part ii.a voyage to brobdingnag. chapter i. a great storm described; the long boat sentto fetch water; the author goes with it to discover the country. he is left on shore, is seized by one ofthe natives, and carried to a farmer's house.his reception, with several accidents that happened there. a description of the inhabitants. having been condemned, by nature andfortune, to active and restless life, in
two months after my return, i again left mynative country, and took shipping in the downs, on the 20th day of june, 1702, in the adventure, captain john nicholas, acornish man, commander, bound for surat. we had a very prosperous gale, till wearrived at the cape of good hope, where we landed for fresh water; but discovering aleak, we unshipped our goods and wintered there; for the captain falling sick of an ague, we could not leave the cape till theend of march. we then set sail, and had a good voyagetill we passed the straits of madagascar; but having got northward of that island,and to about five degrees south latitude,
the winds, which in those seas are observed to blow a constant equal gale between thenorth and west, from the beginning of december to the beginning of may, on the19th of april began to blow with much greater violence, and more westerly than usual, continuing so for twenty daystogether: during which time, we were driven a little to the east of the moluccaislands, and about three degrees northward of the line, as our captain found by an observation he took the 2nd of may, atwhich time the wind ceased, and it was a perfect calm, whereat i was not a littlerejoiced.
but he, being a man well experienced in thenavigation of those seas, bid us all prepare against a storm, which accordinglyhappened the day following: for the southern wind, called the southern monsoon,began to set in. finding it was likely to overblow, we tookin our sprit-sail, and stood by to hand the fore-sail; but making foul weather, welooked the guns were all fast, and handed the mizen. the ship lay very broad off, so we thoughtit better spooning before the sea, than trying or hulling. we reefed the fore-sail and set him, andhauled aft the fore-sheet; the helm was
hard a-weather.the ship wore bravely. we belayed the fore down-haul; but the sailwas split, and we hauled down the yard, and got the sail into the ship, and unbound allthe things clear of it. it was a very fierce storm; the sea brokestrange and dangerous. we hauled off upon the laniard of the whip-staff, and helped the man at the helm. we would not get down our topmast, but letall stand, because she scudded before the sea very well, and we knew that the top-mast being aloft, the ship was the wholesomer, and made better way through thesea, seeing we had sea-room. when the storm was over, we set fore-sailand main-sail, and brought the ship to.
then we set the mizen, main-top-sail, andthe fore-top-sail. our course was east-north-east, the windwas at south-west. we got the starboard tacks aboard, we castoff our weather-braces and lifts; we set in the lee-braces, and hauled forward by theweather-bowlings, and hauled them tight, and belayed them, and hauled over the mizen tack to windward, and kept her full and byas near as she would lie. during this storm, which was followed by astrong wind west-south-west, we were carried, by my computation, about fivehundred leagues to the east, so that the oldest sailor on board could not tell inwhat part of the world we were.
our provisions held out well, our ship wasstaunch, and our crew all in good health; but we lay in the utmost distress forwater. we thought it best to hold on the samecourse, rather than turn more northerly, which might have brought us to the north-west part of great tartary, and into the frozen sea. on the 16th day of june, 1703, a boy on thetop-mast discovered land. on the 17th, we came in full view of agreat island, or continent (for we knew not whether;) on the south side whereof was asmall neck of land jutting out into the sea, and a creek too shallow to hold a shipof above one hundred tons.
we cast anchor within a league of thiscreek, and our captain sent a dozen of his men well armed in the long-boat, withvessels for water, if any could be found. i desired his leave to go with them, that imight see the country, and make what discoveries i could.when we came to land we saw no river or spring, nor any sign of inhabitants. our men therefore wandered on the shore tofind out some fresh water near the sea, and i walked alone about a mile on the otherside, where i observed the country all barren and rocky. i now began to be weary, and seeing nothingto entertain my curiosity, i returned
gently down towards the creek; and the seabeing full in my view, i saw our men already got into the boat, and rowing forlife to the ship. i was going to holla after them, althoughit had been to little purpose, when i observed a huge creature walking after themin the sea, as fast as he could: he waded not much deeper than his knees, and took prodigious strides: but our men had thestart of him half a league, and, the sea thereabouts being full of sharp-pointedrocks, the monster was not able to overtake the boat. this i was afterwards told, for i durst notstay to see the issue of the adventure; but
ran as fast as i could the way i firstwent, and then climbed up a steep hill, which gave me some prospect of the country. i found it fully cultivated; but that whichfirst surprised me was the length of the grass, which, in those grounds that seemedto be kept for hay, was about twenty feet high. i fell into a high road, for so i took itto be, though it served to the inhabitants only as a foot-path through a field ofbarley. here i walked on for some time, but couldsee little on either side, it being now near harvest, and the corn rising at leastforty feet.
i was an hour walking to the end of thisfield, which was fenced in with a hedge of at least one hundred and twenty feet high,and the trees so lofty that i could make no computation of their altitude. there was a stile to pass from this fieldinto the next. it had four steps, and a stone to crossover when you came to the uppermost. it was impossible for me to climb thisstile, because every step was six-feet high, and the upper stone about twenty. i was endeavouring to find some gap in thehedge, when i discovered one of the inhabitants in the next field, advancingtowards the stile, of the same size with
him whom i saw in the sea pursuing ourboat. he appeared as tall as an ordinary spiresteeple, and took about ten yards at every stride, as near as i could guess. i was struck with the utmost fear andastonishment, and ran to hide myself in the corn, whence i saw him at the top of thestile looking back into the next field on the right hand, and heard him call in a voice many degrees louder than a speaking-trumpet: but the noise was so high in the air, that at first i certainly thought itwas thunder. whereupon seven monsters, like himself,came towards him with reaping-hooks in
their hands, each hook about the largenessof six scythes. these people were not so well clad as thefirst, whose servants or labourers they seemed to be; for, upon some words hespoke, they went to reap the corn in the field where i lay. i kept from them at as great a distance asi could, but was forced to move with extreme difficulty, for the stalks of thecorn were sometimes not above a foot distant, so that i could hardly squeeze mybody betwixt them. however, i made a shift to go forward, tilli came to a part of the field where the corn had been laid by the rain and wind.
