highest rank in that empire, fuch offices were looked upon as below my dignity, and the Emperor, (to do him juftice) never once mentioned them to me. However, it was not long before I had an opportunity of doing his Majefty, at least as I then thought, a moft fignal service. I was alarmed at midnight with the cries of many hundred people at my door; by which being fuddenly awaked, I was in fome kind of terror. I heard the word Burglum repeated inceffantly feveral of the Emperor's court, making their way thro' the croud, intreated me to come immediately to the palace, where her Imperial Majefty's apartment was on fire by the carelefnefs of a maid of honour, who fell asleep while fhe was reading a romance. I got up in an inftant; and orders being given to clear the way before me, and it being likewife a moon-fhine night, I made a fhift to get to the palace without trampling on any of the people. I found they had already applied ladders to the walls of the apartment, and were well provided with buckets, but the water was at fome diftance. These buckets were about the fize of a large thimble, and the poor people fupplied me with them as faft as they could; but the flame was fo violent, that they did little good. I might eafily have ftified it with my coat, which I unfortunately left behind me for hafte, and came away only in my leathern jerkin. The cafe seemed wholly defperate and deplorable, and this magnificent palace would have infallibly been burnt down to the ground, if by a prefence of mind unufual to me I had not fuddenly thought of an expedient. I had the evening before drank plentifully of a moft delicious wine called Glimigrim (the Blefufcudians call it Flunec, but ours is esteemed the better fort) which is very diuretic. By the luckiest chance in the world I had not discharged myself of any part of it. The heat I had contracted by coming very near the flames, and by my labouring to quench them, made the wine begin to operate by urine; which I voided in fuch a quantity, and applied fo well to the proper places, that in three minutes the fire was wholly extinguifhed, and the reft of that noble pile, which had coft fo many ages in erecting, preferved from deftruction.

IT was now day-light, and I returned to my house without

without waiting to congratulate with the Emperor: becaufe, altho' I had done a very eminent piece of fervice, yet I could not tell how his Majefty might refent the manner by which I had performed it: for, by the fundamental laws of the realm, it is capital in any perfon, of what quality foever, to make water within the precincts of the palace. But I was a little comforted by a meffage from his Majefty, that he would give orders to the grand jufticiary for paffing my pardon in form; which however I could not obtain. And I was privately affured, that the Empress, conceiving the greatest abhorrence of what I had done, removed to the most distant fide of the court, firmly refolved that thofe buildings fhould never be repaired for her ufe; and, in the prefence of her chief confidents, could not forbear vowing revenge.

CHA P. VI.

Of the inhabitants of Lilliput: their learning, laws, and cuftoms, the manner of educating their children. The author's way of living in that country. His vindication of a great Lady.

A

LTHO' I intend to leave the defcription of

this empire to a particular treatise, yet in the mean time I am content to gratify the curious reader with fome general ideas. As the common fize of the natives is fomewhat under fix inches high, fo there is an exact proportion in all other animals, as well as plants and trees: for inftance, the tallest horses and oxen are between four and five inches in height, the fheep an inch and a half, more or lefs; their geefe about the bignefs of a sparrow, and fo the several gradations downwards, till you come to the smallest, which to my fight were almoft invifible but nature hath adapted the eyes of the Lilliputians to all objects proper for their view: they fee with great exactnefs, but at no great diflance. And, to fhew the sharpness of their fight towards objects that are near, I have been much pleased with obferving a cook pulling a lark, which was not fo large as a common fly; and a young

girl threading an invifible needle with invifible filk. Their tallest trees are about seven feet high: I mean fome of thofe in the great royal park, the tops whereof I could but just reach with my fift clinched. The other vegetables are in the fame proportion; but this I leave to the reader's imagination.

I shall say but little at prefent of their learning, which for many ages hath flourished in all its branches among them but their manner of writing is very peculiar, being neither from the left to the right, like the Europeans; nor from the right to the left, like the Arabians; nor from up to down, like the Chinese; but aflant from one corner of the paper to the other, like ladies in England.

THEY bury their dead with their heads directly downwards, because they hold an opinion, that in eleven thousand moons they are all to rife again, in which period the earth (which they conceive to be flat) will turn upfide down, and by this means they fhall at their resurrection be found ready standing on their feet*. The learned among them confefs the abfurdity of this doctrine, but the practice still continues in compliance to the vulgart.

