, and I was at full liberty. The emperor himself in perfon did me the honour to be by at the whole ceremony. I made my acknowledgments by proftrating myfelf at his majesty's feet: but he command. ed me to rife; and after many gracious expreffions, which, to avoid the cenfure of vanity, I fhall not repeat, he added, that he hoped I fhould prove a ufeful fervant, and well deferve all the favours he had already conferred upon me, or might do for the future. The reader may pleafe to obferve, that, in the laft article for the recovery of my liberty,the emperor ftipulates to allow me a quantity of meat and drink fufficient for the fapport of 1724 Lilliputians. Some time after afking a friend at court, how they came to fix on that determinate number; he told me, that his majefty's mathematicians having taken the height of my body by the help of a quadrant, and finding it to exceed theirs in the proportion of twelve to one, they concluded, from, the fimilarity of their bodies, that mine must contain at least 1724 of theirs, and confequently would require as much food as was neceffary to fupport that number of Lilliputians. By which the reader may conceive an idea of the ingenuity of that people, as well as the prudent and exact economy of fo great a prince. CHAP. CHA P. IV. Mildendo, the metropolis of Lilliput, de. wars. The first request I 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 special 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 strong towers at ten feet diftance. I tept over the great western gate, and paffed very gently, and fideling, through the two principal ftreets, only in my fhort waificoat, for fear of damaging the roofs and eves of the I houfes with the fkirts of my coat. walked with the utmoft circumfpection to avoid treading on any straggler, who might remain in the streets; although the orders were very ftrict, that all people should 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 íquare, each fide of the wall being five hundred feet long. The two great ftreets, 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 thoufand 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 diftance from the buildings. I had his majesty's permiffion to ftep But I fhall not anticipate the reader with farther descriptions of this kind, becaufe I referve them for a greater 8 work, |