here it was impossible for me to advance astep; for the stalks were so interwoven, that i could not creep through, and thebeards of the fallen ears so strong and pointed, that they pierced through myclothes into my flesh. at the same time i heard the reapers not ahundred yards behind me. being quite dispirited with toil, andwholly overcome by grief and dispair, i lay down between two ridges, and heartilywished i might there end my days. i bemoaned my desolate widow and fatherlesschildren. i lamented my own folly and wilfulness, inattempting a second voyage, against the advice of all my friends and relations.
in this terrible agitation of mind, i couldnot forbear thinking of lilliput, whose inhabitants looked upon me as the greatestprodigy that ever appeared in the world; where i was able to draw an imperial fleet in my hand, and perform those otheractions, which will be recorded for ever in the chronicles of that empire, whileposterity shall hardly believe them, although attested by millions. i reflected what a mortification it mustprove to me, to appear as inconsiderable in this nation, as one single lilliputianwould be among us. but this i conceived was to be the least ofmy misfortunes; for, as human creatures are
observed to be more savage and cruel inproportion to their bulk, what could i expect but to be a morsel in the mouth of the first among these enormous barbariansthat should happen to seize me? undoubtedly philosophers are in the right,when they tell us that nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison. it might have pleased fortune, to have letthe lilliputians find some nation, where the people were as diminutive with respectto them, as they were to me. and who knows but that even this prodigiousrace of mortals might be equally overmatched in some distant part of theworld, whereof we have yet no discovery.
scared and confounded as i was, i could notforbear going on with these reflections, when one of the reapers, approaching withinten yards of the ridge where i lay, made me apprehend that with the next step i should be squashed to death under his foot, or cutin two with his reaping-hook. and therefore, when he was again about tomove, i screamed as loud as fear could make me: whereupon the huge creature trod short,and, looking round about under him for some time, at last espied me as i lay on theground. he considered awhile, with the caution ofone who endeavours to lay hold on a small dangerous animal in such a manner that itshall not be able either to scratch or bite
him, as i myself have sometimes done with aweasel in england. at length he ventured to take me behind, bythe middle, between his fore-finger and thumb, and brought me within three yards ofhis eyes, that he might behold my shape more perfectly. i guessed his meaning, and my good fortunegave me so much presence of mind, that i resolved not to struggle in the least as heheld me in the air above sixty feet from the ground, although he grievously pinched my sides, for fear i should slip throughhis fingers. all i ventured was to raise mine eyestowards the sun, and place my hands
together in a supplicating posture, and tospeak some words in a humble melancholy tone, suitable to the condition i then was in: for i apprehended every moment that hewould dash me against the ground, as we usually do any little hateful animal, whichwe have a mind to destroy. but my good star would have it, that heappeared pleased with my voice and gestures, and began to look upon me as acuriosity, much wondering to hear me pronounce articulate words, although hecould not understand them. in the mean time i was not able to forbeargroaning and shedding tears, and turning my head towards my sides; letting him know, aswell as i could, how cruelly i was hurt by
the pressure of his thumb and finger. he seemed to apprehend my meaning; for,lifting up the lappet of his coat, he put me gently into it, and immediately ranalong with me to his master, who was a substantial farmer, and the same person ihad first seen in the field. the farmer having (as i suppose by theirtalk) received such an account of me as his servant could give him, took a piece of asmall straw, about the size of a walking- staff, and therewith lifted up the lappets of my coat; which it seems he thought to besome kind of covering that nature had given me.he blew my hairs aside to take a better
view of my face. he called his hinds about him, and askedthem, as i afterwards learned, whether they had ever seen in the fields any littlecreature that resembled me. he then placed me softly on the ground uponall fours, but i got immediately up, and walked slowly backward and forward, to letthose people see i had no intent to run away. they all sat down in a circle about me, thebetter to observe my motions. i pulled off my hat, and made a low bowtowards the farmer. i fell on my knees, and lifted up my handsand eyes, and spoke several words as loud
as i could: i took a purse of gold out ofmy pocket, and humbly presented it to him. he received it on the palm of his hand,then applied it close to his eye to see what it was, and afterwards turned itseveral times with the point of a pin (which he took out of his sleeve,) butcould make nothing of it. whereupon i made a sign that he shouldplace his hand on the ground. i then took the purse, and, opening it,poured all the gold into his palm. there were six spanish pieces of fourpistoles each, beside twenty or thirty smaller coins. i saw him wet the tip of his little fingerupon his tongue, and take up one of my
largest pieces, and then another; but heseemed to be wholly ignorant what they were. he made me a sign to put them again into mypurse, and the purse again into my pocket, which, after offering it to him severaltimes, i thought it best to do. the farmer, by this time, was convinced imust be a rational creature. he spoke often to me; but the sound of hisvoice pierced my ears like that of a water- mill, yet his words were articulate enough. i answered as loud as i could in severallanguages, and he often laid his ear within two yards of me: but all in vain, for wewere wholly unintelligible to each other.
he then sent his servants to their work,and taking his handkerchief out of his pocket, he doubled and spread it on hisleft hand, which he placed flat on the ground with the palm upward, making me a sign to step into it, as i could easily do,for it was not above a foot in thickness. i thought it my part to obey, and, for fearof falling, laid myself at full length upon the handkerchief, with the remainder ofwhich he lapped me up to the head for further security, and in this mannercarried me home to his house. there he called his wife, and showed me toher; but she screamed and ran back, as women in england do at the sight of a toador a spider.
however, when she had a while seen mybehaviour, and how well i observed the signs her husband made, she was soonreconciled, and by degrees grew extremely tender of me. it was about twelve at noon, and a servantbrought in dinner. it was only one substantial dish of meat(fit for the plain condition of a husbandman,) in a dish of about four-and-twenty feet diameter. the company were, the farmer and his wife,three children, and an old grandmother. when they were sat down, the farmer placedme at some distance from him on the table, which was thirty feet high from the floor.
