PART I. A VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT.

The author gives some account of himself and family. His firstrninducements to travel. He is shipwrecked, and swims for his life, getsrnsafe on shore in the country of Lilliput; is made a prisoner, andrncarried up the country.rnrnrnMy father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire; I was the third ofrnfive sons. He sent me to Emanuel College in Cambridge at fourteen yearsrnold, where I resided three years, and applied myself close to myrnstudies; but the charge of maintaining me, although I had a very scantyrnallowance, being too great for a narrow fortune, I was bound apprenticernto Mr. James Bates, an eminent surgeon in London, with whom I continuedrnfour years. My father now and then sending me small sums of money, Irnlaid them out in learning navigation, and other parts of thernmathematics, useful to those who intend to travel, as I always believedrnit would be, some time or other, my fortune to do. When I left Mr.rnBates, I went down to my father: where, by the assistance of him and myrnuncle John, and some other relations, I got forty pounds, and a promisernof thirty pounds a year to maintain me at Leyden: there I studiedrnphysic two years and seven months, knowing it would be useful in longrnvoyages.rnrnSoon after my return from Leyden, I was recommended by my good master,rnMr. Bates, to be surgeon to the Swallow, Captain Abraham Pannel,rncommander; with whom I continued three years and a half, making arnvoyage or two into the Levant, and some other parts. When I came back Irnresolved to settle in London; to which Mr. Bates, my master, encouragedrnme, and by him I was recommended to several patients. I took part of arnsmall house in the Old Jewry; and being advised to alter my condition,rnI married Mrs. Mary Burton, second daughter to Mr. Edmund Burton,rnhosier, in Newgate-street, with whom I received four hundred pounds forrna portion.rnrnBut my good master Bates dying in two years after, and I having fewrnfriends, my business began to fail; for my conscience would not sufferrnme to imitate the bad practice of too many among my brethren. Havingrntherefore consulted with my wife, and some of my acquaintance, Irndetermined to go again to sea. I was surgeon successively in two ships,rnand made several voyages, for six years, to the East and West Indies,rnby which I got some addition to my fortune. My hours of leisure I spentrnin reading the best authors, ancient and modern, being always providedrnwith a good number of books; and when I was ashore, in observing thernmanners and dispositions of the people, as well as learning theirrnlanguage; wherein I had a great facility, by the strength of my memory.rnrnThe last of these voyages not proving very fortunate, I grew weary ofrnthe sea, and intended to stay at home with my wife and family. Irnremoved from the Old Jewry to Fetter Lane, and from thence to Wapping,rnhoping to get business among the sailors; but it would not turn tornaccount. After three years expectation that things would mend, Irnaccepted an advantageous offer from Captain William Prichard, master ofrnthe Antelope, who was making a voyage to the South Sea. We set sailrnfrom Bristol, May 4, 1699, and our voyage was at first very prosperous.rnrnIt would not be proper, for some reasons, to trouble the reader withrnthe particulars of our adventures in those seas; let it suffice torninform him, that in our passage from thence to the East Indies, we wererndriven by a violent storm to the north-west of Van Diemen’s Land. By anrnobservation, we found ourselves in the latitude of 30 degrees 2 minutesrnsouth. Twelve of our crew were dead by immoderate labour and ill food;rnthe rest were in a very weak condition. On the 5th of November, whichrnwas the beginning of summer in those parts, the weather being veryrnhazy, the seamen spied a rock within half a cable’s length of the ship;rnbut the wind was so strong, that we were driven directly upon it, andrnimmediately split. Six of the crew, of whom I was one, having let downrnthe boat into the sea, made a shift to get clear of the ship and thernrock. We rowed, by my computation, about three leagues, till we werernable to work no longer, being already spent with labour while we werernin the ship. We therefore trusted ourselves to the mercy of the waves,rnand in about half an hour the boat was overset by a sudden flurry fromrnthe north. What became of my companions in the boat, as well as ofrnthose who escaped on the rock, or were left in the vessel, I cannotrntell; but conclude they were all lost. For my own part, I swam asrnfortune directed me, and was pushed forward by wind and tide. I oftenrnlet my legs drop, and could feel no bottom; but when I was almost gone,rnand able to struggle no longer, I found myself within my depth; and byrnthis time the storm was much abated. The declivity was so small, that Irnwalked near a mile before I got to the shore, which I conjectured wasrnabout eight o’clock in the evening. I then advanced forward near half arnmile, but could not discover any sign of houses or inhabitants; atrnleast I was in so weak a condition, that I did not observe them. I wasrnextremely tired, and with that, and the heat of the weather, and aboutrnhalf a pint of brandy that I drank as I left the ship, I found myselfrnmuch inclined to sleep. I lay down on the grass, which was very shortrnand soft, where I slept sounder than ever I remembered to have done inrnmy life, and, as I reckoned, about nine hours; for when I awaked, itrnwas just day-light. I attempted to rise, but was not able to stir: for,rnas I happened to lie on my back, I found my arms and legs were stronglyrnfastened on each side to the ground; and my hair, which was long andrnthick, tied down in the same manner. I likewise felt several slenderrnligatures across my body, from my arm-pits to my thighs. I could onlyrnlook upwards; the sun began to grow hot, and the light offended myrneyes. I heard a confused noise about me; but in the posture I lay,rncould see nothing except the sky. In a little time I felt somethingrnalive moving on my left leg, which advancing gently forward over myrnbreast, came almost up to my chin; when, bending my eyes downwards asrnmuch as I could, I perceived it to be a human creature not six inchesrnhigh, with a bow and arrow in his hands, and a quiver at his back. Inrnthe mean time, I felt at least forty more of the same kind (as Irnconjectured) following the first. I was in the utmost astonishment, andrnroared so loud, that they all ran back in a fright; and some of them,rnas I was afterwards told, were hurt with the falls they got by leapingrnfrom my sides upon the ground. However, they soon returned, and one ofrnthem, who ventured so far as to get a full sight of my face, lifting uprnhis hands and eyes by way of admiration, cried out in a shrill butrndistinct voice, _Hekinah degul_: the others repeated the same wordsrnseveral times, but then I knew not what they meant. I lay all thisrnwhile, as the reader may believe, in great uneasiness. At length,rnstruggling to get loose, I had the fortune to break the strings, andrnwrench out the pegs that fastened my left arm to the ground; for, byrnlifting it up to my face, I discovered the methods they had taken tornbind me, and at the same time with a violent pull, which gave mernexcessive pain, I a little loosened the strings that tied down my hairrnon the left side, so that I was just able to turn my head about tworninches. But the creatures ran off a second time, before I could seizernthem; whereupon there was a great shout in a very shrill accent, andrnafter it ceased I heard one of them cry aloud _Tolgo phonac_; when inrnan instant I felt above a hundred arrows discharged on my left hand,rnwhich, pricked me like so many needles; and besides, they shot anotherrnflight into the air, as we do bombs in Europe, whereof many, I suppose,rnfell on my body, (though I felt them not), and some on my face, which Irnimmediately covered with my left hand. When this shower of arrows wasrnover, I fell a groaning with grief and pain; and then striving again tornget loose, they discharged another volley larger than the first, andrnsome of them attempted with spears to stick me in the sides; but byrngood luck I had on a buff jerkin, which they could not pierce. Irnthought it the most prudent method to lie still, and my design was torncontinue so till night, when, my left hand being already loose, I couldrneasily free myself: and as for the inhabitants, I had reason to believernI might be a match for the greatest army they could bring against me,rnif they were all of the same size with him that I saw. But fortunerndisposed otherwise of me. When the people observed I was quiet, theyrndischarged no more arrows; but, by the noise I heard, I knew theirrnnumbers increased; and about four yards from me, over against my rightrnear, I heard a knocking for above an hour, like that of people at work;rnwhen turning my head that way, as well as the pegs and strings wouldrnpermit me, I saw a stage erected about a foot and a half from thernground, capable of holding four of the inhabitants, with two or threernladders to mount it: from whence one of them, who seemed to be a personrnof quality, made me a long speech, whereof I understood not onernsyllable. But I should have mentioned, that before the principal personrnbegan his oration, he cried out three times, _Langro dehul san_ (thesernwords and the former were afterwards repeated and explained to me);rnwhereupon, immediately, about fifty of the inhabitants came and cut thernstrings that fastened the left side of my head, which gave me thernliberty of turning it to the right, and of observing the person andrngesture of him that was to speak. He appeared to be of a middle age,rnand taller than any of the other three who attended him, whereof onernwas a page that held up his train, and seemed to be somewhat longerrnthan my middle finger; the other two stood one on each side to supportrnhim. He acted every part of an orator, and I could observe many periodsrnof threatenings, and others of promises, pity, and kindness. I answeredrnin a few words, but in the most submissive manner, lifting up my leftrnhand, and both my eyes to the sun, as calling him for a witness; andrnbeing almost famished with hunger, having not eaten a morsel for somernhours before I left the ship, I found the demands of nature so strongrnupon me, that I could not forbear showing my impatience (perhapsrnagainst the strict rules of decency) by putting my finger frequently tornmy mouth, to signify that I wanted food. The _hurgo_ (for so they callrna great lord, as I afterwards learnt) understood me very well. Herndescended from the stage, and commanded that several ladders should bernapplied to my sides, on which above a hundred of the inhabitantsrnmounted and walked towards my mouth, laden with baskets full of meat,rnwhich had been provided and sent thither by the king’s orders, upon thernfirst intelligence he received of me. I observed there was the flesh ofrnseveral animals, but could not distinguish them by the taste. Therernwere shoulders, legs, and loins, shaped like those of mutton, and veryrnwell dressed, but smaller than the wings of a lark. I ate them by twornor three at a mouthful, and took three loaves at a time, about thernbigness of musket bullets. They supplied me as fast as they could,rnshowing a thousand marks of wonder and astonishment at my bulk andrnappetite. I then made another sign, that I wanted drink. They found byrnmy eating that a small quantity would not suffice me; and being a mostrningenious people, they slung up, with great dexterity, one of theirrnlargest hogsheads, then rolled it towards my hand, and beat out therntop; I drank it off at a draught, which I might well do, for it did notrnhold half a pint, and tasted like a small wine of Burgundy, but muchrnmore delicious. They brought me a second hogshead, which I drank in thernsame manner, and made signs for more; but they had none to give me.rnWhen I had performed these wonders, they shouted for joy, and dancedrnupon my breast, repeating several times as they did at first, _Hekinahrndegul_. They made me a sign that I should throw down the two hogsheads,rnbut first warning the people below to stand out of the way, cryingrnaloud, _Borach mevolah_; and when they saw the vessels in the air,rnthere was a universal shout of _Hekinah degul_. I confess I was oftenrntempted, while they were passing backwards and forwards on my body, tornseize forty or fifty of the first that came in my reach, and dash themrnagainst the ground. But the remembrance of what I had felt, whichrnprobably might not be the worst they could do, and the promise ofrnhonour I made them—for so I interpreted my submissive behaviour—soonrndrove out these imaginations. Besides, I now considered myself as boundrnby the laws of hospitality, to a people who had treated me with so muchrnexpense and magnificence. However, in my thoughts I could notrnsufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals, whorndurst venture to mount and walk upon my body, while one of my hands wasrnat liberty, without trembling at the very sight of so prodigious arncreature as I must appear to them. After some time, when they observedrnthat I made no more demands for meat, there appeared before me a personrnof high rank from his imperial majesty. His excellency, having mountedrnon the small of my right leg, advanced forwards up to my face, withrnabout a dozen of his retinue; and producing his credentials under thernsignet royal, which he applied close to my eyes, spoke about tenrnminutes without any signs of anger, but with a kind of determinaternresolution, often pointing forwards, which, as I afterwards found, wasrntowards the capital city, about half a mile distant; whither it wasrnagreed by his majesty in council that I must be conveyed. I answered inrnfew words, but to no purpose, and made a sign with my hand that wasrnloose, putting it to the other (but over his excellency’s head for fearrnof hurting him or his train) and then to my own head and body, tornsignify that I desired my liberty. It appeared that he understood mernwell enough, for he shook his head by way of disapprobation, and heldrnhis hand in a posture to show that I must be carried as a prisoner.rnHowever, he made other signs to let me understand that I should havernmeat and drink enough, and very good treatment. Whereupon I once morernthought of attempting to break my bonds; but again, when I felt thernsmart of their arrows upon my face and hands, which were all inrnblisters, and many of the darts still sticking in them, and observingrnlikewise that the number of my enemies increased, I gave tokens to letrnthem know that they might do with me what they pleased. Upon this, thern_hurgo_ and his train withdrew, with much civility and cheerfulrncountenances. Soon after I heard a general shout, with frequentrnrepetitions of the words _Peplom selan_; and I felt great numbers ofrnpeople on my left side relaxing the cords to such a degree, that I wasrnable to turn upon my right, and to ease myself with making water; whichrnI very plentifully did, to the great astonishment of the people; who,rnconjecturing by my motion what I was going to do, immediately opened tornthe right and left on that side, to avoid the torrent, which fell withrnsuch noise and violence from me. But before this, they had daubed myrnface and both my hands with a sort of ointment, very pleasant to thernsmell, which, in a few minutes, removed all the smart of their arrows.rnThese circumstances, added to the refreshment I had received by theirrnvictuals and drink, which were very nourishing, disposed me to sleep. Irnslept about eight hours, as I was afterwards assured; and it was nornwonder, for the physicians, by the emperor’s order, had mingled arnsleepy potion in the hogsheads of wine.rnrnIt seems, that upon the first moment I was discovered sleeping on thernground, after my landing, the emperor had early notice of it by anrnexpress; and determined in council, that I should be tied in the mannerrnI have related, (which was done in the night while I slept;) thatrnplenty of meat and drink should be sent to me, and a machine preparedrnto carry me to the capital city.rnrnThis resolution perhaps may appear very bold and dangerous, and I amrnconfident would not be imitated by any prince in Europe on the likernoccasion. However, in my opinion, it was extremely prudent, as well asrngenerous: for, supposing these people had endeavoured to kill me withrntheir spears and arrows, while I was asleep, I should certainly havernawaked with the first sense of smart, which might so far have roused myrnrage and strength, as to have enabled me to break the strings wherewithrnI was tied; after which, as they were not able to make resistance, sornthey could expect no mercy.rnrnThese people are most excellent mathematicians, and arrived to a greatrnperfection in mechanics, by the countenance and encouragement of thernemperor, who is a renowned patron of learning. This prince has severalrnmachines fixed on wheels, for the carriage of trees and other greatrnweights. He often builds his largest men of war, whereof some are ninernfeet long, in the woods where the timber grows, and has them carried onrnthese engines three or four hundred yards to the sea. Five hundredrncarpenters and engineers were immediately set at work to prepare therngreatest engine they had. It was a frame of wood raised three inchesrnfrom the ground, about seven feet long, and four wide, moving uponrntwenty-two wheels. The shout I heard was upon the arrival of thisrnengine, which, it seems, set out in four hours after my landing. It wasrnbrought parallel to me, as I lay. But the principal difficulty was tornraise and place me in this vehicle. Eighty poles, each of one footrnhigh, were erected for this purpose, and very strong cords, of thernbigness of packthread, were fastened by hooks to many bandages, whichrnthe workmen had girt round my neck, my hands, my body, and my legs.rnNine hundred of the strongest men were employed to draw up these cords,rnby many pulleys fastened on the poles; and thus, in less than threernhours, I was raised and slung into the engine, and there tied fast. Allrnthis I was told; for, while the operation was performing, I lay in arnprofound sleep, by the force of that soporiferous medicine infused intornmy liquor. Fifteen hundred of the emperor’s largest horses, each aboutrnfour inches and a half high, were employed to draw me towards thernmetropolis, which, as I said, was half a mile distant.rnrnAbout four hours after we began our journey, I awaked by a veryrnridiculous accident; for the carriage being stopped a while, to adjustrnsomething that was out of order, two or three of the young natives hadrnthe curiosity to see how I looked when I was asleep; they climbed uprninto the engine, and advancing very softly to my face, one of them, anrnofficer in the guards, put the sharp end of his half-pike a good way uprninto my left nostril, which tickled my nose like a straw, and made mernsneeze violently; whereupon they stole off unperceived, and it wasrnthree weeks before I knew the cause of my waking so suddenly. We made arnlong march the remaining part of the day, and, rested at night withrnfive hundred guards on each side of me, half with torches, and halfrnwith bows and arrows, ready to shoot me if I should offer to stir. Thernnext morning at sunrise we continued our march, and arrived within twornhundred yards of the city gates about noon. The emperor, and all hisrncourt, came out to meet us; but his great officers would by no meansrnsuffer his majesty to endanger his person by mounting on my body.rnrnAt the place where the carriage stopped there stood an ancient temple,rnesteemed to be the largest in the whole kingdom; which, having beenrnpolluted some years before by an unnatural murder, was, according tornthe zeal of those people, looked upon as profane, and therefore hadrnbeen applied to common use, and all the ornaments and furniture carriedrnaway. In this edifice it was determined I should lodge. The great gaternfronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feetrnwide, through which I could easily creep. On each side of the gate wasrna small window, not above six inches from the ground: into that on thernleft side, the king’s smith conveyed fourscore and eleven chains, likernthose that hang to a lady’s watch in Europe, and almost as large, whichrnwere locked to my left leg with six-and-thirty padlocks. Over againstrnthis temple, on the other side of the great highway, at twenty feetrndistance, there was a turret at least five feet high. Here the emperorrnascended, with many principal lords of his court, to have anrnopportunity of viewing me, as I was told, for I could not see them. Itrnwas reckoned that above a hundred thousand inhabitants came out of therntown upon the same errand; and, in spite of my guards, I believe thererncould not be fewer than ten thousand at several times, who mounted myrnbody by the help of ladders. But a proclamation was soon issued, tornforbid it upon pain of death. When the workmen found it was impossiblernfor me to break loose, they cut all the strings that bound me;rnwhereupon I rose up, with as melancholy a disposition as ever I had inrnmy life. But the noise and astonishment of the people, at seeing mernrise and walk, are not to be expressed. The chains that held my leftrnleg were about two yards long, and gave me not only the liberty ofrnwalking backwards and forwards in a semicircle, but, being fixed withinrnfour inches of the gate, allowed me to creep in, and lie at my fullrnlength in the temple.