mand he had received, he would freely offer his fentiments. That if his Majefty, in confideration of your fer-. vices, and purfuant to his own merciful difpofition, would please to spare your life, and only give order to put out both your eyes, he humbly conceived, that by this expedient juftice might in fome measure be fatisfied, and all the world would applaud the lenity of the Emperor, as well as the fair and generous proceedings of those who have the honour to be his counfellors. That the lofs of your eyes would be no impediment to your bodily ftrength, by which you might still be useful to his Majefty: that blindness is an addition to courage, by concealing dangers from us; that the fear you had for your eyes, was the greatest difficulty in bringing over the enemy's fleet; and it would be fufficient for you to fee by the eyes of the minifters, fince the greatest princes do no more. THIS propofal was received with the utmost disapprobation by the whole board. Bolgolam the admiral could not preferve his temper; but, rifing up in fury, faid, he wondered how the fecretary durft prefume to give his opinion for preferving the life of a traitor: that the fervices you had performed were, by all true reasons of ftate, the great aggravation of your crimes; that you, who was able to extinguish the fire by difcharge of urine in her Majefty's apartment (which he mentioned with horror) might at another time raise an inundation by the fame means to drown the whole palace; and the fame ftrength, which enabled you to bring over the enemy's fleet, might ferve upon the first discontent to carry it back: that he had good reafons to think you were a Big-endian in your heart; and as treafon begins in the heart, before it appears in overt-acts, fo he accufed you as a traitor on that account, and therefore infifted you should be put to death. THE treasurer was of the fame opinion: he fhewed to what ftraits his Majefty's revenue was reduced by the charge of maintaining you, which would foon grow infupportable: that the fecretary's expedient of putting out your eyes was fo far from being a remedy against this evil, that it would probably increase it, as is manifeft from the common practice of blinding fome kind of fowl, after which they fed the fafter, and grew fooner fat: that his facred Majefty and the council, who are your judges, VOL. II. F were were in their own confciences fully convinced of your guilt, which was a fufficient argument to condemn you to death without the formal proofs required by the strict letter of the law*. BUT his Imperial Majesty, fully determined against capital punishment, was gracioufly pleafed to fay, that fince the council thought the lofs of your eyes too easy. a cenfure, fome other may be inflicted hereafter. And your friend the fecretary, humbly defiring to be heard again, in answer to what the treasurer had objected concerning the great charge his Majesty was at in maintaining you, faid, that his Excellency, who had the fole difpofal of the Emperor's revenue, might eafily provide against that evil by gradually leffening your establishment; by which, for want of fufficient food, you would grow weak and faint, and lose your appetite, and confume in a few months; neither would the ftench of your carcafe be then fo dangerous, when it fhould become more than half diminished; and immediately upon your death, five or fix thousand of his Majefty's fubjects might in two or three days cut your flesh from your bones, take it away by cart-loads, and bury it in diftant parts to prevent infection, leaving the skeleton as a monument of admiration to posterity. THUS by the great friendship of the secretary the whole affair was compromised. It was ftrictly enjoined, that the project of ftarving you by degrees fhould be kept a fecret, but the fentence of putting out your eyes was entered on the books; none diffenting except Bolgolam the admiral, who, being a creature of the Emprefs, was perpetually instigated by her Majefty to infift upon your death, the having There is fomething fo odious in whatever is wrong, that even those whom it does not fubject to punishment, endeavour to colour it with an appearance of right; but the attempt is always unfuccefsful, and only betrays a confciousness of deformity, by fhewing a defire to hide it. Thus the Lilliputian court pretended a right to difpenfe with the ftrict letter of the law to put Gulliver to death, tho' by the ftrict letter of the law only he could be convicted of a crime; the intention of the statute not being to fuffer the palace rather to be burnt, than piffed upon. Hawkef having born perpetual malice against you on account of that infamous and illegal method you took to extinguish the fire in her apartment. IN three days, your friend the fecretary will be directed to come to your house, and read before you the articles of impeachment; and then to fignify the great lenity and favour of his Majefty and council, whereby you are only condemned to the lofs of your eyes, which his Majefty doth not queftion you will gratefully and humbly fubmit to; and twenty of his Majefty's furgeons will attend in order to see the operation well performed, by difcharging very sharp-pointed arrows into the balls of your eyes, as you lie on the ground. I leave to your prudence what measures you will take; and, to avoid fufpicion, I muft immediately return in asprivate a manner as I came. His Lordship did fo, and I remained alone under many doubts and perplexities of mind. It was a custom introduced by this Prince and his miniftry (very different, as I have been affured, from