i was in a terrible fright, and kept as faras i could from the edge, for fear of falling. the wife minced a bit of meat, thencrumbled some bread on a trencher, and placed it before me. i made her a low bow, took out my knife andfork, and fell to eat, which gave them exceeding delight. the mistress sent her maid for a small dramcup, which held about two gallons, and filled it with drink; i took up the vesselwith much difficulty in both hands, and in a most respectful manner drank to her
ladyship's health, expressing the words asloud as i could in english, which made the company laugh so heartily, that i wasalmost deafened with the noise. this liquor tasted like a small cider, andwas not unpleasant. then the master made me a sign to come tohis trencher side; but as i walked on the table, being in great surprise all thetime, as the indulgent reader will easily conceive and excuse, i happened to stumble against a crust, and fell flat on my face,but received no hurt. i got up immediately, and observing thegood people to be in much concern, i took my hat (which i held under my arm out ofgood manners,) and waving it over my head,
made three huzzas, to show i had got nomischief by my fall. but advancing forward towards my master (asi shall henceforth call him,) his youngest son, who sat next to him, an arch boy ofabout ten years old, took me up by the legs, and held me so high in the air, that i trembled every limb: but his fathersnatched me from him, and at the same time gave him such a box on the left ear, aswould have felled an european troop of horse to the earth, ordering him to betaken from the table. but being afraid the boy might owe me aspite, and well remembering how mischievous all children among us naturally are tosparrows, rabbits, young kittens, and puppy
dogs, i fell on my knees, and pointing to the boy, made my master to understand, aswell as i could, that i desired his son might be pardoned. the father complied, and the lad took hisseat again, whereupon i went to him, and kissed his hand, which my master took, andmade him stroke me gently with it. in the midst of dinner, my mistress'sfavourite cat leaped into her lap. i heard a noise behind me like that of adozen stocking-weavers at work; and turning my head, i found it proceeded from thepurring of that animal, who seemed to be three times larger than an ox, as i
computed by the view of her head, and oneof her paws, while her mistress was feeding and stroking her. the fierceness of this creature'scountenance altogether discomposed me; though i stood at the farther end of thetable, above fifty feet off; and although my mistress held her fast, for fear she might give a spring, and seize me in hertalons. but it happened there was no danger, forthe cat took not the least notice of me when my master placed me within three yardsof her. and as i have been always told, and foundtrue by experience in my travels, that
flying or discovering fear before a fierceanimal, is a certain way to make it pursue or attack you, so i resolved, in this dangerous juncture, to show no manner ofconcern. i walked with intrepidity five or six timesbefore the very head of the cat, and came within half a yard of her; whereupon shedrew herself back, as if she were more afraid of me: i had less apprehension concerning the dogs, whereof three or fourcame into the room, as it is usual in farmers' houses; one of which was amastiff, equal in bulk to four elephants, and another a greyhound, somewhat tallerthan the mastiff, but not so large.
when dinner was almost done, the nurse camein with a child of a year old in her arms, who immediately spied me, and began asquall that you might have heard from london-bridge to chelsea, after the usual oratory of infants, to get me for aplaything. the mother, out of pure indulgence, took meup, and put me towards the child, who presently seized me by the middle, and gotmy head into his mouth, where i roared so loud that the urchin was frighted, and let me drop, and i should infallibly have brokemy neck, if the mother had not held her apron under me.
the nurse, to quiet her babe, made use of arattle which was a kind of hollow vessel filled with great stones, and fastened by acable to the child's waist: but all in vain; so that she was forced to apply thelast remedy by giving it suck. i must confess no object ever disgusted meso much as the sight of her monstrous breast, which i cannot tell what to comparewith, so as to give the curious reader an idea of its bulk, shape, and colour. it stood prominent six feet, and could notbe less than sixteen in circumference. the nipple was about half the bigness of myhead, and the hue both of that and the dug, so varied with spots, pimples, andfreckles, that nothing could appear more
nauseous: for i had a near sight of her, she sitting down, the more conveniently togive suck, and i standing on the table. this made me reflect upon the fair skins ofour english ladies, who appear so beautiful to us, only because they are of our ownsize, and their defects not to be seen but through a magnifying glass; where we find by experiment that the smoothest andwhitest skins look rough, and coarse, and ill-coloured. i remember when i was at lilliput, thecomplexion of those diminutive people appeared to me the fairest in the world;and talking upon this subject with a person
of learning there, who was an intimate friend of mine, he said that my faceappeared much fairer and smoother when he looked on me from the ground, than it didupon a nearer view, when i took him up in my hand, and brought him close, which he confessed was at first a very shockingsight. he said, "he could discover great holes inmy skin; that the stumps of my beard were ten times stronger than the bristles of aboar, and my complexion made up of several colours altogether disagreeable:" although i must beg leave to say for myself, that iam as fair as most of my sex and country,
and very little sunburnt by all my travels. on the other side, discoursing of theladies in that emperor's court, he used to tell me, "one had freckles; another toowide a mouth; a third too large a nose;" nothing of which i was able to distinguish. i confess this reflection was obviousenough; which, however, i could not forbear, lest the reader might think thosevast creatures were actually deformed: for i must do them the justice to say, they are a comely race of people, and particularlythe features of my master's countenance, although he was but a farmer, when i beheldhim from the height of sixty feet, appeared
very well proportioned. when dinner was done, my master went out tohis labourers, and, as i could discover by his voice and gesture, gave his wife strictcharge to take care of me. i was very much tired, and disposed tosleep, which my mistress perceiving, she put me on her own bed, and covered me witha clean white handkerchief, but larger and coarser than the mainsail of a man-of-war. i slept about two hours, and dreamt i wasat home with my wife and children, which aggravated my sorrows when i awaked, andfound myself alone in a vast room, between two and three hundred feet wide, and above
two hundred high, lying in a bed twentyyards wide. my mistress was gone about her householdaffairs, and had locked me in. the bed was eight yards from the floor. some natural necessities required me to getdown; i durst not presume to call; and if i had, it would have been in vain, with sucha voice as mine, at so great a distance from the room where i lay to the kitchenwhere the family kept. while i was under these circumstances, tworats crept up the curtains, and ran smelling backwards and forwards on the bed. one of them came up almost to my face,whereupon i rose in a fright, and drew out
my hanger to defend myself. these horrible animals had the boldness toattack me on both sides, and one of them held his fore-feet at my collar; but i hadthe good fortune to rip up his belly before he could do me any mischief. he fell down at my feet; and the other,seeing the fate of his comrade, made his escape, but not without one good wound onthe back, which i gave him as he fled, and made the blood run trickling from him. after this exploit, i walked gently to andfro on the bed, to recover my breath and loss of spirits.
