feries, are obliged, befides their annual penfion, which is as low as poffible, to return to the fteward of the nurfery, a fmall monthly fhare of their gettings, to be a portion for the child; and therefore, all parents are limited in their expences by the law. For the Lilliputians think nothing can be more unjust, than for people, in subservience to their own appetites, to bring children into the world, and leave the burden of fupporting them on the public. As to perfons of quality, they give fecurity to appropriate a certain fum for each child, fuitable to their condition; and thefe funds are always managed with good husbandry, and the most exact juftice.

The cottagers and labourers keep their children at home, their bufinefs being only to till and cultivate the earth, and therefore their education is of little confequence to the public: but the old and diseased among them are fupported by hofpitals: for begging is a trade unknown in this empire.

And here it may perhaps divert the curious reader, to give fome account of my domeftics, and my manner of living in this country, during a refidence of nine months and thirteen days. Having a head mechanically turned, and being likewife forced by neceffity, I had made for myself a table and chair, convenient enough, out of the Jargest trees in the royal park. Two hundred fempftreffes were employed to make me fhirts, and linen for my beď and table, all of the strongest and coarsest kinds they could get; which however they were forced to quilt together in feveral folds, for the thickeft was fome degrees finer than lawn. Their linen is ufually three inches wide, and three feet make a piece. The fempftreffes took my mea fure as I lay on the ground, one standing at my neck, and another at my mid-leg, with a ftrong cord extended, that each held by the end, while a third meafured the length of the cord with a rule of an inch long. Then they meafured my right thumb, and defired no more; for by a mathematical computation, that twice round the thumb is once round the wrift, and fo on to the neck and the waift, and by the help of my old fhirt, which I difplayed on the ground before them for a pattern, they fitted me exactly. Three hundred taylors were employed in the fame manner to make me clothes; but they had another contrivance

contrivance for taking my measure. I kneeled down, and they raised a ladder from the ground to my neck; upon this ladder one of them mounted, and let fall a plum-line from my collar to the floor, which just answered the length of my coat; but my waift and arms I measured myself. When my clothes were finifhed, which was done in my houfe (for the largest of theirs would not have been able to hold them) they looked like the patch-work made by the ladies in England, only that mine were all of a colour.

I had three hundred cooks to dress my victuals in little convenient huts built about my houfe, where they and their families lived, and prepared me two difhes a piece. I took up twenty waiters in my hand, and placed them on the table; an hundred more attended below on the ground, fome with difhes of meat, and fome with barrels of wine, and other liquors, flung on their shoul ders; all which the waiters above drew up, as I wanted, in a very ingenious manner by certain cords, as we draw the bucket up a well, in Europe. A difh of their meat was a good mouthful, and a barrel of their liquor a rea fonable draught. Their mutton yields to ours, but their beef is excellent. I have had a firloin fo large, that I have been forced to make three bits of it; but this is rare. My fervants were astonished to see me eat it, bones and all, as in our country we do the leg of a lark. Their geefe and turkies I ufually eat at a mouthful, and I must confefs, they far exceed ours. Of their fmaller fowl I could take up twenty or thirty at the end of my knife. One day his Imperial Majefty, being informed of iny way of living, defired that himfelf and his royal confort, with the young princes of the blood of both fexes, might have the happiness (as he was pleased to call it) of din ing with me. They came accordingly, and I placed them in chairs of ftate upon my table, jult over against me, with their guards about them. Fliminap, the lord high treafurer, attended there likewife with his white staff; and I obferved he often looked on me with a four countenance, which I would not feem to regard, but eat more than ufual, in honour to my dear country, as well as to fill the court with admiration. I have fome private reafons to believe, that this vifit from his Majefty gave Flimnap an opportunity

opportunity of doing me ill offices to his mafter. That minifter had always been my fecret enemy, though he outwardly careffed me more than was usual to the moroseness of his nature. He reprefented to the Emperor the low condition of his treafury; that he was forced to take up money at great discount; that exchequer bills would not circulate under nine per cent. below par; that I had coft his Majefty above a million and a half of fprugs (their greateft gold coin, about the bignefs of a fpangle) and upon the whole, that it would be advifeable in the Emperor to take the first fair occafion of difmiffing me.