the practices of former times) that after the court had decreed. any cruel execution, either to gratify the monarch's refentment, or the malice of a favourite, the Emperor always made a speech to his whole council, expreffing his great lenity and tenderness, as qualities known and confeffed by all the world. This fpeech was immediately published thro' the kingdom; nor did any thing ferrify the people fo much as thofe encomiums on his Majefty's mercy; because it was obferved, that the more these praises were enlarged and infifted on, the more inhuman was the punishment, and the fufferer more innocent. Yet as to myself, I must confefs, having never been defigned for a courtier either by my birth or education, I was fo ill a judge of things, that I could not discover the lenity and favour of this fentence, but conceived it (perhaps erroneously) rather to be rigorous than gentle. fometimes thought of ftanding my trial; for, altho' I could not deny the facts alledged in the feveral articles, yet I hoped they would admit of fome extenuation. But having in my life perufed many ftate trials, which I ever obferved to terminate as the judges thought fit to direct, I durft not rely on fo dangerous a decifion, in fo critical a juncture, and against fuch powerful enemies. Once I was ftrongly bent upon refiftance; for, while I had liberty, the whole ftrength of that empire could hardly fubdue me, and I might eafily with ftones pelt the metropolis to pieces; but I foon rejected that project with horror, by remembering the oath I had made to the Emperor, the favours I received from him, and the high title of Nardac he conferred upon me. Neither had I fo foon learned the gratitude of courtiers, to perfuade myself, that his Majefty's prefent feverities acquitted me of all paft obligations. Ar laft I fixed upon a resolution, for which it is probable I may incur fome cenfure, and not unjustly; for I confess I owe the preferving mine eyes, and confequently my liberty, to my own great rafhnefs, and want of experience; becaufe, if I had then known the nature of princes and minifters, which I have fince obferved in many other courts, and their methods of treating criminals lefs obnoxious than myself, I should with great alacrity and readiness have fubmitted to fo eafy a punishment. But hurried on by the precipitancy of youth, and having his Imperial Majefty's licence to pay my attendance upon the Emperor of Blefufcu, I took this opportunity, before the three days were elapfed, to fend a letter to my friend the fecretary, fignifying my refolution of fetting out that morning for Blefufcu, pursuant to the leave I had got; and, without waiting for an anfwer, I went to that fide of the ifland where our fleet lay. I feized a large man of war, tied a cable to the prow, and, lifting up the anchors, I ftript myself, put my cloaths (together with my coverlet, which I carried under my arm) into the vessel, and drawing it after me, between wading and swimming, arrived at the royal port of Blefufcu, where the people had long expected me; they lent me two guides to direct me to the capital city, which is of the fame name. I held them in my hands till I came within two hundred yards of the gate, and defired them to fignify my arrival to one of the fecretaries, and let him know, I there waited his Majefty's command. I had an answer in about an hour, that his Majefty attended by the royal family and great officers of the court was coming out to receive me. I advanced a hundred yards. The Emperor and his train alighted lighted from their horfes, the Emprefs and ladies from their coaches, and I did not perceive they were in any fright or concern. I lay on the ground to kifs. his Majefty's and the Empress's hand. I told his Majefty that I was come according to my promife, and with the licence of the Emperor my mafter, to have the honour of feeing fo mighty a monarch, and to offer him any fervice in my power confiftent with my duty to my own prince; not mentioning a word of my difgrace, because I had hitherto no regular information of it, and might suppofe myself wholly ignorant of any fuch defign; neither could I reasonably conceive that the Emperor would difcover the secret, while I was out of his power; wherein however it foon appeared I was deceived. I fhall not trouble the reader with the particular account of my reception at this court, which was fuitable to the generofity of fo great a prince; nor of the diffi culties I was in for want of a house and bed, being forced to lie on the ground, wrapt up in my coverlet. СНАР. VIII.. The author, by a lucky accident, finds means to leave Blefufcu; and, after fome difficulties, returns fafe to his native country. T HREE days after my arrival, walking out of curiofity to the north-eaft coaft of the island, I obferved about half a league off, in the fea, fomewhat that looked like a boat overturned. I pulled off my fhoes and ftockings, and, wading two or three hundred yards, I found the object to approach nearer by force of the tide; and then planly faw it to be a real boat, which I fuppofed might by fome tempeft have been driven from a fhip whereupon I returned immediately towards the city, and defired his Imperial Majefty to lend me twenty of the tallest veffels he had left after the lofs of his fleet, and three thousand feamen, under the command of his viceadmiral. This fleet failed round, while I went back the fhortest way to the coaft where I first discovered the boat; I found the tide had driven it ftill nearer. The feamen were all provided with cordage, which I had before F 3 hand |