and forwards in a femicircle; but being fixed within four inches of the gate, allowed me to creep in, and lie at my full length in the temple.

CHA P. II.

The Emperor of Lilliput, attended by feveral of the nobility, comes to fee the author in his confinement. The Emperor's perfon and habit defcribed. Learned mea appointed to teach the author their language. He gains favour by his mild difpofition. His pockets are fearched, and his fword and piftols taken from him.

WHEN I found myself on my feet, I looked about

me, and must confefs I never beheld a more entertaining profpect. The country around appeared like a continued garden, and the inclofed fields, which were generally forty feet fquare, refembled fo many beds of flowers. These fields were intermingled with woods of half a stang*, and the tallest trees, as I could judge, appeared to be feven feet high. I viewed the town on my left hand, which looked like the painted fcene of a city in. a theatre.

I had been for fome hours extremely preffed by theneceffities of nature; which was no wonder, it being al most two days fince I had last disburdened myself. I was under great difficulties between urgency and fhame. The beft expedient L could think on, was to creep into my houfe, which I accordingly did; and shutting the gate after me, I went as far as the length of my chain would fuffer, and discharged my body of that uneafy load. But this was the only time I was ever guilty of fo uncleanly an action; for which I cannot but hope the candid reader will give fome allowance, after he hath maturely and impartially confidered my cafe, and the distress I was in. From this time my conftant practice was, as soon as I rofe, to perform that business in open air at the full extent of my chain; and due care was taken every morning, before company came, that the offenfive matter fhould

*Aftang is a pole or perch; fixteen feet and an half, Hawkes,

be carried off in wheel-barrows by two fervants appointed for that purpose. I would not have dwelt fo long upon a circumftance, that perhaps at firft fight may appear not very momentous, if I had not thought it neceffary to juftify my character in point of cleanliness to the world; which I am told fome of my maligners have been pleased, upon this and other occafions, to call in question.

When this adventure was at an end, I came back out of my houfe, having occafion for fresh air. The Emperor was already defcended from the tower, and advancing on horse-back towards me, which had like to have cost him dear; for the beast, though very well trained, yet wholly unuled to fuch a fight, which appeared as if a mountain moved before him, reared up on his hinder feet: but that prince, who is an excellent horfeman, kept his feat, till his attendants ran in, and held the bridle, while his majefty had time to difmount. When he alighted, he furveyed me round with great admiration ;. but kept beyond the length of my chain. He ordered his cooks and butlers, who were already prepared, to give me victuals and drink, which they pushed forward in a fort of vehicles upon wheels, till I could reach them. I took thefe ver hicles, and foon emptied them all; twenty of them were filled with meat, and ten with liquor; each of the former afforded me two or three good mouthfuls; and I emptied the liquor of ten veffels, which was contained in earthen vials, into one vehicle, drinking it off at a draught; and fo I did with the ref. The Emprefs, and young princes of the blood of both fexes, attended by many ladies, fat at some distance in their chairs; but upon the accident that happened to the Emperor's horse, they alighted, and came near his person, which I am now going to defcribe. He is taller by almost the breadth of my nail, than any of his court, which alone is enough to strike an awe into the beholders. His features are strong and mafculine, with an Auftrian lip and arched nofe, his complexion olive, his countenance ered, his body and limbs well proportioned, all his motions graceful, and his deportment majeftic. He was then paft his prime, being twenty-eight years and three quarters old, of which he had reigned about feven in great felicity, and generally victorious. For the better convenience of beholding him I lay on my fide,

fo that my face was parallel to his, and he flood but three yards off: however, I have had him fince many times in my hand, and therefore cannot be deceived in the defcription. His drefs was very plain and fimple, and the fashion of it between the Afiatic and the Euro pean but he had on his head a light helmet of gold, adorned with jewels, and a plume on the creft. He held his sword drawn in his hand to defend himself, if I should' happen to break loofet; it was almost three inches long; the hilt and scabbard were gold enriched with diamonds. His voice was fhrill, but very clear and articulate, and I could distinctly hear it, when I stood up. The ladies and courtiers were all moft magnificently clad, fo that the fpot they stood upon feemed to refemble a petticoat fpread on the ground, embroidered with figures of gold and filver. His imperial majesty spoke often to me, and I returned answers; but neither of us could understand a fyllable. There were feveral of his priests and lawyers prefent, (as I conjectured by their habits) who were commanded to addrefs themselves to me, and I spoke to them in as many languages as I had the leaft fmattering of, which were High and Low Dutch, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua Franca; but all to no purpose. After about two hours the court retired, and I was left with a strong guard to prevent the impertinence, and probably the malice of the rabble, who were very impatient to crowd about me as near as they durft, and fome of them had the impudence to shoot their arrows at me, as I fat on the ground by the door of my houfe, whercof one very narrowly miffed my left eye. But the colonel ordered fix of the ring-leaders to be feized, and thought no punishment so proper, as to deliver them bound into

