lay on my fide, fo that my face was parallel to his, and he ftood but three yards off: however, I have had him fince many times in my hand, and therefore cannot be deceived in the defcription. His drefs was very plain and fimple, and the fafhion of it between the Afiatic and the European: but he had on his head a light helmet of gold, adorned with jewels and a plume on the crest. He held his fword drawn in his hand to defend himself, if I fhould happen to break loose t; it was almost three inches long; the hilt and scabbard were gold enriched with diamonds. His voice was fhrill, but very clear and articulate, and I could diftinctly hear it when I ftood up. The ladies and courtiers were all moft magnificently clad, so that the spot they stood upon feemed to refemble a petticoat fpread on the ground, embroidered with figures of gold and filver. His Imperial Majesty spoke often to me, and I returned anfwers; but neither of us could understand a fyllable. There were feveral of his priefts and lawyers prefent, (as I conjectured by their habits) who were commanded to addrefs themselves to me, and I spoke to them in as many languages as I had the leaft fmattering of, which were High and Low Dutch, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua Franca; but all to no purpofe. After about two hours the court retired, and I was left with a ftrong guard to prevent the impertinence, and probably the malice of the rabble, who were very impatient to croud about me as near as they durft, and fome of them had the impudence to shoot their arrows at me, as I fat on the ground by the door of my houfe, whereof one very narrowly miffed left my But the colonel ordered fix of the ring-leaders to be feized, and thought no punishment fo proper as to deliver them bound into my hands; which fome of his foldiers accordingly did, pushing eye. them + The mafeuline strength of features, which Gulliver could not fee, till he laid his face upon the ground; and the awful fuperiority of ftature in a being whom he held in his hand; the belmet, the plume, and the fword, are a fine reproof of human pride; the objects of which are trifting diftinctions, whether of perfon or rank; the ridiculous parade and oftentation of a pigmy; which derive not only their origin, but their ufe, from the folly, weakness, and imperfection of ourselves and others. Hawkef. Part I. them forwards with the but-ends of their pikes into my reach I took them all on my right hand, put five of them into my coat-pocket, and as to the fixth, I made a countenance as if I would eat him alive. The poor man fqualled terribly, and the colonel and his officers were in much pain, especially when they faw me take out my penknife: but I foon put them out of fear; for, looking mildly, and immediately cutting the ftrings he was bound with, I fet him gently on the ground, and away I treated the reft in the fame manner, taking them one by one out of my pocket; and I obferved both the foldiers and people were highly delighted at this mark of my clemency, which was represented very much to my advantage at court. he ran. TOWARDS night I got with fome difficulty into my house, where I lay on the ground, and continued to do. fo about a fortnight; during which time the Emperor gave orders to have a bed prepared for me. Six hundred beds of the common measure were brought in carriages, and worked up in my house; an hundred and fifty of their beds, fewn together, made up the breadth and length; and these were four double, which however kept me but very indifferently from the hardness of the floor, that was of fmooth ftone. By the fame computation they provided me with fheets, blankets, and coverlets, tolerable enough for one who had been fo long inured to hardships *. As the news of my arrival spread thro' the kingdom, it brought prodigious numbers of rich, idle, and curious people to fee me; fo that the villages were almoft emptied; and great neglect of tillage and houfhold-affairs muft have enfued, if his Imperial Majefty had not provided by feveral proclamations and orders of ftate against this inconveniency, * Gulliver has observed great exactnefs in the juft proportion and appearances of the feveral objects thus leffened and magnified. But he dwells too much upon thefe optical deceptions. The mind is tired with a repetition of them, especially as he points out no beauty nor use in such amazing discoveries, which might have been fo continued as to have afforded inprovement, at the fame time that they gave aftonishment. He too often hews an indelicacy that is not agreeable, and exerts his vein of humour moft improperly in fome places, where, I am afraid, he glances at religion. Orrery. conveniency. He directed, that thofe, who had already beheld me, fhould return home, and not presume to come within fifty yards of my houfe without licence from court; whereby the fecretaries of state got confiderable fees. In the mean time the Emperor held frequent councils to debate, what courfe fhould be taken with me; and I was afterwards affured by a particular friend, a person of great quality, who was as much in the fecret as any, that the court was under many difficulties concerning me. They apprehended my breaking loofe; that my diet would be very expenfive, and might cause a famine. Sometimes they determined to starve me, or at least to fhoot me in the face and hands with poifoned arrows, which would foon difpatch me; but again they confidered, that the ftench of fo large a carcafe might produce a plague in the metropolis, and probably spread thro' the whole kingdom. In the midst of these confultations, feveral officers of the army went to the door of the great council-chamber, and two of them being admitted gave an account of my