I am here obliged to vindicate the reputation of an excellent lady, who was an innocent fufferer upon my account. The treasurer took a fancy to be jealous of his wife, from the malice of fome evil tongues, who informed him that her grace had taken a violent affection for my perfon; and the court-fcandal ran for some time, that she once came privately to my lodging. This I folemnly declare to be a moft infamous falfhood, without any grounds, farther than that her grace was pleased to treat me with all innocent marks of freedom and friendship. I own she came often to my houfe, but always publicly, nor ever without three more in the coach, who were usually her fifter and young daughter, and fome particular acquaintance; but this was common to many other ladies of the court. And I ftill appeal to my fervants round, whether they at any time faw a coach at my door, without knowing what perfons were in it. On thefe occafions, when a fervant had given me notice, my custom was to go immediately to the door; and, after paying my refpects, to take up the coach and two horfes very carefully in my hands (for, if there were fix horses, the poftillion always unharneffed four) and placed them on a table, where I had fixed a moveable rim, quite round, of five inches high, to prevent accidents. And I have often had four coaches and horfes at once on my table, full of company, while I fat in my chair, leaning my face towards them; and, when I was engaged with one fet, the coachmen would gently drive the others round my table. I have paffed many an afternoon very agreeably in thefe converfations. But I defy the treasurer, or his two informers (I will name them, and let them make their best of it) Cluftril and Drunlo

Drunlo, to prove that any perfon ever came to me incognito, except the fecretary Reldrefal, who was fent by exprefs command of his Imperial Majefty, as I have before related. I fhould not have dwelt fo long upon this parti cular, if it had not been a point wherein the reputation of a great lady is fo nearly concerned, to fay nothing of my own, though I then had the honour to be a Nardac, which the treasurer himself is not; for all the world knows, that he is only a Glamglum, a title inferior by one degree, as that of a Marquis is to a Duke in England; yet I allow he preceded me in right of his poft. These falfe informations, which I afterwards came to the knowledge of by an accident not proper to mention, made the treasurer fhew his lady for fome time an ill countenance, and me a worse; and although he was at laft undeceived and reconciled to her, yet I loft all credit with him, and found my intereft decline very fast with the Emperor himself, who was indeed too much governed by that fa vourite.

CHAP. VII.

The author, being informed of a defign to accufe him of high-treafon, maketh his escape to Blefuscu. His re ception there.

Bing this kingdom, it may be proper it

EFORE I proceed to give an account of my leav

to inform the reader of a private intrigue, which had been for two months forming against me.

I had been hitherto all my life a stranger to courts, for which I was unqualified by the meanness of my condition. I had indeed heard and read enough of the difpofitions of great princes and minifters; but never expected to have found fuch terrible effects of them in fo remote a country, governed, as I thought, by very different maxims from those in Europe.

When I was juff preparing to pay my attendance on the Emperor of Blefufcu, a confiderable perfon at court (to whom I had been very ferviceable at a time, when he lay under the highest displeasure of his Imperial Majefty) came to my house very privately at night in a clofe chair,

and,

and, without fending his name, defired admittance: the chairmen were difmiffed; I put the chair, with his lordfhip in it, into my coat pocket; and, giving orders to a trufty fervant to fay I was indifpofed and gone to sleepi I fastened the door of my house, placed the chair on the table, according to my ufual custom, and fat down by it. After the common falutations were over, observing his lordship's countenance full of concern, and enquiring into the reafon, he defired I would hear him with patience in a matter, that highly concerned my honour and my life. His fpeech was to the following effect, for I took notes of it as foon as he left me.

You are to know, faid he, that feveral committees of council have been lately called in the most private manner on your account; and it is but two days fince his Majefty came to a full refolution.

enemy

You are very fenfible that Skyrifh Bolgolam (galbet, or high-admiral) hath been your mortal almost ever fince your arrival: his original reasons I know not; but his hatred is increafed fince your great fuccefs against Blefufcu, by which his glory, as admiral, is much obfcur ed. This lord, in conjunction with Flimnap the hightreasurer, whofe enmity against you is notorious on account of his lady, Limtoc the general, Lalcon the chamberlain, and Balmuff the grand jufticiary, have prepared articles of impeachment against you for treafon, and other capital crimes.

This preface made me fo impatient, being confcious of my own merits and innocence, that I was going to interrupt when he entreated me to be filent, and thus proceeded.

Out of gratitude for the favours you have done me, I procured information of the whole proceedings, and a copy of the articles; wherein I venture my head for your fervice.

Articles of impeachment against Quinbus Fleftrin, the man-mountain.

Whereas,

ARTICLE I.

a ftatute made in the reign of his Imperial Majefty Calin Deffar Plune, it is enacted, that who