neral licence to wait on the Blefufcudian monarch, which he was pleafed to grant me, as I could plainly perceive, in a very cold manner; but could not guess the reason, till I had a whisper from a certain perfon, that Flimnap and Bolgolam had reprefented my intercourie with thofe ambaffadors as a mark of difaffection, from which I am fure my heart was wholly free, And this was the first time I began to conceive fome imperfect idea of courts and minifters.

It is to be obferved, that these ambaffadors fpoke to me by an interpreter, the languages of both empires differing as much from each other as any two in Europe, and each nation priding itself upon the antiquity, beauty, and energy of their own tongues, with an avowed contempt for that of their neighbour; yet our emperor, ftanding upon the advantage he had got by the feizure of their fleet, obliged them to deliver their credentials, and make their fpeech in the Lilliputian tongue. And it must be confeffed, that from the great intercourfe of trade and commerce between both realms, from the continual reception of exiles, which is mutual among them, and from the custom in each empire to fend their young nobility and richer gentry to the other in order to polish themselves by feeing the world, and underftanding men and manners; there are few perfons of diftinction, or merchants, or feamen, who dwell in the maritime parts, but what can hold converfation in both tongues; as I

found

found fome weeks after, when I went to pay my refpects to the emperor of Blefufcu, which in the midst of great misfortunes, through the malice of my enemies, proved a very happy adventure to me, as I fhall relate in its proper place..

How

The reader may remember, that when I figned thofe articles upon which I recovered my liberty, there were fome which I disliked upon account of their being too fervile, neither could any thing but an extreme neceffity have forced me to fubmit. But being now a nardac of the highest rank in that empire, fuch offices were looked upon as below my dignity, and the emperor (to do him justice) never once mentioned them to me. ever, it was not long before I had an opportunity of doing his majefty, at least, as I then thought, a molt fignal fervice. 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 through 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 he was reading a romance. I got up in an inftant; and orders being given to clear the way before me, and it being likewise a moonshine night, I made a fhift to get to the palace without trampling on any of the people I found

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 ftifled it with my coat, which I unfortunately left behind me for hafte, and came away only in my leathern jerkin. The cafe feemed wholly defperate and deplorable, and this magnificent palace would have infallibly been burnt down to the ground, if by a prefence of mind unusual to me I had not fuddenly thought of an expedient. I had the evening before drank plentifully of a most delicious wine called Glimigrim (the Blefufcadians call it Flunec, but ours is efteemed the better fort) which is very diuretic. By the luckieft 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 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 extinguished, and the rest of that noble pile, which had coft fo many ages in erecting, preserved from deftruction.

It was now day-light, and I returned to my houfe without waiting to congratulate with the emperor; becaufe, although I had done a

very eminent piece of service, 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 emprefs, conceiving the greateft abhorrence of what I had done, removed to the most distant fide of the court, firmly refolved that those buildings fhould never be repaired for her use; 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 customs, the manner of educating their children. The author's way of living in that country. His vindication of a great lady.

LTHOUGH I intend to leave the de

A fcription 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

talleft

talleft horfes and oxen are between four and five inches in heighth, the sheep an inch and half, more or lefs; their geefe about the bignefs of a sparrow, and fo the feveral gradations downwards, till you come to the smallest, which to my fight were almost invifible; but nature hath adapted the eyes of the Lilliputians to all objects proper for their view: they fee with great exactness, but at no great diftance. And, to fhew the fharpness of their fight towards objects that are near, I have been much pleafed 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 feven feet high: I mean fome of those 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 fay 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 thoufand moons they are

all