these creatures were of the size of a largemastiff, but infinitely more nimble and fierce; so that if i had taken off my beltbefore i went to sleep, i must have infallibly been torn to pieces anddevoured. i measured the tail of the dead rat, andfound it to be two yards long, wanting an inch; but it went against my stomach todrag the carcass off the bed, where it lay still bleeding; i observed it had yet some life, but with a strong slash across theneck, i thoroughly despatched 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, smiling, andmaking other signs to show i was not hurt; whereat she was extremely rejoiced, callingthe maid to take up the dead rat with a pair of tongs, and throw it out of thewindow. then she set me on a table, where i showedher my hanger all bloody, and wiping it on the lappet of my coat, returned it to thescabbard. i was pressed to do more than one thingwhich another could not do for me, and therefore endeavoured to make my mistressunderstand, that i desired to be set down on the floor; which after she had done, my bashfulness would not suffer me to expressmyself farther, than by pointing to the
door, and bowing several times. the good woman, with much difficulty, atlast perceived what i would be at, and taking me up again in her hand, walked intothe garden, where she set me down. i went on one side about two hundred yards,and beckoning to her not to look or to follow me, i hid myself between two leavesof sorrel, and there discharged the necessities of nature. i hope the gentle reader will excuse me fordwelling on these and the like particulars, which, however insignificant they mayappear to groveling vulgar minds, yet will certainly help a philosopher to enlarge his
thoughts and imagination, and apply them tothe benefit of public as well as private life, which was my sole design inpresenting this and other accounts of my travels to the world; wherein i have been chiefly studious of truth, withoutaffecting any ornaments of learning or of style. but the whole scene of this voyage made sostrong an impression on my mind, and is so deeply fixed in my memory, that, incommitting it to paper i did not omit one material circumstance: however, upon a strict review, i blotted out severalpassages.
of less moment which were in my first copy,for fear of being censured as tedious and trifling, whereof travellers are often,perhaps not without justice, accused. chapter ii. a description of the farmer's daughter.the author carried to a market-town, and then to the metropolis.the particulars of his journey. my mistress had a daughter of nine yearsold, a child of towardly parts for her age, very dexterous at her needle, and skilfulin dressing her baby. her mother and she contrived to fit up thebaby's cradle for me against night: the cradle was put into a small drawer of acabinet, and the drawer placed upon a
hanging shelf for fear of the rats. this was my bed all the time i staid withthose people, though made more convenient by degrees, as i began to learn theirlanguage and make my wants known. this young girl was so handy, that after ihad once or twice pulled off my clothes before her, she was able to dress andundress me, though i never gave her that trouble when she would let me do eithermyself. she made me seven shirts, and some otherlinen, of as fine cloth as could be got, which indeed was coarser than sackcloth;and these she constantly washed for me with her own hands.
she was likewise my school-mistress, toteach me the language: when i pointed to any thing, she told me the name of it inher own tongue, so that in a few days i was able to call for whatever i had a mind to. she was very good-natured, and not aboveforty feet high, being little for her age. she gave me the name of grildrig, which thefamily took up, and afterwards the whole kingdom. the word imports what the latins callnanunculus, the italians homunceletino, and the english mannikin. to her i chiefly owe my preservation inthat country: we never parted while i was
there; i called her my glumdalclitch, orlittle nurse; and should be guilty of great ingratitude, if i omitted this honourable mention of her care and affection towardsme, which i heartily wish it lay in my power to requite as she deserves, insteadof being the innocent, but unhappy instrument of her disgrace, as i have toomuch reason to fear. it now began to be known and talked of inthe neighbourhood, that my master had found a strange animal in the field, about thebigness of a splacnuck, but exactly shaped in every part like a human creature; which it likewise imitated in all its actions;seemed to speak in a little language of its
own, had already learned several words oftheirs, went erect upon two legs, was tame and gentle, would come when it was called, do whatever it was bid, had the finestlimbs in the world, and a complexion fairer than a nobleman's daughter of three yearsold. another farmer, who lived hard by, and wasa particular friend of my master, came on a visit on purpose to inquire into the truthof this story. i was immediately produced, and placed upona table, where i walked as i was commanded, drew my hanger, put it up again, made myreverence to my master's guest, asked him in his own language how he did, and told
him he was welcome, just as my little nursehad instructed me. this man, who was old and dim-sighted, puton his spectacles to behold me better; at which i could not forbear laughing veryheartily, for his eyes appeared like the full moon shining into a chamber at twowindows. our people, who discovered the cause of mymirth, bore me company in laughing, at which the old fellow was fool enough to beangry and out of countenance. he had the character of a great miser; and,to my misfortune, he well deserved it, by the cursed advice he gave my master, toshow me as a sight upon a market-day in the next town, which was half an hour's riding,about two-and-twenty miles from our house.