behaviour to the fix criminals abovementioned; which made fo favourable an impreffion in the breast of his Majefty, and the whole board, in my behalf, that an imperial commiffion was iffued out, obliging all the villages nine hundred yards round the city, to deliver in every morning fix beeves, forty fheep, and other victuals for my fuftenance; together with a proportionable quantity of bread, and wine, and other liquors ; for the due payment of which his Majefty gave affignments upon his treasury. For this Prince lives chiefly upon his own demefnes, feldom, except upon great occafions, raifing any fubfidies, upon his fubjects, who are bound to attend him in his wars at their own expence. An establishment was alfo made of fix hundred perfons to be my domestics, who had board-wages allowed for their maintenance, and tents built for them very conveniently on each fide of my door. It was likewife or dered, that three hundred taylors fhould make me a fuit of cloaths after the fashion of the country: that fix of his Majefty's greatest scholars fhould be employed to inAtruct me in their language: and lastly, that the Empe ror's ror's horfes, and thofe of the nobility, and troops of guards, fhould be frequently exercifed in my fight to accuftom themselves to me. All these orders were duly put in execution, and in about three weeks 1 made a great progrefs in learning their language: during which time the Emperor frequently honoured me with his vifits, and was pleased to affift my masters in teaching me. We began already to converfe together in fome fort; and the first words I learnt were to exprefs my defire, that he would please to give me my liberty, which I every day repeated on my knees. His anfwer, as I could apprehend it, was, that this must be a work of time, not to be thought on without the advice of his council, and that first I must lumos kelmin pesso defmar lon empofo; that is, fwear a peace with him and his kingdom. However, that I fhould be ufed with all kindnefs; and he advised me to acquire by my patience and discreet behaviour, the good opinion of himself and his fubjects. He defired I would not take it ill, if he gave orders to certain proper officers to fearch me; for probably I might carry about me feveral weapons, which must needs be dangerous things, if they anfwered the bulk of fo prodigious a perfon. I faid, his Majefty fhould be fatisfied; for I was ready to ftrip myself, and turn up my pockets before him. This I delivered part in words, and part in figns. He replied, that by the laws of the kingdom I must be fearched by two of his officers: that he knew this could not be done without my consent and affiftance; that he had fo good an opinion of my generofity and juftice, as to truft their perfons in my hands; that whatever they took from me, fhould be returned when I left the country, or paid for at the rate which I would upon them. I took up the two officers in my hands, put them first into my coat-pockets, and then into every other pocket about me, except my two fobs, and another fecret pocket, which I had no mind fhould be fearched, wherein I had fome little neceffaries, that were of no confequence to any but myfelf. In one of my fobs there was a filver watch, and in the other a fmall quantity of gold in a purfe. These gentlemen, having pen, ink, and paper about them, made an exact inventory of every thing they faw; and, when they had done, defired I would fet fet fet them down, that they might deliver it to the Emperor. This inventory I afterwards tranflated into English, and is word for word as follows. Imprimis, IN the right coat pocket of the great manmountain (for fo I interpret the words Quinbus fleftrin) after the fricteft fearch, we found only one great piece of coarse cloth, large enough to be a foot-cloth for your Majefty's chief room of state. In the left pocket we faw a huge filver cheft, with a cover of the fame metal, which we the fearchers were not able to lift. We defired it fhould be opened, and one of us ftepping into it, found himfelf up to the mid leg in a fort of duft, fome part whereof flying up to our faces, fet us both a fneezing for feveral times together. In his right waistcoat pocket we found a prodigious bundle of white thin fubftances, folded one over another, about the bigness of three men, tied with a strong cable, and marked with black figures; which we humbly conceive to be writings, every letter almost half as large as the palm of our hands. In the left there was a fort of engine, from the back of which were extended twenty long poles, refembling the palifadoes before your Majefty's 's court; wherewith we conjecture the man-mountain combs his head; for we did not always trouble him with queftions, because we found it a great difficulty to make him understand us. In the large pocket on the right fide of his middle cover (fo I tranflate the word Ranfu-lo, by which they meant my breeches) we faw a hollow pillar of iron, about the length of a man, fastened to a strong piece of timber, larger than the pillar; and upon one fide of the pillar were huge pieces of iron sticking out into ftrange figures, which we know not what to make of. In the left pocket another engine of the fame kind. In the fmaller pocket on the right fide were feveral round flat pieces of white and red metal of different bulk; fome of the white, which feemed to be filver, were fo large and heavy, that my comrade and I could hardly lift them. In the left pocket were two black pillars irregularly fhaped; we could not without difficulty reach the top of them, as we stood at the bottom of his pocket. One of them was covered, and feemed all of a piece: but at the upper end of the other there appeared a white round VOL. II. fubftance C |