ECL ECT IC ENGLISH
CLASSICS
G UL LIVER S T RAVELS
’
T H E V OYA GES T O
L ILLIP UT A ND BROBDINGNA G
BY
S W I FT
N
A
T
H
A
N
O
J
ED IT ED B Y
CHARLES
RO B ERT GA STO N
E N G L I S H T E A C HE R, RI C HMON D HI L L HI G H SC HO OL
C IT Y OF NE W YO RK
A ME RI CA N BOOK
N EW YO RK
CI NCINN
COMPA NY
ATI
CH ICA GO
CONT ENT S
I NTRODU CTI ON
A VOYAGE TO L ILLI PUT
CHAPT E R I
CHAPT E R I I
CHAPTE R I I I
CHAPT E R IV
CHAPT E R V
CHAPT ER VI
CHAPT ER VI I
CHAPT E R VI I I
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A VOYAGE TO B ROB DINGNAG
SUGGE STIONS
NOTES
FOR
TUDY
S
I NT RODUCTI ON
Men who wri t e books us ually prove to b e mu ch lik e othe r
peopl e in most respects when you can fin d out enough about
them S o it is with Jonathan Swi ft His letters reveal him
as a man lik e other men in his hearty love for his fri e nds
his dislike for his enemies his desire to get ahead in the
world his lon ging to do good to people in distress
He
seems like you and m e when he writes on o n e occasion that
h e has begun his letter on the wrong side of the pa er and
must b e g his correspondent to turn to the proper pla c e for
the continuation He seems like a real human being too
when we find that his fri e nds are not afraid to write to
him about th e ir coughs and their petty troubles of all kinds :
He shows the inconsistenci e s and contrarieties that mark
most peo le whe n you come to k n ow them well H e once
said that e hated every t hing with a title except his books ;
yet we find him in familiar corre s pondence with lords and
ladies archbishops an d cabinet min i st e rs
Though h e seems i n many re spects j ust like any ordi n ary
man he is n e vertheless really a man of mystery L et us
consid e r his bringing up his education his first work to
gain a living his period of p o p ul a r i t and his long dreary
yea rs of disappointment and see w ether or not we can
come to som e con ception of the sort of man h e w a s and the
work he did in his day and g e neration
Though he was born in Ireland in 1 66 7 and live d th e re for
—
many years i n the latter part of his life with grim r eluc
—
tanc e h e wa s really more of a n E nglishman by far than an
I rishman His father Jonathan S wift an E nglish attorney
died before his famous so n w a s born His mother also E ng
lish was left w ith almost no means of S upport so that as
the you n g child Jo n atha n became old e n ough to go to school
he w a s able to go only because one of his relatives helped to
s e nd him This relative did good grudgi n gly and as S wift
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IN TRODUC TION
was naturally a most se n sitive child he despised his dep en d
ence a n d theyvery schools that he atte n ded : K ilke n ny 1n his
earl years and Trinity C ollege D ubli n later His energy
in t e college wa s devoted to discontent rather than to sec ur
i n g an educatio n so that his work n otwithsta n ding his t e
markable ability w a s mediocre a n d there wa s little sy m
pathy with h i mor u n derstanding of him by the faculty He
was graduated in 1 6 8 5 but remained at Trinity Colle ge
three years lon ger as a n advanced student
In 1 6 8 8 he had an opportunity to go to E n g land to take a
pos i tion i n the household of S ir William Tem le a dista nt
relative of Swift s mother Moor P ark W here emp le lived
an estate i n S urrey about forty miles south west of L ondon
became the young man s chief home till 1 69 9 Tem ple wa s
a man of literary aspiration s ; he had a discern i n g taste 1n writ
i n g and wo n considerable reputat i on but w a s stately pom
pous a n d egotistical S oo n after S wift went to Moor P ark
S ir William m a letter to a friend summed up his secretary s
attai n ments thus : He has L ati ri and G reek some French
writes a ve ry good a n d curre n t ha n d is very honest and
diligent a n d has good frie n ds though they have fo r the pres
en t lost their fortu n es i n I rela n d a n d his W hole family having
bee n long k n own to me obliged me thus far to take care o f
him
Swift fou n d his association as secretary to such a man
much to his liki n g but he did not relish eating with th e
serva n ts He made a n efl o rt to get away from the irksome
n ess of his positio n by taki n g orders in the E stablished C hurch
osition
a n d the n accepti n g from t h e I rish G overnme n t a
p
as prebendary of a church 1n I reland As this posit i o n w a s
still more distasteful he returned to his s e cretar ship at
Moor P ark where he stayed most of the tim e till 18 u n cl e
died m 1 699 Thus though he left the service of S ir William
Temple for short periods gduring the i n terval he spe n t most
of the eleven years from 1 6 8 8 to 1 699 as secretary at Moor
P ark These years of serv i ce in S urrey were fruitful 1n some
respects for the secretary h ad excelle n t opportu n ities for
study a n dw a s drawn 1n t o literary production not on ly by his
natural i n cli n ation but through his u n cle s dema n ds Hi s
u n cle w a s n o t the ki n d of ma n to arouse Sw ift s ad mir a ti o n
yet S ir William s very care and particularity in literary
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IN TRODUC TION
7
work were helpful to the rugged viole n t young ma n As
S ir William w a s much i n terested i n t he controversy betwee n
the literary factio n s holdi n g o n one side the superiority of
th e ancient or classical w riti ngs over the modern a n d o n
the othe r side the superiority of the modern writings over th e
“
classica l, S wift found himself e n gaged in writi ng The Battle
upholdi n g the classical side At about the
o f the B ooks
“
sa me t ime he w rote another e ssay The Tale of a Tub o n e
of t h e kee n est satires i n E n glish Although Swi ft in this
e ssay espoused the cause of the Anglica n church in its dif
fer en c es with the C atholics and the D issenters he made
thorough churchmen dubious about his loyalty to the church
o f E n gla n d
Swift received a l e gacy of a hund red pou n ds from S ir Wil
liam Temple and received about t wo hundred pounds more
as the profits from the sale of five volumes of Temple s col
He now obtai n ed th e o fii c e of chaplai n at
lec t ed works
D ublin C astl e a n d soon afterward the V icarage of L aracor
His income wa s about t wo hundred pounds a year He spent
his time for several years now partly in I rela n d a n d partly
i n E ngla n d He soon became deeply concerned i n the politics
These ye ars were on the whole the most
o f G reat Britain
c o ntented of his life ; he seemed to relish greatly the conflict
o f politics and the friendly associations that he formed through
his po litical writi n gs For the assaults of his opponents he
At first he was a Whig but becaus e the
s eemed to care little
Whigs did nothing toward his adva n ce me n t i n the church
a n d also because he feared that the Whigs would restore W hat
he regarded as the w retched fa n atical con ditio n s of C rom
well s time he turn ed Tory He began editi n g a weekly paper
“
The Ex ami n er formerly a Whig paper but no w a n orga n
Also as a Tory he w rote a powerful pamphlet
o f the Tories
“
e n titled Th e Conduct of the Allies
To u n dersta n d the
r emarkable efl ec t which this produced w e must co n sider the
For ten years
o l i t i c a l co n dition which brought it forth
England German y an d Holla n d had bee n fighting France
t o preve n t a French prince from asce n di n g the S pa n ish
thron e ( the w a r called the War of the S pa n ish S uccessio n )
The E nglish a n d their allies were already successful but the
eople
did
not
reali
z e that th e lioni z ed D uk e of M arlborou g h
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IN TRODUC TION
w a s continui n g the wa r n o t of n ecessity but to make h i m
“
self rich S wift saw the situation and revealed it i n Th e
I n less tha n a ye ar the w a r w a s close d
C o n d u ct of th e Allies
w ith the Tre aty of U trecht
Swift s ability as a political writer brought him i n to an i n
timat e acquai n ta n ce with t wo of the foremost statesm e n of
A
n
ue
ne
s
time
Harley
E
arl
of
O
xford
and
S
t
Joh
e
n
n
(
)
Q
w
V
iscount
Bolingbroke
S
ift
w
a
s
exceedin
ly
proud
and
)
(
g
se n sitive and wh e n he atte n ded court fun ct l o n s he would
stan d around talking with people of comparatively i n si g ni f
i c a n t position and make the great dignitaries com e to h i m
if they wished to talk to him as they most assuredly did He
“
wrot e to Bolingbroke I would endeavor that my betters
should seek me by the merit of somethi n g distinguishable
instead of my seeki n g them
He loved to show his powe r
over m
en
He n ever tried to corrupt people or make them
believe him more ho n orable scrupulous or religious than he
wa s
I n fact he seemed to desire rather to shock people a n d
make them think more ill of him tha n he des e rved It w a s
not a devout age but rather a cold blooded critical li c en
tious irreligious time whe n even bishops were appoint e d in
payment of political debts
The assista n ce that Swift re n dered the Tories by his
tre n chan t political pamphlets made those at the head of his
party greatly i n debted to him However he would n o t ac
cept fi n ancial remuneration from the party His impor
tance at court was gratifyi n g to him and he used his i n
fluen ce to secure favors for his friends such as a bisho ric
fo r Berkeley His ambition w a s also to be mad e a bishop
a n d co n sequently a pe e r or member of the Hous e of L ords ;
this he desired with all his heart a n d seemed i n a fair wa y
to gai n I n stead he was appointed D ean of S t P atrick s
D ublin in 1 7 1 3 a n d a little later wh e n Queen An n e died
in 1 7 1 4 a n d the Tory party w e n t out of power the di s a p
poi n ted pamphlete e r gave up his hope of a bishopric and a c
c ep t ed his positio n i n D ubli n w ith despair a n d loathi n g
D uri n g the period of political activity S wift produced
som e work that is of disti n ctive litera ry i n terest For i n
“
stan ce he published P redictions for the year 1 708 : Wh erei n
the month and t h e day of t h e m
ont h a r e set d own the person s
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IN TRODUC TION
9
named and the great action s a n d e vents of n ext ye ar par
t i c ul a r ly related as they w ill come to pass : Written to pre v e nt
th e p eople of E ngl a n d from being further imposed on by
vulga r almanac makers
This almanac contain e d pre dic
tion s ridiculi n g Joh n P artridge an astrologer Th e writer
o f the almanac is sup o sed to be one Isaac Bi c k er st afl
and
a s Bickerstaff from t is time b e comes a familiar nam e it
is assumed by S wift s literary contemporary S t ee l e in con
“
t r i b ut i o n s to
Th e Tatler
S wift had a good deal of fun
o ut of his adventure in almanac making
H e followe d u
his original predictio n s by a fictitious accou n t of the deat li
of P artridge and then w rote an e l egy thereon
Other
works of Swift during this tim e are : An Argument to
p r ove that the Abolishing of C hristianity i n E ngland may
as things now stand be att e n ded with some Inconveniences
a n d p e rhaps n o t produce Those Many G ood E ff ects pro o sed
“
thereby a n d A P roject for the Adva n cement of Re ligion
a n d th e Reformation of Man n ers
D uring the latt e r part of
“
n
A
n
n
n
w
w
uee
e
s
reig
S
ift
s
Journal
to
S
tella
was
ritten
Q
t hough it w a s n o t published till after S wift s death
On e of the circumstances that i n creased S wift s discont e nt
was that he could n o t fully respond to the aEect i o n s of E sther
Joh n son o n e of the you n g wome n who loved him long and
ardently a n d that he could n o t respon d at all to the loving
Hester V anhomrigh
a doration of the other you n g w oman
O n e of the mysteries of his life is whether or not he did re ally
m arr y Miss Joh n son whom he po e tically addresses as S tella
i n a wonderfully mi n ute a n d self reveali n g journal
P art of
this journal is written in a sort of lover s cipher which has
been translated The journ al is of u n usual int e re st not only
as re veali n g S wift s o wn perso n ality but as givi n g on e of th e
best possible pictures of the life of the age Sw i ft had b e
come acquainted with Miss Joh n son duri n g his residence at
Moor P ark S h e died in 1 7 2 8 leavi n g him i n a loneliness
and a n une n durable bittern ess which became i n sanity
S w ift s life after his accepta n ce of the dean e r y of S t
P at rick s i n D ubli n w a s spe n t with on ly an occasional brief
visit to L ondon The oor it is said w ere n ever so faith
fully ten ded as un der T
)ea n S wift s care
Though he dis
li ke d I reland and t h e Irish h e wo n t h e i r affect ion b y h i s
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IN TRODUC TION
extraordinary succe ssion of anonymous pamphlets known
as D rapier s L e tters m which a ss um1ng to be a merchant
“
he argues against Wood s Halfpence
Wood w a s a man
wh o had obtained ) er m
i s s i o n from the British Governm e nt
to issu e a great deal o f copper mon ey in I reland and though
it probably wa s an honest arrangeme n t S wift thought n o t
H e resorted to every kind of argument to defeat 1t Th e se
argum e nts were so keen and their manner so impassioned
that the eff ect of th e letters wa s as great as that of the pam
“
phlet The Conduct of the Allies
Trem e ndous excit e
ment was created by th e se successive lett e rs writte n with
till finally th e
t e ater a n d great e r fire a n d convinc i n gness
Er i t i sh govern ment off ered a reward for th e detection of the
author The printer was arrested but Swift s identity wa s
not reve aled and he enjoyed a triumph by reason of th e fact
that Wood s halfpe n ce were re cal led
“
Swift s greatest literary work G ulliver s Travels wa s
produced after his appointme n t as D ean of S t P atrick s As
e arly as 1 7 2 2 probably he had w ritten part of this book
becaus e on e of his correspo n de n ts refers to it in a letter w rit
t e n i n that year P art of the book 13 free from gloom
but
g
because of his growi ng physical disability i n c l udi ng a spec i es
of vert igo with 1nc rea si n g mental disorder the satire of t h e
Yahoos 1s so distressingly mela n choly that i t may well b e
“
omitt e d from an edition of G ulliver s Travels
This por
tio n was probably written during S tella s illness
Swift was fo n d of maki n g sport of his dee pest r eflec
tions I n the publication of G ulliver s Trave ls he took
infinit e pains t o make the authorship of the book a mystery
to all e xcept a select circle of his 1n t i ma t es Whe n he had t h e
book ready for the press h e se n t what he said w as about a
fourth part of it to a publisher n am e d Benj amin Motte and
“
prete n ded that it came from Richard S ympson who had
“
obtained 1t for publication from his cousin L emu e l G ulliver
After a eri o d of negotiations i n which S wift w a s careful n o t
to reveat i msel f as the author the book w a s issued from the
press on October
It became the co nversatio n of
the town as o n e of his correspondents wrote him within ten
days of l t s publicatio n E verybody 1n the circle of the w i ts
n
en of L o ndo n be an
y
talki
abou
it
P
op
e
t
and literary m
g
g
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IN TRODUC TION
11
wrot e to S wift
I co ngratulate you upon your wonderful
book which I proph e sy will be hereafter the admiration of
all m e n
In the sam e letter Pop e went on to say that he
found no considerable ma n very angry at the book though
some thought it rather too bold and too g eneral a satire
He said that he did n o t hear any on e at least a n y on e of con
s e qu e nce accusi n g it of particular re fl e ctio n s that is of
satire of particular individuals among the c e lebriti es of the
d ay Swift wrote back to Pope that a bishop in I reland con
dem
n ed th e book a s being full of improbable lies and th e
bishop said that he did not beli e v e a word of it The l e tt e rs
of V iscount and V iscou n tess Bolingbrok e to S wift at this
“
Gulliver s Travels
It c e r
t im e a bound in allusions to
t a i n ly was the lit e rary sensation of the day
After the death of S tella i n 1 7 2 8 S wift changed in mann e r
and form of writing He reverted to the writing of poet r y
which he had tri e d in his earlier years In fact he had orig
i n a lly aspired to be a p o e t and had written co n siderable
“
verse He had published for i n stance his poe m C aden us
and V anessa i n 1 7 1 3 a poem i n which Miss Hest e r V an
ho m
r i g h had bee n taken for the character of V a n essa whi l e
“
S w ift himself was C a den us In 1 7 31 he wrote On th e D eath
“
of De an S wift and two years later Rhapsody on Po e t ry
t h e latt e r of w hich co n tai n s oft quot e d passages
In prose the most valuable late work of Swift s is A
Modes t P roposal for P reve n ti n g the Children of Poor People
i n I re land from Bei n g a Burden to Their P are n ts or Country
and fo r Making Them Beneficial to the P ublic
This is a
satire so sp e cific and appare n tly sincere that ma n y erso ns
o f S wift s time a n d som e critics of to day felt a n d stil feel it
to be a genuine proposal fo r getting rid of the sup e rfluous
babies of Ire la n d
A Complete Collection of
Anoth e r of his lat e r works
G e n t e el a n d Ingenious Conversation accordi n g to the Most
Polit e Mode and Method Now U sed at Court and in the
B e st Compa n ies of E ngla n d shows in its very title th e ess e n
He is likely on almost
t i a l ly iro n ical bent of S wift s mi n d
an p age of his w ritings to say o n e thing a n d mean another
He
left
his
personal
belo
n gings
11 1 7 0 he made his w ill
4
to his fn en ds but the rest of his prop e rty he bequeathed to
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IN TRODUC TION
Thereafter he suffered from violen t
3 hos ital for the insane
a t t a c s of insa n ity from w hich he would lapse i n to the d ull
stupor of me n tal disease His wa s a naturally se n sitive
He had been discon te n ted a n d restless in early yout h
soul
He had be e n lion ized i n London yet h a d retai n ed a fiery a n d
aggressive disposition The love of Miss Joh n son a n d Miss
Vanhomrigh for him had not softe n ed his temper Di s a p
pointed i n his ambition to be a bishop a n d lonely after t he
death of S tella he sank into despair and i n sa n ity He died
i n Octob e r 1 745
Th e greatest qualities of S wift as a w riter are his brusque
n ess
his do wnright blu n t n ess a n d his extraordinary clear
ness of expression He is o n e of the literary towers of t he
first half of the eighteenth century probably the greatest
lit e rary figure of his time E ve n Addison S teele a n d Pope
all of them associates of S wift and at times devoted friend s
of his are l e ss rep rese n tative of the age than is S wift S wift
is so vigorous i n his satire i n an age of satire that h e i m
pre sses every o n e as bei n g a force to be reckoned with in a n y
consideratio n of th e leadi n g w riters of the period His
“G ulliver s Travels written as a serious satire on th e life
of h i s time has si n ce bee n e njoye d by you n g a n d old as a
story showing a n extraordinarily powerful imagi n atio n a n d
wo n derful i n sight into the motives that rompt people to
action Though the book may seem to o der readers stern
a n d grim
it must have in it somehow a n d some where the
child like playful n ess that we k now S wift ofte n showed in
“
com a n i o n sh i p with his frie n ds or else G ulliver s Travels
wo ufd not have b e come a favorite story wit h child ren
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GU L L IVE R S
T RA V E L S
’
PA RT I
A VOYAGE T O L IL LI P UT
CH A PTE R
I
m
m
m
The A ut hor gi ves s o e accoun t of hi self a n d ja i t
Hi s
—
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p
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Is
m
—
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.
s hire ; I w a s
m all e state in Nottingha m
the third of five sons H e sent me to E man uel Coll eg e i n
C ambridg e at fou r t ee n ye a rs old where I re sid ed three y e a rs
a n d applied mys e lf close to my studies ; but t h e ch a rge o f
mai n t aini n g me although I had a ve ry scan ty allowance
being t oo great for a narrow fo r tune I was bo und appre ntic e
to Mr Jam e s Bates an emi n ent surge on in L ondon with
whom I conti n ued four years ; and my fath e r now an d then
s e n di n g m e small sums of money I laid them o ut in l e a rn i n g
n a vigation and other pa r ts of the math e matic s useful to those
wh o intend to travel as I al w ays believed it would b e some
time or other my fo r tun e to do Wh e n I left Mr Bates I
we n t down to my father where by th e assistanc e of him
a n d my u n cl e John a n d some other relations
I got forty
pounds and a promise of thi rt y pound s a ye a r to mai n tain
me at L eyd e n Th e re I studied physic t wo y e ars and seven
mon ths knowing it would b e useful in long voyage s
MY fath e r had
a s
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A sup er i o r
.
It
i ndi cat es
a n o t e a t t h e en
d o f t he
m
vol u e.
14
C ULLI VER S TRA VELS
S oon aft e r my retu rn from L eyde n I was recomme n d ed
’
,
by my good master Mr Bates to be surg eon to the S wallo w
Captai n Abraham P a nn ell comma n der ; with wh om I c o n
t i n ued three years a n d a half maki n g a voyage or t wo into
the Leva n t a n d some other parts Whe n I came back I
resolved to settle i n L o n don ; to which Mr Bates my maste r
e n couraged me ; a n d by him I w a s recomme n ded to several
patie n ts I took part of a small ho use in the OldJewr y ; a n d
being advised to alter my con dition I married Mrs Ma ry
Burton secon d daug hter to Mr E dmu n d Burto n hosier i n
Newgate S treet with whom I received four hundred pou n ds
for a portion
a
n
i
n
w
o
But m
good
master
B
tes
dyi
g
years
after
t
a
n
d
y
I having few frie n ds my busi n ess be g a n to fail ; for my co n
scie n ce would not suff er me to i mitate the bad practice of t oo
many amon g my brethre n Havi n g therefore con sulte d
with my w ife a n d So m
e of my acqu a i n ta n ce I determined t o
go a g ain to sea I wa s s urg eon successively i n t wo ships a n d
made several voyages for six years to the E ast and West
I n dies by which I got some additi on to my fortune My
hours of leisure I spent i n readi ng the best authors a n ci en t
and modern bei n g alw ays provided with a good n umber of
books ; and when I wa s ashore i n observi n g the mann e rs and
dispositions of the people as well as learni n g th eir language ;
wherein I had a great facility by the stre n gth of my memory
The last of these voya g es not provi ng v e ry fo r tu n ate I
gre w we a r y of the sea a n d i n te n ded to stay at home with my
wife and family I removed from the Old Je w ry to Fetter
L a n e and from thence to Wapping hopi n g to get business
among th e sailors ; but it would not turn to account Aft e r
three ye ars expectation that things would mend I accept e d
an advantageous off er fro mCaptai n William P richard mas
ter of the Antelop e who was maki n g a voyage to t h e So ut h
S ea We s e t sail from Bristol May 4 1 699 and our voyage
at first w a s very prosperous
It would not be proper for some reasons to trouble the
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15
VOYAGE To LILL IPU T
r e a de r wi th th e particulars of our adventure s in thos e s e as ;
l et i t su ffi ce to inform him that in our passage from th e nce
to th e E ast Indies we were d rive n by a viol e nt storm t o th e
en s L and
By an ob se r v a tion we
n o rt h we st of Va n Di em
f ound ou r selve s in the latitude of 30 degree s 2 minut es s outh
Twelve of our crew were d e ad by immod e rat e labor and ill
food ; the re st were in a ve ry we ak co n dition On th e st h o f
N ove mber which wa s the b egi n n i n g of summ e r in thos e
p a r ts t h e we ath e r being ve ry hazy th e s e am e n spied a rock
within half a cable s length of t he ship ; b ut th e wind was so
s trong tha t we w e re driven directly upon it a n d imm e diat e ly
S ix of th e crew of whom I was on e having l e t down th e
s plit
boat i n to the sea mad e a shift to get cle a r of the ship and th e
We rowe d by my computation about thre e leagues
r ock
till we we re able to work n o lon ger being already spent with
labor while we were in the ship We therefore trust ed our
selves to the m e rcy of the wave s ; and in about half an hour
the boat was overset by a sudd e n flurry from th e north
What becam e of my compa n ions in the boat as well as of
those who escaped on the rock or were left in th e vessel I
cannot tell but conclude they were all lost For my own
p a rt I s wam as Fo r tune directed me a n d was pushed for
I oft e n let my legs drop and could
w ard by wi n d and tide
feel n o bottom ; but when I was almost g one a n d able to
st ruggle n o lon ger I found myself withi n my depth : a n d by
1
this time the storm was much abated The declivity wa s
so small that I walked near a mile before I got to the shore
w hich I co n jecture d was about eight o clock in the evening
I then adva n ced forward n ear half a mil e but could not dis
cove r a n y sign o f hous e s or inhabitants ; at least I w a s i n so
weak a con dition that I did not observe them I was ex
ely tired ; and with that
t rem
a n d the h e at of th e weather
a n d about half a pint of brandy that I d rank as I left the
ship I found myself much incli n ed to sleep I lay down o n
t h e g rass which w as very sho rt a n d soft wher e I s l e p t sound e r
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Downwa rd
m
pe
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GUL LI VER S TRA VELS
than e ver I remember to have don e i n my life and a s I
re ckoned above nine hours ; for whe n I a waked i t was j us t
d aylight I attempted to ris e but wa s not abl e to stir ; fo r
n
d
as I happen e d to lie o n m
back
I
found
my
arms
a
leg
s
y
we re strongly fast e n e d on each side to the gro und and m y
hair which was long a n d thick tied down i n the same ma n
1
n e r I lik e wise fe lt seve ral slender li g atures across my body
from my a rmpits to my thighs I could only look upward ;
th e sun b ega n to grow hot a n d the light off ended mine e ye s
I h e ard a c o n fused noise about me but in the posture I lay
could see nothing e xcept the sky In a littl e tim e I felt some
thing alive moving on my l e ft leg which advancing ge n tly
forward over my breast came almost up to my chin ; wh e n
b ending mine eye s do wnward as much as I could I perceived
it to b e a h uman cre ature not six inches high with a bow
and arrow in his hands a n d a quiver at his back In th e
meantim e I felt at least forty more of th e sam e ki n d ( as I
conjecture d ) followi n g the first I was in th e utmost as
and roare d so loud that they all ran back in a
t o ni sh m
en t
fright ; and some of them as I was aft e rward told we re hu rt
with th e falls they got by leaping from my sid e s upon th e
ground However they soon retu rn e d ; and one of them
wh o v e nture d so fa r as to get a full sight of my fac e lifting
up his hands and eyes by way of admiration cried out in
a shrill but distinct voice Heki n a h degul : the others repeat e d
the same words s e ve ral times ; but I then knew not what th e y
meant I lay all this while as th e re ader may b e li e ve in
great uneasiness At le n gth struggling to get loose I had
th e fo r tun e to break the strings and wre nch out th e pegs
that fast e ned my left arm to the g round ; for by lifting it up
to my fac e I discovered the methods they had taken to bi n d
me and at th e same time with a violent pull which gave
m e e xc e ssive pain I a little loose n ed the st rings that ti e d
do wn my hair on the left sid e so that I was j ust able to turn
my head about two inches But the creatures ran off a s e cond
16
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1
Cor ds
o r st r i ng s.
GULL I VE R S TRA VELS
l e ft sid e of my h e ad which gav e me the libe r ty of tu r n i n g
it to the right and of observing t he person a n d gesture o f
him that was to speak H e app eared to be of a middle a g e
a n d taller than any of th e other thre e wh o attended h i m
;
ed
whereof on e was a pag e that held up his train and s e e m
to be somewhat lo n ger than my middle finge r ; th e oth e r t wo
stood one on e ach side to s uppo rt him He acted e ve ry
pa r t of an orator ; and I could observe ma n y p e riod s o f
thre atenings a n d others of p romis e s pity a n d ki n dn e ss I
answe re d in a few words b ut i n the most submissive man n e r
lifting up my left ha n d and both mine eyes to th e sun a s
calling him for a witness ; and b e ing almost famish e d w it h
hu n ger having not e aten a mors e l for som e hours before I
l e ft the ship I found the d e mands of n ature so stron g up o n
m e that I could not forbea r showing my impatience ( p e rha p s
n
e
against t h e strict rules of d e c e ncy) by putting m
fi
g
r
y
fre qu e ntly on my mouth to signify that I wa n ted food T h e
h ur go ( for so they call a great lord as I afterward learn e d )
und e rstood m e ve ry we ll H e desce n ded from the stag e a n d
commanded that s e veral ladd e rs should be applied to m y
sides on which above an hund re d of the inhabita n ts mounted
and walked toward my mouth lade n wi th baskets full o f
meat which had b ee n provided an d s e nt thither by th e king s
orders upon the first intellig e n ce he received of me I o b
s e rved there was th e flesh o f seve ral animals but could no t
disti n guish them by the taste There were should e rs legs
and loi n s shaped like those of mutton a n d very well d ressed
1
but smaller than the wings of a lark I eat them by t wo or
three at a mouthful a n d took thre e loaves at a time about
the bigness o f musk e t bullets They supplied me as fast as
they could showi n g a thousand marks of won der and as
t o n i sh m
en t at my bulk and appetite
I the n made another
sign that I w a n ted d rink They fou n d by my eati n g that a
small quantity would not su ffi c e me ; and bei n g a most i n
e
i
o
u
s
n
w
o
n
e
o
n
people
they
slu
g
up
ith
great
dexterity
f
g
18
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Past
t ense
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P rono unced é t
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'
19
VOYAGE TO L IL LIPU T
t heir larg e st hogsheads then rolled it tow ard my hand and
beat out the top I drank it off at a draught which I might
1
well do for it did not hold half a pint a n d tasted like a small
wi n e of Burgu n dy, but much more delicious They brought
me a secon d hogshead which I dra n k i n the sam e mann e r and
m ade sign s for more ; but they had non e to give me When
I had performed these wonders th e y shouted for joy a n d
d a n ced upon my breast re peating several tim e s as they did
at fi rst Heki n a h degul They made m e a sign that I should
throw down the t wo hogsheads but first warni n g the peopl e
i eol a h;
below to stand out of the way c r yi n g aloud B or a ch m
a n d when they saw th e v e ss e ls i n the air there was an uni
I confess I was oft e n tempted
v ersal shout of Hehi n a h degul
while they were passing backw ard a n d fo rward on my body
to seize fo rty or fifty of the first that came in my reach a n d
d ash th e m against the groun d But th e remembrance of
what I had felt which probably might not be the worst they
—
could do a n d th e promise of ho n or I made them for so I
—
interpreted my submissive beh avior soon drove out these
imagi n ations Besides I now consid e red myself as bound
by the laws of hospit a lity to a p e ople who had treat e d me
with so much exp e n s e and magnifice n ce Howe v e r in my
t houghts I could not su ffi ciently wonder at the intrepidity
who d urst ve n ture to mou n t
o f these dimi n utive mortals
a n dwalk upon my body whil e one of my hands was at liberty
without trembli ng at the ve r y sight of so prodigious a crea
Aft e r some time when they
t ure as I must appear to th e m
o bs e rved that I made no more demands for meat there a p
befor
e
m
e
a
person
of
high
rank
from
his
imperial
a
e
d
e
r
p
m ajesty His excellency havi n g mount e d on the small of
my right leg adva n ced forward up to my face with about
a dozen of his reti n ue ; a n d produci n g his credentials u n der
the Signet royal which he applied close to mi n e eyes spoke
but with a
a bout ten mi n ut e s without a n y sig n s of anger
k ind of determi n ate resolution ; often p oi n ti n g forward ; which
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1
W ea k ; no t
i
t
e
o
n
o
o
n
s
g
g
’
h ead
.
'
GULL I VE R S TRA VE Ls
a s I afterward found was toward t h e capital city about half
a mil e distant w hither it wa s agreed by his majesty i n coun
cil that I must be conve ye d I ans wered in few words but
to no purpose and made a sign with my hand that was loose
putting it to the other ( but over his excell e ncy s h e ad for
fe ar of hurting him or his train ) a n d th e n to my own h e ad
and body to signify th at I desired my libe r ty It appeare d
that he und e rstood me well enough for he shook his hea d
by way of disapprobation and h e ld his hand in a posture t o
show that I must b e carri e d as a prisoner However h e
made other sign s to l e t me understand that I should hav e
meat and dri n k e n o ug h a n d ve ry good tre atm e nt Where
upon I once more thought of attempting to break my bonds ;
but again whe n I felt the smart of their arrows upon my
fac e an d hands which we re all i n blisters and many of t h e
da r ts still sticki n g i n them and observing likewise that t h e
numb e r of my enemies increased I gave tokens to let them
k n ow that they might do with me what they pleased
U pon this the hur go and his train withd rew with muc h
civility and che e rful countenances S oon after I heard a
ge n eral shout with freq ue n t repetitions of the words P epl om
s el a n ; and I felt great numb e rs of th e p e ople on my left side
relaxi n g the cords to such a degree that I wa s able to turn
upon my ri g ht But before this they had d aubed my face a n d
both my hands with a sort of oi n tme n t ve ry pleasant to the
sm e ll which i n a few mi n utes remove d all the sma r t of
their arrows These circumsta n ces added to the refreshment
I had received by their victuals a n d drink which were very
I slept about ei g ht hours
n ourishing disposed me to sleep
as I wa s afterward assured ; a n d it was no won der for th e
physicians by the emperor s order had mingled a sleepy
potion in the hogsheads of wi n e
It s eems that upon the first mome n t I was discovered
sleeping on the ground after my lan ding the emperor had
1
e arly n otice of it by an express a n d determined in council
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A s peci al
ess en er .
g
21
VOYAGE TO L ILL IPU T
that I should be tied in the ma n ner I have related (which
was don e i n the nig ht whil e I slept ) that pl e nty of m e at and
d rink should be se n t to me and a machine prepare d to carry
m e to the capital city
This resolution perhaps may app e ar ve ry bold and d an
n o t be imitated by any
and
I
am
co
fident
would
n
o
u
s
e
r
g
p ri n ce in E urope on the like occasion However in my
O pin ion it was extremely prude n t as well as generous ; for
supposi n g these people had endeavored to kill me with their
spears and arrows while I was asl e ep I should c e r tainly have
aw aked with the first se n se of smart which might so far have
roused my rage an d st re ngth as to have enabled me to bre ak
the strings wherewith I was tied ; after which as they were
n o t able to m ake re sistance so they could expect n o mercy
These people are most excelle n t mathematicians and ar
rived to a great perfection i n mechanics by the countenance
a n d e n courageme n t of the emperor who is a reno w ned patro n
of learn in g This pri n ce has s e veral machi n es fixed on wheels
for the carriage of trees a n d other great wei g h ts H e ofte n
b uilds his largest men o f wa r where of som e are nine feet
lo n g i n the wo ods where th e timber grows and has them
carri ed o n these e n gin e s thre e or four hu n dred ya rds to th e
sea Five hu n dred carpenters and e n gineers were i mme
1
di a t el y s e t at work to prepare the greatest e n gi n e they had
It w a s a frame of wood raised three inches from the ground
ab out seven foot long and four wide moving upon t wenty
two wh e els Th e shout I heard was upon th e arrival of this
e n gine which it seems set out in four hours a fter my la n d
ing It wa s brought parallel to me as I lay But the pri n
c i p a l di ffi culty w as to rais e and plac e me in this ve hicle
E i ghty poles each of one foot high were erected for this pur
pose a n d very strong cords of the bigness of pack thread
were fast e ned by hooks to ma n y ba n d ages which the work
men had girt rou n d my neck my hands my body and my
legs N in e hu n dred of the strongest m e n we re e mploy e d
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Mech ani cal
i
c on t r v a n ce.
,
,
G ULL I VER S TRA VELS
’
22
to draw up thes e c ords by ma n y pulleys fast e ned on th e
poles ; a n d thus i n less tha n th ree hours I was raised and
sl ung i n to the e n gi n e and there tied fast
Al l this I was told ;
for while the whole operatio n w a s performing I lay in a
profou n d sleep by the force of that sopo riferous medici n e
i n fused i n to my liquor Fiftee n hu n d red of the emperor s
largest horses each about four inches a n d a half high were
employed to draw me toward th e metropolis which as I
said was half a mile distant
About four hours after we beg an our journey I awa ke d
by a ve ry ridiculous accide n t ; for the carriage bei n g stopped
aw hile to adj ust som e thi n g that was out of order t wo o r
t hree of th e young natives had the curiosity to see how I
looked when I was asleep ; they climbed up i n to the e n gi n e
and advancing very softly to my face o n e of them a n o fficer
i n the guards put the sharp en d of his half pike a good w a y
up i n to my left n ostril which tickled my nose like a stra w
and made me sneeze violently ; whereupo n they stole o ff un
perceived and it wa s three weeks before I knew the caus e of
my awaki n g so sudde n ly We made a lo n g march the remain
i n g pa r t of that day and rested at night with five hu n dred
o
uards
each
side
of
me
half
with
torches
a
half
with
n
n
d
g
bows a n d arrows re ady to shoot me if I should off er to sti r
The next mo rning at su n ris e we co n tinued our march and
arrive d within t wo hu n dred yards of the city gates about
noon The emperor and all his court came out to mee t us
but his great o fficers would by n o mea n s suff e r his majesty
to e n d a n ger his person by mounti n g o n my body
At the place where th e carriage stopped there stood an an
ci e nt temple estee med to be the largest i n the whole ki ng
dom ; which havi ng bee n polluted some years before by an
unnatural murde r wa s according to th e zeal of those people
looked o n as profane a n d therefore had b e e n applied to
common use and all the orname n ts a n d fu rn iture carried
away In this edifice it w a s determi n ed I should lodge The
great g ate fronti ng to the north was about four foot high
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VOYAGE TO L ILL IPU T
23
a n d almost two foot wi de through which I could easily creep
On each sid e of th e gate was a small window not above six
inches from the grou n d : into that on the left sid e the king s
smiths con veyed fourscore and eleve n chains like thos e that
h ang to a lady s w atch in E u r ope a n d almost as large which
were locked to my left leg with thirty six padlocks Over
against this temple on t other side of the great high wa y at
twe n ty foot distance th e re was a turret at least fi ve foot
high Here t h e e mperor asc e nded with many principal
lords of his cou r t to have an oppo rtunity of viewi n g me as
I was told for I could not see them It was reckoned that
a bove an hundred thousand inhabitants came out of th e
town upon the same erra n d ; and in spite of my guards I b e
lieve there could n o t b e fewer tha n ten thousa n d a t s e veral
times who mounted upon my body by the help of ladd e rs
B ut a proclamation was soon issued to forbid it upon p ain of
death Whe n the workme n fou n d it wa s impossibl e for m e
to break loose they cut all the strings that bound me ; where
upon I rose up with as mela n choly a disposition as e ver I
h ad in my life But the n ois e and astonishment o f the people
at seei n g me rise and w alk are not to b e expressed The
ch ains that held my left leg were about t wo yards lon g and
gave me n o t on ly the liberty of wal ki n g backward a n d for
wa rd i n a semicircle but bei n g fixed within four i n ches of
the gate allowed m e to cre ep in and li e at my full length in
t h e temple
A
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CH A PT E R I I
mp
m
h
e
i
ll
i
u
a
e
n
d
e
d
b
e
e
a
n
o
b
i
l
i
t
s
r
o
t
v
t
L
tt
l
p
y
y,
f
f
—
Th e E
co es to s ee th e a uthor i n hi s confi n e en t
—
r
n
r
n
en
r
e
r
a
n
d
h
bi
e
cr
i
b
e
e
d
a
a
a
e
o
s
s
o
t
d
s
d
e
L
p
p
p
—
n
r
a
n
e
d
o
h
r
t
h
i
r
l
n
u
a
e
e
a
i
s
v
o
a
o
i
t
e
c
h
h
t
o
e
t
t
a
t
e
a
u
H
g
g
g
f
p
—
by hi s
i ld di s p osi ti on Hi s p ockets a r e s ea r ched a nd
hi s s wor d a nd p i s tols ta ken f r o
hi
The E
er or
o
m
,
’
m
m m
m
m
,
.
W H E N I found myself o n my feet I looked about m e and
must confess I never be held a more en tertai n ing prospect
,
.
G UL L I VER S TRA VELS
’
24
Th e country round appe a red like a continued gard e n a n d
t h e e nclosed fields which were gen e rally forty foot square
re s e mbled so many beds of flowers These fields we re int e r
l
mingl e d with wo od s o f half a stang and the tall e st t re e s
as I could j udge app e ared to b e s e ve n foot high I vie we d
th e town on my l e ft hand which look e d lik e the paint e d
sc e n e of a city in a theater
Th e e mp e ror was alre ady desc e nd e d from the towe r an d
advancing on hors e back tow ard me which had like to hav e
cost him dear for th e b e a st though ve ry well trained ye t
wholly unused to such a sight which appeared as if a mou n
tain moved b e fore him re ared up on his hinder feet ; but th a t
p rince who is an e xc e llent horseman k e pt his seat till h i s
att e ndants ran in an d held the bridle whil e his maj e sty ha d
tim e to dismount Wh e n he alighted h e surveyed m e roun d
with great admiration but kept b e yond the len gth of my
chain H e ordered his cooks a n d butlers who were already
prepare d to give m e victuals and d rink which they pushe d
forward in sorts of ve hicle upon wh ee ls till I could reach them
I took these ve hicles and soo n empti e d them all ; twe nty o f
the mwere filled with mea t and ten with liquor ; each of t he
form e r aff orded m e t wo or thre e goo d mouthfuls a n d I e mp
tied th e liquor of t e n ve ssels which was contai n ed in earth e n
vial s into on e vehicl e d rinking it o ff at a draught and so I
did with th e re st Th e empress and young princes of the
blood of both sexes attended by many ladies sat at some
”
distance in their chairs but upo n the accident that happened
to t he emperor s hors e they alighted and came near his p e r
son which I a mnow going to describ e He is taller by a l
most th e breadth o f my nail than any of his court which
alon e is e nough to st rike an a we into the beholders His
features are strong and masculi n e with an Austria n lip and
a rched nose ; his complexio n olive his counte n a n ce erect h i s
body and li mbs well proportion ed all his motion s g raceful
a n d h i s deportme n t majestic
He was th e n past his prim e
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1
An old na
mf
e
or a r oo
d of lan d
.
GUL LI VER S TRA VELS
their pikes into my reach I took th e m all in my right hand
put five of them into my coat pock e t and a s to the sixth I
made a cou n tenance as if I would e at him alive The poo r
man squalled terribly and the colonel and his offi ce rs were
in much pai n especially when they s a w me take out my
pe n kn ife but I soon put them out of fear for looking mildly
and immediat e ly cutting the strings he was bound with I
set him gently on the g ro und and away h e ran I treat e d
the rest i n the same manner taking them o n e by o n e out o f
my pocket a n d I obse r ved both the soldiers and people were
highly delighted at this mark o f my cleme n cy which wa s
represent e d ve ry much to my advantage a t cou rt
Tow ard night I got with som e di fficulty into my hous e
where I lay on the grou n d and co n tinued to do so about a
fort n ight duri ng which time the emperor gave orders to have
a bed prepared for m e S ix hundred beds of th e commo n
measure were brought i n carriages a n d worked up in my
house ; a n hu n dred a n d fifty of their b e ds s ewn together made
up the breadth a n d le n gth and these were four double which
however kept me but very i n diff ere n tly from the hard n ess
of the floor that was of smooth stone By the sam e com
putation they provided me with sheets bla n kets a n d cover
lets tolerable e n ough for one who had been so long inured to
hardships as I
As the n e ws of my arrival spread through the ki n gdom it
brou g ht prodigious n umbers of rich idle and curious p e ople
to see me ; so that the villages were almost emptied ; a n d
gre at n eglect of tillage a n d household aff airs must have eu
sued if his imperial majesty had not provided by s e veral
proclamatio n s and orders of stat e against this i n co n ven
i en c y
He directed that those who had alre a dy beheld me
should return home and not presume to come w ithi n fifty
yards of my hous e w ithout lice n se from court ; whereby the
secretaries o f state got con siderable fees
In the mea n ti m
e th e e mperor held freque n t cou n cils to
debate what course should be taken with me ; and I wa s
26
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GE
LILLIPU T
27
a p e rson of great
a ft e rward assured by a pa rticular frie n d
q uality who was look e d upo n to b e as much i n th e s e cret
a s a n y that th e court was u n d e r ma n y di ffi culties co n cern
i n g me Th e y appre he n ded my breaki n g loose ; that my diet
would be ve ry exp en sive and might caus e a famin e S ome
tim e s they d e t e rm
i n ed to st arve m e or at least to shoot me
i n th e fac e a n d ha n ds with poiso n e d arrows which would
s oo n d e spatch me ; but agai n they co n sid e re d that the ste n ch
o f so large a carcass might p roduc e a plagu e i n t h e metropolis
a n d probably spread through th e whole ki n gdom
I n the
midst of these con sultation s several o fli cer s of th e army we nt
t o th e door of th e great cou n cil chamb e r a n d two of them
b e i n g admitted gave an accou n t of my behavior to the six
crimi n als abov e me n tion e d which made so favorable a n
impressio n i n the breast of his majesty a n d the whole board
i n my behalf that a n imp e rial commissio n was issu e d out
obligi n g all th e villag e s n i n e hu n dred yards rou n d the city
t o deliver i n ev e r y morning six b e eves forty sh e ep a n d othe r
victuals for my sust en a n ce ; together with a p roportio n abl e
q uantity of bread and wi n e a n d other liquors ; for the du e
1
p aym e n t of which his maj e sty gave assign ments upon his
2
—
t reasury for this p r i n ce lives chi e fly upon his o wn demesn es ;
exc e pt upo n great occasion s raisi n g a n y subsidies
s eldom
upo n his subj e cts who are bou n d to atte n d him i n his w ars
a t th e ir o wn expens e
An establishme n t was also made of
six hun dre d person s to be my domestics who had board
wages allowed for their mai n te n a n ce a n d te n ts built for
th e m ve ry con ve n ie n tly o n each sid e of my door It w a s
lik ewise ord e red that thre e hu n d r ed tailors should make m e
a suit of clothes aft e r the fashion of the cou n try ; that si x
of his majesty s great e st scholars should be employed to
i n struct me i n their language ; and lastly that the em
d
n
a
n
hors
e
s
those
of
the
obilit
troops
of
guard
o
r
s
a
n
d
r
e
p
y
should b e freque n tly ex e rcised i n my sight to accustom them
All th e s e orders were duly put i n execution ;
s e lv e s to m e
A VOYA
TO
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1
Order s fo r
m
o ney
1
.
E st a t es
.
G ULLI VE R S TRA VEL S
28
’
about three wee ks I made a gre at progre ss i n l e a rning
their la n guage ; duri ng which tim e th e e mp e ror frequ en tly
hon ored m e wi th his visits and was pl e as e d to assist my
mast e rs i n t e achin g m e We b egan alre ady to conv e rs e to
gether i n some so rt : a n d the first word s I learned we re t o
expre ss my desire that h e would pleas e to give m e my lib e r ty ;
which I e ve ry day re p e at e d o n my kn ee s His answer a s
I could appre hend it was that this mu st b e a work of tim e
not to b e thought on withou t th e advice of his coun cil a n d
i n p ess o der m
that first I must l um
o: hel m
a r Ion em
o
that
os
;
p
is swe ar a peace with him an d his ki ngdom Howe ve r tha t
I should be used with all ki n d n e s s And he advised m e t o
acquire by my pati en ce a n d discreet b e havior the goo d
O pi n ion of himself a nd his subj e cts H e d e sired I would no t
tak e it ill if he gav e orders to certain prop e r offi c e rs to search
m e ; for probably I might carry about m e seve ral we apo n s
which must n ee ds b e da nge rous thin gs if th e y a n swered t h e
bulk of so prodigious a perso n I said his maj e sty should b e
satisfied ; for I was ready to strip myself a nd tu rn up my
pock ets b e fore him This I delivered pa r t i n wo rds a n d pa r t
i n sign s
H e replied tha t by th e laws of th e ki n gdom I
must be s e arched by t wo o f his offi cers ; that he k n ew thi s
could not be don e without my con s en t a nd assista n c e ; that
he had so good a n opi n ion of my g ene rosity a n d j ustice a s t o
trust their perso n s i n my ha n ds ; that whatever th e y took
from me should b e returned whe n I l e ft the country or paid
for at th e rate which I would set upon them I took up th e
t wo o ffi cers in my hands put t h e m first i n to my coat pock e ts
a n d the n i n to e v e ry oth e r pock e t about m e e xc e pt my two
l
fo b s a n d a n other secret pocket I had n o mi nd should b e
s earched w herei n I had som e littl e necessaries that w e re of
no con sequ e nce to any but myself In o ne o f my fobs there
was a silver watch a n d i n th e o th e r a small qua n tity of gold
in a purs e These ge n tleme n h avi n g p e n i n k a n d paper
a bout th e m
made a n exact i n ven tory of everythi ng they
an
d in
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mll p
S
a
o c k et s
i n wa i st b a nd o f
,
,
t ro user s
.
VOYAGE To L ILL IPU T
29
s a w ; a nd wh en they had do n e desired I would set them down
This i n ve n tory
t hat they might d e liver it to the emperor
I afterward t ran slat e d into E nglish a n d is word for word
a s follows
A
,
.
,
p im
i
Im
th e ri ght coat pocket of the gre at ma n
mountai n ( for so I i nterpret th e words q ui nbur fles tr i n) aft e r
the st r ict e st s e arch we foun d o n ly on e gre a t piece of coars e
cloth la rge e nough to b e a footcl o th for your majesty s chief
In t he left pock et we saw a hug e silver chest
roo m of stat e
with a cove r of th e sam e metal which we the searchers
were not a bl e to lift We d e sired it should b e opened a n d
o n e of us steppi ng i n to it fou n d himself up to th e mid leg
i n a so r t of dust some part whereof flyi n g up to our faces
set us both a sn e ezi n g for several times tog eth e r In his
r ight waistcoat pocke t w e fou n d a prodigious bu n dle of
whit e thi n substa n c e s folded o n e over a n other about th e
big n ess of three m
en ti e d with a stro n g cabl e a n d marked
with black figure s which we humbly conc e ive to b e writings
e ve ry l e tt e r almost half as large as the palm of our hands
I n t h e left there was a so r t of e n gin e from the back of w hich
we re e xtended t we nty lo n g poles res e mbli n g th e palisado e s
before your maj e sty s cou r t ; wh e rewith w e co njecture th e
man mountai n combs his h e ad ; for we did n ot always trouble
him with qu e stion s becaus e we foun d it a gre at di ffi culty
In the large pock e t on the right
t o make him un dersta n d us
sid e of his middl e cover ( so I translate th e word r a nf u l o by
which they m e a nt my breeches) we s a w a hollow pillar of
iro n abou t the lengt h of a man fast e n ed to a stron g piec e
of timb e r large r than the pillar ; and upon o n e sid e of th e
pillar we re huge pi e ces of iro n sticki n g out cut i n to stra n ge
figure s which we know not what to mak e of In the left
pocket another e ngine of the same kind In the smaller
pocket on the ri ght side were several rou n d flat piec e s of
whi t e and re d m e tal of diff e re n t bulk ; some of th e white
r
:
1
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In
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In t he fir st pl a c e
.
G ULL I VER S TRA VELS
’
0
3
seemed to be silver were so l a rg e a n d heavy that my
comrade and I could hardly lift th e m In the left pocke t
were t wo black pillars i rregularly shaped ; we could not with
out di fli c ult y reach the top of them as we stood at th e bot
tom of his pocket On e of them was covered a n d s ee m e d a ll
of a pi e c e ; but at th e upp e r end of the Other there app e ared a
w hite round substance about t wice th e big n e ss of our heads
Within each of these was enclosed a prodigious plate of steel
w hich by our orders w e obliged him to show us b e cause w e
apprehended they might be dan gerous e ngi n e s H e took
them out of their cases and told us that in his o wn country
his practice w a s t o shave his beard with o ne of th e s e a n d t o
cut his m e at with the other There we re two pockets which
w e could not enter ; th e se he called his fobs ; they we re t w o
large slits cut i n to the top of his middl e cover but squ e ezed
close by the pressure o f his belly O ut of the right fob hun g
a great silver chai n with a won derful kin d of engin e at the
bottom We directed him to d ra w o ut whatever wa s at the
en d of that chain which app e ared to b e a globe half silver
a n d half of some t ranspare n t m e tal ; fo r o n the transpare n t
side we saw certain strang e figure s circularly drawn and
thought we could touch th e m till we foun d our fing e rs
1
stopped by that lucid substanc e H e put this e ngi n e to
our ears which made an incessant nois e lik e that of a water
mill : and we conjecture it is eith e r som e un k n own animal
or the god that he worships ; but we are more i n clined to t h e
latter opinio n becaus e h e assured us ( if we u n derstood h i m
right for he expressed himself ve ry imp e rfectly) that he
seldom did a n ything without con sulting it He called it his
o racle and said it pointed out the time for every action o f his
life From the left fob he took out a n e t almost large e nou g h
for a fisherma n but contrived to open a n d shut like a purse
a n d served him for the same use : we fou n d therein s e v e ral
massy pieces of yellow metal wh i ch if th e y b e re al g ol d,
must b e of imme n se value
which
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1
Tr a ns p a rent
.
VO YAGE TO L ILL IPU T
1
3
Havin g thus i n obedience to your majesty s comma n ds
dilige n tly searched all his pockets we observed a girdle
about his waist made of the hid e of som e prodigious a n imal
from which o n th e left side hun g a sword of th e le n gth of
five men ; and on the r ight a bag or pouch divided i n to t wo
cells each cell capable of holdi n g three of yo ur majesty s
In one of th e se c e lls were several globes or balls
s ubjects
o f a most ponderous metal about the bigness of our heads
a n d required a stro n g ha n d to lift them ; th e other cel l c o n
t a i n ed a h e ap of ce r tai n black grains but of n o great bulk or
w eight for we could hold abov e fifty of th e m in the p alms of
o ur ha n ds
“This is n exact inventory of what w e found about the
a
body of the man mount ai n who used us with great civility
S ign ed a n d
a n d du e respect to you r majesty s commissio n
s ealed o n the fourth day of the eighty n inth moon of you r
maj e sty s auspicious re ign
MA RSI F R E L O C K
C L E F E RN F R E L O C K
A
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Wh e n this inventory was re ad over to the emperor he
directed me although i n v e ry g e n tl e terms to deliver up the
He first called for my scimitar which I
s everal particula rs
took o ut scabbard and all I n th e meantime h e ordered three
t housa n d of his choicest troops (who then att e nded him ) to
s u rrou n d me at a dista n c e with their bow s a n d arrow s j ust
re ady to discharg e ; but I did not observ e it for mi n e eyes
He then desired me to
w ere wholly fixed upo n his majesty
d raw my scimitar which although it had got some r ust by
the sea w at e r was i n most parts ex ce e di n g bri g ht I did so
and immediately all the troops gave a shout betwee n ter ror
a n d surprise : for the s un sho n e clear a n d the refl ectio n daz
as I w ave d th e scimitar to and fro i n my
z l ed their eyes
han d His majesty wh o is a most magn a n imous pri n ce
was less dau n ted tha n I could e x pect : he ordered m e to return
it i n to the scabbard a n d cast it o n the g round as ge n tly as I
could about six foot from t h e en d of my chain The n e x t
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G ULLI VER S TRA VELS
’
2
3
thing h e demanded w a s on e of the hollow iron pill ars : b y
which he meant my pocket pistols I d rew it out a n d a t
his desire as we ll as I could expressed t o him the us e of i t ;
a n d chargi n g it o n ly w ith po w der which
by the clo se ne ss
of my pouch happe n ed to escape wetti n g i n the sea ( a n i n
convenie n ce agai n st which all prude n t mari n ers tak e sp e ci al
care to provide ) I first caution ed the empe r or not to b e
afraid and the n I l e t it o ff i n t h e air The astonishm e nt he re
w a s much great e r tha n at the s igh t of my scimitar
Hun
dre ds fell down as if th e y had b e e n struck dead ; and e ve n
the e mp e ror although he stood his ground could not recover
himself i n some time I delivered up both my pistols in t h e
same man ner as I had don e my sci m
i tar a nd then my pouch
of powder and bullets ; b egging him th at th e fo rm e r migh t
be k e pt from th e fire for it wo uld kindle with th e smalles t
s p a r k a n d blow up his imperial palace into th e air
I like
wise delivered up my watch which the emperor was very
curious to s ee and commanded two of his tallest yeomen of
the guards to bear it on a pole upon their should e rs as d ray
men i n E n gland do a barrel of ale He was amaz e d at t h e
con ti n ual n ois e it mad e and the motio n of th e mi n ute hand
which he could easi ly disc e rn ; for their sight is much more
acut e than ours : and asked th e opi n ions of his l e arn ed m
en
about him which we re various and re mote as the r e ade r
may we ll imagin e without my re peating ; although indeed
I cou l d not ve ry perfectly understan d th e m I then gav e up
my silve r and copper money my purs e with n i ne larg e piec e s
of gold and some smaller ones ; my knife an d razor my comb
and silver s n uff box my handkerchief and jo uma l book My
scimitar pistols a n d pouch we re conve yed in carr iages to h i s
majesty s stores ; but th e rest of my goods were return e d m e
I had as I before observed o n e p r ivat e pock e t which
escaped th e ir search wherei n th e re was a pair of spectacle s
hich
I
sometimes
use
for
the
weakness
of
mi
e
e
yes
w
n
(
) a
1
pocket perspective a n d several other littl e conv e nienc e s ;
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Teles c o p e
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‘
G ULL I VER S TRA VEL S
’
34
rope ;
d w hoever
th e o ffi ce
j umps the highest without falli n g suc
Very ofte n the chief mi n isters themselves
c eeds i n
are commanded to show their skill and to convi n ce the em
l
i
m
that
they
have
not
lost
their
faculty
F
the
a
n
ero
r
p
p
t re asurer is allowed to cut a caper on th e straight rop e at
least an inch hi g her tha n a n y other lord i n the whol e e mpire
1
I have se e n him do the summerset several times togeth e r
2
upon a tre n cher fix e d on the rop e which is no thicker tha n
a common packthread i n E n gla n d My fri e n d Reldresa l
pri n cipal s e cretary for privat e aff airs is in my opi n ion if I
am not pa rtial the second after the treasurer ; the re st of th e
great o ffi cers are much upo n a par
These diversio n s are ofte n attended with fatal accid e nts
w h e reof great numbers are on record
I myself have se e n
But the d an g e r is
t wo or three ca n didates break a limb
much greater when the ministers themselves are commanded
to sho w their dexterity ; for by conte n ding to excel them
selves and their fellows they strai n so far th at there is hardly
on e of them who hath not received a fall a n d some of them
I was assured that a ye ar or t wo before my
t wo or thre e
arrival Fli mn a p would have infallibly broke his neck if o n e
of the king s cushions that accide n t a lly lay on the ground
had n o t we ake n ed the force of his fall
Th e re is likewise a n other diversion which is only shown
before the e mperor a n d empress a n d first mi n ister upon p a r
The e mperor lays o n a table thre e fin e
t i c ul a r occasion s
silken threads of six inches long ; one is blu e the othe r red
a n d th e third gree n
Thes e threads a re proposed as p rizes
for those person s whom the e mp e ror hath a mi n d to di s
The ceremo n y i s
t i n g ui s h by a peculiar mark of his favor
perform e d in his majesty s gre at chamb e r of st at e w h e re
th e candidat e s are to u n dergo a trial of dexterity very di ff e r
e nt from the former a n d such as I h ave n o t obse r ved th e
least resembla n ce of in any other count r y of th e old or t h e
The emperor holds a stick i n his hands both
n ew world
an
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So
m
er sa ul t
2
.
Woo den
l
a
p t t er
.
VOYAGE To L ILL IPU T
35
e nds parall e l to the horizon w hile the ca n didates adva n cing
o n e by o n e sometimes leap over the stick sometime s cre e p
u n der it back ward and forward seve ral tim e s according a s
the stick is adva n ced or depressed S om e times the e m
n
r
o
n
e
d
holds
e
of
the
stick
and
his
first
minister
th
e
e
r
o
p
other ; sometimes the mi n ister has it entirely to himself
Who e ver performs his pa r t with most agility and holds out
t h e long e st in leaping and cree pi n g is re ward e d with th e blu e
colored silk ; a n d re d is give n to the next and th e green t o
t h e third w hich they all we ar girt t w ic e round about th e
middle ; an d you see few great p e rsons about t his court who
a r e n o t adorn ed with on e of thes e girdles
The horses of the army and those of the royal stables
h avi n g been daily led before m e were no longer shy b ut
w ould com e up to my very fe e t without starting The riders
w ould leap them over my hand as I held it o n the ground ;
a n d on e of the emperor s huntsmen
upon a larg e courser
t ook my foot shoe a nd all w hich was i n deed a prodigious
l eap
I had the good fortun e to dive rt the emperor one day
I desired h e would ord e r
a fter a ve r y e xtraordi n ary manner
and the thickness of an o r
s e veral sticks of t wo foot hi g h
di n a ry ca n e to be brought m e ; wh e re upon his maj e sty com
ma ndedthe master of his woods to give directions according
l y ; a n d the n ext morni ng six woodmen a rr ived with as many
c arriages d ra wn by eight hors e s to e ach I took ni n e of thes e
ly in th e ground in a q uadra n gular
s ticks and fixi n g th e m firm
figure t wo foot and a half square I took four other sticks
a n d ti e d th em par a llel at e ach co m
e r about two foot from
t h e ground ; then I fast e ned my handkerchi e f to the ni n e
sticks that stood erect and extended it o n all side s till it
w a s as tight as the top of a drum ; and th e four parallel sticks
risi n g about five inches higher than the handk e rchief served
as ledges o n each side Whe n I had fi n ish e d my work I d e
sired the emperor to let a troop of his best horse twenty four
in n umber come and exe rcise upon this plai n His majesty
a pproved of th e propo s al a n d I took them up on e by o ne,
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6
3
GUL L I VE E s TE A
’
mm
in my hands ready mou n ted and armed with the prop e r
o fficers to exercise th e m As soon as they got i n to ord e r they
divided into two parti e s p e r formed mock skirmishes dis
charg e d blun t arrows drew their swords fl e d and pursu e d
a ttacked a n d retired and i n sho r t discovered the b e st mili
ta ry discipli n e I eve r b e h e ld Th e para llel stick s se cure d
them and their hors e s from falli n g ove r th e stage ; a nd th e
e mperor w a s so much delight e d that he ord e re d this e n ter
ent to b e repeat e d s e veral days and once was pleas e d
t a i nm
to be lifted up and give the word of command ; and wit h
gre at di ffi culty persuaded e ve n the empress hers e lf t o l et m
e
hold h e r in her close chair within two yards of t h e stage from
whence sh e was abl e to tak e a full view of t he whol e per
an ce
It was my good fortun e that no ill accident hap
fo r m
pen e d i n the se e n tertainments ; only once a fi e ry horse tha t
belonged to o n e of the captains pawing with h i s hoof struc k
a hole i n my ha n dkerchief a n d his foot slippi n g he ove r th rew
his rider a n d himself; but I immediat e ly reli e ved th e m both
and covering the hole with one hand I set down t h e t roo p
with the other in the sam e manner as I took them up Th e
horse that fell was strai n ed i n the left shoulder but the r i d e r
got no hurt ; a n d I repaired my handkerchi e f a s wel l a s I
could : however I would n ot trust t o th e stre ngt h of i t a ny
more i n such da n gerous e n te r prises
About t wo or thre e days before I wa s set at lib e r ty as I
was entertai n ing the court with t his ki n d of feats t h e re
a rrived an express to info r m his majesty that som e of h i s
ridi n g n ear th e plac e where I was first t a ken up
s ubject s
had seen a great black substa n ce lying on the ground v e ry
oddly shaped extending its edges round as wide as his maj
iddle as high as a
est y s bedchamber a n d r ising up i n th e m
man ; that it was no livi n g creature as they at first a p p r e
he n ded for it lay on th e grass without motion a n d som e of
them had w alk e d rou n d it several tim e s ; that by mounti n g
upon each other s shoulders they had got to the top whic h
w a s flat and e ven and stampin g upon it th e y fo und it w a s
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VO YAGE To L IL LIPU T
37
h o l low withi n ; that they humbly conc e iv e d it might be som e
t hing belon gi n g to the man mou n tai n ; a n d if his majesty
n
n
l
e
ased
they
would
u
dertake
to
bri
g
it
ith
o
ly
fiv
e
w
n
p
h o rses
I pre se n tly k n e w what they mea n t a n d w as glad
a t hea rt to receive this i n telligence
It seems upon my first
r eachi n g th e shore after our ship w reck I was i n such c on fu
s ion that before I came to th e place where I we n t to sle e p
my hat which I had faste n ed with a stri ng to my head whil e I
w a s rowi ng an d had stuck o n all the tim e I was swimming
f ell o ff a ft er I came to la n d ; the stri n g as I con jecture break
i n g by some accid e nt which I never obse r ved but thought
my hat had been lost at sea I entre ated his imp e rial maj
e sty to give orders it might be brought to me as soon as pos
s ibl e describi n g to him th e use a n d the nature of it : and the
n e xt d ay the wa go n er s a rr ived with it but not i n a v e ry good
c o n dition ; t hey had bored two holes i n th e brim within a n
i n ch a n d a half of th e edge a n d fast e n e d two hooks in th e
h oles ; th e se hooks were tied by a lo n g cord to the harness
a n d thus my hat was dragged alo n g for above half an E ng
l is h mile ; but the grou n d in that count r y bei n g extre mely
s moo th and level it received less damage tha n I e xpect e d
Two days after this adve n ture th e emperor h avi n g o r
de r e d that p art of his army which quarters i n a n d about his
metropolis to be i n readin ess took a fan cy of dive rting him
He desired I would stand
s elf in a v e r y si n gular ma n ner
l ike a Colossus with my legs as far asu n der as I co n veniently
H e then comma n ded his gen eral (who was a n old
c ould
e xpe r ienc e d lead e r and a great patro n of mi n e ) to d ra w up
t h e troop s i n clos e or der a n d march them u n der m e ; the foot
by twenty four i n abreast and th e hors e by sixteen with
d rums beati n g colors flyi n g a n d pikes adva n ced This
body consisted of three thousa n d foot a n d a thousa n d hors e
I had s e n t so ma n y memorials a n d petitio n s for my liberty
that his majesty at le n gth me n tion ed th e matter first in the
cabi n et an d the n i n a full cou n cil ; where it w a s opposed by
without
n o n e e xcept Sk y r es h B o lg o l a m who w as pleased
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G ULLI VER S TRA VEL S
8
3
’
any pro vocation to be my mortal e nemy But it was ca rr i ed
agai n st him by th e whol e board and co n firmed by the em
r
That
mi
n
ister
a
e
t
or
admiral
of
the
realm
w
o
r
s
o
b
l
e
p
g
very much i n his master s confid e nce and a person w e ll
1
versed i n a ff airs but of a moro se and sour complexion How
e ver h e was at length persuaded to comply ; but pre va il e d
that th e articles a n d con ditio n s upon which I should be set
fre e and to which I must swear should be d rawn up b y
himself Th e se a r ticles were brought to m e by Sky r esh
B o lg o l a min person att e n ded by two und e r secretari e s a n d
seve ral p e rsons of disti n ction After they were read I w a s
demanded to s wear to the performa n c e of them ; first i n t h e
man n er of my o wn cou n try a n d afterward i n the metho d
prescribed by their law s ; w hich was to hold my right foo t
i n my left h a nd to place the middle fi n ger of my ri g ht hand
a n d my thumb o n th e tip of m
o n the cro wn of my head
y
right ear But becaus e the reader may perhaps be curious t o
have som e idea of the styl e a n d ma n ner of exp ression p e
as well as to know the a r ticl e s upo n
c ul i a r to that people
w hich I recovered my libe r ty I have made a translation o f
the whole instrume n t word for word as n ear as I was abl e
which I h e re off er to the public
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Mo ma remE vl a m
e Gur di l o Sh efin Mully Ull y
G ue most mighty E mperor of L illiput d e light a n d terror
Go l b ast o
,
,
of the unive rse whose dominio n s exte n d five thousa n ds
bl ur tr ugr ( about t welv e miles i n circumfe rence ) to t h e extre m
ities of the globe ; mon arch of all monarchs tall e r than th e
son s of m e n ; whose feet press down to the center a n d whose
head strikes against the s un at whose nod the pri n ces of th e
e arth shake their knees ; pleasa n t as th e sp ri n g comfortable
as the summ e r fruitful as autumn dreadful as wi n ter Hi s
most sublime maj e sty proposes to the ma n mou n tai n lately
arrived at our celestial dominion s the follo wi n g a r ticle s
which by a sol e mn o ath he shall be obliged to perform
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Di sposi t i o n
.
,
VOYAGE TO L ILL IPU T
39
The ma n mou n tain shall n o t depa r t from our domi n
1 st
i o n s without our lice n se u n der our great seal
“
2 d H e shall n o t presume to come into our metropolis
w ithout our express order ; at which time th e i n habitants
have two hours warning to k ee p withi n their
s h all
d oors
“
Th
e
said
m
a
n
mou
n
tai
n
shall
confine
his
walks
to
d
3
o ur pri n cipal highroads a n d not off er t o walk or lie down in
a meadow or field of corn
“
h
h
e
walks
th
e
said
roads
h
e
shall
t
ake
the
u
tmost
A
t
s
4
care not to trample upon the bodies of any of Our lovi ng sub
e
s
thei
r
horses
or
carriages
nor
take
any
of
our
said
sub
c
t
j
n
into
his
ha
ds
without
their
own
cons
e
nt
e
t
c
s
j “
1
h
a
e
If
express
requires
xtraordinary
dispatch
th
e
t
n
5
ma n moun tai n shall be oblige d to carry i n his pocket the
messe n ger and hors e a si x days journey onc e i n every moon
a n d return th e sai d mess e nger back ( if so r equired ) s afe to
o ur imperial pre s ence
“
6 t h He shall be our ally against our e n e mi e s in th e isla n d
o f Bl efusc u an d do his utmost to destroy th e ir fl ee t which is
n o w pre paring to invade us
“ h That the said man mou n tain sh all at his times of
t
7
l eisure be aiding and assisting to our workm e n i n helpi n g
t o raise certain great sto n es tow ard coveri n g the wall of the
rincipal
park
a
n
d
other
our
royal
buildi
n
gs
p
“ h That the said man mountain shall in t w moon s
8t
o
t ime deliv e r i n an e xact s u r vey of the circumference of our
dominions by a computation of his own paces round the
c oast
“L astly That upon his solemn oath t o obs e rve all the
above articles the said man mou n tai n shall have a daily a l
lowance of meat a n d dri n k su ffi cie n t for the support of
o f o ur subjects with free access to our royal perso n a n d other
m arks of our favor G iven at our palace at B el fa b o r a c th e
t w e lfth day of the n i n ety fir st moo n of our reign
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1
A s peci a l
or
es s i n
r
p
g
m
ess a e.
g
.
G ULL I VER S TRA VELS
0
4
'
’
I swore and subscribed to these a rticles with great ch ee r
ful n ess and con te n t although some of them we re not so
hon orable as I could have wished ; which p roceeded wh o lly
from th e malice of Sky resh B o lg o l a m the high admi ral ;
wh e reupon my chain s were imm e diately unlocke d and I w as
at full libe r ty The emperor hims e lf i n person did me t h e
hon or to be by at the whole ceremon y I made my a c k no wl
ent s by prostrati n g myself at his majesty 8 feet : but h e
edg m
comma n ded me to rise ; and after ma n y gracious expres sions
w hich to avoid the c e nsure of vanity I shall not repe at h e
added that he hoped I should prov e a us e ful serva nt a n d
we ll deserve all the favors h e had alre ady confe r re d upon me
or might do for the future
Th e re ader may pleas e to obs e r ve that in the la st articl e
for th e recovery of my liberty th e emperor stipulates t o
allow me a qua n tity of meat and d ri n k su fficie n t for th e sup
port o f
L illiputians S om e tim e after askin g a friend
at court h ow they cam e to fix on that determinate numb e r
he told me that his majesty s mathematicia n s havi n g tak en
1
the height of my body by the help of a quadra n t a n d findi n g
it to exceed theirs in the propo rtion of twelve to o n e they
concluded from the similarity of their bodies that min e
must contai n at least
of theirs a n d cons e que n tly would
require as much food as w a s n ecessary to support that n umber
of L illiputia n s By which the reader may con ceive an idea
of the i n ge n uity of that people as well as the prud e nt a n d
exact eco n omy of so great a pri n ce
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1
fo r
A
mt h mt i
a
mg
t ak
e
a
ca
a n g ul ar
mt
mt
l i n st r u
eas u
re
m
en
s h a p ed l i k e a
en s
.
qu
i
l
a r t er c r c e
and
mk
ar
ed o ff
GULL I VE R S TRA VELS
foot high and t wenty foot distant from t h e buildings I
had his majesty s permission to step over this wall ; and the
space being so wide bet ween that and the palace I could
easily vie w it on every side The out ward court is a square of
forty foot a n d includes t wo other courts : in the inmost are
th e royal apartme n ts which I wa s very desirous to see but
found it extremely di fficult ; for the great gates from o n e
square i n to another were but ei g hteen i n ches high and seve n
inches wide No w the buildi n gs of the outer court were at
least five foot high and it wa s impossible for me to stride over
them without infinite d amage to the pile though the w alls
were stron gly built of he wn stone and four inches thick At
the same time the emperor had a great desire that I should
see the mag n ifice n ce of his palace ; but this I wa s n ot able
to do till three days after which I spent in cutting down with
my knife some of the larg est trees i n the royal park about a
hund red yards dista n t from the city O f these trees I made
t wo c rools each about three foot high and strong enough to
be a r my weight The people havi n g received n ot i ce a seco n d
time I went again through the city to the palace with my t wo
stools i n my ha n ds Whe n I came to the side of the oute r
court I stood upon one stool a n d took t h e other in my ha n d ;
this I lifted over the roof a n d ge n tly set it down on the spac e
bet ween the first a n d second court w hich wa s eight foot
wide
I the n stepped over the buildi n gs very conve n ie n tl y
from o n e stool to the other and d rew up the first after me
w ith a hooked stick
By this con trivance I got i n to the i n
most court ; and lying down upon my side I app lied my face
to the windows of the middle stories which were left ope n
on purpose and discovered the most sple n did apartments
that c an be imagi n ed There I s a w the empress a n d the
young pri n ces i n their several lodg i ngs with their chief a t
t en da n t s about them
Her imperial majesty wa s pleased to
s mile very graciously upon me and g ave me out of the w i n
do w her ha n d to kiss
But I shall not a n ticipate the reader with furt her desc r i p
’
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4
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VOYAGE To L I LL IPU T
43
t io n s of this ki n d because I reserve them for a greater w ork
w hich Is n o w almost ready for the press ; co n tai n i ng a g en
e ral descriptio n of this empire from 1t s fi rst erectio n through
a long series of pri n ces
with a particular account of their
w ars and politics la ws learning and religion ; their plants
and animals thei r peculiar manners a n d customs with other
matters very curious an d useful ; my chief design at presen t
being only to relate such eve n ts and transaction s as happened
t o the public or to myself duri n g a residence of about n ine
months in that empire
On e morning about a fort n ight after I had obtai n ed my
l iberty Rel dr esa l pri n cipal secretary ( as they style him ) of
p rivate aff airs came to my house atte n ded only by o n e
serva n t He ordered his coach to w ait at a dista n ce a n d
desired I would give h i ma n hour s audience ; which I readily
co n se n ted to o n accoun t of his quality a n d person al merits
as well as of the ma n y good o ffi ces he had done me d uri n g my
solicitations at court I off ered to lie down that he mig ht the
more con ve n iently reach my ea r ; but he chose rather to let
me hold him in my ha n d d uri n g our co n versation He began
w ith compliments on my liberty ; said he might pretend to
some merit i n it ; but however added that if it had not been
for the present situation of thi n gs at court perhaps I mi g ht
“
“
not have obtained it so soon
For said he as flourishi n g
a con di t ion as we may appear to be i n to foreign ers we labor
u n der two mighty evils ; a violen t faction at home a n d the
d a n ger of a n i n vasion by a most potent enemy from abroad
As to the first you a re to understa n d that for above seve n ty
moons past there have been t wo struggling parties in this
eckm
n a n d Sl a m
ec km
n
empire u n der the names Tr a m
from
th e high a n d lo w heels of their shoes by which they disti n
n
uish
themselves
It
is
alleged
i
deed
that
the
high
heels
g
are most a g reeable to our ancie n t con stitution ; but ho wever
t his be his majesty hath determi n ed to make use of o n ly lo w
heels i n the admi n istration of the gove rn me n t a n d all offi ces
in the gift of the crown as you can n ot but observe ; and par
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G ULLI VER S TRA VELS
’
44
that his majesty s imperial heels are lower at l ea st
by a dr ur r th an any of his court (dr ur r is a measure about t h e
fourteen th part of an i n ch ) The a n imosities bet wee n th es e
t wo parties r un so high that they w ill n either eat n o r dri n k
nor talk with each other We compute the Tr a m
ecks a n
or
high heels to exceed us i n n umber ; but the power is wholly
on our sid e We apprehend his imperial high n ess the heir
to the crown to have som e te n dency tow ard the high heels ;
at least we can plai n ly discover on e of his heels higher th a n
the other which gives him a b o b b le i n his gait Now in the
midst of these i n testi n e disquiets we are threatened with a n
i n vasion from the island of Blefusc u which is th e other great
e mpire of the u n iverse almost as larg e and powerful as thi s
o f his majesty
For as to what we have heard you a ffi rm
that there are other kingdoms and States in the world i n
habited by human creatures as large as yourself our p h i lo so
h
rs
n
are
in
much
doubt
and
would
rather
co
jectur
e
that
e
p
you d ropped from the moon or one of the stars ; because it i s
certai n that an hu n d red mortals of your bulk would in a sho r t
time destroy all the fruits and cattle of his majesty s domi n
io n s ; besides our histories of six thousand moon s make n o
me n tion of an y other region s than the two great empires of
L illiput a n d B lefusc u; which two mighty powers have as I
w a s goi n g to tell you been engaged in a most obsti n ate war
for thirty six moon s past It began upon the followi n g o c
casion : It is allowed on all hands that the primitive way of
breaking eggs before we eat them was upon the larg er en d;
but his prese n t majesty s grandfather while he was a boy
goi n g to eat a n egg an d breaki n g it according to th e ancie n t
practice happened to cut one of his fingers ; whereupon the
emperor his father published an edict commandi n g all his
subjects upon great penalties to break the smaller en d of
their eggs The people so highly rese n ted this l a w that our
histories tell us there have been six rebellion s raised on that
a ccount ; wherei n o n e emperor lost his life
a n d a n other his
cro wn These civil commotion s were con sta n tly fome n ted
’
t i c ul a r ly
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L ILL IPU T
45
b y th e monarchs of Blefusc u; a n d whe n th e y were quelled
t h e exiles always fled for refug e to that empire
It is com
e
d
n
u
that
eleven
thousa
d
perso
s
hav
e
at
several
times
t
n
p
s uff ered death rather than submit t o break their eggs at the
sm aller end Many hundred larg e volumes have been pub
l i s h ed upo n this con troversy ; but the books of the Big en di a n s
h ave bee n lon g forbidde n and th e whole party rendered
i n capable by law of holding employments D uring the course
o f those troubles the emperors of B lefusc u did freq ue n tly ex
postulate by their ambassadors accusing us of making a
schism in religion by off ending against a fundamental doc
t ri n e of our great prophet L ust ro g in the fift y fourth chapter
1
o f the b l un dec r a l (which is their Alcoran )
This however
is thought to be a mere strain upon the text ; for the words are
t hes e : that all tru e believers shall break thei r e ggs at the con
An d which is the convenient e nd s e ems i n my
v en i ent end
humble opinion to b e left to every man s con science or at
least in the power of th e chief magistrate to determine No w
t h e Big endia n exiles have found so much credit i n the E m
e
o
r
f
B
e
f
c
d
n
so
much
private
assista
ce
r
o
l
u
u
s
c
o
u
r
t
a
n
s
p
that a
a n d e n couragement from th eir party here at home
bloody wa r hath been carried on betwee n the two empires
for thirty six moons with various success ; during which time
we hav e lost forty capital ships a n d a much greater number
o f smaller vessels together w ith thirt y thousa n d of our best
seamen a n d soldiers ; a n d the damage received by the e n emy
is reckoned to be somewhat greater than ours However
and are j ust
t hey have n o w equipped a numerous fleet
prepa ri n g to make a desce n t upon us ; a n d his imperial maj
esty placi n g great con fiden ce in your valor and stre n gth
hath comman ded m e to lay this account o f his aff airs befo r e
A
VOYAGE
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o
u
y
’
I desired th e se cre ta ry to present my humble d uty to th e
e mperor ; and to let him know that I thought it would n o t
becom e me wh o was a foreigner to i nt erfere wi t h p art ies ;
,
,
1
Th e Koran
.
G ULL I VER S TRA VELS
6
4
’
but I was ready with the hazard of my life to d e fend h i s
person and state against all invaders
,
,
.
CHA P TE R V
m
m m
by a n ex tr a o r di n a r y str a ta g e , p r even ts a n i n
—
—
A hi g h ti tl e i s conf er r ed up on hi
A ba ss a dor s
va s i on
a r r i vef r o
the E p er or of B l ef us cu, a nds uef or p ea ce
a uthor ,
The
m
m
.
T HE e mpire of Blefusc u is a n
east o f L illiput , from which it
island situated to th e north
is part e d on ly by a channel
of eight hundred yards wide I had not yet see n it and upon
this notice of a n i n t e nded i n vasi on I avoided app e aring o n
that sid e of the coast fo r fear of being discovered by some of
the en e my s ships who had received no i n tellige n c e of me ;
all i n tercourse bet ween the t wo empire s having been strictly
forbidd e n duri n g the war upon pai n of d e ath and an e mbargo
laid by our emperor upon all vessels whatsoever I commu n i
of seizing th e
c a t ed to his majesty a project I had formed
e n emy s whole fleet ; which as our scout s assured us lay a t
a n chor i n the harbor ready to sail with the first fair wind
I consult e d the most e xperienced seame n upon th e dept h
of the channel which they had often plumbed ; who told me
l
u
that in the middle at high water it was seventy gl um
:
g fi
deep which is about six foot of E urop e an measure ; and t h e
l
u
:
w
rest of it fifty gl um
at
most
I
walked
to
ard
th
e
north
g fi
east coast over against B lefusc u and lyi n g down behind a
hillock took out my small pocket perspective glass and
vie wed th e en emy s fleet at a n chor consisting of about fifty
men o f war an d a gre at number of transports : I t hen cam e
back to my house and gave order ( for which I had a wa r
ra n t ) for a great quantity of the stro n gest cable and bars o f
iron The cable wa s about as thick as packthread and the
bars of th e length and size of a knitting needle I trebled
th e cabl e to make it stronger a n d for the same reaso n I
twisted three of the iron bars togeth e r bendi n g th e ex t rem
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VO YAGE To L ILL IPU T
47
Havi ng thus fixed fifty hooks to as ma n y
t i e s int o a hook
I we n t back to the northeast coast and putti n g o ff
c a bles
my coat shoes a n d stocki n gs walked i n to the sea in my
l e athern jerki n about half a n hour before high w ater
I
w aded with what haste I could a n d swam in the middle
a bout thirty yards till I felt g round
I arrived at the fleet
i n less th an half an hour The e n emy w a s so fri g hted whe n
t hey saw me that they leape d out of their ships and s w am
t o shore w here there could n o t be fewer tha n thi rty thousand
s ouls : I then took my tackli n g a n d faste n i n g a hook to the
h ol e at the prow of each I tied all the cords together at the
While I w a s thus employed the e n emy discharged
en d
s everal thousa n d arrow s ma n y of which stuck in my ha n ds
gave me much
a n d face ; a n d besides the excessive smart
My greatest apprehension wa s
disturba n ce i n my work
f o r mi n e eyes which I should have i n fallibly lost if I had
I kept among othe r
n o t suddenly thought of an expedie n t
l ittle necessaries a pair of spectacles in a p rivate pocket
which as I observed be fore had escaped the emperor s
s ea rchers
These I took out and faste n ed as stro n gly as I
could upon my n ose a n d thus armed we n t o n boldly with
my work i n spite of the enemy s arrows ma n y of which
s truck against the glasses of my S pectacles b ut without any
other eff e ct further tha n a little to discompose them I h ad
n o w fastened all the hooks and takin g the knot in my ha n d
began to pull ; but n o t a ship would stir for they were all
too fast held by their a n chors so th at the bold pa rt of my
e n terprise remai n ed I therefore let go the cord and leav
i ng the hooks fixed to the ships I resolutely cut with my knife
the cables that faste n ed the a n chors receivi n g about t wo
hundred shots i n my face a n d hands ; the n I took up the
k n otted en d of the cables to wh ich my hooks were tied a n d
w
ith
great
ease
dre
fifty
of
the
enemy
s
largest
men
of
w
wa r after me
The B lefusc udi a n s wh o had n o t the least ima g i n atio n of
what I intended were at first confounded with aston ishment
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GULL I VE R S TRA VELS
They had see n m e cut the cables and thought my de s ign
w a s only to let the ships run adrift or fall foul o n each othe r ;
but when they perceived the whol e fleet movi n g in orde r
a n d saw me pulli n g at th e end they set up such a screa mo f
grief and despair that it is almost impossible to describe o r
conceive When I had got out of d anger I stopped a whil e
to pick out the arrows that stuck i n my hands a n d face ; a n d
rubbed on some of the same oi n tme n t that wa s given me a t
my first arrival as I hav e formerly m e ntioned I then too k
o ff my spectacles
and waiting about an hour till th e tid e
was a little falle n I waded through the middl e with my cargo
a n d arrived safe at the ro yal port of L illiput
The emperor and his whole cou rt stood on th e shore ex
1
i
ec
the
issue
of
this
great
dv
e
ntur
e
They
saw
th
e
t
n
a
p
g
ships move forward in a larg e half moo n but could not di s
cern me who was up to my breast in water When I a d
v a n c ed to the middle of the channel they w e re y e t more i n
pai n because I w a s under water to my neck The e mpero r
con cluded me to be d rowned and that the enemy s fle et
w a s approaching in a hostil e manner : but h e was soon ease d
of his fears ; for the cha n nel growing shallower every st e p I
made I came in a short time within hearing a n d holdin g
up the end of the cable by which the fle e t was fastened I
“
cried i n a loud voice L ong live the mo st puissant E m pero r
of L illiput ! This great pri nce received me at my landi n g
with all possible enc miums and created me a n a r da c
o
upon the spot which 13 the high e st t itle of honor a mon g
them
His majesty desire d I would tak e som e other opportu n ity
of bri n gi n g all the rest of his e nemy s shi ps i n to his po r t s
An d so unmeasurable is the ambition of princes that h e
seemed to think of nothing less than reduci n g the whol e
empire of B lefusc u into a province a n d govern i n g it by a
and compelli n g
V iceroy ; of destroyi n g the Big endian exiles
that peopl e to break the smaller end of their eggs by whic h
8
4
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1
Awai t i ng
.
GULL I VE R S TRA VELS
won ders ; wherein I readily obli ged them but shall not tro ub l e
the reader with the pa rticulars
Whe n I had for some time entertained thei r excelle n c ie s
to their infin ite satisfaction a n d surprise I desired t h e y
would do me the hon or to present my most humble respe ct s
t o th e emp e ror their master the re no wn of whose v i rtues h a d
so j ustly filled the whole world with admiration a n d wh o s e
royal person I resolved to atten d be fore I returned to my
Accordingly t he next time I had the hon o r
o wn country
to see our emperor I desired his ge n eral license to wait o n
the Blefusc udi a n mo n arch which he wa s pleased to gra n t
me as I could plainly perceive i n a very cold manner ; b ut
could n o t guess the reaso n till I had a whisper from a cert a in
person that Fli m
n a p a n d Bo lg o l a m had represe n ted m
y
i n tercourse with those ambassadors as a mark of disaff ecti o n ;
from which I am sure my heart wa s wholly free And th is
wa s the first time I began to conceive som e imperfect ide a
of courts and min isters
It is to be observed that these ambassadors spoke to me
by an i n terpreter the languages of both empires diff eri n g
as m
uch from each other as a n y t wo i n E urope and each
nation p ridi n g itself upon the antiquity beauty and energy
of their o wn tongues with an avowed contempt for th at o f
their neighbor ; yet our emperor stan di n g upon the a dv a n
tage he had g ot by the seizure of their fleet obliged them to
deliver their crede n tials and make their speech in the L illi
putian tongue An d it must be con fessed that from the
great i n tercourse of trade a n dcommerce bet wee n both realms
from the continual reception of exiles wh i ch is mutual among
them and from the custom i n each empire to send their
young nobility a n d richer gentry to the other in order to
polish themselves by seei n g the world a n d understa n di n g
men an d mann ers there are few persons of distinction or
mercha n ts or seame n wh o d well in the maritime parts b ut
w hat c a n hold co n versatio n in both to n gues ; as I fou n d some
weeks after whe n I we n t to pay my respects to the E mperor
’
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VO YAGE TO L ILL IPU T
1
5
o f B l efusc u which in the midst of great misfortunes through
t h e malice of my enemies proved a very happy adventure to
me as I shall relate in its prop e r plac e
The reader may re member that wh e n I signed thos e articles
up o n which I re cov e red my liberty the r e were som e which
I disliked upon account of th e i r b e ing too servile ; n e ither
c ould anything but an extrem e necessity have forced m e to
s ubmit
But being now a n a r da c of the highest rank in that
e m pire such o ffi ces w e re looked upon as below my dignity
a n d the emperor ( to do him j ustice ) nev e r onc e m e ntion e d
t hem to m e
A
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CHA P TER V I
m
Of the i n ha bi ta nts of L i lli p ut; thei r lea r n i n g la ws a nd cus to s ;
—
a n n er
the
of
educa ti n g th ei r ch i ldren
The a uthor s
—
wa y of li vi ng i n that co un tr y Hi s vi ndi ca ti on of a g r ea t
l a dy
m
,
,
’
.
A L T HOU GH I inte n d to leave the description of this e mpir e
t o a particular treatise yet i n the meantime I a mconte n t
As
t o g r atify the curious reader with some ge n eral ideas
t h e common siz e of the n atives is som ewhat under six i n ches
h igh so there is an exact proportion in all oth e r animals as
w ell as plants and t rees ; for instanc e the tallest horses and
o x e n are bet ween four and five i n ches in height the sh e ep an
i n c h and a half more or less ; their geese about th e bign e ss of
a sparrow and so the several gradations down w ard till you
come to the s mallest which to my sight were almost 1n v i s
i ble ; but n a ture hath ad apted the e yes of the L illiputia n s to
a l l obj e ct s proper fo r their view ; they see with great exact
n es s but at no great distance
An d to show the sharpness of
thei r sight toward objects that are near I have been much
1
pleased observi n g a cook pulli n g a lark which was not so
l a rge as a common fly ; and a young girl threadi n g an invisibl e
needle with i n visible silk Th e ir tall e st t rees are about seven
fo ot high ; I mean some of those in the gre at royal park t h e
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Pl ucki ng t h e fea t h ers fro
mi t
,
.
G ULLI VER S TRA VELS
’
2
5
tops wh e reof I could but j ust re a ch with my fist clench e d
1
Th e other vegeta b les are in th e sam e proportion ; b ut thi s I
leave to the re ad e r s imagination
I shall say but little at pres e nt of their l e arn i ng which fo r
many a ges hath flourish e d in all its branch e s a m
ong th em;
but their mann e r of writing is ve ry p ec uliar b e ing nei t h e r
from th e left to the right like th e E u ro p e ans ; nor from t h e
right to th e l e ft lik e th e Ara b ians ; nor fro m up t o down l ik e
th e Chines e ; b ut a slant from o ne co rn e r o f t he p a p e r t o t h e
oth e r like ladi e s in E n gland
They bury their dead with th e i r h e ad s di r e ctly downwa r d
becaus e th e y hold an O pinion that in eleven th o us and moo n s
they are all to ris e again ; i n which period th e e arth ( wh ic h
they conce ive to be flat ) will turn upside down a nd by t h i s
means they shall at their re su rr e ction be found r e ady stan d
ing on thei r feet The learned a mong th e m confess the a b
surdity of t his doctrine ; b ut t he practic e st ill co ntinu e s i n
complianc e t o t he vulg ar
Th e re a re some laws and c ust o m
s i n this emp i re ve ry pe e n
liar ; and if they were not so directly contrary to those of my
own dear country I should be t e mpted to say a little i n th e i r
justification It is only to be wished tha t they were as well
executed The first I shall m ention relat es to i n form
e rs All
crim e s against th e stat e a re punished he re with t he utmost
s e verity ; but if the pe r son a ccused maketh his innocen c e
plainly to app e ar upon his trial the accuser is immediately
put t o an ignominious death ; and out of his goods or lands t he
i n nocent p e rson i s quadruply recompensed fo r the loss of hi s
time fo r t he dange r he underwe nt for the hardship of h i s
imprisonm e nt a nd fo r all th e charges he hath been at in
ma king his defens e O r if that fund be deficient it is largely
s upplied by th e crown
The e mperor does also confer on
h i m some public mark of his favor and proclamation i s
mad e of his i nn ocen ce through the whole city
They look upon fraud as a greater cri m
e than t heft and
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Plant s o f
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VO YAGE To L I LL IPU T
53
t h e refore seldom fail to punish it with death ; for they allege
t h a t care a n d vigila n ce with a very common understa n di ng
ma y preserve a man s goods from t hieves but honesty has
n o fe n ce against superior cunni n g ; a n d si n ce it is necessary
t h at there should be a perpetual i n tercourse of buying and
s e lli n g a n d dealing upo n credit where fraud is permitted or
c o nniv e d at or hath no law to punish it the honest dealer
i s always undon e and th e knave gets the adva n tage
I re
member wh en I was once intercedi n g with the king for a
c rimi n al wh o had wro n ged his master of a great sum of money
wh ich he had received by order and ran a way with ; a n d hap
p en i n g t o tell his maj e sty by way of extenuation that it
w a s on ly a bre ach of trust the emperor thought it mo n strou s
i n me to off er as a d e fense the greatest aggravation of the
c ri me ; and t ruly I had littl e to say in return further tha n th e
c ommon answ e r that di ff ere n t nations had di ff erent customs ;
f o r I co n fess I was heartily ashamed
Although we u s ually call reward and punishment the t wo
e n t turns yet I could n ever
h ing e s upon which all gove rn m
o bserve this maxi mto be put i n pract ice by any n ation ex
cept that of Lilliput Whoever can there b ring su ffi cient
p roof that he hath strictly obs e rved th e laws of his cou n try
fo r seve n ty three moons hath a claim to certai n privileges
a ccording to his quality and condition of life with a propor
t i o n a b le s umof money out of a fund appropriated for that
use ; he likewise acquires the title of s n i lpa l l or legal which
is added to his name but does not desce n d to his posterity
An d these people thought it a prodigious defect of policy
a mong us when I told them that our la ws w ere enforced o n ly
b y pe n alties without any mention of re ward It is upon this
a ccount that the image of Justice in their courts of j udicature
is formed with six eyes two before as ma n y behi n d a n d on
each sid e on e to sign ify circumspectio n ; w ith a bag of gold
open in her right hand a n d a s word sheathed i n her left to
show she is more disposed to re ward tha n to pun ish
In choosi n g persons for all employments they have more
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GULL
I
VE
R
S
TR
A
VELS
54
regard to good morals than to great abiliti e s ; for sinc e g o v
anki n d they believe that the c o m
ern m
en t is n ecessary to m
mon size of human u n dersta n di ngs is fitted to some statio n o r
other ; a nd that P rovidence never i n t e nded to mak e t h e
manageme n t of public aff airs a mystery to be compreh e n de d
on ly by a few persons of sublime genius of which there s e l do m
are three born in an age ; but they suppose truth j ust i c e
tempera n ce a n d the like to be in every man s power ; t h e
practice of which vi rtues assisted by experie n ce and a go o d
inte n tio n would qualify any man for the service of h i s
country except where a course of study is required B ut
they thought the wa n t of moral vi rtues was so far from bei n g
s upplied by superior endo wme n ts of the mi n d that emplo y
me n ts could n ever be put into such da n gerous hands as th o s e
of person s so qualified ; a n d at least that the mistakes co m
mi t t ed by ign ora n ce in a virtuous disposition would nev er
be of such fatal co n seq uence to the public weal as the pra e
tices of a man whose i n cli n ations led him to be corrupt an d
h a d great abilities to manage a n d multiply and defend h i s
corruptio n s
In like ma n ner the disbelief of a D ivi n e P rovidenc e re nde r s
a man incapable of holdi ng any public station ; for since king s
avow themselves to be the deputies of P rovidence the L illi
a
u
i
n
s
n
n
n
thi
k
othi
g
can
be
more
absurd
than
for
princ
t
a
e
p
to e m
ploy such men as disown the authority under whic h
he acts
In relating thes e and the followi n g laws I would only b e
u n derstood to mean the origi n al institutions a n d not t he
most sca n dalous corruption s into which these peopl e a re
fallen by the dege n erate nature of man For as to that i n
famous practice o f acquiri n g great employme n ts by danci ng
on the ropes or badges of favor a n d distin ction by leapi ng
over sticks a n d creepi n g u n der them the reader is to observe
that they were first i n troduced by the gran dfather of the
emperor n ow rei g ni n g
a n d gre w to the present height b
y
t h e gradual increase of party a n d faction
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VO YAGE TO L ILL IPU T
55
I n gratitude is among them a capital crime as we read it
t o have been in some other cou n tries ; for they reason thus
t h a t whoever makes ill return s to his be n efactor must n eeds
b e a common en e my to the rest of ma n kind from whom he
h a t h receive d n o obligation a n d therefore such a m
a n is n o t
fi t to live
Their notions relating to the duties of parents and children
di ff er extremely from ours
Their opinion is that pare n ts
a r e the last of all others to be trusted with th e educati on of
t heir o wn child re n ; a n d therefore they have i n every town
p ublic nurseries where all parents except cottagers and la
b orers are oblig e d to s e n d their infants of both sexes to be
r e a re d a n d educat e d when they come to the age of twenty
moon s at which time they are supposed to have som e rudi
ments of docility Thes e schools are of several ki n ds suited
They have certain
t o di ff ere n t q ualities and to both sexes
professors well skilled in prepari n g children for such a con di
tion of life as befits the rank of their pare n ts and their o wn
capacities as well as inclinations I shall first say somethin g
o f the male n urseries and the n of the female
1n ent birth a re pro
The n urseries for males of noble or em
and their several
v i ded with grav e a n d learned professors
deputies The clothes and food of the childre n are plain a n d
simple They are bred up in the pri n ciples of hon or j ustice
courage modesty cleme n cy religion a n d love of their coun
t ry ; they are alw ays employed i n some busi n ess except i n
t h e times of eating and sleeping which are very short a n d
They
t wo hours fo r diversio n s co n sisti n g of bodily exercises
are dressed by men till four years of age a n d then are obli g ed
1
to dre ss themselves although their q uality be ever so great ;
a n d the women attend a n ts w h o are aged proportionably to
ours at fifty perform on ly the most menial o ffi ces They are
never suff ered to converse with servants but go together i n
smaller or g reater n umbers to take their diversion s a n d a l
ways i n the prese n c e of a professor or o n e of his deputie s ;
S i l t ndi n g
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oc a
s a
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G ULL I VER S
VELS
whereby they avoid those early bad impre ssions of folly a n d
vice to which our childre n are subject Th e ir pa r e n ts a r e
suff ered to see th e m only t wice a year ; the visit is to last b ut:
an hour ; they are allowed to kiss the child at meeti n g a n d
pa rti n g ; but a professor wh o al ways stands by o n those o c
casion s will n o t suff er them to whisper or use a n y fond l i n g
expression s or bring a n y presents of toys s weetmeats a n d
the like
The pension from each family for the e ducation a n d ent e r
en t of a child upon failur e of due paym e nt is levi e d b y
t a in m
the emperor s offi cers
The nurseries fo r children of o r dinary g e ntl e m e n m
er
chants traders and handicrafts are manag e d proportiona b l y
after the sam e mann er ; only thos e designed for trades a r e
put out apprentices at eleve n years old ; whereas thos e o f
persons of quality continue in their nurseries till fifteen whic h
a nswers to t wenty o n e with us : but the confinem e nt is gra d
ua lly lesse n ed for th e last three years
In the female nurseries the young girls of quality a re ed u
c a t ed much like t h e males o n ly they ar e dressed by orderl y
servan ts of their own s ex ; but al ways in th e pre sence of a
professor or deputy till they come to d ress themselves whic h
is at five years old And if it be found that these nurses ever
presume to entertain th e girls with frightful or foolish storie s
o r the commo n follies practiced by chambermaids amo n g us
they are publicly whipped th rice about the city imprisoned
for a year an d banished for life to the most desolate part of
the coun try Thus the you n g ladies there are as much
ashamed of bei n g cow ards and fools as the men ; and despis e
all personal o rn am e nts beyond decency and clea n liness :
n either did I perceive a n y di ff ere n ce in their education mad e
by their diff ere n ce of sex on ly that the exercises of the fe
males were not altogether so robust ; a n dthat some rules were
give n them relatin g to domestic life a n d a smaller compass
of learn i ng wa s e njoi n ed them : for the maxim is that among
people of q uality a wife should be al ways a reasonable and
6
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G ULLI VER S TRA VELS
8
5
forced to quilt togeth e r in several folds fo r t h e thick e st w a s
some d e gree s finer than lawn Th e ir line n is usually th re e
inch e s wide and thre e foot make a piece Th e sempstress e s
took my m e asure as I lay on th e ground on e standing at my
and anoth e r at my mid leg with a strong cord ex
n eck
t en d e d that each held by th e en d whil e the third m e asured
th e length o f the cord with a rule of an inch long Th e n the y
measured my right thumb and desired no more ; fo r by a
mathematical computation that twic e round th e thumb i s
onc e round the wrist and so o n to th e neck and th e wai s t
and by t h e help of my old shirt which I displayed o n t h e
ground be fore them for a patte r n t hey fitted m e exactly
Thre e hund red tailors we re employed in the same manner t o
mak e m e clothes ; but they had a n oth e r contriva n c e for takin g
my m e asure I kn ee led down and they raised a ladd e r
fro m t he ground to my neck ; upon this ladder on e of the m
mount e d and let fall a plumb line from my collar to t h e
floor which j ust answe red the le n gth o f my coat ; but m
y
w aist and arms I measured myself Whe n my cloth e s were
fi n ished which was don e i n my house ( for the large st o f
theirs would not hav e b ee n able to hold them ) th e y looke d
like th e patch work made by t h e ladi e s in E ngland only that
mine we re all of a color
I had three hund re d cooks to dre ss my vi ct uals in littl e
con veni e nt huts built about my hous e wh e re th e y and thei r
famili e s live d and prepare d me two dish e s apiec e I took up
twenty waiters in my hand and placed them on th e table ;
an hundred more attended below on the groun d some with
dish e s of meat and som e with barre ls of wine and other liq
uors slung on their shoulders ; all which th e w aiters abov e
d rew up as I w anted in a very ing e nious manner by certain
cords as we d raw th e bucket up a we ll i n E urope A dis h
of their meat wa s a good mouthful and a barre l of thei r
liquor a re asonable draught Th e ir mutton yields t o ours
but th e ir b e ef is exc e ll e nt I h ave h ad a sirloi n so large tha t
I have b ee n forced t o mak e thre e bit e s of it : but this is rare
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VOYAGE To L ILL IPU T
59
My se rvants were astonished to see me eat it bones and all as
in our cou n try we do the leg of a lark Their geese and tur
keys I usually eat at a mouthful a n d I must confess they
far exceed ours O f their smaller fowl I could take up twe nty
o r thirty at t h e e nd of my knife
On e day his imperial majesty being in form e d of my way
o f living desire d that himself a n d his royal co n sort w ith the
y oung princes of the blood of both s exe s might have th e
ha ppiness as he wa s ple a sed to call it of dining with m e
They came accordingly and I placed them upon chairs of
s tat e upon my table j ust over against me with their guard s
a b o ut th em
n ap
F li m
the lord high tre asure r attended
t here likewise with his white staff ; and I o bs e rved he often
l ooked o n me with a sour countena n ce which I would n o t
s eem to regard but eat more than usual in honor to my dear
c o untry as well as to fill the court with admiration I have
s om e p r ivat e reasons to believe that this visit from h i s
majesty gave Fli mn a p an opportunity o f doing m e ill offi ces
That minister had always been my s e cret
t o his master
e n emy
though he outwardly caressed me more than wa s
usual to the moroseness of his nature
H e represented to
t h e emperor the low condition of his treasury ; that h e was
forced t o take up mon ey at great discount ; that exchequer
bills would not circulate under nine per cent below par ;
t hat in sho rt I had cost his majesty above a million and a
h alf of s p r ug: ( their greatest gold coin about the bign ess of
a spangle ); and upon the whole that it would be advisable
i n the emperor to t a ke the first fair occasio n o f dismissing me
I am here obliged to vindicate the reputation of an ex
c el len t lady who was an innocent suff erer upon my account
The treasurer took a fa n cy to be jealous o f his wife from the
malice of some evil tongues wh o i n formed him that her grace
had take n a violent aff ection fo r my person ; and the cou rt
scanda l ran for some time that she once came privately t o
my lodgi n g This I solem n ly declare t o be a most i n famou s
falsehood without a ny grounds further than that her grace
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G UL LI VER S TRA VEL S
6o
’
tre at m e with all innocent mark s of free do m
I o wn she came often to my house but a l
ways publicly n o r e ve r without three more i n the coach w h o
were usually her si st er and young daughter and some p a r
t i c ul a r ac quai n ta n c e : but this was commo n to ma n y ot h e r
ladies of the court An d I still app e al to my servants round
wheth e r they at a ny tim e s aw a coach at my door withou t
k n owing what person s we re in it O n thos e occasions whe n
a se r vant had give n m e notic e my custom wa s to go imme
di at ely to th e d o or ; and after payi n g my respects to tak e
up t h e coach and two horses very carefully in my hands ( for i f
there were six horses the postillion always unh a messed four)
a n d plac e them on a table where I had fix e d a movabl e ri m
quit e roun d of five inches high to prevent accidents An d
I have often had four coach e s and horses at once o n my t abl e
full of comp an y whil e I s ate i n my chair leani n g my fac e
tow ard them ; and whe n I was engaged with on e set th e
coachman would gently drive th e others round my tabl e I
have passed ma n y an afternoon ve ry agreeably in thes e c o n
vers at i o n s
But I defy th e tre asurer o r his t wo informers ( I
will nam e them and let them make their best of it) Clust r i l
and Drun lo to prove that any person ever cam e to me i n
1
except the s e cretary Reldres a l who w a s sent by ex
cog n i to
press command o f his imperial majesty as I have before r e
lated I should n o t have d welt so long upon this particula r
if it h ad not been a point wherein the reputation of a grea t
lady is so nearly c oncern ed to say nothing of my own ;
though I had then the honor to be a n a r da c which the treas
ur er himself i s n o t ; fo r all th e world knows he is only a gl a m
u
i
s
l
m
a
title
inferior
by
on
e
degree
as
that
of
a
marquis
g
to a duke i n E ngland ; although I allow b e preceded me in
Thes e false information s which I after
r ight of his post
ward cam e to the knowledge of by an accide n t n o t prope r
to m e ntion made F li mn a p the treasurer show his lady fo r
som e tim e a n ill coun ten ance and me a worse ; and although
wa s pl e as e d to
a n d fr iendship
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1
Wi t h
i den t i t y
l d
c o ncea e
.
GE
L ILL IPU T
61
h e was at last und e ceived a n d reconcil e d to her yet I los t
all credit with him and found my intere st decli n e very fas t
w ith the emperor himself who was ind e ed t oo much gov
e rn ed by that favorite
A VOYA
TO
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,
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CHA PT E R VI I
Th e
m
m
bei ng i nf or ed of a desi gn to a ccus e hi
of hi gh
—
tr eas on ,
a kes hi s es ca p e to B lef u
s cu Hi s r ecep ti on th er e
a uthor ,
m
.
B E F OR E
I proc ee d t o give an account of my leavi n g this
kingdom it may b e proper to info r m th e re ad e r of a private
i n t rigue which had b e en fo r t wo months forming a gainst e
I h ad been hitherto all my life a strange r t o courts fo r
which I wa s unqualified by the meanness of my condition
I had i n deed heard and read enough of th e dispositions of
great pri n ces and ministers ; but never exp e ct e d to have found
such terrible eff e cts of them in so re mot e a count ry gove r ned
as I thought by ve ry diff eren t maxims from those in E urope
When I was j ust pre pari n g t o pay my att end anc e o n the
E mperor of B lefusc u a considerabl e p e rson at court ( to
whom I had been ve ry serviceable at a time when he lay
u n der the highest displeasure o f his impe rial majesty) cam e
t o my hous e very privately at night in a close chair and
wi thout sendi n g his nam e desired admittance The chair
m e n were dismiss e d ; I put the chair with his lordship into
it into my coat pocket ; a n d giving ord e rs to a trusty se r vant
t o say I was indisposed a n d gone to sl e ep I faste n ed the door
of my hous e p lac e d the chair o n the t a ble according to my
Aft e r the common
usual custom and sate do wn by it
salutation s were over observing his lordship s cou n tenance
full of concern an d inqui ring into th e re ason he de s ired I
would hear him wi th patienc e in a matt e r that highly con
cer ned my honor and my life Hi s sp ee ch was to the follow
i ng e ff ect for I took notes of it as soon as he left me
“
that several committees of
Yo u are to know said he
council have b e en lately called in the most private manner
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G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
62
’
on your account ; a n d it is but t wo d ays si n c e his maj e sty
came to a full resolutio n
“
Yo u are very se n sible that Sk y resh B o lg o l a m( ga lbet or
high admiral ) hath been your mortal e n emy almost ever
sinc e your arrival His origi n al reasons I kn ow not ; but his
hatred is much increased sinc e your gre at success agai n st
This
B lefusc u by which his glory as a dmiral is obscured
lord in conj unction with F li mn a p the high treasurer whose
e n mity against yo u is notorious on account of his lady L im
toc th e general L a lc o n the Chamberlain and B a lmuff th e
grand j usticiary have prepared articles o f impeachmen t
agai n st you for treason and other capital crimes
This preface made me so impatient being con scious o f my
own m e rits a n di nnocence that I was goi n g to interrupt wh e n
he entre ated me t o be sile n t a n d thus proceeded :
“
O ut o f gratitud e fo r the favors you have done me I pro
cured information of th e whol e proceedi n gs a n d a copy o f
th e articles ; wherein I ventured my head for your service
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Ar ti ele:
f
o
I
mp
h
ea c
mt
en
i
a ga ns t
F
u
i
n
b
u
:
l
e
s
r
t
i
n
h
e
t
,
Q
Moun ta i n
Ma n
.
—That the said Qui n b us
having
brought the imperi al fl e et o f B lefusc u into the royal port
and bei n g afterward comma n ded by his imperial majesty to
seize all the other ships of the said empire of B lef usc u and
re duc e that e mpire t o a provi n ce to be govern ed by a V iceroy
from h ence and to destroy and put to death n o t on ly all
the Big e n dian exiles but likewise all the people o f th at
empire wh o would not imm e diately forsake the Big endian
heresy ; h e the said F lest ri n like a false traitor against his
most auspicious sere n e imperial majesty did petition to be
excused from the said se rvice upon pretense o f un willi n gness
to force the conscie n ces or de s troy th e liberties a n d lives o f
a n i nn oce nt people
“
—
A r ti cl e 2
Th a t whereas certain ambassadors arrived
from the court of B lefusc u to sue fo r peace i n h i s majesty s
A r ti cl e
1
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Flest r i n ,
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,
OYAGE To L IL LIPU T
63
c o u rt ; h e t h e said F lest r i n did like a fals e traitor aid ab et
c omfort a n d div e rt t h e said ambassadors although he kn e w
t h e m to be servants to a prince who was lately a n open
n em
d
n
to
his
imp
e
rial
maj
esty
in
op
e
n
war
agains
his
t
a
y
s aid majesty
“‘A ti cl e —
r
h
i
l
Tha
said
b
F
n
contra
r
y
e
u
n
u
s
es
t
r
i
o
t
t
t
3
Q
t h e duty of a faithful subject is now pre pa r ing t o mak e a
v oyage to the c o urt and empire of B lefusc u fo r w hich h e
h ath received only v e rbal license from h i s impe r ial majesty ;
a n d u n der color of th e said licens e
doth falsely a n d trai
t o r o usly intend to t ak e the said voyage and there by to aid
c om
fort a n d abet th e E mperor of B lefusc u so late an ene my,
a n d in open wa r wi t h his imp e rial maj e sty aforesaid
A V
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.
There a re som e other a rticles ; but th e s e a re th e mo st
i m portant of which I have read you an abstract
“In the several d e bates upo n this imp e achment it mus
t
b e confessed that his majesty gave many marks of his great
l e nity ; often urging th e services you had done him and e n
The t reasurer and
dea vo r i n g t o e xt e nuate your crimes
a d miral i n sisted t hat you should b e p ut to the most p ainful
n d ig n omi n ious d e ath by setti n g fire to your house at night ;
a n d the general was to attend with twe nty thousand m e n
a rmed wi th poisoned arrows to shoot you on the fac e and
h ands S ome of your servants were to have privat e ord e rs
t o st rew a poisonous j uic e o n your shirts which would soon
make you tear your Own flesh and di e l n the utmost torture
The g e n eral came into the same opinion ; so that for a long
ti m
e there was a majority agai n st you ; but his majesty t e
solvi n g i f possibl e t o spare your life at last brought o ff th e
chamberlai n
“U pon thi s incid e
Rel dres al principal secretary for
nt
private aff airs who a lways approved h imself your true fri e nd
was commanded by th e emperor to deliver his o pinion whic h
he accordi n g ly did ; and therein j ustifi e d the good thought s
r
b
u
w
t
ha
v
e of him
llo
ed
your
crim
e
s
to
be
g
eat
u
o
H
e
a
y
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G ULLI VER S TRA VEL S
64
’
that still th e re wa s room for m e rc y the most c omm e nd able
vi rtue in a p rince and for which his majesty wa s so j ustl y
celebrated He said the frie n dship bet wee n you a n d h i m
wa s so well k n own to th e world that perhaps the most honor
able boa rd might think him pa rtial ; however i n obedience t o
th e command he had re c e ive d h e would freely off e r his senti
m ents That if his majesty i n consideration o f your s e rvices
and pursuant to h i s own m e rciful disposition would pleas e
to spare your li fe a n d o nly give ord e r t o put out both you r
e ye s h e humbly c onc ei ved th at by this e xpedi e nt j ustic e
might in som e measu re be satisfied and all the world woul d
applaud t h e l enity o f th e empero r as well as the fair a n d
g e n e rous proc ee dings of those who had the honor to be h i s
counselors That th e loss o f your eyes would be no impedi
ment to your bo dily stre ngth by which you might still b e
useful to his majesty ; that bli n d n es s is an addition to cour
a g e by conc e aling dangers from us ; that the fear you h a d
fo r your ey e s was the greatest di ffi culty in bri n ging over t h e
e nemy s fleet ; a n d it would be suffi ci e nt for yo u to see by t h e
e yes of the minist e rs s inc e the greatest prin ces do no more
“
This proposal wa s received with th e utmost di s a p p ro b a
B o lg o l a m th e admiral could n o t
t ion by th e whole board
preserve his t emp e r ; but rising in a fury said h e wondere d
how t h e se c retary durst pre s ume to give his opi n ion for p r e
s erving th e life o f a traitor ; that the services yo u had p e r
form e d we re by all tru e re asons of state th e great aggrav a
t ion of your crimes ; that the sam e strength which enabl e d
h
to
b
ring
ov
e
r
th
e
e
nemy
s
fleet
might
serve
upon
t
e
o
u
y
first discontent to carry it back ; that h e had good reasons t o
t hi n k you were a Big endian in your hea r t ; and as tre aso n
begins in the heart b e fore i t appears in overt acts so h e
a ccused you as a traitor on tha t account and t here fore i n
t to death
s ist e d yo u should be p u
“
Th e treasurer wa s of the sam e opinion He showed t o
what straits his majesty s re ve n ue wa s red uced by t h e charg e
o f m ai n taining you which wo uld soon gro w i n sup p ortabl e ;
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,
GULL I VE R S TEA VELS
In three days your friend the s e creta r y will be dire cted
to come to your house a n d read b e fore you the articles o f
impeachme n t ; and then to sign ify the great le n ity a n d favo r
of his majesty a n d co u
ncil whereby you are only condem n e d
to the loss o f your eyes which his majesty doth no t qu e stio n
you will gratefully and humbly submit t o ; a n d t wenty o f
his maj e sty s surgeons will attend in order to see th e opera
tion well performed by discharging very sharp poi n ted a r
rows into the balls o f your eyes as you lie on the ground
“
I leave to your prudence what m e asures yo u will tak e ;
and to avoid suspicion I must immedi ately return in a s
privat e a manner as I came
His lordship did so ; and I re mained alon e under man y
doubts and perplexities of mi n d
It was a custom introduced by this princ e and his ministry
—very diff erent as I have been assured from the practice s
of former t i m
eS
t h a t after the court had decreed a n y cruel
execution either to gratify the monarch s rese n tme n t or t h e
malic e of a favorite the emperor made a speech to his whol e
council expressi n g his great lenity and tenderness as quali
ti e s known and confessed by all the world This speech wa s
imm e diately published through the kingdom ; nor did any
thing terrify the people so much as those encomiu m
s on hi s
majesty s m e rcy ; becaus e it was observed that the more
these praises were enlarged a n dinsisted on the more inhuma n
was the pu n ishme n t and the suff erer more i n nocent And
as to myself I must con fess havi n g never been designed fo r
a courtier either by my birth or educatio n I wa s so ill a
j udge of things that I could n o t discover the le n it y and favo r
o f this sentence b ut co nceived it ( perhaps erroneously ) rathe r
to be rigorous than gentle I sometimes t h ought o f standin g
my trial ; for although I could not deny the facts alleged in
the severa l articles yet I hoped they would admit of some
exte n uatio ns But havi n g in my life perused many state
t rials which I ever observed to termi n ate as the j udge s
tho ught fit to direct I durst n ot rely o n so da n gero us a d e
66
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VOYAGE To L ILLIPU T
67
C i sio n
in so c r itical a j uncture and against s uch powe rful
e n em
ies On ce I was strong ly bent upon re sistance ; fo r
w hile I had liberty th e whole strength of that empire could
h a rdly subdue me and I might e asily with ston e s p e lt the
met ropolis to pieces ; but I soon rej e cted that project with
h orror by remembering t h e oath I had mad e to the emperor
t h e favors I receiv e d from him and th e high title of n a r da c
h e con ferre d upon me
Ne ith e r had I so soon lea rned th e
ratitude
of
courtiers
to
persuade
my
e
lf
that
his
majesty
s
s
g
resent
severities
acquitted
m
e
of
all
past
obligations
p
At last I fix e d upon a re solution fo r which it is probable
I m ay incur som e censure and not unj ustly ; fo r I confess I
o we the pres e rving mine eyes and cons e quently my lib e rty
w
n
to m
o
gr
a
t
rashness
and
want
of
experienc
e
becaus
e
e
;
y
i f I had then known t h e nature of p r inces a n d ministers
w hich I have since observed in many other courts an d their
methods of treating c rimi n als less ob n oxious than myself
I s h ould with great alac r ity a n d readin e ss have submitted
But hurried o n by th e p rec i p i
t o so e asy a punishm e nt
t a n c y of youth and having hi s imperial maj e sty s licen s e t o
pay my atte n dance upon the E mperor of B lefusc u I took
this opportunity before the thre e days were elapsed to
s e n d a letter to my fr iend th e s ecretary signifying my resolu
tion o f setti n g out that mo r ning for B lefusc u pursuant to
the leave I had g o t ; and without waiting for an ans wer I
went to that sid e of th e island where our fleet lay I s e ized a
large man o f w a r tied a cable to the prow and lifting up the
a n chors I stripped myself put my clothes ( together with
my cove rlet which I brought u n der my arm ) into the vessel
between wading a n d s wimming
a n d dra wing it after me
ar rived at the royal port o f B lefusc u where th e peopl e had
l ong expected me : they lent m e t wo guides t o direct m e to
the capital city which is of the same name I held them in
my hands till I came within two hundred yards of the gate
a nd desi red them t o si g n ify my arrival to one o f the secre
t ari e s a n d l e t him kno w I there wai t ed h i s maj e st y s com
A
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G ULLI VE R S TRA VELS
68
’
mand I had an answer in about a n hour that his maje s ty
attended by the royal family and gre at o ffi cers of the co ur t
was comi n g out to rec e ive me I adva n ced a hu n dred yard s
Th e emperor a n d his train alighted from th e ir horses ; t h e
e mpre ss a n d ladies fro m their coaches ; a n d I did no t p e rceive
they we re in any fr ight or concern I lay on t h e ground to
kiss his majesty s a n d th e e mp ress hand I told his majesty
that I w a s come according to my prom i s e and with th e li
cense of the e mperor my mast e r to have th e hon or of se e ing
and to off e r him a n y se rvice in my
s o mighty a monarch
power consist e nt with my duty to my own prince ; not men
t i o n i n g a word o f my disgrac e becaus e I had hith e rto no
r egular i n formation of it a n d might suppose myself wholly
i gnorant of any s uch d e sign ; neither could I reasonably c o n
1
th e secret while I
cei ve that the e mperor would discover
was out of his po we r ; wh e re in howe ver it soon app e are d I
was d e ceiv e d
I shall not trouble th e reader with the particular a cc oun t
which was suitable to t h e
o f my reception at this court
gen e rosity of so gre at a pri n ce ; n o r of the di ffi culties I wa s i n
for w ant of a house a n d bed being forced to li e on the ground
wrapped up in my co verlet
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CH A PT E R VIII
The a uthor by a lucky acc i dent fi nds
a n d af ter s o e difiic ulti es r etur ns
,
tr y
m
,
m
ea ns
f
sa e
to lea ve B lef us cu
to h i s
n ati ve coun
.
THR EE days after my arrival
out of curiosity t o
th e north east coast of th e island I observed about half a
league o ff in th e s e a som ewhat that looked like a boat ove r
turned I pulled off my shoes and stockings and wading
t wo or three hundred yards I found the object to approac h
nearer by fo rce o f th e tide ; and then plainly s a w it to be a
which I supposed might by some t e mp e st have
r eal b o at
,
walking
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1
Di sclo se
.
,
69
VOYAGE To L ILLIPU T
b ee n dri v en from a ship : wh e re upon I retu rned i mm e d i at e ly
p e rial majesty to lend
t ow ard th e city a n d desired his i
m e twenty of the tall e st v e ssels he h ad left after th e loss o f
his fle e t and thre e thous a nd se a m en un der t h e comman d of
t h e vic e-admiral
This fl e et s ail e d ro und while I we nt back
t h e shortes t way to th e coast wh e re I firs t discov e re d th e
bo a t I found th e tide had d r iv e n it still n e a rer Th e sea
men we re all provid e d with cordage which I had be fore
h and t wist e d to a su ffici e nt strength When th e s hip s c am e
up I st r ipp e d myself and wa ded till I cam e within an hun
dre d yards of th e boat aft e r which I wa s forced t o swi m
t ill I got up to it
Th e s e amen t hre w m
e th e e nd of th e cord
w hich I fastened to a hol e in the fore p a rt of the boat a n d
t h e othe r e nd to a m
an o f wa r ; but I found all my labor to
little purpos e ; fo r b eing out o f my depth I was not able t o
I n this nec es sity I wa s forc e d t o swi m b e hind and
work
h
t
e
r
a
h
f
us
boa
fo
ward
oft
e
n
I
could
wit
my
h
as
s
o
e
o
t
n
p
h a n ds ; and th e tid e favoring m e I advanc e d so fa r that I
c oul d j us t hold up my chin and fee l th e gro un d
I re sted
t wo o r t hr ee minut e s and then gav e th e boa t a noth e r shove
a n d so o n till th e s ea wa s no high e r t h an my armpi t s and
n o w t h e most labo r iou s part being ov e r I t o ok out nf y o th e r
cabl e s which were stowe d in on e of t h e ships and fastene d
t h e m firs t to th e boat and th e n to nin e of th e v e ss e l s which
the seamen t owe d
a ttend e d me ; t h e wi nd being favorable
a n d I shoved t ill w e arrived within forty yards of th e shore ;
a n d wa i ting till th e t id e was out I g o t dry t o the boat a n d
by th e assistance o f t wo thou s and m e n with rop e s and en
gine s I mad e a shi ft t o tu rn i t o n i t s bott o m and found i t
wa s b ut littl e d a mag e d
I shall not troubl e t he re ad e r wit h t h e di ffi culties I wa s
under by the help of c e rtain paddl e s whic h cost m e ten days
making to get my boat t o the royal port of B lefuscu where
a mighty con course of p eople a ppeared upon my arrival full
of wonder at the sight of so prodigious a vessel I told th e
r
n
e
h
a
d
h
w
n
pero r t hat m
ood
fortu
th
o
t
is
boat
i
n
m
em
g
y
y
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G UL LI VER S TRA VELS
'
o
7
to carry me to som e place from whe n ce I might ret urn
into my n ative co untry ; a n d begged his majesty s orders fo r
getti ng materials t o fit it up together with his lice n se to de
pa rt ; which after some kind expostulation s he wa s pleased
to gra n t I did very much won der i n all this time n ot to
have heard of a n y express relati n g to me from our emperor
to the court of B lefusc u B ut I wa s afterward given p ri
ag
v a t el y to u n dersta n d that his imperial majesty nev e r i m
i ning I had the least notice of his designs believed I was
on ly gon e to B lefusc u i n performa n ce of my promise accord
i n g t o the lice n se he had give n me which was well known at
our court and would return i n a few days whe n that cere
mony was ended But he wa s at last 1n pai n at my lon g a b
se n ce ; a n d after consulting wit h the treasurer a n d the res t
1
of that cabal a person of quality was dispatched with the
copy of the articles agai n st me The envoy had i n structio n s
to represent to the mo n arch of B lefusc u the great le n ity of
his master wh o w a s co n tent t o pu n ish me n o further tha n
w ith the loss o f mi n e eyes ; that I had fled from j ustice ; a n d
if I did not return i n t wo hours I sho uld be deprived of my
title of n a r da c a n d declared a traitor The envoy furthe r
added that in ord e r to mai n tai n the peace a n d amity b e
t wee n both empires his master e x pected that his brother of
B l efusc u would give orders to have me se n t back to L illiput
bound hand and foot to be pu n ished as a traitor
The E mperor of B lefusc u having take n three days t o
con sult re turn ed a n a n s wer co n sisti n g of ma n y civilitie s
a n d excuses
He said that as for sending me bou n d hi s
brother kn e w it wa s impossibl e ; that although I had de
r
i
v
e
d
w
m
e
him
of
his
fleet
y
e
t
h
e
o
e
d
great
obligations
to
p
for ma n y good offi ces I had do n e him in m
aki n g the peace
That however both their m ajesties would soon be mad e
easy ; for I had fou n d a p rodi g ious vessel on the shore abl e
to carry me o n the sea which he had give n order to fit up
with my o wn assistance a n d directio n ; a n d he hoped in a
wa y
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Fact i on
.
VOYAGE TO L ILL IPU T
1
7
f ew weeks both empires wo uld be freed from so i ns up po rt
a bl e a n e n cumbra n ce
With this ans wer the e n voy return ed to L illiput ; and the
mo narch of B lefusc u related to me all that had passe d ;
o ff e r ing m e at th e same tim e ( but und e r the strictest c o n fi
dence ) his gracious protection if I would continue in his
although I believed him sincere yet I re
s ervice : wherein
s olv e d nev e r mo re to put any co n fid e nc e in p r inces o r mi n is
t e rs where I could possibly avoid it ; and the r e fore with all
due acknowledgm e nts for his favorable intentions I humbly
b egged to b e e xcus e d I told him that sinc e fortune wheth e r
a s resolved
ood
e
vil
had
thrown
a
vessel
in
my
way
I
o
r
w
g
t o venture myself on th e ocean rather than b e an occasion
Neither
o f di ff erence between two such mighty mo n archs
did I find th e e mperor at all displeased ; and I discovered
b y a certain accident that he wa s v e ry glad of my resolu t ion
a n d s o we r e most of his ministers
e to hast e n m
Th e se consideratio n s moved m
d
e
parture
y
s omewhat sooner than I int e nded; to which the court i m
patient to have m e gone very readily contrib uted Five
hund red wo rkme n were employed to make two sails t o my
boat according to my directions by quilting thirt ee n folds
I was at the pains of making
o f their strong e st li n e n together
r o p e s a n d cables by t wisting ten twenty or thirty of the
thickest and stronges t of th e irs A great stone that I hap
pened to find after a long search by t h e seashore s e rve d
m e fo r an anchor I had the tallow of thre e hundred cows
fo r greasing m
boat
and
other
us
e
s
I
was
at
incredible
y
pains in cutting down som e of th e larg e st timb e r tre e s fo r
oars and masts ; wherei n I was however much assisted by
h i s maj e sty s shi p carpenters who helped me in sm oothing
them after I had don e the rough work
In abo ut a month when all was prepare d I sent to receive
his maj e sty s comma n ds and to take my leave The emperor
a n d r oyal family came out of the palace : I lay down o n my
face to kiss his hand which he very graciously gave me : so
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GULL I VER S TRA VELS
did the empress and young princes of the blood Hi s majesty
present e d me with fifty purses of t wo hu n d red s p r ug: a piece
togeth e r wi th his picture at full length which I put i mmedi
at e ly into one of my gloves to keep it from being hurt The
c e re monies at my departure we re t oo many to trouble the
reader with at this time
I stored the boat with the carcasses of an hundred oxen
a n d thre e hund re d sheep with bread and d rink proportion
able and as much meat ready d ressed as four hundred cooks
could provide I t ook with me six cows and two bulls alive
with as ma n y ewes and rams intending to car ry them into
my o wn co unt ry and propagate the bre e d An d to feed them
on board I had a good bundl e of hay and a bag of c o m I
would gladly have taken a dozen of the natives but this was
a thing which the emperor would by no means permit ; and
b e sides a dilige nt search into my pockets his majesty en
g a g e d my honor not to carry away any of his subjects a l
though with th e ir own consent and desire
Havi ng thus pre pared 511 things as we ll as I was able I
set sail on the 24t h day of S eptemb e r 1 70 1 at six in the
morn ing ; and wh e n I had gone about four leagues to the
northward the wind being at southeast at six in the eveni ng
I descried a small island about half a league to the north
west
I advanced forward and cast anchor on the lee side
of th e island which s ee med to be u n inhabited I then took
s ome refre shm e nt a n d went to my rest
I slept w e ll and I
conj e cture at least six hours for I found the day broke in t wo
hours after I a wak e d It was a clear night I eat my b reak
fast b e fore the sun was up ; and heaving anchor the w ind
being favorable I ste e red the same cours e that I had done
the day before wherein I wa s dire cted by my pocket compass
My intention wa s to reach if possibl e one of those isla n ds
which I had reason to b e liev e lay to the northeast of Va n
Di em
I discovered nothi n g all that day ; but upo n
en s L a n d
the next about three in the aftern oon when I had by my
computation made t we nty four leagues from B lefusc u I
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GULL
I
VE
R
S
TR
A
VELS
74
of my sheep ; I found her bones in a hol e picked cl e an from
the flesh The re st of my cat t l e I got safe on shore and s e t
th e m a grazing in a bo wling green at G re e nwich where th e
finen e ss of th e grass mad e them feed very heartily though
I had always feared the contrary ; neith e r could I po ss ibly
hav e preserved th e m in so long a voyag e if the captain had
not allowed me some of his best biscuit which rubb e d to
powd e r and mingled with wat e r was their constant food
Th e short tim e I continued in E ngland I made a consider a ble
pro fit by showing my cattle to many persons of q uality and
oth e rs ; and b e fore I b egan my s e cond voyage I sold th e m for
six hund red pounds S ince my last re turn I find th e breed
is consid e rably incre ased especially th e she e p which I hop e
will prov e much to the advantag e of th e woolen m
an uf a c
ture by th e fineness of the fl e eces
I stayed but t wo months with my wife and family ; for my
insatiable desire of seeing foreign countries would suffe r me
to continue no longer I l e ft fifteen hundred pounds with
my wife and fix e d h e r in a good hous e at Redri ff
My r e
maining stock I carried with me part in mon e y and pa rt i n
goods i n hopes to improve my fortunes My eld e st uncle
John had left me an estat e in land near E pping of about
thi rty poun ds a year ; a n d I had a long lease of th e Black
Bull i n Fetter L ane which yi e lded me as much more ; so
that I w a s not in a n y danger of leavi n g my family upon the
pa rish
My son Johnny named so after his uncle wa s at
1
th e grammar school and a towardly child My daughter
Betty ( wh o is no w we ll married and has child ren ) wa s then
at her ne e dl ework I took l e ave of my wife and boy and girl
with tears o n both sides a nd went on board the Adventure
a merchant ship of th ree hu n dred tons bound for S urat
C aptain John N icholas of L iverpool command e r B ut m
y
account of this voyage must b e referred to the second part
of my travels
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Gen t l e; t r a ct a ble
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P A RT
II
A VOYA GE T O B ROB D I NG NA G
CHA PT ER I
A gr ea t
m th
lon g boa t s en t to f etch wa ter , the a uthor
—
o
e
h
n
r
e
s
w
i
t
i
t
d
o
h
o
u
t
e
i
c
v
r
c
t
o
i
s
e
t
e
H
s
l
t
o
n
s
h
or
e
,
g
y
f
i s s ei zed by on e of the n a ti ves , a n d ca r r i ed to a f ar er s
hous e Hi s r ecep ti on ther e, wi th s ever a l a cci den ts that
h a pp ened ther e A des cr i p ti on of the i nh a bi ta n ts
s tor
:
e
-
m
—
’
—
.
H A V I NG be e n cond e mn e d by nature and fortun e to an
a ctive a n d restl e ss life in t wo months after my return I a g ai n
l eft my nativ e country and took shipping i n t h e D own s o n
t h e 2 0t h day of Jun e 1 70 2 in the Adv e nture C a ptain John
N icholas a Co mi sh m
We
a n commander bound for S urat
h a d a v e ry prosp e rous gale till we arrived at th e C ape of
G ood Hope wh e re we landed for fresh water ; but discove ring
a leak we unshipped our goods and wint e red th e re ; for the
ca ptain falling sick of an ague we could not l e ave the C ape
till th e end o f M a rch We th e n set sail and had a good voy
age t ill we pass e d the S traits of M adagascar ; b ut havi n g
got n orthw ard of that island a n d to about five degrees south
latit ude the winds which in those seas are observed to blow
a constant e q ual gale bet ween th e n orth and west from the
begi n ning of D ecemb e r to the b eginni n g of May on the 1 9 th
of A p ril b e gan to blow w ith much greater viol e nce and m o re
es t er ly tha n u
sual conti n ui n g so for t wenty d ays tog ether ;
uri n g which tim e we were drive n a lit t le to the east of the
Molucca Isla n ds a n d about three degrees north ward of t h e
1
li ne as our captai n fou n d by a n observation h e took the
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Th e eq ua t o r
75
.
G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
6
7
’
of May at wh i eh tim e th e wind c e as e d and it wa s a p er
fe et calm wh e re at I was not a littl e rejoiced But he bein g
a man well experi e nc e d in the navigation of those seas bi d
us all pre pare agai n st a storm which accordingly happene d
the d ay follo wing ; for a south e rn wind called th e southe rn
1
monsoon began to s e t in a n d s oo n it was a ve ry fierc e
storm
D u ring this sto r m which was followe d by a strong win d
we st southwest we were carried by my computation a bo u t
five hundre d l e agues to th e east so that th e oldest sailor o n
board could not t e ll in what part of th e world we we re O u r
provisions held out well our ship w a s staunch and our crew
a ll in good health ; but we lay i n the utmost distress for wat e r
We thought it best to hold on th e same course rath e r th a n
turn more north e rly which might have brought us to t h e
northwest parts of G reat T a rta ry an d into th e Froz en Se a
On the 1 6 th day of Jun e 1 703 a boy on th e topm a st di s
covere d land On the 1 7 t h we c a m e i n full vi ew of a great
isla n d or contin e nt ( for we knew not Wheth e r) on th e sout h
side wh e reof was a small neck of land j utting out into the se a
and a cre ek too shallow to hold a ship of above on e hundre d
tons We cast anchor within a le ague of this cre e k and o ur
2
capt a in s e nt a doze n of his m e n well a rmed in th e long boat
with v e ssels for water if any could be found
I d e sire d h i s
leave to go with them that I might s ee th e count ry a n d
make what discove ries I could When we cam e to land we
s aw no riv e r or spring nor any sign of inhabitants
O ur m
en
th e refore wandere d o n the shore to find out some fresh wate r
near the s e a and I walk e d alone about a mile on th e othe r
side where I observed the country all barren a n d rocky I
now began to be we a ry and se e i ng nothing to e nt e rt ain my
curiosity I re turn e d gently down toward t h e creek ; and t h e
sea being full in my vie w I saw our m e n alre ady got into t he
2d
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f ro
Mo nso ons
wi nds i n so ut her n Asi a , es p eci a lly i n t h e Indi a n Ocea n , b low
t h e so ut h wes t 1n t h e s u
er ( t h e wet
o n t h s ) a nd f r o
t he no rt h
’
1
1n w
t er
L a rg e sh i p s bo a t so et 1 es fo rt y feet long
m
.
ea s t
m
,
.
mm
m
mm
m
.
BROBDINGNAG
77
b oat a n d rowing for life to th e ship I w a s going to halloo
a ft e r them
although it had been t o littl e purpose when I
o b s e rv e d a huge cre atur e walking aft e r th e m in th e sea
as
f ast as h e could ; h e wad e d not much d e ep e r than his kn ee s
a n d took prodigious strides ; but our m e n h ad got th e start
o f him half a l e agu e
and the s e a th e re abouts being full of
s h a rp pointed rocks t h e monster was not abl e to ov e rtake
t h e boat
This I was afterward told for I durst not stay to
s ee the issu e of th at adv e nture ; but ran as fast as I could
t h e way I first we nt and then climbed up a s teep hill which
gave me som e p rospect of the country I found it fully culti
v a t ed; but t hat which first surp rised m e wa s t h e le n gth of the
grass which in thos e grounds t hat se e m e d to b e kept for hay
was above t we nty foot high
I fell into a high road for so I to ok it to be though it serv e d
t o th e inhabitants only as a footpath through a fi e ld of barley
Here I walk e d on for some ti m
e but could se e littl e on either
1
rising at least
s id e it being now n e ar harvest and the corn
I was an hour walking t o th e e nd of this field
forty foot
w hich wa s fe nc e d in with a hedge of at least one hun dre d and
t w e nty fo ot high and the tree s so lofty that I could make no
There was a stile to p ass from
c omputati o n of th e ir altitud e
It had four st e ps and a stone t o cross
t his field into th e n e xt
ov e r wh e n you cam e to the upp e rmost It was impossible
fo r m e to climb this stile b e cause e ve ry step was six foot
high and t h e upp e r ston e above twenty I was e n d e avoring
t o find som e gap in the hedge wh e n I discovered one of th e
inhabitants in the next field advancing toward the stile of
th e same siz e with him whom I saw in th e sea pu rsuing our
boat He app e are d as tall as an ordina ry spire stee pl e a n d
took about t e n yard s at eve ry stride as near as I could guess
I was struck with the utmost fear a n d astonishment and ran
to hide myself in the corn from wh e nc e I saw him at the
top of the stile looking back into th e n ext field on the right
hand and h e ard him call in a voice many d egre es louder than
A VOYA
GE
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1
G ULLI VER S TRA VEL S
8
7
’
sp e aking trump e t ; but the nois e was so high in t h e a i r
that at first I c e rtainly thought it was thunder Whereupon
s e ve n monst e rs like himself came toward him with re api n g
hooks i n their hands e ach hook about the largen e ss of si x
scyth e s Thes e peopl e were not so we ll clad a s th e first
whose s e rvants or labore rs they s ee m e d to be ; for upon som e
words h e spoke they we nt to re ap th e corn in th e fi e ld wh e re
I lay I k e pt from them at as great a distanc e as I could b ut
was forc e d to move with extre me di ffi culty fo r th e stalks o f
t h e corn we re som e times not abov e a foot distant so t h at I
c ould hardly sq u ee z e my body b e twixt t hem
Howeve r I
mad e a shift to go forward till I cam e t O a part of the field
wh e re th e corn h ad be e n laid by th e rain and wind Here i t
was impossible for m e to advance a st e p ; for the stalks we r e
so int e rwoven t hat I could not cre e p through and th e beard s
o f the fall e n ears so strong and poi n t e d that th e y pi e rc e d
t hrough my clothes into my flesh
At the same tim e I hea r d
t h e reap e rs not abov e an h undred yards b e hind m e
Bei n g
q uite dispirited with toil and wholly overco e by gri e f an d
despair I lay down bet wee n t wo ridge s and heartily wish ed
I might t h e re e nd my days I bemoan e d my desolat e widow
a n d fath e rl e ss child ren
I lamented my o wn folly and will
fuln ess in attempti n g a second voyag e against t he advic e o f
a ll my friends and relation s
In this terrible agitation o f
mind I could not forb e ar thi n king of L illiput whos e i n habit
a nts looked upon m e as t h e great e st prodigy that e v e r a
p
ea
r
e
d
w
in
the
orld ; wh e re I was abl e to d raw an imp e r i a l
p
fleet in my hand and p e rform those other actions which wi ll
be record e d foreve r in th e ch ron icles of that empire whil e
poste rity shall hardly believe them although att e sted by
million s I reflected what a mo rt i fic a t i o n it must prove t o
me to appear as i n consid e rable in this nation as one singl e
L illiputia n would be amon g us But this I conceived was t o
be the l e ast of my misfortun es ; for as human creatures a re
observed to b e more savage a n d c r u e l in proportion to thei r
bulk what could I ex p e ct but to be a morsel in th e m out h o f
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a
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VOYAGE TO BRO BDINGNAG
79
t h e first among these enormous barbarians that should hap
e
to
seize
me
?
U
ndoubtedly
philosophers
are
i
n
the
right
n
p
w he n they tell us that nothing is great or little otherwise
parison It might hav e pl e as e d fortune to let
t h a n by co
t h e L illiputia n s find some nation where the p e ople were as
dim i n utive with respect to them as they we re to me
An d
w h o know s but that even this prodi g ious rac e of mortals
might b e e q ually ove rmatched in som e distant part of th e
w orld wh e re of we have yet no discove r y
S c are d and confounded as I was I could not forb e ar going
o n with these reflecti o ns wh e n o n e of th e reapers approach
i n g within ten yards of th e r idg e wh e re I lay made me a p
rehend
that
wi
h
th
e
next
step
I
should
be
squashed
to
t
p
death under his foot or cut in t wo with his reaping hook
An d therefore when he was again about to move I s creamed
a s loud as fe ar could mak e m e ; whereupon the hug e creatur e
and looking round about u n der him for som e
t rod short
He considered
t im e a t last e spied me as I lay on the ground
a w hile
with the caution of one who e ndeavors to lay hold
on a small dang e rous animal in such a manner that it may
not be able either to scratch or t o bite him as I mys e lf h ave
sometim e s done with a we asel in E ngland At le n gth h e
ve n ture d to take m e up b e hind by t h e middle betwe en h i s
fore fi ng e r and thumb and brought me within three yard s
of his eyes that he might behold my shape more perfe ctly
I g uess e d his m e ani n g and my good fortu n e gave me so
much presence of mind that I resolved not to struggle in t h e
le as t as he held me i n the air above sixty foot from t h e grou n d
alth o ugh he grievously pinched my sides for fear I should
All I ventured was to rais e min e
slip th rough his fi ngers
eyes toward th e sun and place my hands together in a sup
w
licating
postur
e
and
to
speak
som
e
ords
in
an
humble
p
melancholy tone suitable to th e condition I then was in ;
for I apprehended eve r y mom e nt that he would dash m e
against the ground as we usually do any little hat e ful animal
which we hav e a mind to d e stroy But my good star would
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G ULL I VE R S TRA VELS
80
’
have it that he appeared pleas e d with my voice and gestures
and b e gan to look upon me as a curiosity much wonderi n g t o
hear me pronounce articulate words although he co uld not
un dersta n d th em
In the meantim e I was not able to for
bear gro aning and sheddi ng tears and turning my h e ad
toward my sides ; letting him kno w as well as I could how
cruelly I was hurt by the pressure of his thumb and fi n ger
He seemed to appre hend my mea n ing ; for lifti n g up the
1
lappet of his coat he put me gently i n to it a n d imm e di ately
ran along with m e to his master wh o was a substa n tial
farmer and th e s a m e person I had first s ee n in the fi e ld
The farmer having ( as I s upposed by their talk ) receive d
such an accou n t of m e as his serva n t could give him took a
piec e of a small straw about th e size of a walking staff a n d
therewith lifted up the lappets of my coat ; which it seem s
he thought to b e some kind of covering that nature had give n
m e He ble w my hairs aside to tak e a bett e r vie w of m
y
2
face He called his hinds about him and asked th e m a s
I afterward learned whether they had ever se e n i n the field s
any little creature that resembled me ? He then placed me
softly o n the gro und upon all fours b ut I got immediately
up a n d walked slo wly backward and forward to l e t thos e
people se e I had no i nten t to run a way Th e y all sa t e down
in a circl e about m e th e bett e r t o observe my motions I
p ull e d o ff my hat an d made a lo w b o w t oward th e farme r
I fell o n my kn e es and lift e d up my ha n ds and eyes and spok e
several words as loud as I could ; I took a purs e of gold o ut o f
my pocket and humbly presented it to him He receive d i t:
on the palm of his ha n d then applied it close to his eye t o
see what it was a n d afterward turn ed it several times wit h
the point of a pin (which h e took o ut of his sle e ve ) but co ul d
make nothing of it Where upon I made a si g n th at he sho ul d
place his ha n d on the ground I then took the purs e a n d
ope n i ng it poured all the gold i n to his palm There we re
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1
3
mll fl
F m
A
s
ar
a
.
ap
used a s
ser vant s .
a n o r na
m
en t t o a co a t .
G ULL I VER S TRA VELS
82
’
e dge for fe ar of falling The wife minced a bit of meat th e n
crumbled som e bread o n a trencher a n d placed it before me
I made her a lo w b o w took out my kn ife and fork a n d fell
to eat which gave them exceeding deli g ht The mistre s s
1
sen t h e r maid for a small d ram cup which held about t w o
gallon s and filled it with drink ; I took up t h e vessel wit h
much di ffi culty in both hands and in a most respectful ma n
ner drank to her ladyship s health expre ssing the words as
loud as I could in E nglish which mad e the company laugh
so hea rtily that I was almost deafen e d with the noise Thi s
liquor tasted like a small cider and was not u n pleasan t
The n the master mad e me a sign to come to his trenche r
side ; but as I walked on th e table bei ng i n great surpri s e
all the time as the ind ulg e nt read e r will easily conceive a n d
excuse I happ e n e d to stumble against a crust a n d fell fl a t
on my face but re ceived no hurt I got up immediately
and observing the good people to be i n much concern I too k
my hat (which I held under my a rm out of good man n ers )
and waving it ove r my head made three huzzas to show I
had got no mischief by my fall But adva n ci ng forwa r d
toward my master ( as I shall hencefort h call him ) his you n g
est son who sate n e xt him an arch boy of about t en years o ld
took m e up by the legs and held m e so high i n the air th a t
I trembled in e ve ry limb ; but his father snatched me from
him and at th e sam e time gave him such a box on th e l e ft ea r
as would have fe lled an E urop e an troop of horse to th e earth
ordering him to be tak e n from t he table B ut being afrai d
the boy might o we me a spite and well re membering h o w
mischi e vous all children amon g us naturally are to sparrows
rabbits you ng kitte n s and puppy dogs I fell on my knees
a n d poi n ti n g to the boy mad e my mast e r to understand a s
well as I could that I desired his so n might b e pardoned T h e
fat h er complied and the lad took his seat agai n whereupon
I went to him and kiss e d his hand which my master took
and mad e him stroke me gently with it
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Dri n ki ng cup
.
83
VOYAGE TO BRO BDINGNAG
I n the midst of dinn e r my mistress favo r ite cat leaped
i n t o her lap I heard a noise behind me lik e that of a dozen
s t o cking weav e rs at work ; and turning my head I found it
o
r
ce
e
ded
from
the
purring
of
this
animal
who
seemed
to
be
p
t h r e e times la rger t ha n an ox as I computed by the vie w o f
h e r head and o ne of her paws whil e her mistress was fee di n g
a n d stroking h e r
The fierc en ess of this cre ature s c o un t e
n anc e altogeth e r discomposed me though I stood at the further
e n d of the table a bove fifty foot o ff ; a n d although my mistress
h el dh er fast for fe ar sh e might give a spring and seize me i n
h er talons But I t happen e d there wa s no dang e r ; for the cat
t ook not th e leas t notic e of me whe n my master placed me
w ithin thre e yards of h e r An d as I have been alw ays told
a n d found true by experi e nce in my travels
that flyi ng o r
discove ri n g fear b e fore a fi e rce animal is a certai n way to
ma ke it pursue or attack you so I resolved in this dangerous
n
u
cture
to
show
no
ma
n
ner
of
conc
e
rn
I
walk
e
d
with
j
i ntrepidity fiv e or six tim e s befo re the ve r y h e ad of the cat
a n d came within half a yard of her ; whereupon she drew her
I had less a pp re
s elf back as if she we re more afraid of me
h en s i o n concern i n g the dogs whereof three or four cam e i n to
t h e room as i t is usual I n farmers houses ; one of which w a s
equal in bulk to four elepha n ts and a gre yhoun d
a masti ff
s omewhat taller tha n th e masti ff b ut not so large
When dinner was almost done the nurse came in with a
ch ild of a yea r old i n h e r arms who immediately spied me
a n d began a sq uall that you mi g ht hav e heard from L o n do n
1
B ridge to C helsea after the usual orato ry of infa n ts to g et
me for a playt hing Th e mothe r o ut of pure i n dulgenc e took
me up and p ut m e t oward th e child wh o pre sently seized me
b y the middle and got my h e ad i n his mo uth where I roared
s o loud that the urchin was fright e d and let m e d rop a n d I
s h ould i n fallibly h ave broke my neck if th e mother had not
h eld her apron under m e The nurse to q uiet her babe made
us e of a rattle which w a s a ki n d of hollow vessel fill e d with
i l es i n a st r i gh t li n e
Ab o ut f ur m
A
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o
a
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GULL I VER S TRA VEL S
n
u
t
reat
sto
es
fastened
by
a
cabl
e
to
the
child
s
waist
a
n
d
b
;
g
all i n vai n so that she wa s forced to apply th e last remedy b y
giving it suck I must confess no obj ect eve r disgust e d me
so much as the sight of her mo n strous breast which I can n o t
tell wh at to compare with so as to give th e curious read e r
an idea of its bulk shape a n dc olor
This made me re flect upo n the fai r skins of our E nglis h
ladies who app e ar so beautiful to us only b e cause they a r e
of our o wn Siz e and their defects n o t to b e s e en but th roug h
a magnifyi n g glass ; where we find by experiment th at t h e
smooth e st and whit e st skins look rough and coars e and ill
colore d
I remember wh e n I was ar L illiput th e compl exions of t h o s e
dimi n utive people appeared to me the fairest i n the wo rld ;
a n d talki n g upon this subject with a perso n of learn i n g t h e re
who w as an intimate friend of mi n e he said that my face a p
w
r
much
fai
rer
and
smoother
he
h
e
look
e
d
on
me
f
d
n
o
ea
re
m
p
the groun d th an it did upon a n earer view when I took h i m
up i n my hand and b rought him close which h e co n fes s e d
w a s at first a very shocking sight
He said h e could disco ve r
great holes in my ski n ; that t h e stumps of my beard we re
t en time s stron ger than the b ristles of a boar a n d my co m
plexion made up of several colors altoge ther disag re ea b l e
alt h ough I must beg leave to say for myself th at I am as f a i r
as most of my sex and country and very littl e s un b umt b y
a ll my trav e ls
On the o t h e r side discoursi n g of the ladies i n that em
p er o t s court h e used to tell me one had freckles another t o o
wide a mouth a third too larg e a n ose ; nothing of wh ich I w a s
able to distinguish I confess thi s reflection wa s obvio us
e n ou g h ; which however I could n o t forbear lest the reade r
migh t thi n k those vast creatures were actually deformed
fo r I must do them the j ustice to say they are a come l y race
o f people ; and particularly the features of my master s cou n
t en a n c e althou g h he were but a farmer w he n I beheld h i m
from the height of sixty foo t appeared very well p r oportion e d
84
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VO YAGE TO BROBDINGNAG
85
W he n dinner was don e my ma ster we nt out to his laborers
a n d as I could discover by his voice a n d gesture gave hi s
w i fe a stric t charg e to take care of me
I w as ve ry much
t i re d
and disposed to sleep which my mistress perceivi n g
s h e put me on her o wn bed and covered me with a clean white
h a n dkerchief but larger a n d coarser th an th e mainsail of a
ma n o f war
I slept about two hours a n d dream e d I wa s a t home wi th
my wife a n d child re n which aggravated my sorrows wh en
I a w aked and foun d myself alone in a vast room bet ween
t w o a n d thre e hundre d foot w ide a n d abov e t wo hundred
h ig h lyi n g in a bed twenty yards wide
My mistress w as
n
o
e
about
her
household
a
airs
a
n
had
locked
me
i
n
Th
e
f
f
d
g
b e d wa s eight yards from th e floor I wished to get down but
dur st not pre sume to call ; and if I had it would have been i n
v a i n with such a voice as mi n e
at so great a distance a s
f ro mt h e room where I lay to th e kitchen where the family
k e p t While I was under these circumstances t wo rats crept
up the curtai n s and ran smelling back w ard a n d forward o n
One of them came up almost to my face whereupon
t h e bed
1
I r o se in a fri g ht a n d dre w out my ha n g e r to defe n d myself
T h ese horribl e a n imals had the bold n ess t o attack m e o n
b o th sides and o n e of them held his forefeet at my collar ;
b ut I had the good fortune to rip up his b e lly before he could
do me a n y mischief He fell down at my feet ; a n d the other
se e i ng th e fate of his comrade made his escape but not with
o ut o n e good wou n d o n the back w hich I gave him as he fled
After this ex
a n d made the blood run trickli n g from him
l
o
i
t
I
w
alked
ge
n
tly
to
and
fro
o
n
the
bed
to
recover
my
p
b r e ath a n d loss of spirits These cre atures we re of the size
astiff but infinitely more nimble a n d fierce ; so
o f a large m
th at if I had taken o ff my belt before I we n t to sleep I must
h a ve i n fallibly been torn to pieces a n d devoured I measured
t h e tail of t h e dead rat a n d fo u n d it to be t wo yards l o n g
w a nting a n inc h ; but it we n t agai n st my stomach to d rag the
Sh o rt swo rd h un g fro mt h e b elt
A
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GULL I VE R S TRA VEL S
carcass off t he bed where it lay still bleeding ; I obs e r ve d i t
had yet some life but with a strong slash across the n e c k I
thoroughly despatched it
S oon after my mistress came i n to the room wh o se e ing me
all bloody ran and took me up in h e r hand I pointed to t h e
dead rat smiling a n d maki n g other signs to show I was n o t
hurt ; whereat she was extremely rejoiced calling the mai d
to t a k e up the d e ad rat with a pair of tongs and throw i t
out of the window Then sh e set me on a table where I
show e d h e r my hanger all bloody and wiping it on th e lap p et
of my coat re turned it to the scabbard
I hope the g entle read e r wi ll excuse me for d welli n g o n
th e se and th e lik e particulars which h owever insig n ifica n t
they may appear to groveli n g vulgar mi n ds ye t will ce r
t a i n ly help a philosopher to enla rge his thoughts and imagin a
tion and apply them to the benefit of public as well as priv a t e
life whic h was my sol e d e sign in pres enting this a n d oth e r
accounts of my travels to the world ; wherein I have been
chiefly studious of truth without aff ecti n g any orn aments o f
l e arn ing or of style But the whole scene of t h is voyag e mad e
so strong an impression on my mind a n d is so deeply fixed i n
my memo r y t hat in committin g it to paper I did not om i t
one material circumstance : however upon a strict review
I blotted out several passa g es of less mom e nt whi c h we re i n
my first copy fo r fear of bei ng censured as tedious a n dt rifli n g
whereof travel e rs are oft e n perhap s n o t without j ustic e
accused
86
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CHA PT ER II
A descr i p ti on
m
f
o
the
f
ar
m
’
er s
—
d ughten The
a
ar ket to wn , a n d th en to the
to a
ti cul a r s of hi s jour n ey
-
mt
a utho r
e r op oli s
ca r r i ed
The p a r
.
MY mistress had a daughter of ni n e years old a child
f
age , very dext e rous at her n eedle , a n d
1
baby H e r mot her and sh e contrive d
,
towardly parts for h er
s killful in dressing her
.
1
Doll
.
o
VOYAGE To BROBDINGNAG
87
t o fit up th e baby s cradl e for m e against night ; the cradl e
w a s put into a small dra wer of a cabi n e t a n d the dra wer
n
n
n
f
o
l
aced
upo
a
ha
gi
g
shelf
fear
of
the
rats
This
r
wa s
p
my bed all th e tim e I stayed with those people though made
more con venie n t by degrees as I bega n to lea rn their la n
uag
e
and
mak
e
my
w
ants
k
n
o
w
n
This
young
irl
so
w
a
s
g
g
h andy that after I had once o r t wice pulled o ff my clothes
b efore her sh e w a s able to dress and u n dress me thoug h I
n ever gav e her that trouble whe n sh e would let me do either
myself S he made me seven shirts a n d some othe r lin e n of
a s fine cloth as could be g o t which i n deed was coarser than
s ackcloth ; a n d these sh e co n sta n tly w ashed fo r m e with her
o wn ha n ds
S he was likewise my school mistress to teach
me the la ng uage ; whe n I pointed t o anythi ng she told m e
t h e n am e of it in her o wn to n gue so that in a few d ays I wa s
a ble to call for w hatever I had a mi n d t o
S he was very
n
d
n
o
ood
atured
a
above
forty
foot
high
bei
g
little
for
n
t
n
g
h er age S he gave me the name of Gr i l dr i g which the family
The word i m
t ook up and afterw ard the whole ki n gdom
n
o
ts
what
the
L
ati
s
call
the
Italia
s
r
n
a
n
u
n
e
u
l
u
r
n
h
o
m
u
n
p
1
and the E n glish m
To her I chiefly o we
eel eti n o
a nn i ki n
my preservation i n that coun t r y ; we n ever pa rted while I
da l el i teh or little nurse a n d
w a s there ; I called her my Gl um
I should be guilty o f great i n gratitude if I omitted this ho n or
a ble me n tion of her care a n d aff ection tow ard me which I
he artily wish it lay i n my power to requite as she deserved
i n stead of being the i n noce n t but u n happy i n strume n t of
he r disgrace as I hav e t o o much reason t o fear
It no w began to be k n own a n d talked of i n th e nei g hbor
h o od that my master had fou n d a stra ng e a n imal i n the field
a b out the bign ess of a r pl a en uek but exactly shaped i n every
a rt like a huma n cre ature ; w hich it like wise imitated i n all
p
i t s actio n s ; seemed to speak i n a little la n gua g e of its o wn had
a l ready lea rn ed several w ords of theirs w e n t erect upo n t wo
l e g s w a s t ame a n d ge n tle would come w he n it w a s called
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Th ese words a ll
m
ea n
,
dwa r f
.
GULLI VER S TRA VE L S
do what e ve r it was bid had the fi n est limbs i n t h e worl d
and a complexio n fairer than a nobleman s daughter of th re e
y e ars old An oth e r farmer wh o lived hard by a n d was a
p a r ticular frie n d of my master cam e on a visit o n purpos e
to inquire i n to the truth of this sto r y I wa s immediatel y
produced and placed upon a table where I w alk e d as I w a s
comma n ded drew my han ger put it up agai n mad e m
y
reve re n ce to my mast e r s g uest asked him in his o wn l a n
guage ho w he did and told him he was wel com
e j ust a s m
y
little nurse had i n structed m e This man wh o w a s old a n d
dim sighted put o n his spectacles to behold me better a t
which I could n o t forb e ar laughi n g ve r y hea r tily fo r h i s
eyes app e ared like the full moon shi n i n g i n to a ch amber a t:
O ur people wh o discovered the cause of my
t wo windows
mi r th bore m e compa n y in laughi n g at which the O ld fellow
w a s foo l enough to be a n g ry a n d out of countenance H e h a d
the character of a great miser ; a n d to my misfo r tu n e h e
well des e rved 1t by the cursed advic e he gave my master t o
show me as a sight upon a market day m the n ext tow n
which wa s half an hour s ridi n g about t we n ty t wo mile s
from our house I guess e d there wa s some mischief co nt r i v
i n g , when I observ ed my master a n d his frie n d w hisperi n g
lon g together sometim es poi nting at me ; a n d my fears ma d e
m e fa n cy that I overheard a n d u n derstood some of thei r
words B ut the next mo r ni n g G lumd alclitch my little nurse
told me the whole matter which she had cu n n i n g ly picke d
out from her mother The poor girl laid me o n her boso m
S he apprehend e d
a n d fell a weepi n g with shame a n d grief
some mischief would happen to me from rude vulgar folk s
w h o might squ e ez e m e to death or break o n e of my lim b s
by taki n g me i n their ha n ds S he had also observed h o w
modest I wa s i n my nature h o w nicely I reg arded my hon o r
a n d what a n indig n ity I should co n ceive it to be exposed fo r
mo n ey as a public spectacle to the mean est of the peopl e
S he said her papa and mamma had promised that Gr ildr i g
s hould be hers ; but n o w she found they mea n t to serv e h e r
88
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GULL I VE R S TRA VELS
I g h t be near three hu n dred foot sq uare
which m
My littl e
n urs e stood on a lo w stool clos e to the table t o take car e o f
me and direct what I sho uld do My mast e r to avoid a
crowd would suff er on ly thi r ty peopl e at a time to se e me
I w alk e d abo ut the table as the girl comma n ded : sh e aske d
me question s as far as sh e kne w my u n derstandi n g o f t h e
languag e reached a n d I a n s we red them as loud as I coul d
I turn ed about s e veral times to the compa n y paid my h umbl e
respects said theywere wel com
e a n d used some other speech e s
I had been taught I took up a thimble filled with liq uo r
which G lumdalclitch had give n me for a cup a n d d rank thei r
health I dre w o ut my han ger and flourished with it afte r
th e ma n ner of fencers in E n gland My n urse gav e me p a rt
1
of a straw which I e x ercised as a pike having l e arn e d t h e
a rt i n my youth
I wa s that day shown to t welve sets o f
company a n d as ofte n forced to act over again the sa me
fopperi e s till I wa s half dead w ith wea ri n ess and vexati o n
for those who had se e n me made such won derful reports th a t
the people we re ready to break down the doors to com e i n
My master for his o wn i n terest would not suff er a ny o n e
to touch me except my nurse : and to pre ve n t d anger ben ch e s
were set ro un d the t able at such a dista n ce as put me out o f
2
everybody s reach Ho wever an u n lucky schoolboy ai me d
a hazel n ut directly at my head which very narrowly misse d
m e ; otherwise it came with so much viole n ce that it wo uld
have i n fallibly k n ocked o ut my brai n s fo r it w a s almost a s
3
larg e as a small pumpio n but I had the satisfaction to s ee
the young rogue we ll beaten and t urned out of th e room
My m
aster gave public notice that h e would show me
again the next mark e t d ay ; and in th e meantime he pre pare d
a more co n ve n ient vehicl e fo r m e which he had reaso n
e n ough to do ; for I wa s so tired with my first journ ey and
with e n tertai n i n g compa n y for eight hours together that I
could h ardly sta n d upon my legs or speak a word It wa s
A wea p o n h v i ng a l n g w den h ft a nd a st eel h ead
’
90
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1
1
a
o
Mi schi evo us ( a r ch ai c
oo
s
a
.
use o f t h e word)
.
3
m
P u p ki n
.
BRO BD INGNAG
1
9
a t l east three d ays be fore I recov e red my strengt h ; a n d t h at
I m
ight have no rest at home all the n eighbori ng gentlemen
iles a r o un d heari n g o f my fame came to
f rom a n hu n dred m
s ee m e a t my master s o wn ho use
There could n o t be fe wer
t ha n thirty perso n s with their wive s a n d children ( for th e
c o un try w a s v e ry populous ); a n d my master dema n ded th e
r ate of a full room whe n e v e r he s howed m e at hom e although
i t w e r e only to a si n gl e family : so that for some tim e I had
b ut little e ase e v e ry day of the we ek ( except Wednesd ay
w hic h i s t h e ir S abb at h ) a l t houg h I we re no t c a rri e d to th e
t own
My mast e r finding how profitable I was lik e to b e resolve d
t o car r y m e to the most considerable citi e s of the ki n gdom
H avi ng there fore provided himself with all thi n gs necessary
f o r a lo n g journey and settled his aff airs at home he took
l e ave of his wife and upon the 1 7th of August 1 703 about
t w o mo n ths aft e r my arrival we s e t out for th e metropolis
s ituated n e ar the middle of that empi re
a n d a bout three
t housand miles distance from our house
My master made
h i s da ughter G lumdalclitch ri de behi n d him
S he car ried
me o n h e r lap i n a b o x tied about her waist The girl had
li n ed it on all sides with the softest cloth she could get well
q uilted underneath furnished it with her baby s b e d pro
v i ded m e with li n en a n d other n e c e ssaries a n d made e v e ry
We had no other com
t h i ng as conve n ie n t as she could
p a n y b ut a boy o f t he h o use who rode aft e r us wit h t he
l uggage
My ma st e r s design was to show m e in all t h e t owns by
t h e way and t o step o ut of the road for fifty or an hundre d
miles t o any village or person o f quality s house where h e
might e xp e ct custom We made easy journeys of not above
s even or eight score miles a day : fo r G lumdalclitch on pur
ng
r
se
to
spare
me
complai
ed
she
was
tired
with
th
e
t
otti
n
o
p
o f the hors e
Sh e often took me out o f my box at my own
d esire to give m e air an d show m e the cou n try but always
by a l ea ding string We passed ov e r fiv e or
e fast
h eld m
A
VOYAGE
To
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G ULL I VER S TRA VELS
six rivers ma n y degrees broader a n d deeper tha n the N ile
or the G a n ges ; a n d there w as hardly a rivulet so small as the
Tham e s at L o n don B ridge We w ere t en weeks i n our j our
n ey a n d I w a s shown i n eightee n large to wn s besides m a n y
v illages a n d p r ivate families
O n the 26 t h o f October we arrived at the metropolis called
My
i n their la n guage L o r br ul g r ud or P ride of the U n iverse
mast e r took a lodgi n g i n the pri n cipal street o f the city n o t
far from the royal palace a n d put out bills i n the usual form
1
co n tai n i n g a n exact descriptio n of my person a n d parts He
hired a large room bet wee n three a n d four hu n dred foot wide
He provided a table sixty foot i n diameter upon which I w a s
t o act my part a n d p a l li s a do ed it rou n d three foot from t h e
edge an d as ma ny high to preve n t my falli ng over I w a s
sho wn t en times a day to the wo n der a n d satisfactio n of a l l
peopl e I coul d n o w speak the la n guage tolerably well a n d
perfectly u n derstood every word that w a s spoke n t o me
Besides I had learned their alphabet a n d could make a shift
to explain a se n te n ce here a n d there ; fo r G lumdalclitch h a d
bee n my i n structor while we were at home a n d at leisu re
hours d uri n g our jou rn ey S he carried a little book i n h er
pocket n o t much larg er tha n a S a n so n s Atlas ; it wa s a
common treatise for the use of you n g g irls givi n g a sh o r t:
accou n t of their religio n ; out of this she tau g ht me my let t e rs
a n d i n terpreted the words
’
2
9
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A
VOYAGE
To B RO B DINGNA
G
93
CH A PT ER III
Th e
m
i s s en t f o r to Cour t The Queen buys hi
of hi s
—
a s ter
the f a r er a nd p r es ents hi
to th e K i ng He
—
di s p utes wi th h i s Majes ty s g r ea t s chola r s A n a p a r t ent
—
a t Co ur t p r ovi ded f o r th e a uthor
He i s i n hi gh f a vor
—
wi th the Queen He s ta nds up f or the hon or of hi s own
—
co un tr y
He q ua r r els wi th the Queen s dwa rf
a uthor
m
m
,
m
,
m
’
’
.
T HE
freque n t labors I u n derwent eve r y day mad e i n a
few w eeks a very co n siderable cha n g e i n my health ; the more
my master g o t by me the more i n sa t iable h e gre w I had
1
q uite lost my stomach a n dwa s almost reduced t o a skeleton
The farmer observed it a n d con cludi ng that I soo n must
d ie resolved to make as good a ha n d o f me as he could
While he w a s thus reason i n g a n d resolvi n g with himself a
s l a r dr a l or ge n tleman usher came from court
comma n di n g
m y master to carry me immediately thither for the diversion
o f the quee n a n d her ladies
S ome of the latter had already
be e n to s e e me and reported stra n ge thi n gs of my beauty
be h avior a n d good se n se Her majesty a n d those wh o a t
te n ded her were beyond measure del i ghted with my d e
m e a n or I fell o n my kn e es a n d begged t h ehon or of kissing
h e r imperial foot ; but this gracio us pri n cess held o ut her little
fi n ger tow ard me after I w a s set o n a table which I embraced
i n both my arms a n d put the tip of it with the utmost respect
t o my lips
Sh e made m e some ge n eral questions about my
c o u n try and my travels which I a n swered as disti n ctly a n d
i n as few words as I could
S he asked whether I would be
c o ntent to live at court ? I bowed down to the board of th e
t a ble an d humbly a n swered that I wa s my master s slav e ;
b ut if I were at my ow n disposal I should be p roud to devot e
my life to her majesty s service S he the n asked my m ast e r
w hether he w ere w i l li n g to sell me at a g ood p rice
He w ho
a pprehended I could n o t live a mo n th wa s ready e n ough t o
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Ap p et i t e fo r foo d
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,
G UL LI VER S TRA VELS
’
94
part w ith me and d e ma n ded a thousand pieces of gold
which w ere ordere d him o n the spot each pi e c e being a bout
1
th e bign ess of eight hund red moidores but allowi n g fo r the
proportion of all things betwee n that country an d E urope
a n d the high price o f gold amo n g them was hardly so great
a sum as a thousand gui n eas would be in E ngland I then
said to the qu e en sinc e I wa s now her maj e sty s most h umble
creature a n d vassal I must beg th e favor that G lumdalclitch
who had always t e nded me with so much care and kindness
a n d u n derstood !
how] to do it so well might be admitted
i n to h e r s ervice and con ti n u e to be my nurse and i n
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s t r uc t o r
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Her majesty agree d to my petition and easily g o t the
farm e r s con sent who was glad e nough to have his dau g hter
preferred at court and the poor girl herself was n o t able to
hide her joy My late master withdrew bidding me farewell
a n d saying he had left me i n a good se r vic e : to whi ch I r e plied
n o t a word only making him a sli g ht bow
The queen observed my cold n ess and when th e fa rmer
w a s gone out of th e apa rtment asked m e the reaso n I mad e
bold to tell her maj esty that I owed no other obligation to my
lat e mast e r than h i s n o t dashi n g out the brai ns of a p o or
harmless cre ature found by chance in his field ; which obliga
tion wa s amply re compensed by the gain h e h ad made in
showi n g m e through half the ki n gdom and th e price he h ad
now sold m e fo r ; that the life I had sinc e l e d was laborious
e n ough to kill an animal of ten tim e s my strength ; that my
health wa s much impaired by the continual drudgery of en
t ert a i n i n g th e rabbl e e ve r y hour of t h e day ; and that if my
master had not thought my life in d a nge r h e r majesty would
not have got so cheap a bargai n But as I was out o f all fear
of bei n g ill treat e d under the protection of so great and good
a n empress the o r nament of nature th e darling of the w orld
—
the delight of her subjects the p ha rni x o f the creation ; so
I hoped my late master s apprehe n sions would app e ar t o be
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1
Port ug uese g old co i n s,
ea c h
wo r t h
a b ou
t sev en
dollars
.