i guessed there was some mischief when iobserved my master and his friend whispering together, sometimes pointing atme; and my fears made me fancy that i overheard and understood some of theirwords. but the next morning glumdalclitch, mylittle nurse, told me the whole matter, which she had cunningly picked out from hermother. the poor girl laid me on her bosom, andfell a weeping with shame and grief. she apprehended some mischief would happento me from rude vulgar folks, who might squeeze me to death, or break one of mylimbs by taking me in their hands. she had also observed how modest i was inmy nature, how nicely i regarded my honour,
and what an indignity i should conceive it,to be exposed for money as a public spectacle, to the meanest of the people. she said, her papa and mamma had promisedthat grildrig should be hers; but now she found they meant to serve her as they didlast year, when they pretended to give her a lamb, and yet, as soon as it was fat,sold it to a butcher. for my own part, i may truly affirm, that iwas less concerned than my nurse. i had a strong hope, which never left me,that i should one day recover my liberty: and as to the ignominy of being carriedabout for a monster, i considered myself to be a perfect stranger in the country, and
that such a misfortune could never becharged upon me as a reproach, if ever i should return to england, since the king ofgreat britain himself, in my condition, must have undergone the same distress. my master, pursuant to the advice of hisfriend, carried me in a box the next market-day to the neighbouring town, andtook along with him his little daughter, my nurse, upon a pillion behind him. the box was close on every side, with alittle door for me to go in and out, and a few gimlet holes to let in air. the girl had been so careful as to put thequilt of her baby's bed into it, for me to
lie down on. however, i was terribly shaken anddiscomposed in this journey, though it was but of half an hour: for the horse wentabout forty feet at every step and trotted so high, that the agitation was equal to the rising and falling of a ship in a greatstorm, but much more frequent. our journey was somewhat farther than fromlondon to st. alban's. my master alighted at an inn which he usedto frequent; and after consulting awhile with the inn-keeper, and making somenecessary preparations, he hired the
grultrud, or crier, to give notice through the town of a strange creature to be seenat the sign of the green eagle, not so big as a splacnuck (an animal in that countryvery finely shaped, about six feet long,) and in every part of the body resembling a human creature, could speak several words,and perform a hundred diverting tricks. i was placed upon a table in the largestroom of the inn, which might be near three hundred feet square. my little nurse stood on a low stool closeto the table, to take care of me, and direct what i should do.my master, to avoid a crowd, would suffer
only thirty people at a time to see me. i walked about on the table as the girlcommanded; she asked me questions, as far as she knew my understanding of thelanguage reached, and i answered them as loud as i could. i turned about several times to thecompany, paid my humble respects, said they were welcome, and used some other speechesi had been taught. i took up a thimble filled with liquor,which glumdalclitch had given me for a cup, and drank their health, i drew out myhanger, and flourished with it after the manner of fencers in england.
my nurse gave me a part of a straw, which iexercised as a pike, having learnt the art in my youth. i was that day shown to twelve sets ofcompany, and as often forced to act over again the same fopperies, till i was halfdead with weariness and vexation; for those who had seen me made such wonderful reports, that the people were ready tobreak down the doors to come in. my master, for his own interest, would notsuffer any one to touch me except my nurse; and to prevent danger, benches were setround the table at such a distance as to put me out of every body's reach.
however, an unlucky school-boy aimed ahazel nut directly at my head, which very narrowly missed me; otherwise it came withso much violence, that it would have infallibly knocked out my brains, for it was almost as large as a small pumpkin, buti had the satisfaction to see the young rogue well beaten, and turned out of theroom. my master gave public notice that he wouldshow me again the next market-day; and in the meantime he prepared a convenientvehicle for me, which he had reason enough to do; for i was so tired with my first journey, and with entertaining company foreight hours together, that i could hardly
stand upon my legs, or speak a word. it was at least three days before irecovered my strength; and that i might have no rest at home, all the neighbouringgentlemen from a hundred miles round, hearing of my fame, came to see me at mymaster's own house. there could not be fewer than thirtypersons with their wives and children (for the country is very populous;) and mymaster demanded the rate of a full room whenever he showed me at home, although it were only to a single family; so that forsome time i had but little ease every day of the week (except wednesday, which istheir sabbath,) although i were not carried
to the town. my master, finding how profitable i waslikely to be, resolved to carry me to the most considerable cities of the kingdom. having therefore provided himself with allthings necessary for a long journey, and settled his affairs at home, he took leaveof his wife, and upon the 17th of august, 1703, about two months after my arrival, we set out for the metropolis, situate nearthe middle of that empire, and about three thousand miles distance from our house.my master made his daughter glumdalclitch ride behind him.
she carried me on her lap, in a box tiedabout her waist. the girl had lined it on all sides with thesoftest cloth she could get, well quilted underneath, furnished it with her baby'sbed, provided me with linen and other necessaries, and made everything asconvenient as she could. we had no other company but a boy of thehouse, who rode after us with the luggage. my master's design was to show me in allthe towns by the way, and to step out of the road for fifty or a hundred miles, toany village, or person of quality's house, where he might expect custom. we made easy journeys, of not above sevenor eight score miles a-day; for
glumdalclitch, on purpose to spare me,complained she was tired with the trotting of the horse. she often took me out of my box, at my owndesire, to give me air, and show me the country, but always held me fast by aleading-string. we passed over five or six rivers, manydegrees broader and deeper than the nile or the ganges: and there was hardly a rivuletso small as the thames at london-bridge. we were ten weeks in our journey, and i wasshown in eighteen large towns, besides many villages, and private families. on the 26th day of october we arrived atthe metropolis, called in their language
lorbrulgrud, or pride of the universe. my master took a lodging in the principalstreet of the city, not far from the royal palace, and put out bills in the usualform, containing an exact description of my person and parts. he hired a large room between three andfour hundred feet wide. he provided a table sixty feet in diameter,upon which i was to act my part, and pallisadoed it round three feet from theedge, and as many high, to prevent my falling over. i was shown ten times a-day, to the wonderand satisfaction of all people.
i could now speak the language tolerablywell, and perfectly understood every word, that was spoken to me. besides, i had learnt their alphabet, andcould make a shift to explain a sentence here and there; for glumdalclitch had beenmy instructor while we were at home, and at leisure hours during our journey. she carried a little book in her pocket,not much larger than a sanson's atlas; it was a common treatise for the use of younggirls, giving a short account of their religion: out of this she taught me myletters, and interpreted the words. chapter iii.
the author sent for to court.the queen buys him of his master the farmer, and presents him to the king.he disputes with his majesty's great scholars. an apartment at court provided for theauthor. he is in high favour with the queen.he stands up for the honour of his own country. his quarrels with the queen's dwarf.the frequent labours i underwent every day, made, in a few weeks, a very considerablechange in my health: the more my master got by me, the more insatiable he grew.
