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Gulliver's Travels (1726) |
Jonathan Swift |
| 1 |
THE Empire of Blefuscu is an
Island situated to the North
North-East side of Lilliput,
from whence 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 Enemys 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 Sea-men, upon the depth of the
Channel, which they had often plummed,
who told me, that in the middle at high
Water it was seventy Glumgluffs deep,
which is about six foot of European Measure; and the rest of it fifty Glumgluffs at
most. I walked towards the North-East
Coast over against Blefuscu, and lying
down behind a Hillock, took out my
small Pocket 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 Order
(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 reasn I twisted three of the
Iron Bars together, | 2 |
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 a-drift, 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, that it is
almost impossible to describe or conceive.
When I had got out of danger, I stopt a
while 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
Tyde was a little fallen, I waded through
the middle with my Cargo, and arrived
safe at the Royal Port of Lilliput.
| 3 |
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 fastned, I cryed in a loud Voice,
Long live the most puissant Emperor 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.
| 4 |
HIS Majesty desired I would take
some other Opportunity of bringing all
the rest of his Enemy's Ships into his
Ports. And so unmeasurable 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 Vice-Roy; 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 Topicks 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.
| 5 |
THIS open bold Declaration of mine
was so opposite to the Schemes and Politicks of his Imperial Majesty, that he
could never forgive it; 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 Ballance with a Refusal to
gratify their Passions.
| 6 |
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 shew 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.
| 7 |
WHEN I had for some time entertained their Excellencies to their infinite
Satisfaction and Surprize, I desired they
would do me the Honour to present my
most humble Respects to the Emperor
their Master, the Renown of whose Virtures 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 Licence to
wait on the Blefuscudian Monarch, which
he was pleas'd to grant me, as I could plainly 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.
| 8 |
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 Tongues, with an avowed
Contempt for that of their Neighbour;
yet our Emperor standing upon the advantage he had got by the seisure 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.
| 9 |
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 any thing 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 Croud, intreated
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 Moon-shine 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 a large Thimble,
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 drank plentifully
of a most delicious Wine, called Plimigrim, (the Blefuscudians call it Flunec,
but ours is esteemed the better sort) which
is very diuretick. 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 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.
| 10 |
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, 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.
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