† The masculine strength of features, which Gulliver could not fee, till he laid his face upon the ground; and the awful fuperiority of ftature in a being, whom he held in his hand; the helmet, the plume, and the fword, are a fine reproof of human pride; the objects of which are trifling diftinctions, whe ther of person or rank; the ridiculous parade and oftentation of a pigmy, which derive not only their origin, but their use, from the folly, weakness, and imperfection of ourselves and others. Hawkes.

my

my hands, which fome of his foldiers accordingly did, pushing them forwards with the but-ends of their pikes into my reach: I took them all on my right hand, put five of them into my coat-pocket, and as to the fixth, I 'made a countenance as if I would eat him alive. The poor man fqualled terribly, and the colonel and his offi cers were in much pain, especially when they faw me take out my penknife: but I foon put them out of fear; for, looking mildly, and immediately cutting the ftrings he was bound with, I fet him gently on the ground, and away I treated the reft in the fame manner, taking them one by one out of my pocket; and I obferv ed both the foldiers and people were highly delighted at this mark of my clemency, which was represented very much to my advantage at court.

he ran.

Towards night I got with fome difficulty into my house, where I lay on the ground, and continued to do fo about a fortnight; during which time the Emperor gave orders to have a bed prepared for me. Six hundred beds of the common measure were brought in carriages, and worked up in my house; an hundred and fifty of their beds, fewn together, made up the breadth and length; and these were four double, which however kept me but very in differently from the hardness of the floor, that was of fmooth ftone. By the fame computation they provided me with sheets, blankets, and coverlets, tolerable enough for one, who had been fo long inured to hardships*.

As the news of my arrival spread through the kingdom, it brought prodigious numbers of rich, idle, and curious people to fee me; fo that the villages were al most emptied; and great neglect of tillage and houfhold

* Gulliver has obferved great exa&tnefs in the juft propor tion and appearances of the feveral objects thus leffened and magnified. But he dwells too much upon these optical decept tions. The mind is tired with a repetition of them, especially as he points out no beauty nor use in such amazing discoveries, which might have been fo continued as to have afforded improvement, at the same time that they gave astonishment. He too often fhews an indelicacy that is not agreeable, and exerts His vein of humour moft improperly in fome places, where, I am afraid, he glances at religion. Orrery,

affairs

affairs must have enfued, if his Imperial Majefty had not provided by feveral proclamations and orders of ftate against this inconveniency. He directed, that thofe, who had already beheld me, fhould return home, and not prefume to come within fifty yards of my houfe, without licence from court; whereby the fecretaries of state got confiderable fees.

In the mean time, the Emperor held frequent councils to debate, what course should be taken with me; and I was afterwards affured by a particular friend, a perfon of great quality, who was as much in the fecret as any, that the court was under many difficulties concerning me. They apprehended my breaking loofe; that my diet would be very expenfive, and might caufe a famine. Sometimes they determined to ftarve me, or at least to fhoot me in the face and hands with poifoned arrows, which would foon dispatch me; but again they confidered, that the ftench of fo large a carcafe might produce a plague in the metropolis, and probably fpread through the whole kingdom. In the midft of thefe confultations, feveral officers of the army went to the door of the great council-chamber, and two of them being admitted, gave an account of my behaviour to the fix criminals abovementioned, which made fo favourable an impreffion in the breast of his Majefty, and the whole board, in my behalf, that an Imperial commiffion was iffued out, obliging all the villages nine hundred yards round the city to deliver in every morning fix beeves, forty fheep, and other victuals for my fuftenance; together with a proportionable quantity of bread and wine, and other liquors ; for the due payment of which his majesty gave affignments pon his treafury. For this prince lives chiefly upon his own demefnes, feldom, except upon great occafions, raifing any fubfidies, upon his fubjects, who are bound to attend him in his wars at their own expence. An establishment was alfo made of six hundred persons to be my domeltics, who had board-wages allowed for their maintenance, and tents built for them very conveniently on each fide of my door. It was likewife ordered, that three hundred taylors fhould make me a fuit of cloaths after the fashion of the country: that fix of his majesty's greateft scholars should be employed to inftruct me in their language: