<h3>I - CHAPTER V.</h3>
<p class="gutsumm">The author, by an extraordinary stratagem,
prevents an invasion. A high title of honour is conferred
upon him. Ambassadors arrive from the emperor of Blefuscu,
and sue for peace. The empress’s apartment on fire by
an accident; the author instrumental in saving the rest of the
palace.</p>
<p>The empire of Blefuscu is an island situated to the north-east
of Lilliput, from which it is parted only by a channel of eight
hundred yards wide. I had not yet seen it, and upon this
notice of an intended invasion, I avoided appearing on that side
of the coast, for fear of being discovered, by some of the
enemy’s ships, who had received no intelligence of me; all
intercourse between the two empires having been strictly
forbidden during the war, upon pain of death, and an embargo laid
by our emperor upon all vessels whatsoever. I communicated
to his majesty a project I had formed of seizing the
enemy’s whole fleet; which, as our scouts assured us, lay
at anchor in the harbour, ready to sail with the first fair
wind. I consulted the most experienced seamen upon the
depth of the channel, which they had often plumbed; who told me,
that in the middle, at high-water, it was seventy
<i>glumgluffs</i> deep, which is about six feet of European
measure; and the rest of it fifty <i>glumgluffs</i> at
most. I walked towards the north-east coast, over against
Blefuscu, where, lying down behind a hillock, I took out my small
perspective glass, and viewed the enemy’s fleet at anchor,
consisting of about fifty men of war, and a great number of
transports: I then came back to my house, and gave orders (for
which I had a warrant) for a great quantity of the strongest
cable and bars of iron. The cable was about as thick as
packthread and the bars of the length and size of a
knitting-needle. I trebled the cable to make it stronger,
and for the same reason I twisted three of the iron bars
together, bending the extremities into a hook. Having thus
fixed fifty hooks to as many cables, I went back to the
north-east coast, and putting off my coat, shoes, and stockings,
walked into the sea, in my leathern jerkin, about half an hour
before high water. I waded with what haste I could, and
swam in the middle about thirty yards, till I felt ground.
I arrived at the fleet in less than half an hour. The enemy
was so frightened when they saw me, that they leaped out of their
ships, and swam to shore, where there could not be fewer than
thirty thousand souls. I then took my tackling, and,
fastening a hook to the hole at the prow of each, I tied all the
cords together at the end. While I was thus employed, the
enemy discharged several thousand arrows, many of which stuck in
my hands and face, and, beside the excessive smart, gave me much
disturbance in my work. My greatest apprehension was for
mine eyes, which I should have infallibly lost, if I had not
suddenly thought of an expedient. I kept, among other
little necessaries, a pair of spectacles in a private pocket,
which, as I observed before, had escaped the emperor’s
searchers. These I took out and fastened as strongly as I
could upon my nose, and thus armed, went on boldly with my work,
in spite of the enemy’s arrows, many of which struck
against the glasses of my spectacles, but without any other
effect, further than a little to discompose them. I had now
fastened all the hooks, and, taking the knot in my hand, began to
pull; but not a ship would stir, for they were all too fast held
by their anchors, so that the boldest part of my enterprise
remained. I therefore let go the cord, and leaving the
looks fixed to the ships, I resolutely cut with my knife the
cables that fastened the anchors, receiving about two hundred
shots in my face and hands; then I took up the knotted end of the
cables, to which my hooks were tied, and with great ease drew
fifty of the enemy’s largest men of war after me.</p>
<p>The Blefuscudians, who had not the least imagination of what I
intended, were at first confounded with astonishment. They
had seen me cut the cables, and thought my design was only to let
the ships run adrift or fall foul on each other: but when they
perceived the whole fleet moving in order, and saw me pulling at
the end, they set up such a scream of grief and despair as it is
almost impossible to describe or conceive. When I had got
out of danger, I stopped awhile to pick out the arrows that stuck
in my hands and face; and rubbed on some of the same ointment
that was given me at my first arrival, as I have formerly
mentioned. I then took off my spectacles, and waiting about
an hour, till the tide was a little fallen, I waded through the
middle with my cargo, and arrived safe at the royal port of
Lilliput.</p>
<p>The emperor and his whole court stood on the shore, expecting
the issue of this great adventure. They saw the ships move
forward in a large half-moon, but could not discern me, who was
up to my breast in water. When I advanced to the middle of
the channel, they were yet more in pain, because I was under
water to my neck. The emperor concluded me to be drowned,
and that the enemy’s fleet was approaching in a hostile
manner: but he was soon eased of his fears; for the channel
growing shallower every step I made, I came in a short time
within hearing, and holding up the end of the cable, by which the
fleet was fastened, I cried in a loud voice, “Long live the
most puissant king of Lilliput!” This great prince
received me at my landing with all possible encomiums, and
created me a <i>nardac</i> upon the spot, which is the highest
title of honour among them.</p>
<p>His majesty desired I would take some other opportunity of
bringing all the rest of his enemy’s ships into his
ports. And so unmeasureable is the ambition of princes,
that he seemed to think of nothing less than reducing the whole
empire of Blefuscu into a province, and governing it, by a
viceroy; of destroying the Big-endian exiles, and compelling that
people to break the smaller end of their eggs, by which he would
remain the sole monarch of the whole world. But I
endeavoured to divert him from this design, by many arguments
drawn from the topics of policy as well as justice; and I plainly
protested, “that I would never be an instrument of bringing
a free and brave people into slavery.” And, when the
matter was debated in council, the wisest part of the ministry
were of my opinion.</p>
<p>This open bold declaration of mine was so opposite to the
schemes and politics of his imperial majesty, that he could never
forgive me. He mentioned it in a very artful manner at
council, where I was told that some of the wisest appeared, at
least by their silence, to be of my opinion; but others, who were
my secret enemies, could not forbear some expressions which, by a
side-wind, reflected on me. And from this time began an
intrigue between his majesty and a junto of ministers,
maliciously bent against me, which broke out in less than two
months, and had like to have ended in my utter destruction.
Of so little weight are the greatest services to princes, when
put into the balance with a refusal to gratify their
passions.</p>
<p>About three weeks after this exploit, there arrived a solemn
embassy from Blefuscu, with humble offers of a peace, which was
soon concluded, upon conditions very advantageous to our emperor,
wherewith I shall not trouble the reader. There were six
ambassadors, with a train of about five hundred persons, and
their entry was very magnificent, suitable to the grandeur of
their master, and the importance of their business. When
their treaty was finished, wherein I did them several good
offices by the credit I now had, or at least appeared to have, at
court, their excellencies, who were privately told how much I had
been their friend, made me a visit in form. They began with
many compliments upon my valour and generosity, invited me to
that kingdom in the emperor their master’s name, and
desired me to show them some proofs of my prodigious strength, of
which they had heard so many wonders; wherein I readily obliged
them, but shall not trouble the reader with the particulars.</p>
<p>When I had for some time entertained their excellencies, to
their infinite satisfaction and surprise, I desired they would do
me the honour to present my most humble respects to the emperor
their master, the renown of whose virtues had so justly filled
the whole world with admiration, and whose royal person I
resolved to attend, before I returned to my own country.
Accordingly, the next time I had the honour to see our emperor, I
desired his general license to wait on the Blefuscudian monarch,
which he was pleased to grant me, as I could perceive, in a very
cold manner; but could not guess the reason, till I had a whisper
from a certain person, “that Flimnap and Bolgolam had
represented my intercourse with those ambassadors as a mark of
disaffection;” from which I am sure my heart was wholly
free. And this was the first time I began to conceive some
imperfect idea of courts and ministers.</p>
<p>It is to be observed, that these ambassadors spoke 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
tongue, with an avowed contempt for that of their neighbour; yet
our emperor, standing upon the advantage he had got by the
seizure of their fleet, obliged them to deliver their
credentials, and make their speech, in the Lilliputian
tongue. And it must be confessed, that from the great
intercourse 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 send their young nobility and
richer gentry to the other, in order to polish themselves by
seeing the world, and understanding men and manners; there are
few persons of distinction, or merchants, or seamen, who dwell in
the maritime parts, but what can hold conversation in both
tongues; as I found some weeks after, when I went to pay my
respects to the emperor of Blefuscu, which, in the midst of great
misfortunes, through the malice of my enemies, proved a very
happy adventure to me, as I shall relate in its proper place.</p>
<p>The reader may remember, that when I signed those articles
upon which I recovered my liberty, there were some which I
disliked, upon account of their being too servile; neither could
anything but an extreme necessity have forced me to submit.
But being now a <i>nardac</i> of the highest rank in that empire,
such offices were looked upon as below my dignity, and the
emperor (to do him justice), never once mentioned them to
me. However, it was not long before I had an opportunity of
doing his majesty, at least as I then thought, a most signal
service. I was alarmed at midnight with the cries of many
hundred people at my door; by which, being suddenly awaked, I was
in some kind of terror. I heard the word <i>Burglum</i>
repeated incessantly: several of the emperor’s court,
making their way through the crowd, entreated me to come
immediately to the palace, where her imperial majesty’s
apartment was on fire, by the carelessness of a maid of honour,
who fell asleep while she was reading a romance. I got up
in an instant; and orders being given to clear the way before me,
and it being likewise a moonshine night, I made a shift 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 some
distance. These buckets were about the size of large
thimbles, and the poor people supplied me with them as fast as
they could: but the flame was so violent that they did little
good. I might easily have stifled it with my coat, which I
unfortunately left behind me for haste, and came away only in my
leathern jerkin. The case seemed wholly desperate and
deplorable; and this magnificent palace would have infallibly
been burnt down to the ground, if, by a presence of mind unusual
to me, I had not suddenly thought of an expedient. I had,
the evening before, drunk plentifully of a most delicious wine
called <i>glimigrim</i>, (the Blefuscudians call it
<i>flunec</i>, but ours is esteemed the better sort,) 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 labouring to
quench them, made the wine begin to operate by urine; which I
voided in such a quantity, and applied so well to the proper
places, that in three minutes the fire was wholly extinguished,
and the rest of that noble pile, which had cost so many ages in
erecting, preserved from destruction.</p>
<p>It was now day-light, and I returned to my house without
waiting to congratulate with the emperor: because, although I had
done a very eminent piece of service, yet I could not tell how
his majesty might resent the manner by which I had performed it:
for, by the fundamental laws of the realm, it is capital in any
person, of what quality soever, to make water within the
precincts of the palace. But I was a little comforted by a
message from his majesty, “that he would give orders to the
grand justiciary for passing my pardon in form:” which,
however, I could not obtain; and I was privately assured,
“that the empress, conceiving the greatest abhorrence of
what I had done, removed to the most distant side of the court,
firmly resolved that those buildings should never be repaired for
her use: and, in the presence of her chief confidents could not
forbear vowing revenge.”</p>
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