i had quite lost my stomach, and was almostreduced to a skeleton. the farmer observed it, and concluding imust soon die, resolved to make as good a hand of me as he could. while he was thus reasoning and resolvingwith himself, a sardral, or gentleman- usher, came from court, commanding mymaster to carry me immediately thither for the diversion of the queen and her ladies. some of the latter had already been to seeme, and reported strange things of my beauty, behaviour, and good sense. her majesty, and those who attended her,were beyond measure delighted with my
demeanour. i fell on my knees, and begged the honourof kissing her imperial foot; but this gracious princess held out her littlefinger towards me, after i was set on the table, which i embraced in both my arms, and put the tip of it with the utmostrespect to my lip. she made me some general questions about mycountry and my travels, which i answered as distinctly, and in as few words as i could. she asked, "whether i could be content tolive at court?" i bowed down to the board of the table, and humbly answered "that iwas my master's slave: but, if i were at my
own disposal, i should be proud to devote my life to her majesty's service." shethen asked my master, "whether he was willing to sell me at a good price?" he,who apprehended i could not live a month, was ready enough to part with me, and demanded a thousand pieces of gold, whichwere ordered him on the spot, each piece being about the bigness of eight hundredmoidores; but allowing for the proportion of all things between that country and europe, and the high price of gold amongthem, was hardly so great a sum as a thousand guineas would be in england.
i then said to the queen, "since i was nowher majesty's most humble creature and vassal, i must beg the favour, thatglumdalclitch, who had always tended me with so much care and kindness, and understood to do it so well, might beadmitted into her service, and continue to be my nurse and instructor." her majestyagreed to my petition, and easily got the farmer's consent, who was glad enough to have his daughter preferred at court, andthe poor girl herself was not able to hide her joy. my late master withdrew, bidding mefarewell, and saying he had left me in a
good service; to which i replied not aword, only making him a slight bow. the queen observed my coldness; and, whenthe farmer was gone out of the apartment, asked me the reason. i made bold to tell her majesty, "that iowed no other obligation to my late master, than his not dashing out the brains of apoor harmless creature, found by chance in his fields: which obligation was amply recompensed, by the gain he had made inshowing me through half the kingdom, and the price he had now sold me for. that the life i had since led was laboriousenough to kill an animal of ten times my
strength. that my health was much impaired, by thecontinual drudgery of entertaining the rabble every hour of the day; and that, ifmy master had not thought my life in danger, her majesty would not have got socheap a bargain. but as i was out of all fear of being ill-treated under the protection of so great and good an empress, the ornament ofnature, the darling of the world, the delight of her subjects, the phoenix of the creation, so i hoped my late master'sapprehensions would appear to be groundless; for i already found my spiritsrevive, by the influence of her most august
presence." this was the sum of my speech, delivered with great improprieties andhesitation. the latter part was altogether framed inthe style peculiar to that people, whereof i learned some phrases from glumdalclitch,while she was carrying me to court. the queen, giving great allowance for mydefectiveness in speaking, was, however, surprised at so much wit and good sense inso diminutive an animal. she took me in her own hand, and carried meto the king, who was then retired to his cabinet. his majesty, a prince of much gravity andaustere countenance, not well observing my
shape at first view, asked the queen aftera cold manner "how long it was since she grew fond of a splacnuck?" for such it seems he took me to be, as i lay upon mybreast in her majesty's right hand. but this princess, who has an infinite dealof wit and humour, set me gently on my feet upon the scrutoire, and commanded me togive his majesty an account of myself, which i did in a very few words: and glumdalclitch who attended at the cabinetdoor, and could not endure i should be out of her sight, being admitted, confirmed allthat had passed from my arrival at her father's house.
the king, although he be as learned aperson as any in his dominions, had been educated in the study of philosophy, andparticularly mathematics; yet when he observed my shape exactly, and saw me walk erect, before i began to speak, conceived imight be a piece of clock-work (which is in that country arrived to a very greatperfection) contrived by some ingenious artist. but when he heard my voice, and found whati delivered to be regular and rational, he could not conceal his astonishment. he was by no means satisfied with therelation i gave him of the manner i came
into his kingdom, but thought it a storyconcerted between glumdalclitch and her father, who had taught me a set of words tomake me sell at a better price. upon this imagination, he put several otherquestions to me, and still received rational answers: no otherwise defectivethan by a foreign accent, and an imperfect knowledge in the language, with some rustic phrases which i had learned at the farmer'shouse, and did not suit the polite style of a court. his majesty sent for three great scholars,who were then in their weekly waiting, according to the custom in that country.
these gentlemen, after they had a whileexamined my shape with much nicety, were of different opinions concerning me. they all agreed that i could not beproduced according to the regular laws of nature, because i was not framed with acapacity of preserving my life, either by swiftness, or climbing of trees, or diggingholes in the earth. they observed by my teeth, which theyviewed with great exactness, that i was a carnivorous animal; yet most quadrupedsbeing an overmatch for me, and field mice, with some others, too nimble, they could not imagine how i should be able to supportmyself, unless i fed upon snails and other
insects, which they offered, by manylearned arguments, to evince that i could not possibly do. one of these virtuosi seemed to think thati might be an embryo, or abortive birth. but this opinion was rejected by the othertwo, who observed my limbs to be perfect and finished; and that i had lived severalyears, as it was manifest from my beard, the stumps whereof they plainly discoveredthrough a magnifying glass. they would not allow me to be a dwarf,because my littleness was beyond all degrees of comparison; for the queen'sfavourite dwarf, the smallest ever known in that kingdom, was near thirty feet high.
after much debate, they concludedunanimously, that i was only relplum scalcath, which is interpreted literallylusus naturae; a determination exactly agreeable to the modern philosophy of europe, whose professors, disdaining theold evasion of occult causes, whereby the followers of aristotle endeavoured in vainto disguise their ignorance, have invented this wonderful solution of all difficulties, to the unspeakableadvancement of human knowledge. after this decisive conclusion, i entreatedto be heard a word or two. i applied myself to the king, and assuredhis majesty, "that i came from a country
which abounded with several millions ofboth sexes, and of my own stature; where the animals, trees, and houses, were all in proportion, and where, by consequence, imight be as able to defend myself, and to find sustenance, as any of his majesty'ssubjects could do here; which i took for a full answer to those gentlemen's arguments." to this they only replied witha smile of contempt, saying, "that the farmer had instructed me very well in mylesson." the king, who had a much better understanding, dismissing his learned men, sent for the farmer, who by good fortunewas not yet gone out of town.
