and other marks of our favour. Given at our palace at Belfaborac, the twelfth day of the ninety-first moon of our reign.

I fwore and fubfcribed to these articles with great chearfulness and content, although fome of them were not fo honourable as I could have wifhed; which proceeded wholly from the malice of Skyresh Bolgolam, the high admiral; whereupon my chains were immediately unlocked, and I was at full liberty. The emperor himself in perfon did me the honour to be by at the whole ceremony. I made my acknowledgments by proftrating myself at his majesty's feet: but he commanded me to rife; and after many gracious expreffions, which, to avoid the cenfure of vanity, I fhall not repeat, he added, that he hoped I should prove a useful fervant, and well deferve all the favours he had already conferred upon me, or might do for the future.

The reader may please to obferve, that, in the last article for the recovery of my liberty, the emperor ftipulates to allow me a quantity of meat and drink fufficient for the fupport of 1724 Lilliputians. Some time after asking a friend at court, how they came to fix on that determinate number; he told me, that his majefty's mathematicians having taken the heighth of my body by the help of a quadrant, and finding it to exceed theirs in the proportion of twelve to one, they concluded from the fimilarity of their bodies, that mine muft contain at least 1724 of theirs, and confequent

ly

ly would require as much food as was neceffary to fupport that number of Lilliputians. By which the reader may conceive an idea of the ingenuity of that people, as well as the prudent and exact œconomy of fo great a prince.

CHA P. IV.

Mildendo, the metropolis of Lilliput, defcribed, together with the emperor's palace. A converfation between the author and a principal fecretary concerning the affairs of that empire. The author's offers to Jerve the emperor in his

wars.

HE first request I made, after I had ob

TH

have licence to fee Mildendo, the metropolis; which the emperor eafily granted me, but with a fpecial charge to do no hurt either to the inhabitants or their houses. The people had notice by proclamation of my defign to visit the town. The wall, which encompassed it, is two feet and a half high, and at least eleven inches broad, fo that a coach and horfes may be driven very fafely round it; and it is flanked with strong towers at ten feet distance. I ftept over the great western gate, and paffed very gently, and fideling, through the two principal streets, only in my fhort waift-coat, for fear of damaging the roofs and eves of the houses with the skirts of my coat. I walked with the utmost circumfpection to avoid tread

ing on any ftragglers, who might remain in the ftreets; although the orders were very ftrict, that all people fhould keep in their houses at their own peril. The garret-windows and tops of houfes were fo crouded with fpectators, that I thought in all my travels I had not seen a more populous place. The city is an exact square, each fide of the wall being five hundred feet long. The two great streets, which run crofs and divide it into four quarters, are five feet wide. The lanes and alleys, . which I could not enter, but only viewed them as I paffed, are from twelve to eighteen inches. The town is capable of holding five hundred thousand fouls: the houses are from three to five ftories: the fhops and markets well provided.

The emperor's palace is in the center of the city, where the two great ftreets meet. It is inclosed by a wall of two feet high, and twenty feet distance from the buildings. I had his majesty's permiffion to ftep over this wall; and the space being fo wide between that and the palace, I could easily view it on every fide. The outward court is a fquare of forty feet, and includes two other courts: in the inmoft are the royal apartments, which I was very defirous to fee, but found it extremely difficult; for the great gates, from one fquare into another, were but eighteen inches high, and seven inches wide. Now the buildings of the outer court were at least five feet high, and it was impoffible for me to ftride over them with

out

out, infinite damage to the pile, though the walls were strongly built of hewn ftone, and four inches thick. At the fame time the emperor had a great defire, that I should fee the magnificence of his palace; but this I was not able to do till three days after, which I spent in cutting down with my knife fome of the largest trees in the royal park, about an hundred yards diftance from the city. Of these trees I made two ftools, each about three feet high, and ftrong enough to bear my weight. The people having received notice a fecond time, I went again through the city to the palace with my two ftools in my hands. When I came to the fide of the outer court, I ftood upon one ftool, and took the other in my hand; this I lifted over the roof, and gently fet it down on the space between the firft and fecond court, which was eight feet wide. I then stept over the building very conveniently from one ftool to the other, and drew up the first after me with a hooked stick. By this contrivance I got into the inmost court; and, lying down' upon my fide, I applied my face to the windows of the middle ftories, which were left open on purpose, and difcovered the most splendid apartments that can be imagined. There I faw the empress and the young princes in their feveral lodgings with their chief attendants about them. Her imperial majefty was pleafed to fmile very gracioufly upon me, and gave me out of the window her hand to kifs.

But

But I fhall not anticipate the reader with farther descriptions of this kind, because I referve them for a greater work, which is now almoft ready for the prefs, containing a general description of this empire, from its first erection, through a long feries of princes, with a particular account of their wars and politics, laws, learning, and religion, their plants and animals, their peculiar manners and cuftoms, with other matters very curious and useful; my chief defign at prefent being only to relate fuch events and tranfactions, as happened to the public or to myself, during a refidence of about nine months in that empire.

One morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my liberty, Reldrefal, principal fecretary (as they ftile him) for private affairs, came to my house attended only by one fervant. He ordered his coach to wait at a diftance, and defired I would give him an hour's audience; which I readily consented to, on account of his quality and perfonal merits, as well as of the many good offices he had done me during my follicitations at court. I offered to lie down, that he might the more conveniently reach my ear; but he chose rather to let me hold him in my hand during our converfation. He began with compliments on my liberty; faid, he might pretend to fome merit in it: but however added, that, if it had not been for the present situation of things at court, perhaps I might not have obtained it fo foon. For, faid he, as flourishing a condition as we

may