THERE

Here the author dares even to exert his vein of humour fo Hberally, as to place the refurrection, one of the most encouraging principles of the Chriftian religion, in a ridiculous and contemptible light. Why should that appointment be denied to man, or appear fo very extraordinary in the human kind, which the author of nature has illuftrated in the vegetable fpecies, where the feed dies and corrupts before it can rife again to new beauty and glory? Orrery.

This paragraph, if it were examined with judgment and candour, would incline us to believe, that an opinion of a life to come is connected so immediately with all our reasoning faculties, that, fuppofing we had never been bleffed with any revelation from God, we fhould believe the refurrection to life eternal. The Lilliputians believe, that, after eleven thousand moons, the earth will be turned upfide down; and upon that account they are buried with their heads directly downwards, in order to be found ftanding upon their feet at the day of refurrection: An opinion, which I confefs, with the learned among themselves, to be whimsical and ridiculous enough. But

follies

THERE are fome laws and customs in this empire very peculiar; and, if they were not fo directly contrary to thofe of my own dear country, I fhould be tempted to fay a little in their juftification. It is only to be wished they were as well executed. The firft I fhall mention relates to informers. All crimes against the ftate are punifhed here with the utmost severity; but if the perfon accufed maketh his innocence plainly to appear upon his trial, the accufer is immediately put to an ignominious death; and out of his goods or lands the innocent perfon is quadruply recompenfed for the lofs of his time, for the danger he underwent, for the hardship of his imprisonment, and for all the charges he hath been at in making his defence. Or, if that fund be deficient, it is largely fupplied by the crown. The Emperor alfo confers on him fome public mark of his favour, and proclamation is made of his innocence thro' the whole city.

THEY look upon fraud as a greater crime than theft, and therefore feldom fail to punish it with death; for they alledge, that care and vigilance, with a very common understanding, may preferve a man's goods from thieves, but honefty has no fence against fuperior cunning; and fince it is neceffary that there fhould be a perpetual intercourfe of buying and felling, and dealing upon credit; where fraud is permitted and connived at, or hath no law to punish it, the honest dealer is always.undone, and the knave gets the advantage. I remember when I was once interceeding with the King for a criminal, who had wronged his mafter of a great fum of money, which he had received by order and ran away with; and happening to tell his Majefty, by way of extenuation, VOL. II.

E

that

follies and abfurdities are always mixed with idolatry and fu perftition. The Lilliputians were rank Idolaters; otherwise how could they imagine Gulliver's watch to be the god that he worfhipped? And therefore I cannot but infer, that inftead of placing the refurrection in a ridiculous, contemptible light, Gulliver hath fairly manifefted the opinion of a flate hereafter (altho' connected with fome vanities and abfurdities, which are the effects of fuperftition) to be the ground-work of all religion, founded upon the clear and strong dictates both of nature and reafon. Swift.

that it was only a breach of truft; the Emperor thought it monstrous in me to offer as a defence the greateft aggravation of the crime; and truly I had little to say in return, farther than the common answer, that different nations had different customs; for, I confefs, I was heartily afhamed*.

ALTHO' we ufually call reward and punishment the two hinges upon which all government turns, yet I could never obferve this maxim to be put in practice by any nation, except that of Lilliput. Whoever can there bring fufficient proof, that he hath strictly obferved the laws of his country for seventy three moons, hath a claim to certain privileges, according to his quality and condition of life, with a proportionable fum of money out of a fund appropriated for that ufe: he likewife acquires the title of nilpall or legal, which is added to his name, but doth not defcend to his pofterity. And these people thought it a prodigious defect of policy among us, when I told them, that our laws were enforced only by penalties, without any mention of reward. It is upon this account, that the image of juftice in their courts of judicature is formed with fix eyes, two before, as many behind, and on each fide one, to fignify circumfpection ; with a bag of gold open in her right hand, and a sword fheathed in her left, to fhew fhe is more difpofed to reward than to punish.

IN chufing perfons for all employments, they have more regard to good morals than to great abilities; for, fince government is neceffary to mankind, they believe that the common fize of human understandings is fitted to fome station or other, and that providence never intended to make the management of public affairs a myftery to be comprehended only by a few perfons of fublime genius, of which there feldom are three born in an age: but they fuppofe truth, juftice, temperance, and the like, to be in every man's power; the practice of which virtues, affifted by experience and a good intention, would qualify any man for the fervice of his country, except where a courfe of study is required. But they thought the want

of

An act of parliament hath been fince paffed, by which fome breaches of truft have been made capital.

Hawkef