having therefore first examined himprivately, and then confronted him with me and the young girl, his majesty began tothink that what we told him might possibly be true. he desired the queen to order that aparticular care should be taken of me; and was of opinion that glumdalclitch shouldstill continue in her office of tending me, because he observed we had a greataffection for each other. a convenient apartment was provided for herat court: she had a sort of governess appointed to take care of her education, amaid to dress her, and two other servants for menial offices; but the care of me waswholly appropriated to herself.
the queen commanded her own cabinet-makerto contrive a box, that might serve me for a bedchamber, after the model thatglumdalclitch and i should agree upon. this man was a most ingenious artist, andaccording to my direction, in three weeks finished for me a wooden chamber of sixteenfeet square, and twelve high, with sash- windows, a door, and two closets, like alondon bed-chamber. the board, that made the ceiling, was to belifted up and down by two hinges, to put in a bed ready furnished by her majesty'supholsterer, which glumdalclitch took out every day to air, made it with her own hands, and letting it down at night, lockedup the roof over me.
a nice workman, who was famous for littlecuriosities, undertook to make me two chairs, with backs and frames, of asubstance not unlike ivory, and two tables, with a cabinet to put my things in. the room was quilted on all sides, as wellas the floor and the ceiling, to prevent any accident from the carelessness of thosewho carried me, and to break the force of a jolt, when i went in a coach. i desired a lock for my door, to preventrats and mice from coming in. the smith, after several attempts, made thesmallest that ever was seen among them, for i have known a larger at the gate of agentleman's house in england.
i made a shift to keep the key in a pocketof my own, fearing glumdalclitch might lose it. the queen likewise ordered the thinnestsilks that could be gotten, to make me clothes, not much thicker than an englishblanket, very cumbersome till i was accustomed to them. they were after the fashion of the kingdom,partly resembling the persian, and partly the chinese, and are a very grave anddecent habit. the queen became so fond of my company,that she could not dine without me. i had a table placed upon the same at whichher majesty ate, just at her left elbow,
and a chair to sit on. glumdalclitch stood on a stool on the floornear my table, to assist and take care of me. i had an entire set of silver dishes andplates, and other necessaries, which, in proportion to those of the queen, were notmuch bigger than what i have seen in a london toy-shop for the furniture of a baby-house: these my little nurse kept inher pocket in a silver box, and gave me at meals as i wanted them, always cleaningthem herself. no person dined with the queen but the twoprincesses royal, the eldest sixteen years
old, and the younger at that time thirteenand a month. her majesty used to put a bit of meat uponone of my dishes, out of which i carved for myself, and her diversion was to see me eatin miniature: for the queen (who had indeed but a weak stomach) took up, at one mouthful, as much as a dozen englishfarmers could eat at a meal, which to me was for some time a very nauseous sight. she would craunch the wing of a lark, bonesand all, between her teeth, although it were nine times as large as that of a full-grown turkey; and put a bit of bread into her mouth as big as two twelve-pennyloaves.
she drank out of a golden cup, above ahogshead at a draught. her knives were twice as long as a scythe,set straight upon the handle. the spoons, forks, and other instruments,were all in the same proportion. i remember when glumdalclitch carried me,out of curiosity, to see some of the tables at court, where ten or a dozen of thoseenormous knives and forks were lifted up together, i thought i had never till thenbeheld so terrible a sight. it is the custom, that every wednesday(which, as i have observed, is their sabbath) the king and queen, with the royalissue of both sexes, dine together in the apartment of his majesty, to whom i was now
become a great favourite; and at thesetimes, my little chair and table were placed at his left hand, before one of thesalt-cellars. this prince took a pleasure in conversingwith me, inquiring into the manners, religion, laws, government, and learning ofeurope; wherein i gave him the best account i was able. his apprehension was so clear, and hisjudgment so exact, that he made very wise reflections and observations upon all isaid. but i confess, that, after i had been alittle too copious in talking of my own beloved country, of our trade and wars bysea and land, of our schisms in religion,
and parties in the state; the prejudices of his education prevailed so far, that hecould not forbear taking me up in his right hand, and stroking me gently with theother, after a hearty fit of laughing, asked me, "whether i was a whig or tory?" then turning to his first minister, whowaited behind him with a white staff, near as tall as the mainmast of the royalsovereign, he observed "how contemptible a thing was human grandeur, which could be mimicked by such diminutive insects as i:and yet," says he, "i dare engage these creatures have their titles anddistinctions of honour; they contrive
little nests and burrows, that they call houses and cities; they make a figure indress and equipage; they love, they fight, they dispute, they cheat, they betray!"and thus he continued on, while my colour came and went several times, with indignation, to hear our noble country, themistress of arts and arms, the scourge of france, the arbitress of europe, the seatof virtue, piety, honour, and truth, the pride and envy of the world, socontemptuously treated. but as i was not in a condition to resentinjuries, so upon mature thoughts i began to doubt whether i was injured or no.
for, after having been accustomed severalmonths to the sight and converse of this people, and observed every object uponwhich i cast mine eyes to be of proportionable magnitude, the horror i had at first conceived from their bulk andaspect was so far worn off, that if i had then beheld a company of english lords andladies in their finery and birth-day clothes, acting their several parts in the most courtly manner of strutting, andbowing, and prating, to say the truth, i should have been strongly tempted to laughas much at them as the king and his grandees did at me.
neither, indeed, could i forbear smiling atmyself, when the queen used to place me upon her hand towards a looking-glass, bywhich both our persons appeared before me in full view together; and there could be nothing more ridiculous than thecomparison; so that i really began to imagine myself dwindled many degrees belowmy usual size. nothing angered and mortified me so much asthe queen's dwarf; who being of the lowest stature that was ever in that country (fori verily think he was not full thirty feet high), became so insolent at seeing a creature so much beneath him, that he wouldalways affect to swagger and look big as he
passed by me in the queen's antechamber,while i was standing on some table talking with the lords or ladies of the court, and he seldom failed of a smart word or twoupon my littleness; against which i could only revenge myself by calling him brother,challenging him to wrestle, and such repartees as are usually in the mouths ofcourt pages. one day, at dinner, this malicious littlecub was so nettled with something i had said to him, that, raising himself upon theframe of her majesty's chair, he took me up by the middle, as i was sitting down, not thinking any harm, and let me drop into alarge silver bowl of cream, and then ran
away as fast as he could. i fell over head and ears, and, if i hadnot been a good swimmer, it might have gone very hard with me; for glumdalclitch inthat instant happened to be at the other end of the room, and the queen was in such a fright, that she wanted presence of mindto assist me. but my little nurse ran to my relief, andtook me out, after i had swallowed above a quart of cream. i was put to bed: however, i received noother damage than the loss of a suit of clothes, which was utterly spoiled.