VO YAGE To BROBD INGNAG
95
n
rou
n
dl
e
ss
for
I
already
fou
d
my
spirits
to
reviv
e
by
h
e
t
;
g
i n fl uenc e o f her most august prese n ce
This was the sum of my speech delivered with great i m
p rop ri e ties and hesitation The latter pa rt was altog e ther
framed in the style peculiar to that people where of I lea rned
some phrases from G lumdalclitch while she was c a rrying m e
t o cou r t
The qu e en giving gre at allow anc e fo r my de fe ctive n e ss in
speaki n g was however surprised at so much wi t and good
se n se in so dimi n utive an a n imal S he took me in h e r own
ha n d s a n d carried me to the ki n g who was then retire d to
1
his cabi n et
His majesty a p ri n ce of much gravity a n d
aust e re count e n anc e not we ll observing my shape at first
vie w asked the queen after a cold mann e r how long it was
since she grew fon d of a s pl a cn uck ? for such it seems he
took me to be as I lay upon my breast i n her m ajesty s right
ha n d But this pri n cess who hath an i n fi n ite deal of wi t
2
a n d h umor set me ge n tly on my feet upo n the s c r ut o i r
and
com ma n d e d me to give his majesty a n accou n t of myself
which I did in a very few words ; an d G lumdalclitch who
attended at the cabi n et door and could no t endure I should
be o ut of her sight being admitted confirmed all that had
passed from my arrival at her father s house
Th e king although he be as learned a person as a n y in his
domi n io n s had been educated i n the study of philosop h y an d
pa r ticularly mathematics ; yet when he observ ed my s hape
exact l y and saw me w alk erect before I bega n to speak
co n c e ived I might be a piece of clock work ( which is i n that
count ry arrived to a very great perfection ) contrived by
some i n ge n ious artist But when he heard my voice an dfoun d
what I delivered to be regular and rational he could n o t con
ceal his aston ishment H e was by no mean s satisfied wi th
the relation I gave him of th e m
a n ner I came i n to his ki ng
da l
dom but thought it a sto ry co ncer t ed between Gl um
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A s a ll p r i v a t e roo ; a st udy
1 Th a t 1s es c r xt o rr e Fr enc h fo r wr xt 1 n
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g des k
1
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.
GULL I VE R S TRA VELS
clitch and her father wh o had tau g ht me a set of words to
make me sell at a higher price U po n this ima g i n ation he
put seve ral other q uestio n s to me a n d still received ratio n al
a n swers n o otherwise defective tha n by a foreign acce n t
with some
a n d an imperfect k n o w ledge i n the la n g uage
rustic phrases which I had learn ed at the farmer s house and
did n o t suit the polite style o f a cou r t
His majesty sent for three great scholars wh o were then
1
i n their weekly waiti n g accordi n g to the custom i n that
cou n try These gentleme n aft er they had a while exami n ed
my shape with much nicety were of di ff ere n t opi n ions c o n
cerning me They all agreed that I could not be prod uced a c
cordi n g to the regula r la ws of nature because I wa s no t
f ramed with a capacity o f prese r ving my life eithe r by
swiftness o r climbi n g of trees or di gg i n g holes i n the e a r th
They observed by my teeth which they vie wed with great
exactness that I wa s a carn ivorous animal ; yet most q uad
r up eds being a n overmatch for me a n d field m
ice with some
oth e rs too nimble they could not ima g i n e h o w I should be
able to suppo rt myself u n less I fed upo n s n ails a n d other
i n sects which they off ered by ma n y learn ed arg uments
2
to evince that I could n o t possibly do On e of these vi rt uosi
seemed to think that I might be a n embryo or abortive bi rt h
But this opi n ion wa s rejected by the other t wo wh o obse rv ed
my limbs to be perfect a n d fi n ished ; a n d that I had lived
several years as it wa s ma n ifest from my beard the stum p s
w hereof they plai n ly discovered throu g h a ma g n ifyi n g glass
They would n o t allow me t o be a d warf because my little n e ss
was beyond all degre es of co mp a riso n ; for the quee n s fa
ite d w arf the smallest ever k n own i n that ki n g dom wa s nea r
thi rty foot hi g h After much debate they con cluded unani
mo usly that I wa s on ly r elpl ums ca l ca th which is i n terprete d
3
literally l ur ur n a tur es ; a determi n atio n exactly agreeabl e
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At t en da nc e o n t h e ki n g
2
Scho l a r s p o sses s nn g c r 1t 1c a l kn o wl edg e o f a n t 1q u1t 1es,
1
A frea k o f n a t ur e; o ns t r o si t y
1
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m
.
r a t 1t 1es, t
h e fin e a r t s
.
GULL I VE R S TRA VE L S
lik e a London bedchamber Th e board that mad e th e c e iling
was to be lifted up an d down by t wo hing e s to put in a bed
re ady furnished by h e r majesty s upholst e re r which G l um
da lc li t c h took out e ve ry day to air made it with her o wn
han ds a n d letting it down at night locked up the roof over
1
me A nic e workman wh o was famous fo r little curiosities
undertook to make me t wo chairs with backs and fram e s of a
substanc e not u n lik e ivory and two tables with a cabinet to
put my things i n The room was quilted o n all sides a s well
a s the floor a n d the ceili n g to preve n t any accident from t h e
carelessness of those wh o carried me and to break th e forc e of
I desired a lock for my door
a jolt when I we n t i n a coach
to prevent rats and mice from coming in The smith a fter
s e veral att e m
ts
made
the
smallest
tha
ever
s
s
ee
n
w
a
t
p
amon g them fo r I h a ve k n own a large r at th e gat e of a
ge n tlema n s house in E ngland I mad e a shift to k ee p the
key in a pock e t of my own feari n g Glumd alclitch might lose
it Th e qu e en like wise ordere d the thinnest silks that could
be gott e n t o mak e me clothes not much thicker than an
E n glish blanket very cumbersome till I was accustomed to
them They were after th e fashion of the kingdom pa r tly
r e sembling th e Pe rsian a n d pa r tly t h e Chines e and are a
ve ry grave and d e ce n t habit
Th e q u e en becam e so fon d o f my company that sh e could
not di n e without m e I had a table placed upon the same
a t which her majesty eat j ust at her left elbow and a chair
G lumdalclitch stood upon a stool on the floor
t o sit on
near my tabl e to assist a n d tak e care o f me I had an entire
set of silver dishes and plat e s and other nec e ssaries which
i n propo rtion to those of the quee n were not much bigger
than what I have see n o f the same kind in a L ondon toy
shop for the furn iture of a baby house ; thes e my little nurse
kept i n her pocket in a silver box a n d gave me at meal s a s I
w anted them always clea n ing them herself
N 0 person
dined with th e que e n but the two princess e s roy al t h e e ld er
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Skill ed
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VOYAGE To BRO BDINGNAG
99
s i x t ee n y e ars old and th e young e r at that tim e thirtee n and
a mo n th H e r majesty used to p ut a bit of m e at upo n o n e of
my dish e s out of which I ca rv e d fo r mys e lf an d her diversion
wa s to se e me eat in mi n iature ; for the quee n ( who had
indeed but a we ak stomach ) too k up at o n e mouthful as
m uch as a doze n E nglish farmers could e at at a meal ;
which t o m e wa s for som e tim e a v e r y nauseous sight
1
Sh e would crau n ch th e wi n g of a lark bon e s and all b e
tween h e r t e eth although it we re ni n e tim e s as la rg e as that
of a full grown turkey ; and put a bit of bre ad i n her mouth
as big as t wo twe lve penny loaves S he dra n k out of a
gold e n cup abov e a hogsh e ad at a draught Her knives we re
t wice as large as a scyth e set straight upon th e ha n dle Th e
spoons forks and o th e r instrum e nts were all i n the same
propo r tion I re memb e r wh e n G l umd alclitch carried m e
where
o ut o f curiosity to s ee som e o f th e tables a t cou r t
t en or a doz e n of those enormous knives and forks were
lifted up together I thought I had n e v e r till t h e n beheld so
t e rri ble a sight
It is the custom that e ve ry Wedn e sday (which as I hav e
before observe d was their S abbath ) the king and qu e en
with the royal issu e of both s e xes din e tog e ther i n th e apa rt
me n t of his majesty to whom I was now b e come a great
fa vo r ite ; a n d at these times my little chair an d tabl e were
pl a ced at his left hand before o n e o f th e salt cellars This
p rince took a pl e asure in conversi n g with m e inqui ring into
the manners re ligion laws government and learni n g of
E urop e ; where in I gave him th e best account I w a s able
His apprehension was so clear and his j udgm e nt so e xact
tha t h e mad e v e ry wise reflections and observati ons upon all
I said But I confe ss that after I had be e n a littl e too
copious i n talki n g o f my o wn b e love d count ry of our trade
2
of our schisms in religion a n d
a n d wars by sea and la n d
pa r ties in the state the prej udices of his education prevailed
so far that he could n o t forbear taki ng me up i n his right ha n d
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Cr un ch
2
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Di vi si ons
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G ULLI VER S TRAVEL S
’
1 00
stroki n g me ge n tly with the other after a hea r ty fit
of laughing asked me whether I were a Whig or To ry ?
Then turn i n g to his first minist e r wh o w ait e d behind him
with a whit e st aff near as tall as the mai n mast of the Royal
S overeign he observed how contemptible a thi n g was
huma n gra n deur which could be mimicked by such dimin
“
“
utive insects as I ; and yet said he I dare engage these
cre atures have their titles and distinctions of honor ; t hey
con t rive little nests a n d burrows that they call hous e s and
cities ; they make a figure i n dress a n d equipage ; they love
they fight they dispute they cheat they betray ! An d th us
h e conti n ued on whil e my color cam e and we nt severa l
times with indign ation to hear our noble country th e mis
tress o f a rts a n d arms the scourge of France th e arbitre ss
of E urop e the seat of vi rtue piety hon or and truth th e
pride and e n vy of the world so cont e mptuously treated
But as I was no t in a co n dition to rese n t inj uri e s so upon
mature thoughts I began to doubt w hether I wa s i nj ured o r
no For after havi n g been accustomed sev e ral mo n ths to
th e sight and co n verse of this peopl e and observed ev e ry
object upo n which I cast mi n e eyes to be of p roportionabl e
magn itude the horror I had first concei ved from their b ulk
a n d aspect w a s so far w orn o ff that if I had then beheld a
company of E n glish lords a n d ladies in th eir fi n ery and
bi rthday clothes acting their several pa r ts in the m o st
courtly ma nn er o f strutti n g and bowing and prating ; to
say the truth I should have bee n stron gly tempted to laugh
as much at them as the ki ng a n d his gra n dees did at m e
Neither indeed could I forbear smili ng at myself when the
qu ee n used to place me upo n her hand toward a looki n g
glass by which both o ur person s appeared before m e i n full
view together ; and there could be nothi ng more ridiculous
tha n the comparison ; so that I really bega n to imagin e my
’
self d
ree elo m
h
o
c
e quee n s
dwarf; wh o b e i ng o f the lowe s t st a t ut e that wa s e v e r in t hat:
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G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
’
1 02
stood before ; the dwarf watching his opportunity while
Glumdalclitch was gone to the sideboard mounted the stool
she stood on to take care of m e at meals took me up in both
hands and squeezing my legs together wedged them into
the marrow bone above my w aist where I stuck for some
time and made a ve r y ridiculous figure I believe it was near
a minute before any one knew what w a s become of me ;
for I thought it below me to cry out But as princes seldo m
get their meat hot my legs were n o t scalded only my stock
i n gs and breeches in a sad condition The dwarf at my en
treaty had n o other punishment than a sound whipping
I was frequently rallied by the queen upon account o f my
fearfulness ; a n d she used to ask me whether the people of
my count ry were as great cowards as myself ? The occasion
was this : The kingdom is much pestered with flies in summer ;
and these odious insects each of them as big as a D unstable
l a r k h a r dly gave me a n y rest while I sat at dinner with
their continual hummi n g a n d buzzi n g about mine ears They
would sometimes alight upon my victuals and sometimes
t hey would fix upon my n ose or forehead w here they stung
me to the quick smelli ng very off e n sively ; and I could
1
e asily trace that viscous matter which our naturalists
tell us enables those creatures to walk with their feet up
ward upon a ceiling I had much ado to defend myself
against these detestable a n imals a n d could n o t forbe ar
starting when they came on my face It wa s the common
practic e of the d warf to catch a number of these insects i n his
hand as schoolboys do amon g us and let them out suddenly
under my n ose on purpose to frighten me and divert t h e
queen My remedy was to cut them in pieces with my knife
as they flew in the air where in my d exterity wa s much
admired
I remember one morn i ng when G lumdalclitch had set
me in my box upon a window as she usually did i n fair d ays
to give me air ( for I durst not ve n ture to l e t th e box be hung
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St i c ky
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GE
A VOYA
GNAG
To B R OB DI N
1 03
a nail out of th e window as we do with cages in E ngland )
1
and sat down at my
a ft e r I had lifted up on e of my sash e s
t a bl e to eat a piec e of sweet cake for my breakfast above
t w e nty wasps allure d by the smell cam e flying in to t h e room
humming louder than the d rones of as many bagpipes S ome
o f th e m seized my cak e and carried it pi e cemeal away ; others
flew about my he ad and face con founding me with th e n oise
and p utting me in th e utmost terror of th e ir sti n gs Howev e r
I had the courage to rise and d raw my hanger and attack
them in the air I d e sp atched four of th e m but the re st got
away and I presently shut my window These creatures
we r e as large as pa rtridges ; I took out their stings found
th e m an inch a n d a half long and as sh arp as needles I care
fully pre served them all ; and having since shown th e m with
som e other curiosities in several parts of E urope upon my
return to E ngland I gave three of th e m to G resham Coll eg e
and k e pt th e fourth for myself
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CHA PT ER I V
The
—
des cr i bed A
countr y
r
a
o
o
s
l
p p
—
map s The K i ng s p a lace
’
,
The
des cr i bed
o li s
’
a uthor s
wa y
f
or
m
a nd s o
e a ccoun t o
tr a veli ng
f
o
md
t
h
M
t
f
p
hi f t m
l
p
cor r ecti n g
The
c
o er n
e
e ro
e
e
e
.
I
intend to giv e the reader a short description of this
country as far as I traveled in it which was not above two
thousand miles round Lo r b r ulg r ud the metropolis ; for the
queen whom I always att e nded nev e r we nt further wh e n sh e
accompanied the king in his progress e s and there staye d till
his maj e sty returned from vie wing his frontiers The whol e
ext e nt of this prince s dominions reacheth about six thousand
miles in length a n d from three t o five in b readth : from
whence I ca n not but con clud e that our g e ographers of E urop e
are in a great error by supposing nothing but sea bet we e n
Japan and C ali fornia ; for it was ever my opi n ion that ther e
NOW
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Wi ndows
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See t h e des c ri p ti on o f t h e b ox , p a g e 9 7
.
GULL I VER S TRA VELS
must be a balance of earth to counterpoise th e great cont i nent
o f Ta rtary ; and t h erefore they ought to correct their m aps
and c h a rt s b y joi n i n g this vast tra c t of land to the n orth west
parts of America wherein I shall be re ady to lend them my
assistance
The kingdom is a p e ninsula te r minated to the northeast
by a ridge of mountai n s thirty miles high which are alto
gether impassable by reason of the volca n oes upon the t ops
neither do the most learn ed know what sort of mortals i n
habit beyond those mou n tai n s o r whether they be inhabited
at all On the three other sides it is bounded by the ocea n
There is not on e seaport in the whole kingdom : a n d those
pa rts of the coasts i nto which the rive rs issu e are so full o f
pointed rocks a n d the sea generally so rough that there is
no venturing with the smallest of their boats ; so that these
people are wholly excluded from any commerce with the rest
of the world But the large r ivers are full of vessels and
abound with excellent fish ; for they seldom get any from t h e
sea because the sea fish are of the same size with those in
E urope a n d con sequently not worth catchi n g ; whereby it is
ma n ifest that nature in the production of plants and a n imals
o f so extraordinary a b ul k i s w holly confined to this co n tine n t
of which I leave the reason s to be determi n ed by philosophers
However n o w a n d the n they take a whale that happens to
be dashed against the rocks which the common people feed
These whales I have known so large that a
o n hea rtily
man could hardly carry o n e upon his shoulders ; a nd some
times for curiosity they are brought in hampers to L o r b r ul
grud : I s a w o n e of them in a dish at the ki ng s table which
passed for a rarity but I did not observe he w a s fond of it ;
fo r I thi n k i n deed the big n ess disgusted him although I
have see n o n e so mewhat larg er in G reenland
The country is well i n habited for it co n tai n s fift y o n e
cities n ear a n hundred w alled town s a n d a great n umber o f
villa g es To satisfy my curious reader it may be su ffi cie n t
t o de scrib e L o r b r ulg r ud This cit y sta n ds upon almo st t wo
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G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
1 06
’
the sight wa s so nauseous that it perfectly turn ed my
stomach
Besid e the large box in which I was usually carried the
queen ordered a smaller one to be made for me of about
and t en high for th e convenience of
t welv e foot square
traveling : because the other wa s somewhat too large for
G lumdalclitch s lap and cumbersome in the coach ; it wa s
made by the same artist whom I directed in the whole con
This traveling closet was an exact square with a
t r i v a n ce
window in the middle of three of the squares and each win
dow was latticed with iron wire on the outside to prevent
accidents in long journeys On the fou r th side which had no
window t wo strong staples were fixed throu g h which th e
person that carried me when I had a mi n d to be on horse
back put in a leathern belt and buckled it about his w ai st
This was always the offi ce of some grave trusty servant in
whom I could confide whether I attended the king a n d queen
in their progresses or were disposed to see the gardens or
pay a visit to some great lady or mi n ister of state in the cou rt
when G lumdalclitch happen e d to be out of order ; for I soon
began to b e known and esteemed a mong the greatest offi cers ;
I suppos e more upon account of their majesties favor th an
In journeys when I was weary of
a n y merit of my o wn
the coach a servant on horseback would buckle on my box
a n d place it upon a cushion before him ; a n d there I h ad a
full prospect of the country on three sides from my three
wi n dows I had in this closet a fiel d bed and a hammock
hung from the ceilin g two chairs a nd a table neatly screwed
to the floor to prevent being tossed about by the agitatio n
An d having been lo n g us e d to sea
o f the horse or the coach
those motions although sometimes very viole n t
v oyages
did not much discompose me
Whenever I had a mi n d to see the town it was always i n
my traveling closet ; which G lumdalclit c h held in her lap in
a ki n d of open sedan after the fashio n o f the cou n try borne
by four men a n d atte n ded by two oth e rs i n the queen s livery
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VOYA GE TO BRO BDINGNAG
1 07
Th e people wh o had often heard of me w e re v e ry cu rious
t o cro wd about t h e sed an
a n d the girl was complaisa n t
e n oug h t o make the bearers stop and to take me in her hand
th at I might be more conve n iently seen
I was ve ry desirous to see th e chief temple and par
t i c ul a r ly the tower belongi n g to it which is reckoned the
high e st in the kingdom Accordi n gly one day my nurse
carried m e thither but I may t ruly say I c a me back di s
appointed ; fo r th e height is n o t abov e thre e thousand foot
reckoning fr om the grou n d t o t h e high e st pinnacle t o p ;
which allowing for the difference betwe en the siz e of thos e
peopl e and us in E urope is n o great matter for admiration
nor at all e qual in proportion ( if I rightly rem e mber) to
S alisbu r y steeple
But not to detract from a nation to
which duri n g my life I shall acknowledg e myself extremely
obliged it must be allowed that what e ver this famous tower
wants in height is amply made up i n beauty and strength
For the w alls are near an hu n dred foot thick built of hewn
stone where of each is about forty foot sq uare and adorn ed
on all sides with statues of gods a n d emperors cut in marble
larger than the life placed in their several niches I meas
ur ed a little finger w hich had fallen down from o n e of these
stat ues and lay unp e rceived amon g some rubbish a nd found
it exactly four foot a n d an i n ch in len gth G lumdalclitch
wrapped it up in a handkerchief and carried it hom e in her
pocket t o keep among other tri n kets of which the girl was
very fond as childre n at her age usually are
The king s kitchen is i n deed a noble building vaulted at
and about six hundred foot high The great ove n i s
t op
for I
n o t so w ide by ten paces as the c upola at S t P aul s :
m e as ured the latter o n purpose after my return But if I
should describe t h e kitchen grate the prodigio us pots and
kettles the j oints of meat turn ing on the spits with ma n y
other particulars perhaps I should be hardly believed ; at
least a severe critic would be apt to t h i n k I enlarg ed a little
as travelers are ofte n suspected to do To avoid which
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TRA VELS
c ensure I fear I have r un t oo much into th e other e xtre m e ;
a n d that if t his t reatise should h appen to be translated i n t o
th e language of Brobdingnag (which is the general name o f
that kingdom ) a n d transmitted thither the king and his
people would have reason to complain that I had done the m
a n inj u ry by a false and diminutive representation
His maj esty seldom keeps above six hundred horses in h i s
fi ft y four to s i xty fo ot high
s tables ; they are generally fr o m
But when h e goes abroad on solemn days he is attend e d fo r
s tat e by a militia guard of five hundred horse w hich indee d
I thought wa s the most splendid sight that could be eve r
1
beheld till I s aw pa rt of his army in battalia whereo f I sh al l
find another occasion to speak
1 08
GULL I VER S
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CHA PT E R V
Sever a l
a cr i
f
o
tha t ha pp en ed to the
—
i n a l The a uthor s M s hi s
a dventur es
m
h
The ex ecuti o n
s ki ll i n n a vi g a ti on
a ut or
.
I S HOU L D have lived happy enough in that count ry if my
littleness had n o t exposed m e to several ridiculous a n d
t roublesome accidents ; some of w hich I shall venture to t e
late G lumdalclitch often carr ied me into the garde n s of the
court in my smaller box and would sometimes take me out o f
it and hold me in her hand or set me down to walk I
remember before the d wa rf left the queen he followed us
on e day into those gardens and my n urse havi n g set me
down he and I being clo se together near som e d warf apple
trees I must needs show my wit by a silly a llusion b e tween
him and the trees which happens t o hold in their languag e
as it does in o urs Whereupon the malicious rogue watch
i ng his opportunity when I was w alking under one of the m
by which a dozen apples
s hook it directly over my head
each of them near as large as a B ristol barrel came tumbling
a bo ut my ears ; one of them hit me on the back as I ch an ced
t o stoop a n d k n ocked me down flat o n my face ; but I t e
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Or der of b a t tl e; b a t tl e a rr ay
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G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
’
1 10
safe to my little nurse who by t his time had returned t o the
plac e wh e re she left me and w a s in cruel agonies when I did
not appea r nor answe r when she called : S h e severely r ep ri
manded th e gardener on account of his dog But th e thin g
was hushed up and never known at court fo r the girl w a s
afraid of the que e n s an ger ; and truly as to mys elf I thought
it would not b e for my reputat i on that s uch a st o r y should
go about
This accident absolutely det e rmined G lumdalclitch n e v e r
to trust me abroad for the future out o f her sight I had be e n
long afraid of this resolution and therefore concealed from
her some little u n l ucky adventures th a t happened in those
times when I was left by myself Once a kite hovering o ver
th e garden made a stoop at me a nd if I had no t re solutely
1
d rawn my hanger and run under a thick espalier he would
hav e ce rtai n ly carried me aw ay in his t alons Another t ime
walking t o the top of a fresh molehill I fell to my neck in the
hol e through which t hat animal had cast up the earth a n d
coined som e li e not worth remembering to excuse myself
for spoili n g my clothes I like wis e broke my r ight s h in
against the shell of a s nail which I happened to stumble ove r
a s I w a s walking alone and thi n king on poor E ngland
I cannot tell whether I were more pleased or mortified to
obs e rve in those solita ry walks that th e s maller birds did
n o t appear t o b e a t all a fraid of me but would hop ab o ut
within a yard distance looking for worms and other fo o d
with as much indifference and security as if no creature at
all were near t hem I remember a t hrush had the confide n ce
to snatch o ut of my hand with his bill a piece of cake t h a t
G lumdalclitch had j ust given me for my b reakfast Wh e n
I att e mpted t o catch a ny of these birds they would bol dly
t urn a g ainst m e e n deavoring to peck my fi n gers w hic h I
d urst not ve n t ure within thei r reach ; a n d the n they w ould
tu r n back unconcerned to hunt for worms or s n ails as they
did before B ut on e day I took a thick cudgel and th rew
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Tr elli s
.
111
VOYAGE TO BRO BDINGNAG
it with all my strength so luckily at a li n net that I knocked
him down and seizi n g him by t h e n eck with both m
y
hand s ran with him in triumph to my nurse Howe ve r
the bird wh o had only been stunned recove ring him se lf
gave m e so many bo xes with his wings on both s id e s of my
head a n d body though I held him at arm s l e ng th and wa s
ou
t of t h e reach of his claws that I was twenty tim e s think
i ng to l et him go
But I was soon reli ev e d by one of o ur
servant s w h o wrung o ff the bird s neck and I had him n ext
day fo r dinn e r by the queen s command
This linn et as
near as I can rem e mbe r s eem e d to be s om ewh at l a rg e r th a n
an E n glish swa n
The maids of honor often invited G lumd alcli t ch t o th ei r
apartme n ts a n d desired she would bri n g m
e along with h e r
on pu r pose to have the pl e asure of s e eing a n d touching m
e
They would ofte n lay m e in their bosom s wh e rewith I wa s
m
uch disgu s ted ; because to s a y the truth a ve r y off e n s iv e
sm
ell came fro m their s kins ; which I do not m
e ntio n o r
intend to the di s adv a ntage of those ex cel l e nt ladi es fo r
whomI h ave all m ann er of respect ; b ut I con c e ive t h a t m
y
sense w a s m
n
d
a
e
ss
littl
e
n
o re a c ut e in propo r tion t o m
y
that thos e ill ustri o us perso ns we r e n o m
o re di sa g reea bl e t o
their love r s or t o each oth e r tha n p eo pl e of th e s a m
e q u a lity
are with us in E n gland
An d a fter all I fo un d t h ei r n a t ural
sm
ell wa s m
o re s up po r t able th a n wh e n they used p e r
uch m
fum
es un der w hich I i m
mediately swoo n ed away I c a nno t
forget that a n i n t i m
ate f ri e n d o f min e in L illip ut t oo k t h e
freedom i n a w a rm da y w h en I had u sed a g oo d dea l o f ex er
cise to co m
pl a i n o f a st rong sm
ell abo u t m
e a l tho ugh I a m
as litt le fa ulty t h a t way a s m
ost of my sex : b ut I s uppo se
his faculty o f s m
in e
e as m
e ll i n g w as as n ice wi th reg a r d t o m
was to that o f thi s p eo ple U po n t h i s po in t I c ann o t fo rbea r
d
c
m
d
a
oing j ust ic e t o t h e qu een m
n
d
u
i
t
a
G
l
lclit
h
s
r
ess
m
y
a
m
o
f
a
n
ose
r
e
e
t
l
dy
n
w
n
s
w
as
s
w
as
h
e
u
h
se
rso
r
e
e
e
t
s
o
y
y
p
in Englan d
w h o was n ep h ew t o my
One da y a yo un g gen tl em
an
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G ULL I VER S TRA VEL S
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1 12
urs e s gove rness came a n d pressed them both to see a n
exe cution It wa s of a ma n wh o had murdered one of t h a t
gent l e m a n s i n timate acquai n ta n ce G lumd alclitch was p r e
vail e d on to be of th e company very much ag a inst her
for she w as n aturally tender hea rted : and as fo r
c l i n at i o n
myself although I abhorred such ki n d of s pectacles yet m
y
cu riosity tempted m e to see something that I thought m u s t
be extraordinary The malefa ctor was fixed in a chair up o n
a scaff old erected for the purpose and his head cut o ff at a
blow with a sword of a bout forty foot long The veins a n d
a rt e ries spout e d up such a prodigious q uantity of blood a n d
1
so high in the air that the great jet d ea u at Versailles wa s
not e qual for the tim e it lasted ; and th e head when it fell
on the scaff old floo r gave such a bo unce as made me st art
although I were at least half an E n glish mile distant
Th e queen wh o often used to hear me talk of my se a
voyages and took all occasions to divert m e when I wa s
melancholy asked m e whether I u n derst ood how to handle
a sail or an oar and whether a little exercise of rowing might
not be convenient for my health ? I answere d that I under
s tood both ve r y w ell ; for altho ugh my p roper employmen t
h a d been to be surgeon or doctor to the ship yet often upon
a pinch I was forced to work lik e a common marin e r B ut
I could no t se e how this could b e done in their cou n t r y
2
where th e smallest W herry was equal to a fir st rat e man o f
wa r among us ; and such a boat as I could manag e would
never liv e in any of their rivers Her majesty said if I would
co n trive a boat her o wn joiner should make it and she
The fellow was an
would provide a plac e for m e to sail in
i ngenious workman and by my i n structions in ten d ays
fi n ished a pleasure boat with all its tackling able c o nv en
When it w a s finished the
i ent ly to hold eight E uropeans
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m
Fo unt ain Th e fo unt a i n s o f t h e p al a ce g ro unds a t Ver s a illes a re fa o us
t h ei r h ei gh t a n d b ea ut y
L1g h t , sh allow r owb o at , o rdi n a r i ly us ed fo r c ar ryi n g p assen g ers o n 1nland
.
fo r
1
wat er s
.
.
GUL LI VER S TRA VELS
less as to let a huge frog ( n o t perceiving it ) slip o ut of h i s
pail The frog lay co n cealed till I was put into my boat
but then seeing a restin g place climbed up , a n d made it lean
so much o n o n e side that I was forced to balance it with a ll
my weight on the other to prevent overt urni ng Wh e n t h e
frog wa s g o t i n it hopped at once h alf the lengt h of t h e boa t ;
and then over my head backw ard and forward daubing my
face and clothes with its odious slime Th e largeness of its
features made it appear the most deform e d animal that c a n
e
be con ceived Ho wever I desire d G lumdalclitch to l et m
deal with it alone I banged i t a g oo d while with o ne o f
my sculls and at last forced i t t o leap o ut of th e boat
B ut the greatest danger I ev e r und e rwe nt in that kingdo m
was from a monkey wh o belong ed to on e o f t he clerks o f
the kitchen G lumdalclitch had locked me up in her clo s et
while she went somewhere upon busi n ess or a visit T h e
we ather being ve ry w arm the closet wi n dow was left open
as well as the windows a nd th e door of my bigger box i n
which I usually lived because of its larg eness a n d co n v en
i en c y As I sat quietly meditati n g at my table I heard som e
thing bounce i n at the closet wi n dow and skip about fro m
one side to the other : whereat although I was m uch ala r med
yet I ve n tured to look out but not stirri n g from my seat ;
a n d the n I saw this frolicsom e animal frisking and leapi n g
up and down till at last he came to my box which he seemed
t o view w ith great pleas ure a n d curiosity peepi n g i n at t h e
door and eve ry wi n dow I retreated to the further co rn er
of my room or box ; but the monkey looki n g i n at eve r y side
put me into such a fr ight that I wanted prese n ce of mind to
yself under the bed as I mi g ht easily have done
c onceal m
After some time spent in peepi n g grinning and chatteri n g
he at last espied me ; and reachi n g one of his paws in a t the
door as a cat does whe n she plays with a mouse although I
ofte n s h ifted place to avoid him he at length caught hold o f
the la ppet of my coat (which bei n g made of that count ry
He
c loth was ve r y t hick and strong ) a n d d ragged me o ut
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VOYAGE TO BR OBDINGNAG
1 15
t oo k me up in his right forefoot a n d held me as a nurse does
a child she is goi n g to suckle j ust as I have seen the same
s o r t of creature do with a kitte n i n E u rope ; a n d when I o f
fe t ed to struggle he squeezed me so hard that I thought it
more prudent to submit I have good reason to believe
t h at he took m e for a yo ung o n e of his own species by his
In
o ften stroking my face very ge n tly with his other paw
t hese diversio n s he w a s i n terrupted by a noise at the closet
door as if somebody w ere opening it whereupon he s udde n ly
l e aped up to the wi n dow at which he had come in and thence
an d
U p o n the leads a n d gutters w alki n g upo n three le g s
holdi n g me in the fourth till he clamb ered up to a roof that
was next to ours I heard G lumdalclitch give a shriek at the
mo ment he was carryi ng me out The poor g irl wa s almost
distracted ; that quarter of the palac e wa s all i n an uproar ;
t he servants ran for ladders ; the monkey was seen by hun
dreds in the court sitting upo n the ridge of a buildin g hold
i n g me like a baby in o ne o f his forepaw s and feedi n g me
w ith th e oth e r by cramming into my mouth some victuals
1
2
h e had squeezed out of the bag on o n e side of his chaps
whereat the rabble
a n d patting me when I would not e at
b elow could not forbear laughing ; neither do I thi n k they
j ustly ought to be blamed for without question the sight
was r idiculous enough to everybody but myself S ome o f
hopi n g to drive th e monkey
t h e p e ople thre w up stones
down ; but t his was strictly forbidden or else ve r y probably
my brains had been d ashed out
The ladders were no w applied and mounted by s e veral
men which the monkey observi n g and fi n ding himself a l
most e n co mpassed not bei ng able to make speed enough
with his three legs let me drop on a ridge tile a n d made his
escape Here I sat for some time three hundred y ards from
the g round expecti n g every mome n t to be blown down by
the wi n d or to fall by my o wn g iddi n ess a n d co me tu mbli n g
over and over from the ridge to the eaves ; but a n ho n est lad
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Po uch
1
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Ch ecks
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GULL I VER S TE A VELS
one of my n urse s footme n cli mbed up and putting m
e
into his breeches pocket brou g ht me down safe
I was almost choked with the filthy stuff the monkey h a d
crammed down my throat ; but my dear little nurse pick e d
it out of my mouth with a small needle and then I fell a
vomiti n g which gave me great relief Yet I w a s so weak and
bruised in the sides by the squeezes given me by this odiou s
a n imal that I was forced to keep my bed a fortnight Th e
ki n g queen and all the court sent e very day to i n quire a fter
my health ; an d her majesty mad e m e several visits du r in g
my sickness The monkey was killed and an order ma d e
that no s uch animal should be kept about the palace
Wh en I attended the king after my recove ry to return h i m
thanks for his favors he w as pleased to rally me a good deal
upon this adventure He asked me what my thoughts and
speculations were while I lay i n the monkey s paw ; how I
liked the vict uals he gav e me ; his manner of feedi ng ; and
whether the fresh air on the roof had sharpened my st omach
He desired to k n ow what I would have done upon such an
i
w
n
occasion in m
country
I
told
his
majesty
that
o
n
y
E urope we had no monkeys except such as were brough t
for curiosities from other places a n d so small that I coul d
deal with a dozen of them together if they presumed to attac k
me An d as for that monstrous a n imal with whom I w a s
so lately e n gaged ( it was indeed as large as a n elephant ) if
my fears had suff ered me to think so far as to mak e use of
my hanger ( looking fiercely and clapping my hand upon t h e
hilt as I spoke ) when he poked his p aw into my chambe r
perhaps I should have given him such a w ound as would h av e
made him glad to withd raw it with more ha ste tha n he p ut
it i n This I delivered i n a firm tone like a person wh o w a s
jealous lest his courage should be called in question How
ever my speech produced nothing else besides a loud laughte r
which all the respect due to his majesty from those a b out h i m
could not make them co n tain This made me reflect h o w
vain an attempt it is for a man to e n de avor doi n g himself
1 16
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,
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G ULL I VER S TR AVELS
1 18
’
whereof i n time I got a goo d qua n tity ; and co n sulting wi t h
my friend the cabinet maker who had received gen e ra l
ord e rs to do little jobs for m e I directed him to mak e t wo
chair frames n o larger tha n those I had in my box and th e n
to bore littl e holes with a fine awl round thos e pa r ts wh e re I
desig n e d the backs and seats : through th e s e holes I wove t h e
strong e st hairs I could pick out j ust aft e r th e mann e r o f ca n e
chairs i n E n gla n d Wh e n they were finished I mad e a
pre se n t of th e m to h e r majesty wh o kept them i n her cabin et
and used to show them for curiosities as indeed they we r e
th e wonder of e ve r y on e th at beheld th e m The qu ee n would
hav e me sit upon one of these chairs but I absolut ely re fus e d
to obey her prot e sting I would rather di e a thousand d e ath s
than place a dishon orable part of my body o n those pre ciou s
hairs that on ce adorned her majesty s h e ad Of these h airs
w
w
as
I
had
al
ays
a
m
e
chanical
g
e
nius
I
like
ise mad e a n e at
)
(
little purse about fi ve foot lo ng with h e r majesty s name
1
d e ciph e re d i n gold l e tt e rs which I gave to G lumdalclitch by
the qu e en s co n sent To say the truth it was more for show
than use bei n g n o t of stre ngth to bear th e weight of the larg e r
coins and therefore she kept nothing in it but som e littl e
toys that girls are fo n d of
The ki n g wh o delighted i n music had frequ e nt conce rt s
at court to which I was sometimes carried a n d set in my b ox
o n a table to hear t hem : but the noise was so great th at I
could hardly disting uish the tu n e s I am con fident that all
the drums a n d trumpets of a royal army beati n g and sound
i n g together j ust at your ears could not equal it My pra e
tice was to have my box re move d from th e places where th e
performers sat as far as I could th e n to shut the doors and
windows of it a n d draw the w i n dow curtains ; after which
I found th e ir music not disagreeable
2
I had learn ed i n my youth to play a littl e upon the spin et
G lumdalclitch kept on e in her chamb e r and a mast e r at
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2
Wo rked
A
mu
.
m
sn al 1nst ru ent so
mwh
e
mb lmg
0
at rese
t he
md
o ern
1
a
p no.
