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the last remedy by giving it fuck. I must confefs no object ever difgufted me fo much as the fight of her monftrous breast, which I cannot tell what to compare with, fo as to give the curious reader an idea of its bulk, shape, and colour, It flood prominent fix feet, and could not be less than fixteen in circumference. The nipple was about half the bigness of my head, and the hue both of that and the dug fo varified with fpots, pimples, and freckles, that nothing could appear more nauseous; for I had a near fight of her, the fitting down the more conveniently to give fuck, and I standing on the table. This made me reflect upon the fair skins of our English ladies, who appear fo beautiful to us, only because they are of our own fize, and their defects not to be seen but thro' a magnifying-glafs, where we find by experiment, that the smootheft and whiteft fkins look rough and coarfe, and ill-coloured.

I remember, when I was at Lilliput, the complexions of thofe diminutive people appeared to me the fairest in the world; and talking upon this fubject with a perfon of learning there, who was an intimate friend of mine, he faid that my face appeared much fairer and, fmoother when he looked on me from the ground, than it did up. on a nearer view when I took him up in my hand and brought him clofe, which he confeffed was at firit a very fhocking fight. He faid he could difcover great holes in my fkin; that the ftumps of my beard were ten times ftronger than the briftles of a boar, and my complexion made up of feveral colours altogether difagreeable: altho' I must beg leave to fay for myself, that I am as fair as most of my sex and country, and very little fun-burnt by all my travels. On the other fide, difcourfing of the ladies in that Emperor's court, he used to tell me, one had freckles, another too wide a mouth, a third too large a nofe, nothing of which I was able to distinguish. I confess this reflection was obvious enough; which however I could not forbear, left the reader might think those vaft creatures were actually deformed; for I muft do them juftice to fay, they are a comely race of people; and particularly the features of my mafter's countenance, altho' he were but a farmer, when I beheld him from

the

the height of fixty feet, appeared very well propor

tioned.

WHEN dinner was done, my mafter went out to his labourers, and, as I could discover by his voice and gefture, gave his wife a ftrict charge to take care of me. I was very much tired, and difpofed to fleep, which my miftrefs perceiving, the put me on her own bed, and covered me with a clean white handkerchief, but larger and coarfer than the main-fail of a man of war.

I flept about two hours, and dreamed I was at home with my wife and children, which aggravated my forrows when I awaked, and found myself alone in a vast room, between two and three hundred feet wide, and above two hundred high, lying in a bed twenty yards wide. My miftrefs was gone about her houshold-affairs, and had locked me in. The bed was eight yards from the floor. Some natural neceffities required me to get down; I durft not prefume to call, and, if I had, it would have been in vain with fuch a voice as mine, at so great a distance as from the room where I lay to the kitchen where the family kept. While I was under these circumstances, two rats crept up the curtains, and ran fmelling backwards and forwards on the bed. One of them came up almost to my face, whereupon I rofe in a fright, and drew out my hanger to defend myself. These horrible animals had the boldnefs to attack me on both fides, and one of them held his fore-feet at my collar; but I had the good fortune to rip up his belly, before he could do me any mifchief. He fell down at my feet, and the other feeing the fate of his comrade made his escape, but not without one good wound on the back, which I gave him as he fled, and made the blood run trickling from him. After this exploit I walked gently to and fro on the bed to recover my breath and lofs of fpirits. These creatures were of the fize of a large maftiff, but infinitely more nimble and fierce, fo that, if I had taken off my belt before I went to fleep. I must have infallibly been torn to pieces and devoured. I measured the tail of the dead rat, and found it to be two yards long, wanting an inch but it went against my ftomach to drag the carcafs off the bed, where it lay ftill bleeding; I obfer

ved.

ved it had yet some life, but, with a strong flash cross the neck, I thoroughly dispatched it.

Soon after my mistress came into the room, who seeing me all bloody ran and took me up in her hand. I pointed to the dead rat, fmiling, and making other figns to fhew I was not hurt, whereat fhe was extremely rejoiced, calling the maid to take up the dead rat with a pair of tongs, and throw it out of the window. Then The fet me on a table, where I shewed her my hanger all bloody, and, wiping it on the lappet of my coat, returned it to the scabbard. I was preffed to do more than one thing, which another could not do for me, and therefore endeavoured to make my mistress understand that I defired to be fet down on the floor; which after she had done, my bashfulness would not fuffer me to express myfelf farther, than by pointing to the door, and bowing feveral times. The good woman, with much difficulty, at laft perceived what I would be at, and taking me up again in her hand, walked into the garden, where the fet me down. I went on one fide about two hundred yards, and beckoning to her not to look or to follow me, I hid myself between two leaves of forrel, and there discharged the neceffities of nature.