GE
BROBDINGNA G
1 19
te nded t wice a week to teach her : I call it a spi n et becaus e i t
s o mewhat resembled that i n strume n t a n d w as played upo n
i n the sam e ma nn e r
A fa n cy came i n to my head that I
w ould e n tertain the ki n g a n d quee n with a n E nglish tun e
B ut this appeared extremely di ffi c ult :
upo n this i n strument
fo r the spinet w a s near sixty foot l o n g each key bei n g almost
a foot wide so that w ith my arms extended I could n o t reach
to above five keys and to pre ss them down required a good
s ma rt stroke with my fist w hich would be too great a labor
The method I contrived wa s this : I
a n d to n o purpos e
prepared t wo ro u n d sticks about the bign ess of common
c udgels ; they we re thick e r at o n e en d tha n the other and I
c overed the thicker e n ds with a piece of a mouse s ski n tha t
by rapping o n them I might neith e r damage the tops of th e
Before the spinet a b e n ch
k eys nor i n terrupt the sou n d
was plac e d about four feet below the keys and I wa s put
I r a n sidelong upon it that w a y and this
upon the bench
a s fast as I could ba n gi n g the p roper keys with my t wo sticks
a n d made a shift to play a j ig to the great satisfactio n of
both their maj esties ; but it wa s the most viole n t exercise I
ever u n derwe n t ; a n d yet I could not strike above sixteen
keys no r conseque n tly play th e bass a n d treble together a s
o ther a r tists do which w a s a great disadvantage to my per
A VOYA
TO
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fo r
m
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anc e
.
The ki ng wh o as I before observed was a pri n ce of ex
c el l en t u n dersta n di n g would freq uently order that I should
be brought i n my box a n d set upon the table i n his clos e t :
he would the n comma n d me to bri n g o n e of my chairs out of
the box and sit down withi n three yards distance upon th e
t o p of th e cabinet w hich brought me almost to a level with
his face In this ma n n er I had several con versation s with
him I o n e day took the freedom to tell his majesty that the
1
t o w ard E urope and the rest of the
c o n tempt he discovered
2
world did n o t se e m answerable to those e xcelle n t qualitie s
o f mind that he w a s master of ; that reason did n o t extend
Di sp lay ed
Co r re p ndi ng t o
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s
o
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G ULL I VE R S TRA VELS
’
1 20
its e lf with the bulk of the body : on the con tra ry we ob s e r v ed
in our country t hat th e tallest persons were usually le a s t
provided with it ; that among other animals bees a n d ant s
had th e reputation of more i n dustry art a n d sagacity th a n
many of the larger kinds ; and t hat as i nconsid e rable as h e
took me to be I hop e d I might liv e t o do his majesty so me
signal s e rvic e The ki n g heard m e with atte n tion and bega n
to conc e iv e a much b etter opinion of m e than he had e ve r
before H e desire d I would give him as exact an account o f
the gove r nment of E n gland a s I possibly could ; because a s
fond as p r i n ces commonly are of their own customs ( for so h e
conjecture d of oth e r monarchs by my former discourses )
h e should b e glad t o h e a r of anything that might d e se rve
imitation
Imagin e wi th thys e lf courteous reader how often I then
wish e d fo r the ton gu e of D emosthe n es or Cicero that migh t
have enabled m e to celebrate the praise of my own d e a r
native country in a style eq ual to its merits and felicity
I b egan my discourse by info r ming his majesty t hat o ur
dominions consist e d of t wo isla n ds which compos e d three
mighty kingdoms u n der one sovereign besid e s our planta
1
tions in Ame r ica I dwelt long upon the fertility of our soil
a n d the t e mp e rature of our climate
I th e n spoke at larg e
upon the constitution of an E n glish parliament ; partly made
up of an illust r ious body called the Hous e of Peers ; p e rsons
of th e nobl e st blood a n d o f th e most ancient and ample
patrimonies I described that ext raordi n ary care al w ays
taken of their education in arts and arms to qualify th e m for
b e ing counselors both to the king and kingdom ; to have a
share in the legislature ; to be members of th e high e st court of
j udicature from whe n ce there can be no appeal ; and to be
champio n s always ready for the defe nce of their p ri n ce and
country by their valor conduct an d fidelity That these
were the ornament and bul wark of the kingdom worthy
foll owers of their most renown e d ancestors whos e honors
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Coloni es
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GULL I VE R S TRA VE L S
Whe n I had put a n en d to thes e long discours e s h i s
majesty in a sixth audience consulting his notes propose d
ma n y doubts que r ies a n d objections u p on every a rticle
He asked what methods were used to cultivat e th e minds a n d
bodi e s of our youn g n obility and in what kind of busine ss
they commonly spe n t the first and teachable part of thei r
lives ? What course was taken to supply that assembly whe n
any noble family becam e exti n ct ? What qualifications were
n ecessa r y i n those who are to be cre ated n ew lords ; whethe r
the humor of the prince a sum o f money to a court lady o r a
prime mi n ister or a design of strengthe n i n g a party opposit e
to the public i n terest ever happened to be motives i n thos e
adva n cements ? What share of knowl e dge th e se lo rds had
in the laws of their count ry a n d how they cam e by it so a s
to enable them to d e ci d e the properties of th e ir fellow
subjects i n the last resort ? Whether th e y were alw ays so fre e
from avarice partialities or w an t that a bribe or some othe r
si n ister view could have no place among them ? Whethe r
those holy lords I spoke of were al ways promoted to th at
ra n k upon accoun t of their k n owledg e i n religious matters
and the sanctity of their lives ; had n ever bee n compli e rs with
the tim e s while they we re common p ri ests ; or slavish pros
t i t ut e chaplains to som e nobleman whos e opi n io n s they c o n
t i n ued servilely to follow
aft e r they were admitted i n to
that assembly ?
He the n desired to kn ow what a rts we re pra c tic e d in
1
electing those whom I called commoners ; whether a stra n ger
with a stro n g purse might n o t i n fluence the vulgar voters
to choose him before their own landlord or the most con
s i der a b l e gentleman i n the neighborhood ?
How it came to
pass that people were so violently bent upon getti n g i n to
this assembly which I allowed to be a great trouble and ex
pense ofte n to the rui n of their families without a n y sala ry
or p e n sion ; be c ause this appeared such a n e x alted strai n of
virtu e and publi c spirit that h i s m aj esty see med to doubt
fC m
m
M mb
f th H u
’
1 22
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e
er s o
e
o
se o
o
o n s.
1 23
OYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG
i t might possibly not be alway s si n cere An d he d e sired to
k now w hether such zealous ge n tleme n could have a n y vie ws
o f refundi n g themselves for the charges a n d trouble they
were at by sacrifici n g the public good to the designs of a
weak a n d vicious pri n c e in conj unction with a corrupt e d
mi n ist ry He multiplied his qu e stions a n d sifted me thor
oughly upon eve ry part of this head proposing n umberless
inq uiries and objections which I think it not prud e nt or
convenient to repeat
U pon what I said i n re latio n to our cou rts of j ustice his
m aj esty desired to be satisfied i n seve ral points : a n d this I
w a s the b e tt e r able to do having been formerly almost
rui n ed by a long suit i n the Chan ce r y which w a s decre ed for
me with costs He asked what time w a s usually spent i n
determi n i n g betwee n right a n d wrong and what degree of
Whether advocates and orators had liberty to
e xpe n se ?
n
i
n
lead
causes
ma
ifestly
kno
to
be
u
j
ust
vexatious
or
n
n
w
p
Whether party i n re ligion or politics were o b
o ppressive ?
s erved to be of any we ight i n the scale of j ustice ? Whether
those pleadi n g orators were person s educated i n the ge n e ral
knowledge of eq uity or on ly i n provi n cial n atio n al a n d other
local customs ? Whether they or th e ir j udges had any part
i n pen n ing those laws which they assumed the libe r ty of
1
i n terpreti n g a n d glossi n g upo n at their pleasure ? Whether
they had ever at diff ere n t times pleaded for and agai n st
the same cause and cited precede n ts to prove contrary
opinions ? Whether they were a rich or a poor corporation ?
Whether they received any pecu n ia r y rew ard for pleadi n g
or deliveri n g their opinion s ? An d pa r ticularly whether
they were ever admitted as members i n the lower se n ate ?
He fell next upon the ma n ageme n t of our treasu r y ; and
s a id he thought my memo r y had failed me because I com
i
x milli o n s a year a n d when
our
taxes
at
about
five
or
u
e
d
s
t
p
2
I c a me to mention t h e issues he fou n d they sometime s
R di n g di fferen t s n i nt o
A V
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1
ea
B1lls
a
e
se
o f ex c h a n ge, n o t es, st a
mp
.
s, et c
.
,
g 1v en
o
ut
.
GULL I VER S TR AVELS
amount e d to more than doubl e ; for the notes h e had t aken
we re v e ry p a rticular i n this poi n t becaus e h e hop ed as h e
told me t hat th e kno wledge of our cond uct might b e useful
B ut
t o him and h e could not be dec e ived in his calculations
if what I told him were true he wa s still at a loss how a
ki n gdom could run out o f its estate like a privat e p e rson
He asked m e who wer e o ur creditors and where we fo un d
money to pay them ? He wondered to hear me talk of suc h
chargeable and expensive wars That ce rtainly we m u st
be a quarrelsom e peopl e or live among ve r y bad n e ighbors
a n d th at our generals must n e eds b e richer than our king s
He asked what busin e ss we had out of our own islands unl e s s
upon the score of trad e or treaty or to d e fend the coast s
with our fleet ? Above all he w a s am a ze d to hear me talk o f
1
a m e rcena ry standing army in the midst of peac e and
among a free p eopl e He said if we were gov e r ned by o ur
own conse n t in the persons of our re presentatives he coul d
not imagine of whom we were afraid or against whom we
were to fight ; and would hear my opinion wh e ther a privat e
man s hous e might not better be defended by himself h i s
children and family than by half a dozen rascals pick e d up
at a venture in the streets for small wages who might get an
hundre d tim e s more by cutting th e ir throats
H e laughed at my odd ki n d of a rithmetic as he was pl e ased
to call it in reckon i n g the numbers of our people by a com
putation drawn from the several sects among us in religion
a n d politics
He said he kn ew no reason wh y thos e wh o
ente rtain opinion s prej udicial to the public should be obliged
to chang e or should n o t be obliged to conceal them An d as
it was tyranny i n a n y gove r nment to require the first so it
w a s we akn e ss not to enforce the second ; for a m
a n may be
allowed to ke e p poisons i n his closet but not to vend them
about for cordials
He observed t h at among the diversio n s of our nobility
a n d gentry
I h ad me n tio n ed g a ming : he desired to know
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1 24
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Pai d
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G ULL I VER S TR A VELS
1 26
’
count ry ; or couns e lors for their wisdom As fo r yourself
“
conti n ued the king wh o have s pent the greatest pa r t of yo ur
life in traveling I am well disposed to hope you may hithert o
have escaped ma n y vices of your count r y But by wh at I
have gathered from your own re lation and the a n swe r s
I have with much pains wri n ged and e xto r ted from you I
cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the mos t
pe r nicious race o f little odious vermin that N ature eve r
su
ff e re d t o cra wl upon the surf a c e o f t h e e arth
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CH A PT E R VII
—
coun tr y
He m
a kes
m
love of hi s
a p r op os al of
uch
’
—
a dva n ta g e to the K i n g
whi ch i s r ejected The K i n g s
n
r
i
a
c
e
i
n
o
l
i
t
i
cs
r
n
i
n
e
a
n
or
l
e
a
h
e
h
t
T
o
t
c
r
a
t
o
u
n
t
p
g
g
g f
y
n
a
n
e
r
e
r
e
c
t
n
d
co
d
w
T
h
e
i
l
a
s
a
r
ver y i
n
d
i
i
a
l
t
f
fi
p
y
affa i r s , a nd p a r ti es i n th e Sta te
The a uthor
’
s
,
m
—
m
,
O
.
NOT HI NG but
extreme love of truth could h ave hindere d
me from con ceali n g this pa r t of my story It wa s i n vai n t o
discover my rese n tme n ts which were al ways tu r ned into
while my
r idicule ; a n d I w a s forced to rest w ith patie n ce
noble a n d ost beloved count r y w a s so i nj u r iously treate d
I am as heartily sor r y as a n y of my readers c an possibly be
tha t such a n occasion wa s give n ; but this pri n ce happ e ned
to be so curious a n d inquisitive upon eve ry particular that
it could n o t co n sist either with gratitude or good manners
to refuse giving h i mwhat satisfaction I wa s able Yet this
much I may be allowed to say i n my o wn vi n dication t h at
I a r tfully eluded many of his questions a n d gav e to every
point a more favorabl e tu r n by ma n y degrees than t h e
strictness of truth would allow ; for I have always bo rn e
that laudable partiality to my o wn count r y wh ich D ionysius
Hal i c a r n a ssen s i s with so much j ustice recommends to an
histo ria n : I would hide the frailti e s and deformities of my
political mother and pl a ce her virtu e s and beauties in the
most advantageous light This wa s my sincere ende a vor
an
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m
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,
1 27
BROBDINGNAG
i n thos e ma n y discours e s I had with t hat monarch although
it u n fortunately failed of success
But great allowanc e s should be give n to a ki n g wh o live s
wholly secluded from the rest of th e world and must there
fore be altogether unacquainted with th e manners and
c ustoms that most pre vail i n other nations ; the w a n t of which
k n owledge will e ve r produce man y prej udices and a c e r
t ain n arrown ess of thinking from which we and the polit e r
cou n tries of E urop e are wholl y e xe mpt e d ; an d it would
be hard i n de e d if so remote a princ e s notions of virtu e
and vic e we r e t o b e off ered as a standard fo r all man
k ind
To confirm what I have now said a nd furth e r t o s how
t h e miserable eff e cts of a con fined e ducation I shall h e re
i nsert a passage that will hardly obtai n belief
In hopes
t o ingratiat e mys e lf further into his maj e sty s favor I told
him of an inve ntion discovered b etwee n thre e and four
hu ndre d ye ars ago t o make a certain powder into an h e ap
o f which the small e st spark of fire falling would ki n dl e the
whol e i n a mom e nt although it we re as big as a mountain
a n d make it all fly up in th e air tog e th e r with a n ois e and
Th a t a proper q uantity
a gitation grea t e r than thu n der
of this powder ramm e d into a n hollow tub e o f brass o r iron
a ccording to its bigness would d riv e a ball of iron or l e ad
with such viol e nc e and speed as nothing was able to su st ai n
its force That th e largest balls thus discharg e d would not
only destroy whol e ranks of an a rmy at onc e but batt e r the
stro n gest w alls to th e grou n d si n k down ships with a thou
sand men i n each t o the bottom of th e s e a ; a n d wh e n linked
together by a chain would cut through masts a n d rigging
divide hundreds of bodies in the middl e and lay all wast e
before them Tha t we o ften put this powde r into larg e
hollow balls of iron and discharged th e m by an e ngine into
some city we we re b e sieging which would rip up the pave
ments t e ar the hous e s to pieces burst and throw splint e rs
on e very s ide dashing o ut th e brains of all who cam e n ea r
A VOYAGE TO
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G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
1 28
’
That I kn ew the i ngredie n ts ve ry well which we re chea p
and common ; I understood th e ma n ner of compoun ding
them and could direct his workme n h ow to make thos e tubes
of a siz e proportionable to all other thi n g s in his maj esty s
kingdom and th e largest n ee d not be above an hundred foot
long ; twen ty or thirty of which tubes charged with t h e
proper quantity of powder and balls would batt e r down t h e
w alls of the strongest town in his dominions in a few hours or
destroy th e whole metropolis if ever it should pretend t o
dispute his absolute commands This I humbly off e re d t o
his maj e sty as a small tribute of ack n owledgment in r etu rn
of so many marks tha t I had re ceived of his r oyal favor a nd
protection
Th e king w as struck with horror at th e description I h ad
given of those terrible engines and the proposal I had made
He was amazed h ow so impotent and groveling an insec t
as I ( these were his expressions) could e n tertain such i n
human ideas and in so familiar a man n er as to app e ar wholl y
unmoved at all the scenes of blood a n d desolation which I
had painted as the common eff ects of those destructive m a
chin e s : whereof he said some evil genius enemy to ma n
ki n d must have been the first contriver As for himself h e
protested that although few thi n gs d e lighted him so much a s
new discoveries in art or i n nature yet he would rath e r
los e half his ki n gdom than be privy to such a secret ; which
e as I valued my life
he commanded m
neve r to m e ntion
any more
A strange e ff ect of narrow principl e s and short vi ews ! th at
a prince possessed of every quality which procu re s ve n eratio n
love and esteem ; of strong parts gre at wisdom and profou n d
learni n g endued with admirable talents for governme n t and
almost adore d by his subjects should from a nice unn ec es
sa r y scruple whereof in E urope we can have no conc e ptio n
let slip a n opportu n ity put i n to his hands that would have
made h i mabsolute master o f the lives the libe r ties a n d the
fo rtunes of his p eOp l e ! N either do I say this with th e l e a st
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GULL I VER S TRA VEL S
1
where i n those people are not mercurial e nough to disco v e r
above o n e i n t e rpretation : and to w rite a comment upon any
As to the decision of civil cause s
l a w is a capital crim e
or proceedings against criminals their pre cedents are so few
t h at th e y have little re ason to boast of any extraord i nary
skill i n either
They have had the art of printing as we ll as th e Chinese
time out of mi n d : but their librari e s are not very larg e ; fo r
that o f th e ki n g which is reckoned the biggest doth n o t
amount to above a thousand vol umes placed i n a galle r y
of twe lve hu n dre d foot long whe n ce I had libe r ty to borrow
The q ueen s joiner had contriv e d
what books I pleased
in on e of G lumdalclitch s rooms a kind of wooden machine
twe nt y fi ve fo ot high form e d lik e a standing ladd e r ; th e step s
were each fifty foot long : it was indeed a movabl e pair of
stairs the lowe st end plac e d at t en foot dista n ce from th e
w all of the chamber The book I h ad a mind to read w a s p ut
up lea n i n g against the wall : I first mou n ted to the upper ste p
of the ladd e r a n d tu r ning my face toward th e book began
at the top of the page an d so w alking to the right a n d left
about eight o r t en paces accordi n g to the le n gth of the li n es
till I had gott e n a little below t h e level of mi n e e yes a n d
then desc e nding gradually till I came to th e bottom ; afte r
which I mou n ted agai n a n d bega n t h e other page i n the sam e
man n er and so turned over the leaf which I could easily
do with both my ha n ds for it wa s as thick a n d stiff as paste
board an d i n the largest folios n o t above eighte en or t we nty
foot lo n g
Their style is clear masculi n e and smooth but not flo rid ;
for they avoid nothing more tha n multiplying un n ecessa r y
words or usi n g various exp ressio n s
I have per used many o f
th e ir books especially those in histo r y a n d morality Amon g
the re st I w a s much diverted with a little old treatise which
always lay i n G lumdalclitch s bedchamber a n d belon g ed t o
h e r gove rn e ss a grave elderly ge n tlewo ma n who dealt i n
'
1 30
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Rea dy wi t t ed,
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vol a t i l e
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VO YAGE TO BROBDINGNA G
1 31
w r itings of morality and devotion The book treats of the
weakn ess of human ki n d a n d is i n little esteem ex cept among
the wo m
en and th e vulgar However I wa s curious to see
w hat a n author of that cou n try co ul d say upo n such a sub
w
e
w
c
t
This
rit
e
r
ent
through
all
the
usual
topics
of
E
u
j
“
t op c a n mor alists
showing how diminutive con temptible
a n d h e lpless an animal w a s man in his o wn natur e ; h o w
u n abl e to defend himself from incl e me n cies of the air or the
fu r y of wild beasts ; h o w much he was excelled by on e crea
t ure in stre n g th by another i n spe e d by a third in foresight
by a fourth in i n dustry
He added that nature w a s de
ge nerated i n these latter decli n i n g ages of the world and
c ould n o w produce only small abortive births i n comparison
“
o f those i n a n cient times
He said it was ve r y rea so n able
t o think n o t only that the species of man were ori g i n al y
l
much larger but also that there must h ave bee n giants i n
f orm e r ages ; which as it is ass e r ted by history and traditio n
so it hath been co n firmed by h uge bo n es a n d skulls casually
d ug up in several parts of the ki n gdom far exceeding the
common d windled rac e of men i n our days
He argued
“
t hat the very laws of nature absolutely required we should
h av e bee n made i n the begi n ni n g of a si z e more large a n d
robust ; n o t so liable to destruction from every little accident
o f a tile falling fro ma house or a st o ne cast from t h e ha n d o f
a boy or of being drown e d i n a little brook
From this
w a y of reaso n ing the author drew several moral applications
useful i n the conduct of life but needless here to re peat
For my own part I could not av oid re fl e cti n g h o w u n iversally
t his tale n t w as spread of dra wing lectures o n morality or
i n deed rather a matter of disco n te n t a n d repini n g from th e
quarrels we rais e with nature An d I beli e ve upon a strict
inqui ry those quarrels might be shown as ill grounded
among us as they are amon g that people
As to their military aff airs they boast that the ki n g s army
co n sists of an hundred a n d seve n ty s i x thousa n d foot a n d
thirty t wo thousa n d horse : if that may be called an army
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G ULLI VER S TRAVELS
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1 32
which is mad e up of tradesme n i n th e s e ve ral citie s and
farmers i n the country whose comma n d e rs are o n ly t h e n o
Th e y are in deed
b i li t y a n d gentry without pay or reward
perfect e n ough in th e i r exercises a n d u n d e r very good dis
c i p l i n e w here i n I saw no great merit ; for how should it be
othe rwise where every far mer is und e r t h e comman d o f h i s
en
o wn la n dlord and e v e ry citi z en u n der that of th e pri n cipal m
i n his own city chose n after the ma n n er of V enice by ballot ?
I have oft e n seen th e militia of L o r b r ulg r ud d rawn o ut t o
e x ercise i n a gre at fi e ld n ear the city of twe nty miles square
The y w ere i n all n o t above twe n ty five thousand foot and
s i x thousa n d hors e ; but it w as impossible for m e to comput e
their n u mber consideri n g the space of grou n d they too k up
A cavalier mou n ted o n a larg e steed might b e about ni n ety
foot hi g h I have see n this whole body of hors e upon a word
of com ma n d d raw thei r sw o r ds at o n c e and b ra n dish them
i n the air I magi n atio n c a n figure n othing so gra n d so sur
p r isi n g a n d so asto n ishi n g ! It look e d as if t en thousa n d
flashes of li g ht n i n g we re darti n g at the sam e time from every
quarter of the sky
I w a s curious to know h o w this princ e to whose domi n io n s
there is n o access from a ny other country came to thi n k o f
armies or to t e ach his people the practic e of milita ry dis
But I was soo n i n formed both by conversatio n
c i p li n e
a n d readi n g their histories ; for i n the course of many ages
they have be en troubled with the same disease to which
ma n y other gove rnme n ts are subject ; th e nobility ofte n c o n
te n di n g for powe r the people for libe rty a n d the ki n g fo r
absolute domi n io n All which howe ve r happily tempered
by the law s of that ki n g dom have b e e n som e times violated
by each of th e three parties a n d have onc e or more oc c a
s i o n ed civil w ars ; the last whereof was happily put a n en d
1
to by this pri n ce s gra n dfather by a gen e ral composition ;
a n d the militia
the n settled with commo n con se n t h ath
bee n ever si n ce kept in the strictest duty
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Ag ree
en t
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fo r
i
c es sa t on o
f fig h t i ng
.
G ULL I VER S TRAVELS
’
1 34
not directly over the middle of the hammock I ordered t h e
joi n er to cut out a hole of a foot square to give me air i n h o t
weather as I slept ; wh i é h hole I shut at pleasure with a board
th at drew backw a r d a n d forward through a groove
Wh en we came to our jo umey s en d the king though t
proper to pass a few days at a palace he hath n ear F l a n fl a sn i c
a city withi n eighteen E n g l i sh mi l es of the seaside G lum
da l c li t c h a n d I w ere much fatigued : I had g otten a smal l
cold but the poor girl w a s so ill as to be confined to h er
chamber I lon ged to see the ocean which must be the on l y
sce n e of my escape if ever it should happen I pretended t o
be worse than I really was a n d desired leave t o take t he
fresh air o f the sea w ith a page whom I w a s very fond of
I shall n eve r
a n d wh o had sometimes bee n trusted with me
forget w ith w hat u n willi n gn ess G lumdalclitch con se n ted n o r
the strict charge she gave the page to be careful of me burst
e i n to a flood of tears as if she had som e
i n g at the same ti m
foreboding of w hat w a s to happe n The boy took me o ut
i n my b o x about half an hour s walk from the palace tow ard
the rocks o n the se a shore I ordered him to set me down a n d
liftin g up o n e o f my sashes cast ma n y a wistful mela n choly
look tow ard the sea I fou n d myself not very well a n d told
the page that I had a mi n d to take a n a p i n my hammock
I got i n and the boy
w hich I hoped would do me good
shut the wi n dow close down to keep out the cold I soon
fell asleep a n d all I can conjecture is that while I slept the
page thi n king n o da n ger could hap pen we n t amon g the
rocks to look for birds eggs having before observed him
from my wi n dow searching about and picki n g up one or
t wo i n the clefts
Be that as it will I fou n d myself sudde n ly
aw aked with a viole n t pull upon the ri n g which w as fastened
at the top of my b o x for the co n venie n cy of carriage I felt
my b o x raised very h i gh i n the air a n d then borne forward
with prodigious speed The first jolt had like to have shaken
me o ut o f my ha mmock but afterward the motio n was easy
enough I called out several times as loud as I could raise
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VO YAGE TO BRO BD INGNAG
1 35
my voice but all to no purpose I looked toward my wi n
dow s a n d could s ee n othi n g but the clo uds a n d sky I heard
a n oise j ust over my head
like the clappi n g of wings a n d
t hen began to p erceive the w oeful conditio n I w a s in ; that
s ome eagle had got the ri n g o f my b o x in his beak w ith a n
i n tent to let it fall o n a rock like a tortoise i n a shell a n d then
pick out my body and devour it : fo r the sagacity and smell
o f this bird e n able him t o discover his quarry at a great dis
t a n ce though better co n cealed tha n I could be withi n a t wo
i n ch board
In a little time I observed the n oise a n d flutter of wi n g s t o
i n crease ve r y fast a n d my box wa s tossed up a n d down like
a sign in a windy day I heard several ba n gs or buff ets as I
thought given to the eagle ( fo r such I am certai n it must
h ave bee n that held the ri n g of my b o x i n his beak ) a n d
the n all on a sudden felt myself falling perpe n dicularly
down for above a mi n ute but with such i n credible swift n ess
tha t I almost lost my breath My fall was stopped by a
terrible squash that sou n ded louder to my ears than the
cataract of N iag ara ; after which I wa s quite i n the d ark for
another mi n ute a n d the n my bo x bega n to rise so high that
I could see light from the tops o f my wi n dows I n o w per
My b o x by the weight
c ei ved that I was fallen i nto the sea
o f my body the goods that w ere in it a n d the broad plates
o f iron fixed for stre n gth at the four co m
ers of the top an d
bottom floated above five foot deep in w ater I did the n
and do now suppose that the eagle which flew aw ay with
my box wa s pursued by two or three others a n d forced to
let me drop while he wa s defe n di n g himself agai n st the rest
w h o hoped to share i n the prey The plates of iro n faste n ed
at the bottom of the b o x ( fo r thos e were the stron gest ) pre
s erved the balan ce while i t fell and hindered it from bei ng
broke n o n the surface of the water E ve r y joi n t of it w a s
well g rooved ; a n d the door did n o t move o n hi n ges but up
a n d down like a sash which kept my closet so tight that very
little w ater came i n I g o t w ith much di fficulty out of my
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G ULL I VE R S TRA VELS
1 36
’
hammock havi n g first venture d to draw back the sl i p bo a rd
o n the roof alr e ady m e ntion e d contriv e d on purpose to l et
i n air for w a n t of which I fou n d myself almost stifled
How often did I the n wish myself with my dear Gl um
da l
clitch from whom o n e si n gle hour had so far divided me !
An d I may say with truth that i n the midst of my o wn mis
fortunes I could n o t forbea r lame n ti n g y poor n urse t h e
griefs she would suff er for my loss the displeasure of t h e
q ueen a n d the rui n of her fortune Perhaps ma n y travelers
hav e n o t been under greater di fficulties a n d distress tha n I
was at this j u n cture expecting every mom e n t to see my box
d ashed in pieces or at least overset by the first viole n t
blast or a risi n g wave A breach in o ne single pane of g las s
would have bee n immediate death : nor could a n ythi n g h ave
preserved the w i n dows but the stro n g lattice wires placed
o n the outside
agai n st acciden ts i n traveling I saw th e
water ooz e i n at several cra n nies although the leaks w ere n o t
considerable a n d I e n deavored to stop them as well as I
could I wa s n o t able to lift up th e roof o f my closet which
otherwise I certai n ly should have don e a n d sat o n the t o p
o f it ; w here I might at least preserv e myself some hours
longer than by bei n g shut up ( as I may call it ) i n the hold
O r if I escaped these da n gers fo r a day or two what could
I expect but a miserable death of cold and hu n ger ? I w a s
four hours un d e r t hes e circumstances expecti n g and indeed
wishi n g every momen t to be my last
I have already told t h e reader that there were t wo strong
staples fixed upon that side of my b o x which h ad no wi n dow
a n d into which the servant who used to carry me o n horse
b ack would put a leathe r n belt and buckle it about his w aist
Being i n this disconsolate state I heard or at least thought
I heard some ki n d of grati n g noise on that side of my b o x
where the staples were fixed ; a n d soon after I bega n to fancy
that the box was pulled or towed alon g i n the sea ; for I no w
and then felt a sort of tuggin g which made th e wa ves rise
near the tops of my windows le avi n g me almost in the dark
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GULL I VER S TRA VEL S
i n to the ri n g a n d take the box out of the sea into the shi p
S ome of them upon hea r
a n d so i n to the captai n s cabi n
i n g me talk so wildly thou g ht I w a s mad ; others laughed ;
for indeed it never cam e i n to my head that I wa s no w g o t
amon g people of my own stature a n d stre n gth The ca r
w
came
in
a
f
e
w
mi
n
utes
sa
ed
a
passage
abou
n
d
t
a
e
n
t
e
r
p
four foot square the n let down a small ladder upon whic h
I mou n ted a n d from thence was taken into the ship i n a very
weak condition
The sailo r s were all i n amazeme n t a n d asked me a thou
sa n d questions which I had no inclination to answer I was
equally con fou n ded at the si g ht of so ma n y pigmies for such
I took them to be after havi n g so lon g accustomed mi n e
eyes to the monstrous objects I had left But the captain
Mr Thomas W i l co c k s an honest worthy Shro p s h i rema n
observi n g I wa s ready to fai n t t ook me into his cabin gave
1
me a cordial to comfort me and made me tu r n in upo n h i s
e to take a little rest
advising m
of which I h ad
o wn bed
great need Before I went to sleep I gave him to u n der
stan d that I had some valuable fu rn iture i n my box t oo
—
—
good to be lost ; a fin e hammock a handsome field bed t wo
—
—
chairs a table a n d a cabi n et That my closet was hu n g
on all sides or rather quilted with silk a n d cotton ; th at if
he would let one of the crew bring my closet i n to his cabi n
I would open it there before him a n d sho w him my goods
The captain hearing me utter these absurdities concluded
I wa s r a vi n g ; however ( I suppose to pacify me ) he promised
to give order as I desired a n d goi n g upon deck sent some of
his men down into my closet from whe n ce ( as I afterward
found ) they dre w up all my goods and stripped off the
quilting ; but the chairs cabi n et a n d bedstead being screwed
to the floor were much damaged by the ign ora n ce of the sea
men wh o to r e them up by force The n they knocked o ff
some of the boards for the use of the ship a n d whe n they
1 38
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Medi ci ne
a nd a ro
mt
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a 1c
foo d, o r dri n k t h at
a l co h oh c h q uo r
.
st
i
mul
a t es t
h e h ea r t ;
es p eci a lly a sweet
1 39
VOYAGE To BROBDINGNAG
h ad g o t a ll they had a mind for let the hull drop into the sea
which by reason of ma n y breaches made i n the bottom a n d
1
s ides su n k to rights
An d i n deed I was g lad not to have
bee n a spectator o f the havoc they made because I am con
fi den t it would have sensibly touched me by bringi n g form e r
passa g es i n to my mi n d which I had r a ther forge t
I slept some hours but perpetually disturbed with dreams
o f the place I had left and the d angers I had escaped
Ho w
ever upon waking I found myself much recovered It w as
n o w about e i ght o clock at night
and the captai n ordered
supper immediately thi n ki n g I had already fasted too long
He e n tertain e d me with great ki n d n ess observi n g me not to
look wildly or talk inconsistently ; a n d whe n we were left
a l one desired I w ould g ive him a relatio n of my travels a n d
by what accident I came to be set adrift i n that mon strous
woode n chest
He said that about twelve o clock at n oon as
he w a s looki n g through his glass he spied it at a distan ce
2
a n d thought it w a s a sail w hich he had a mind to make
bei n g n o t much out of his course i n hopes of buyi n g some
biscuit his o wn begi n nin g to fall short That upon comi n g
nearer a n d fin di n g his error he se n t out his lon g boat t o dis
cover what i t was ; that his men came back i n a fright
swearing that they had seen a swimming house That he
laughed at thei r folly a n d went himself i n the boat orderi n g
his men to take a stro n g cable alon g with them That the
weather bei n g calm he rowed rou n d me several times
observed my window s an d the wire lattices that defended
them That he discovered t wo st a ples upo n o n e side which
was all o f boards without an y passage for light He then
commanded his men to r o w up to that side a n d faste n i ng
a cable to o n e of the staples ordered them to t o w my chest
as they called it tow a rd the ship Whe n it was there he
gave directio n s to faste n a n other cable to the ri n g fix ed in
the cover a n d to raise up my chest w ith pulleys which all the
sailors were n o t able to do above t wo o r th r ee foot He said
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mmdi
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Co
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e cl ose t o.
G UL LI VE R S TR AVELS
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1 40
my stick a n d ha n dkerchief thrust o ut o f the h ol e
a n d concluded that some unhappy man must be shut up
in the cavity I asked wh e ther he or th e crew had seen a n y
prodigious birds i n the ai r about the time he first discove re d
me ? To which he a nswered that discoursi ng this matt e r
with the s ailors while I was asleep one of them said h e h a d
observed three eagles flying toward the n orth but re m a rke d
I
n othing of their being larger than th e usual size ; which
suppose must b e imputed to the great height they were at ;
a n d he could n o t guess the reason of my question
I th e n
asked the captain how far b e reckoned we might b e fro m
land ? He said by the best computation he could mak e we
were at least an hu n dred leagues
I assured him th at h e
must be m
istaken by almost half for I had not left t h e
count ry from whe n ce I came abo ve two hours b efo re I dro pped
into the sea Wh ereupon he bega n again t o thi n k that my
brai n was dist urbed of which he gave me a hi n t a n d a dvised
m e to go to bed in a cabin he had provided I assured h i m
I wa s wel l refreshed with his good entert ainm e nt and com
pany and as much in my senses as eve r I was i n m
lif
e
H
e
y
then grew serious and d e sired to ask m e freely wh e ther I
were not troubled i n mi n d by t he consciousn e s s of s om e
enormous crime for which I wa s punished at the comman d
of some pri n ce by exposing me in that chest ; as great crim
i n a l s in other cou n tries have been forced to sea i n a leaky
vessel without provisions ; fo r although he sho uld be sorry
to have take n so ill a man into his ship yet he would engag e
his word to set me safe on shore at the first po rt where we
arrive d H e added that his s uspicio ns were much incre a sed
by some ve ry absurd speeches I had delive red at first to the
sailors and aft e rward to himself i n rel ation to my clo set
or chest as we l l as by my odd looks a n d behavior while I
wa s at sup p er
e tell my sto r y
I begged his patience to hear m
which I
faithfully did from the last time I l e ft E ngland to the mo
ment he first discovered me An d as truth always fo rcet h
they
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G ULL I VER S TRAVEL S
’
1 42
I had given him a n d said he hoped when we retu rn e d t o
E n gla n d I would oblige the world by putti n g it o n pap e r
and maki n g it public My answer wa s that I thought w e
were already overstocked with books of travels ; that nothi n g
could now pass which was not extraordi n ary ; wherei n I
doubted some authors less con sulted truth than their o wn
va n ity or i n tere s t or the diversion of i g norant readers ;
that my sto ry could contain little beside common e vent s
without those ornamental description s
of strange plant s
trees birds a n d other animals ; or of the barbarous custom s
and idolat ry of savage p e ople with which most writers
However I thanked him for his good opinion a n d
a bound
promised to take the matter into my thoughts
He said he won dered at o n e thing very much which was
to hear me speak so loud ; asking me whether the ki n g o r
quee n of that coun try were thick of heari n g ? I told him i t
was what I had been used to for above two years past a n d
1
that I admired as much at th e voices of him an d his men
who seemed to me only to whisp e r an d yet I could hea r
them well enough But when I spoke in that country i t
was lik e a man talki n g i n the street to anoth e r looki n g o ut
from th e top of a steeple unless whe n I was placed on a table
or held i n any person s hand I told him I had likewise o h
served a n other thi n g that when I first got i n to th e ship a n d
th e sailors stood all about me I thought they were the most
con te mptibl e little cre atures I h ad ever beheld For i n deed
while I wa s in that prince s cou n t ry I could nev e r endure to
look i n a glass after mi n e eyes had been accustomed to such
e so des
prodigious objects because the comparison gave m
a
co
ceit
of
my
self
The
captain
said
tha
t
while
i
e
n
c
a
bl
p
we were at supp er he observed me to look at eve r ythi n g with
a sort of won der and that I often seemed hardly able to con
tai n my laughter which he kn ew not well h o w to take but
imputed it to s ome disorder i n my brai n I a n swered it
wa s very true : a n d I wo n dered h o w I could forbear whe n I
,
,
.
,
,
,
”
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
’
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
’
,
.
,
,
,
.
1
Wondered
.
,
G
GNAG
A V0YA E TO B RO B DIN
1 43
hi s
dishes of the siz e of a silver threepenc e a leg of pork
h ardly a mouthful a cup not so big as a nutshell ; a n d so I
w e n t o n describing the rest of his household stuff and pro
visio n s after the same ma nn er For although the quee n
h ad ordered a little e q uipage of all thi ngs necessa ry for me
w hile I w a s i n her service yet my ideals were wholly tak e n
u p with what I sa w on eve ry side of me and I winked at my
o wn littleness as people do at their o wn faults
The captain
un derstood my raillery pretty well and merrily replied with
t he old E nglish proverb that he doubted min e eyes were
bigger than my belly for he did not observe my stomach
so good although I had fasted all day ; a n d co n ti n ui ng in
his mirth protested he would have gladly give n an hundred
pounds to have seen my closet i n the eagle s bill and after
ward in its fall from so great a height i n to the sea ; which woul d
certainly have b e en a most astonishi n g obj ect worthy to hav e
t h e descriptio n of it transmitted t o future ages ; and the com
p a rison of Ph a ét o n was so O bvious that he could n o t for
bear applying i r although I did not much admire the con
ce 1t
The captain having been at Tonquin was in his return
to E ngland driven northeastward to the latitud e of 44
degrees a n d lon gitude of 1 43 But m e eti n g a trade wi n d
t wo days after I came on bo a rd him we sailed south w ard a
lo ng time a n d coasting New Holland kept our cours e west
south west and then south south west till we double d th e
C ape of G ood Hope O ur voyag e wa s very prosperous but
I shall not trouble the reader with a jou rn al of it The
captai n called in at o n e or t wo ports and sent i n his lo n g
boat fo r provision s and fresh water ; but I never wen t out of
the ship till we came i n to the D own s which wa s on the third
day of Ju n e 1 706 about nine months after my escape I
off ered to leave my goods i n security for payme n t of my
freight ; but th e captai n protested he would n o t receive
We took ki n d leave of each other a n d I made
o n e farthi n g
h i mpromise he would come to se e m e at my hous e in Redriff
sa w
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
,
"
,
.
”
,
,
,
,
,
.
-
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
G ULLI VER S TRA VELS
’
I hire d a horse and guide for five shillings which I b orro wed
of the captain
As I was On the road observi n g the littl e ness of the hous es
th e tre es the cattle a n d the people I b e gan to thi n k myself
in L illiput I wa s afraid of tramp li n g on e very traveler I met
and often called aloud to have them stand out of the way so
t hat I had like to have gotten one or two brok e n h e ads fo r
my impe rtinence
When I came to my own house fo r which I wa s forced t o
inquire one of the servants openi n g th e door I be nt down t o
go i n ( like a goose und e r a gate ) fo r fear of striking my h e ad
My wife ran out to embrace me but I stoop e d lowe r tha n h er
kn ee s thinking sh e could otherwi se n e v e r be able t o r e ac h
my mouth My daughter kneeled to ask my blessing b ut
I could not se e her till sh e a r ose having b ee n so lon g us e d t o
stand with my head and eyes ere ct to abo ve sixty foo t ; and
then I wen t to tak e h e r up with one ha n d by t h e waist I
looked down upon th e se r va n ts a n d one or two friends who
we re in the house as if they had b ee n pigmies and I a gia n t
I told my wife she had bee n t oo thrifty for I fou n d she h ad
sta rved he rself and h e r daughter to n othing I n short I
behaved myself so un acco un t a b ly t h at they were all of the
captain s opi n ion wh e n he first saw m e an d conclud e d I had
n
lost m
wits
This
I
me
tio
as
an
instanc
of
the
great
n
e
y
po we r of h a bit and prej udice
I n a little time I and my family and fr i e nds cam e to a right
und e rsta n ding ; but my wife protest e d I should n ever go to
sea any more ; although my evil destiny so ordered tha t she
had not power to hind e r me as th e re ad e r may know here
after In the mea n time I h e re conclud e t he s e cond part o f
my un fortu n ate voyage s
1
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
’
,
.
.
,
.
.
1
About
,
1 46
8
S UGGE S TIONS FOR
.
t he
Ho w i s Swi ft
ti me i n
’
mu i
co n n ec ed
wi t h
mv m t
t
l im
m
p
t h e g r ea
l i ter a tur e, po l i t i cs ,
s c , a rt ,
r el i g i o us a g i t a
t
l i fe
s
S TUDY
so c i a
t
en s o f
e
o
ro v e
en
,
and
tio n ?
r
t
i
t
l
e
d
T
h
e
E
li
s
h
H
u
m
o
i
s
t
s
o
t
h
e
n
9
g
f
E i g hteenth Centur y W M T h a c k er a y t r ea ts fi r st o f Swi ft a n d t h en
o f Co n g r ev e a n d Addi so n St eele P r i o r G a y a n d P o p e Ho g a r th
i th
o l lett
a n d F i el di n g
W h i c h o f th ese
Sm
Ster n e a nd Go l dsm
a ut h o rs wro t e th ei r c h i ef wo r k s duri ng t h e p er i o d f r o m 1 7 00
to
1 72 7 ?
W h a t wo r k s o f a ny o f th ese wr i ter s h ave y o u
In h i s
.
l ec tur es
ser i es O f
.
,
en
.
,
d?
Co
10
.
mm t
en
“As t o h a v i n
g
i t wi ll
.
t
en u
m
i n Gulli ver
er
1 727
m
Tr a vels , y o u wi l l co n s i der h o w uc h
b oo k
T h e wo r ld g l utted i t sel f wi t h
’
t h e p r i ce o f t h e
r a i se
m
fo llo wi ng sub j ect s fo r i llust r a ti o n
l etter t o h i s p ub li sh er , D ece b er 2 8 ,
a
cu s
,
,
on t h e
b y Swi ft i n
a t ed
,
,
,
r ea
,
,
,
s
.
i t wi ll go Off b ut so b er l y ; b ut I sup p o se
wi ll no t b e soo n wo r n o ut Th e p a r t o f t h e l i t tle en will b ea r c ut s
uch b etter th a n th a t o f t h e g rea t
I h ave no t t h e b oo k b y e,
b ut wi l l s p ea k b y
e
o ry
Gull i v er i n h i s c a rr i a g e t o t h e et r o p
th at b oo k
at
fi r s t,
mm
o l i s,
t he
m
.
m
up
a n d no w
t he
l a di es i n
th ei r
o ut o f
his
c a r r i ag e
fleet,
t he
tr oo p
.
m
.
co a c h es
dr i v i n g
a
b o ut h i s
up o n h i s h a n dk er c h i ef,
i
r
n
p
t
.
“I t i s di ffi cult
do
to
a ny
es so
n
ve a
re,
n
a rc
es
e
e
so
e
o
e
es
m
t h i ng
mk
di m
i uti
figu
d m Am g
m ut I b
a
r i s i ng
my m h i g b
mt he fi t t t t b
my h mti m p ut
t he a r
h i s l eg s , h i s h a t dr awn b y ei g h t h o r ses, see
r ep r esen ted, a n d p er h a p s t wo a dven tures
a
o ne
,
hi s
wh en h e i s fa sten ed t o h i s h o r se, h i s dr a wi ng
tween
in
ta b le
m
i n t h e g r ea t
en , b ec a use Gul li ver
a n d h e i s b ut o n e i n t h e wh o l e k i n g
t i n Lo n do n h e i s sh o wn ta ken o ut
o f t h e b o wl o f crea m
; b ut t h e h a n d th a t h o l ds h i mh i des t h e wh o l e
b o dy He wo ul d a pp ea r b est wedg ed i n t h e m
a r ro w b o n e up t o t h e
mi ddle o r in t h e mon key s a r ms upo n t he roo f o r left upo n t h e
r i dg e a n d t h e foo tm
a n o n t h e l a dder g o i ng t o r eli ev e h i mo r fi g h t i n g
wi t h t h e r a ts o n t h e f a r m
er s b ed o r i n t h e sp a n i el s m
o uth wh i c h
b ei ng desc r i b ed a s a sm
i g h t loo k a s l a r g e a s a duck i n
a ll do g h e m
o n e o f o ur s
One o f t h e b est wo uld b e I t h i n k t o see hi s c h est j ust
fa lli ng i n to t h e sea wh il e t h ree ea g l es a r e q ua r r el i ng wi th o ne a n
o th er : o r t h e m
o n k ey h a ul i n g h i m
o ut o f h i s b ox
o
on
.
so
e c
s
o ug h
,
-
,
.
’
,
,
,
,
’
’
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
”
.
SUGGES TIONS
.
.
2
.
1 47
A VOYAGE TO LILL IPUT
PART I
1
S TUDY
FOR
Sc hoo l i n Lill i p ut
’
Swi ft s tr i c k s t o g i ve
.
an
ai r
o f r ea li
ty
his
to
ex
tr ao rdi n a ry
vo y a g e
.
i
t
i
a
r
i
n
w
h
h
d
ea
h
a
u
u
l
l
t
t
t
e
t
t
S
o
s
h
o
d
s
u
d
d
e
n
h
e
l
a
y
3
g
y
p ced i n
s c h oo l r oo
wh er e yo u wer e twen ty ti es l a r g er t h a n t h e l a r g es t
.
a
m
a
u
il
e
t
h
e
i
c
t
u
re
t
h
t
i
v
,
g
p p
p
i t s o c c up a nt s
co
m
m
’
es
t o y o ur
mi d
n
of
t h e roo
m
an d
.
D r aw
4
o f B l efusc u
.
Co
mp
5
dwa rf wi th
.
a
i
c
r
e
t
u
p
of
t h e scene
.
m
wh er e Gull i v er
m
T hu b
Gen er al To
i nh a b i ta n t o f L i lli p ut
are
an
or
so
cap
m th
e o
tures
er
t he
fleet
well k no wn
.
ti re o n wa r r eli g io us differ en ces t h e p r ide o f ma n
k i nd a nd t h e g r a ti tude o f p r i nc es
en t a l p ro p o s i t i o n o f t h e l a n di ng o f a
e fun da m
7 Gi ven t h e sa m
i n i a tur e Co p i es
c a s t a wa y o n a n i sl a n d wh er e t h e i n h a b i t a nt s wer e m
o f no r m
al m
a g i n e th a t
en a n d wo m
en wh a t ex p er i en c es c a n y o u i m
a g ro wn m
i g h t h ave ?
a n wh o i s a f r i en d o f yo ur s m
6
Swift
.
’
s sa
,
,
.
,
.
,
PART II
1
.
t he
th a t mo st r ea der s enj oy Gull i v er s ex p eri en ces wi th
o re t h a n h i s ex p er i en c es wi th t h e B r o b di n g n a g
L il l i p uti a n s m
W hy
i ans ?
2
in
A VOYAGE TO B ROB DINGNAG
.
.
Wh a t
’
is it
m th m t p
see
e
s
B ro b di ng n ag ?
I
i
n
e
o
u
r
a
m
y
3
g
.
s el
os
f in
a
t
i n c i dent
rep o s er o us
l a n d wh er e
a ll
the
of
Gulli ver
i n h a b i ta nt s
’
t
s s ay
a re a t
twen ty ti mes l a rg er th a n yo ur self W h a t si g h ts wo ul d yo u
s ee i n th a t l a n d a n d wh a t fo r t un a te a n d un fo rt un a te th i n g s wo ul d
l ea st
.
,
h a p p en
t o yo u?
t
l
t
i
h
f
r
a
i
es
W
a
4
.
P a rt
II ?
h
a
t
W
5
.
c
t
u
r
e
i
p
wea kn es ses
or
mi
re
a ns
h a v e fin i sh ed th i s p a rt ?
mt
os
of
m
v i vidl y
i d
s a t i r i zed
a nk n
are
i n yo ur
mi nd ft
a
er
in
o
u
y
NOT E S AND COMME NT S
mb
(T h e
nu
er s
i n h ea v y
ty p e
p ages)
r efer t o t h e
m
a ny
I n t h e seventeenth a n d ei g h teenth centur i es
1 3 L eyden
i
n
n
v
e
h
e
E
n
l
n
s
u
d
e
d
i
c
i
e
a
t
rs
t
t
t
w
n
r
a
d
t
o
U
i
s
o
n
s
e
f
o
t
er
y
y
g
p
.
.
Leyden
of
m
m
i n Hol l a n d
.
T h e E a ster n po rt i o n o f t h e M edi terr a nea n Sea a n d
“
i str ess wh i c h wa s a p p li ed
Mrs An a bb rev i a ti o n o f
14 L evan t
.
.
t
it s
co a s s
to
un
m
.
.
a r r i ed a s
wel l
m
m
a rr i ed
as
l a di es i n
t
t h e ei g h een
th
cen
tury
.
t t i n Lo ndo n so ca lled b eca use b efo re t h e per se
Fetter La n e
c ut i o n o f t h e J
ews i n 1 2 9 1 a sy n a go g ue s too d th er e
A n a r ro w str eet i n Lo n do n l ea di ng fro mFleet St r eet t o Ho lb o r n
W apping A secti o n o f Lo ndo n ly i ng a lo ng t he no rt h b a nk o f t h e
Ol d J
ewr y
A
.
s r ee
,
.
.
,
.
.
r i ver
by
Th a
m
es
B a lb o a
i t s di s co v er er
,
So uth P a c i fic
15
.
24
t wo
.
Ch a i rs
m
en
by
t
c h a r a c er i s
er s
25
en s
.
and
used t o deno te
is
o f en
Tas
m
ani a
P ac i fi c Oc ea n
to t he
m
s
t he
.
th i c k
th a t
un der- l i p
ti c o f t h e Austr i a n
’
erel y
.
a nd
ro y a l
wa s fo r lo ng
fa
mi ly
of
a
di st i ng ui s h i ng
Ha p sb ur g
mth
e
o d h ere o f
B rew
See
.
Fa bl e
.
th er efor e c annot b e decei ved i n th e des cr i pti on
th o r
t h e au
t
It
.
e
m
Di cti ona r y of P hr a s e
.
i
n
e
v
g
na
Seda n c h a i r s, po rt a b l e co ver ed veh i cles b o r n e b y
ea n s o f p o les , a n d ser v i ng t h e p ur p o se o f c a b s
Aus
.
T he
.
Lan d
’
m
Th e
.
.
Van Di en
tri a n li p
’
South Sea
.
mki
a
ng
his
t t
mt
en s
s a e
.
Ob ser ve
l
a
u
s i b le
p
T he
.
tr a veler h el d t h e p r i n c e o ften i n h i s h a nd a nd co n seq uent ly wa s i n
a po s i ti o n t o b e a b le t o des c r i b e h i ma cc ura tel y
W h en yo u p a use
t o th i n k a b o ut i t yo u see t h a t h i s h a n d i s o f i t sel f p a r t a n d p a r c el
ag m
a
o f t he Im
a t i v e sto r y
r
t
h
i
i
t
D
t
d
e
Co m
s
w
e
f
o
m
e
h
o
o
f
h
e
s
p
ma k i ng t h e sto ry o f Robi nson Cr us oe p lausi b le Low Dutch T h at
w
i
d
u
l
a
s
h
i
c
h
n
c
u
e
s
e
D
t
t
r
u
o
f
a
n
u
l
c
h
r
n
h
c
c
e
t
o
G
m
a
o
i
e
G
g
g
p
g
i x t ur e o f I t a l i a n F ren c h Greek a nd Sp a n i s h
Lingua Fr ance A m
.
,
’
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
1 48
,
,
,
,
.
,
NOTE S
1 50
b r ea ki ng
of
do ub t
eg g s no
E st a b l i sh ed C h ur c h
t he
ea llusi o n
th
Ro
a nd t h e
is
mi h
s
to t he
Ch ur c h
h a p p en ed t o t h e b r ea d a n d wi ne used i n t h e
c
h a r i st
47
my w
.
en e
.
t h e p ro no un they
t he
P refer a b ly
as .
in
t h e n ex
t
m
it
a s s,
49 h a d lik e to h ave
.
mpl
sho ul d
a s to
j ust
en
of t he
mt
s h o ul d
i n di v i dua l s ,
ta k e
en ded i n
a
my
my utt
er
As
.
no t a s a co
verb
l
r
a
l
u
p
wh a t
b e wer e h ere,
c l a use r efer s t o en e
t h us co n cei ved o f a s a g ro up o f
i ndivi dua li zed
verb
s a cr a
di sp ute b etween
mp
Eu
i
s nc e
my i
ene
t
ac
,
s
no n
.
des tr ucti on
A fine
.
ex
ti ve susp ense T h e rea der h urr i es o n ex p ectantl y
i sfo r tune b ut h Op i ng th a t t h e h ero m
ay
loo k i n g fo r t h e th r ea tened m
a
e o f n a r ra
.
,
,
a vo i d i t
.
wi th th e parti cular s T h er e i s a goo d
ag i
o p po rt un i ty i n such p a ss a g es a s th i s fo r t h e r ea der t o tes t h i s i
“
na t io n
L et h i
a s k hi
sel f suc h a q uest io n a s t h i s ,
W h a t p roo fs
o f h i s p r o di g i ous s tr eng t h di d Gull i v er g i v e t o t h e B l efuscudi a n
50
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B l ack B ull
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f a c t ur i ng di st r i c t o f L o n do n
My son J
N o te h o w
oh nny
upon th e pari sh
Ob j ect s o f c h a r i ty
t h e sp ec i fi c deta il s l i k e thi s f a il i ar referen ce t o o n e o f t h e c h i l
7 4 Redrifl
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Stra i ts of Madag ascar
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A c i t y i n I n di a
Mozam
b i q ue C h a nnel sep a ra ti ng t h e i sl an d o f M a da g a sc a r fro m t h e
Afr i c a n co ast
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NOTE S
78
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tell i n wh a t par t
of
th e
1 51
W h a t wo uld
worl d we were
.
b e Swi ft s o b j ec t i n t a ki ng t h e s h i p i n to r eg i o ns wh i c h t h e rea der
ap ?
Gr ea t Tar tary T h e di str i ct lyi ng
co ul d n o t i den t i fy o n a
a p a n a n d t h e D ni ep er
b etween t h e Sea o f J
Cont r ast t h e h andker
8 1 at full l eng th upon th e h andk er ch i ef
’
c h i ef i nci den t h ere wi th Gulli ver s use o f h i s h andk erchi ef wh en h e
wa s i n L illi p ut
88 to th e b enefi t of pub li c as well as pr i vate li f e Wh at refo r a
t i o n s were i n t en ded t o b e b ro ug h t ab o ut b y t h e b oo k ? I n a l etter
“
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o n th s war n i ng h e
Sy p so n i n 1 7 2 7, Swi ft s a y s th a t after si x
c a nno t fi n d th a t h i s b oo k h a s p ro duced a s i ng l e efl ec t a ccor di n g t o
h i s i n ten ti o n s : th e g a i n i ng o f h o n esty a nd o desty , wi t h so e co m
o n sen se, b y l awyer s ; t h e ch a ng i n g o f t h e educa ti o n o f yo un g no
b i l i t y ; t h e b a n i shi ng o f p h ysi c i a n s ; t h e weedi ng o ut an d cl ea ns i ng
i n i ster s ; t h e r eq ui r i ng o f all di s
o f t h e co urt s a n d l evees o f g r ea t
i
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Ab out twen ty-o ne i l es
89 London to St Al b an s
Sa ti r e o n i n sula r i ty , o r p r i de o f p eo p le
92 P ri de of th e Uni verse
’
i n th ei r own i porta n c e Sanson s Atlas A ver y la r g e a t l a s, a de
’
o n use i n Swi ft s ti
b y a F ren ch g eog r ap h er I t wa s i n co
e
98 as g ood a h and of e P o ssi b ly a n a l lusi o n t o a h a n d a t c a r ds ,
a k e as
uch o ney a s po ssi b l e o ut o f h i m
i n th i s c a se ean in g t o
Iro ny T h e
97 unspeak ab l e a dvance ent of h u an knowl edg e
tho r ean s t h e o ppo si te o f wh a t h e says
au
T h i s p hr aseology i s r ep ea ted so o ften th at i t
a de a sh i ft
98
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102 Duns tab l e lark
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these b i r ds were caug h t at Dun sta b l e i n
mC ll
103 Gr esh a
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fo unded b y Sir
m
Th e ea rly edi t io n s co nt a i ned ap s of
L i ll i p ut , B l efuscu, a n d B ro b di ng n ag , t o l end cr edi bi li ty t o t h e fict i
tious a dv entur es o f Gull i v er
Sal i s b ur y s teepl e Th e s t eep le o f t h e c a t h edr a l a t Sal i sb ury
104 th r ee
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oth er
s i des .
.
.
NOTE S
2
5
I
in
W i l t sh i r e E n g l a nd i s
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a
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120 D e
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1 02
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Ci c ero b ei ng eq ua ll y fa o us i n Ro e
’
121 b ri ef hi s tori cal accoun t W o ul d a s h i p s s ur g eo n b e a b l e t o
t al k a s cleverl y as L e uel Gull iver do es i n h i s di sco urse to t h e Ki n g
of
Grec i a n
o r a o r s,
.
m
B ro b di ng nag ?
.
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Swift et t h i s p r o b a b l e cr i ti c i s o f h i s b oo k b y
s a y i n g , i n t h e letter a l r ea dy r efer r ed t o a s h a v i ng b een sen t b y Gul
’
l i v er t o Sy p so n , th a t t h e wo r ds o f t h e sh i p s surg eo n h a d b een
r ev i sed b y so
eo n e b efo r e b ei ng p l a ced i n t h e h a n ds o f t h e p r i n t er
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1 28 Di onys i us Hali carnass ens i s
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E CLE C TI C E NGLI SH CL ASSI CS
L a s of Ancient Rom e and oth e r Poems (Atkinson )
L i fi of Johnson ( L uca s)
S p ee ches on Copyright and L in coln s Addre ss at
.
’
Coop e r Un ion ( P ittenger)
’
’
Milton s L Alleg ro , I l Penseroso , Comus,
Lycidas
( Buck)
P aradis e Lost Book s I and I I ( S t e phen s)
Old Testament N arrative s ( B aldwi n )
Poe s Se lect e d Poems and Tale s ( S tott )
Po e s Hom e r s Iliad Books I V I ! ! II and ! ! I V
ap e of th e L ock and E ssay on Man (Va n Dyke )
Scott s Abbot D oubl e number
Ivanho e ( S chre iber) D ouble number
L ady of the L ak e ( Bacon )
Ma rmion ( Cobl e ntz )
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number
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Woodstock D ouble numb e r
S hake s ea re s As Yo u L ik e It (N ort h )
Ham et ( S hower)
Hen ry V ( L aw)
l l i us C aesar ( Bak e r)
a c b et h ( L ivengood )
M e rchant of Ve nic e ( Bl a kely)
Midsumm e r N ight s D re am ( Haney)
Twelfth N ight ( Weld )
S outhey s L ife of N elson D ouble numb e r
S tevenson s Inland Voyag e and Travels with a Don
key (Armstrong)
Treasure Island ( F a i rl ey)
Swift s G ulliv e r s Travels ( G aston )
—
Tennyson s Idylls of the King Se l e ctions (Willard )
P rincess ( S h ryock)
Thack e ray s Hen ry E smon d ( Biss e ll ) D oubl e num
ber
Washi n gton s Farewell Add ress an d Webster s First
Bu n ker Hill O ration ( L ewis )
Webster s Bu n ker Hill O ratio n s ( S ee also Washing
ton s Farewell Address )
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Wordswo rth s Po e ms Se l e ctions (Venabl e)
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W EBSTE R S
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S E C O N DA RY
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HI S NE W D I C T I O N A RY i s b ased o n W eb ster s
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A
ME RI CA N
(3
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BOOK
C O M P A NY
C O MP O S I TI O N R H E T O R I C
B RO O KS Superin tend nt f
By ST RATT O N D
Bo ton Ma s a nd M A RI E T T A HUB
Sch ol
en t Hi gh Sc h ool
er ly E ngli h D epar tm
BARD f r m
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Pri c e,
en tal ai m
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me i s to enable pupils
HE fun dam
eel y, c lear l , an dfor c i bl y
fi
p
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At th e sa e ti e i t i s desi gn ed to c ul ti vate li ter ary
e kn owledge o f r hetori cal
appr eci ati on , an d to develop so
T h e wor k foll o ws c l osely th e r eq uir e en ts of th e
t heo ry
C ollege En tr anc e E x a i nati o n Boar d, and o f t h e New
York State Educati o n Depar t ent
en th e el e ents o f descri ti on , n arra
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tr eat en t o f th e four fo r s o f disc our se al ready di scussedi s
fir i sh ed i n Par t T wo I n eac h par t i s pr esenteda seri es of
th e es coveri ng th ese subjec ts, th e pur pose b ei ng to gi ve th e
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M P A NY
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whi ch h ave s all si gnificanc e, i n or der to deal ore justl y
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e b o oks ar e r eadab l e an d teac h abl e , an dfu
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but usefixl sets o f b i b li ogr aph i es an d suggesti ve q uesti ons
No pains h ave b een spar ed b y aps an dpi ctur es to furni sh
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AM E R I CA N
(S
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BOOK
C O M P A NY
DES C RI P T IVE
C AT AL OGUE OF HI GH
SC H OOL AND CO LLEGE
‘
TE! TBOO KS
t
e
e
l
Co m
p
Publ i s hed
and
i n Sect i o n s
E i ssue a C atal ogue o f Hi gh Sch oo l and Co llege
T ex tb o o ks, whi ch we h ave tr i ed to ake as val ua
In th i s
ble an d as useful to teac h ers as po ssi b le
catal ogu
e ar e set for th br i efly and c learl
t
h
c o e and
e
s
y
p
l eading c h ar ac teri sti cs of each of our b est tex tb oo ks
In
ost c ases th er e ar e also gi ven testi
o ni al s fr o
well
known teac h er s, w hi ch h ave b een selec ted q uite as
uc h
for th ei r desc ri pti ve q uali ti es as for th eir value as co
endati ons
F
or th e c onveni en c e o f tea c h er s th is C atal o gue i s also
fl
of
th e var i o us
l
i
sh ed i n
u
b
separ ate sec ti o ns tr eati n g
p
T h ese pa phl ets ar e en ti tl ed: E ng
br anc h es o f study
lish , M ath e ati c s, Hi stor y and Poli ti c al Sci en c e, Sc i enc e,
Modern For ei gn Languages, An ci en t Languages, C o
A sepa
bjec ts and Phi lo sophy an d Educ ati on
er ci al Su
r ate p a ph l et i s devo ted to th e N ew est Boo ks i n al l
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T
eac her s seekin g th e n ewest and b est b ooks fo r th ei r
fl
classes are i nvi ted to send fo r any o f th ese
r i c e l i sts , or of s eci al ci r c u
o i es o f ou
C
l
ar s, i n whi c h
r
p
p
p
fl
th ese b oo ks ar e descr i b ed at gr eater l engt h th an th e spac e
ail ed to an
li i tati ons of th e catal ogue per i t, wi ll b e
y
Addr ess all c orr espondenc e to th e
ad
dr ess o n r eq uest
n ear est ofi c e of the co pan y
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A M E R I CA N
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BOOK
CO
MP A N Y