I hope the gentle reader will excufe me for dwelling on thefe and the like particulars, which, however infignificant they may appear to grovelling vulgar minds, yet will certainly help a philofopher to enlarge his thoughts and imagination, and apply them to the benefit of public as well as private life, which was my fole defign in prefenting this and other accounts of my travels to the world; wherein I have been chiefly ftudious of truth, without affecting any ornaments of learning or of style. But the whole fcene of this voyage made fo ftrong an impreffion on my mind, and is fo deeply fixed in my memory, that in committing it to paper I did not omit one material circumstance: however, upon a strict review, I blotted out feveral paffages of lefs moment which were in my first copy, for fear of being cenfured as tedious and trifling, whereof travellers are often, perhaps not without juftice, accufed.

CHA P.

CHA P. II.

A defcription of the farmer's daughter. The author carried to a market-town, and then to the metropolis. The particulars of his journey.

Y mistress had a daughter of nine years old, a child

Με

of towardly parts for her age, very dextrous at her needle, and skilful in dreffing her baby. Her mother and she contrived to fit up the baby's cradle for me against night: the cradle was put into a small drawer of a cabinet, and the drawer placed upon a hanging fhelf for fear of the rats. This was my bed all the time I ftaid with those people, tho' made more convenient by degrees, as I began to learn their language, and make my wants known. This young girl was fo handy, that, after I had once or twice pulled off my cloaths before her, the was able to dress and undrefs me, tho' I never gave her that trouble, when he would let me do either myself. She made me feven fhirts, and fome other linen, of as fine cloth as could be got, which indeed was coarser than fackcloth; and these fhe conftantly washed for me with her own hands. She was likewife my school-mistress to teach me the language: when I pointed to any thing, fhe told me the name of it in her own tongue, fo that in a few days I was able to call for whatever I had a mind to. She was very good-natured, and not above forty feet high, being little for her age. She gave me the name of Grildrig, which the family took up, and afterwards the whole kingdom. The word imports what the Latins call nanunculus, the Italians homunceletino, and the English mannikin. To her I chiefly owe my preservation in that country: we never parted while I was there; I called her my Glumdalclitch or little nurfe; and fhould be. guilty of great ingratitude, if I omitted this honourable mention of her care and affection towards me, which I heartily wish it lay in my power to requite as fhe deferves, inftead of being the innocent but unhappy inftrument of her difgrace, as I have too much reason to fear.`

IT

It now began to be known and talked of in the neighbourhood, that my mafter had found a ftrange animal in the field, about the bigness of a splacknuck, but exactly fhaped in every part like a human creature; which it likewife imitated in all its actions; feemed to speak in a little language of its own, had already learned several words of theirs, went erect upon two legs, was tame and gentle, would come when it was called, do whatever it was bid, had the finest limbs in the world, and a complexion fairer than a nobleman's daughter of three years old. Another farmer, who lived hard by, and was a particular friend of my mafter, came on a vifit on purpofe to inquire into the truth of this ftory. I was immediately produced, and placed upon a table, where I walked as I was commanded, drew my hanger, put it up again, made my reverence to my mafter's gueft, afked him in his own language how he did, and told him he was welcome, just as my little nurfe had instructed me. This man, who was old and dim-fighted, put on his spectacles to behold me better, at which I could not forbear laughing very heartily, for his eyes appeared like the full moon fhining into a chamber at two windows. Our people, who discovered the cause of my mirth, bore me company in laughing, at which the old fellow was fool enough to be angry and out of countenance. He had the character of a great mifer, and, to my misfortune, he well deferved it by the curfed advice he gave my mafter, to fhew me as a fight upon a market-day in the next town, which was half an hour's riding, about two and twenty miles from our house. I gueffed there was fome mischief contriving, when I obferved my mafter and his friend whifpering long together, fometimes pointing at me; and my fears made me fancy that I overheard and understood fome of their words. But the next morning Glumdalclitch, my little nurse, told me the whole matter, which she had cunningly picked out from her mother. The poor girl laid me on her bofom, and fell a weeping with fhame and grief. She apprehended fome mifchief would happen to me from rude vulgar folks, who might fqueefe me to death, or break one of my limbs by taking me in their hands. She had alfo obferved how modeft I was in my nature, how nicely I regarded my honour, and what an VOL. II. indignity

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