the dwarf was soundly whipt, and as afarther punishment, forced to drink up the bowl of cream into which he had thrown me:neither was he ever restored to favour; for soon after the queen bestowed him on a lady of high quality, so that i saw him no more,to my very great satisfaction; for i could not tell to what extremities such amalicious urchin might have carried his resentment. he had before served me a scurvy trick,which set the queen a-laughing, although at the same time she was heartily vexed, andwould have immediately cashiered him, if i had not been so generous as to intercede.
her majesty had taken a marrow-bone uponher plate, and, after knocking out the marrow, placed the bone again in the disherect, as it stood before; the dwarf, watching his opportunity, while glumdalclitch was gone to the side-board,mounted the stool that she stood on to take care of me at meals, took me up in bothhands, and squeezing my legs together, wedged them into the marrow bone above my waist, where i stuck for some time, andmade a very ridiculous figure. i believe it was near a minute before anyone knew what was become of me; for i thought it below me to cry out.
but, as princes seldom get their meat hot,my legs were not scalded, only my stockings and breeches in a sad condition.the dwarf, at my entreaty, had no other punishment than a sound whipping. i was frequently rallied by the queen uponaccount of my fearfulness; and she used to ask me whether the people of my countrywere as great cowards as myself? the occasion was this: the kingdom is muchpestered with flies in summer; and these odious insects, each of them as big as adunstable lark, hardly gave me any rest while i sat at dinner, with their continualhumming and buzzing about mine ears. they would sometimes alight upon myvictuals, and leave their loathsome
excrement, or spawn behind, which to me wasvery visible, though not to the natives of that country, whose large optics were not so acute as mine, in viewing smallerobjects. sometimes they would fix upon my nose, orforehead, where they stung me to the quick, smelling very offensively; and i couldeasily trace that viscous matter, which, our naturalists tell us, enables those creatures to walk with their feet upwardsupon a ceiling. i had much ado to defend myself againstthese detestable animals, and could not forbear starting when they came on my face.
it was the common practice of the dwarf, tocatch a number of these insects in his hand, as schoolboys do among us, and letthem out suddenly under my nose, on purpose to frighten me, and divert the queen. my remedy was to cut them in pieces with myknife, as they flew in the air, wherein my dexterity was much admired. i remember, one morning, when glumdalclitchhad set me in a box upon a window, as she usually did in fair days to give me air(for i durst not venture to let the box be hung on a nail out of the window, as we do with cages in england), after i had liftedup one of my sashes, and sat down at my
table to eat a piece of sweet cake for mybreakfast, above twenty wasps, allured by the smell, came flying into the room, humming louder than the drones of as manybagpipes. some of them seized my cake, and carried itpiecemeal away; others flew about my head and face, confounding me with the noise,and putting me in the utmost terror of their stings. however, i had the courage to rise and drawmy hanger, and attack them in the air. i dispatched four of them, but the rest gotaway, and i presently shut my window. these insects were as large as partridges:i took out their stings, found them an inch
and a half long, and as sharp as needles. i carefully preserved them all; and havingsince shown them, with some other curiosities, in several parts of europe,upon my return to england i gave three of them to gresham college, and kept thefourth for myself. chapter iv. the country described.a proposal for correcting modern maps. the king's palace; and some account of themetropolis. the author's way of travelling. the chief temple described.
i now intend to give the reader a shortdescription of this country, as far as i travelled in it, which was not above twothousand miles round lorbrulgrud, the metropolis. for the queen, whom i always attended,never went farther when she accompanied the king in his progresses, and there staidtill his majesty returned from viewing his frontiers. the whole extent of this prince's dominionsreaches about six thousand miles in length, and from three to five in breadth: whence icannot but conclude, that our geographers of europe are in a great error, by
supposing nothing but sea between japan andcalifornia; for it was ever my opinion, that there must be a balance of earth tocounterpoise the great continent of tartary; and therefore they ought to correct their maps and charts, by joiningthis vast tract of land to the north-west parts of america, wherein i shall be readyto lend them my assistance. the kingdom is a peninsula, terminated tothe north-east by a ridge of mountains thirty miles high, which are altogetherimpassable, by reason of the volcanoes upon the tops: neither do the most learned know what sort of mortals inhabit beyond thosemountains, or whether they be inhabited at
all.on the three other sides, it is bounded by the ocean. there is not one seaport in the wholekingdom: and those parts of the coasts into which the rivers issue, are so full ofpointed rocks, and the sea generally so rough, that there is no venturing with the smallest of their boats; so that thesepeople are wholly excluded from any commerce with the rest of the world. but the large rivers are full of vessels,and abound with excellent fish; for they seldom get any from the sea, because thesea fish are of the same size with those in
europe, and consequently not worth catching; whereby it is manifest, thatnature, in the production of plants and animals of so extraordinary a bulk, iswholly confined to this continent, of which i leave the reasons to be determined byphilosophers. however, now and then they take a whalethat happens to be dashed against the rocks, which the common people feed onheartily. these whales i have known so large, that aman could hardly carry one upon his shoulders; and sometimes, for curiosity,they are brought in hampers to lorbrulgrud; i saw one of them in a dish at the king's
table, which passed for a rarity, but i didnot observe he was fond of it; for i think, indeed, the bigness disgusted him, althoughi have seen one somewhat larger in greenland. the country is well inhabited, for itcontains fifty-one cities, near a hundred walled towns, and a great number ofvillages. to satisfy my curious reader, it may besufficient to describe lorbrulgrud. this city stands upon almost two equalparts, on each side the river that passes through. it contains above eighty thousand houses,and about six hundred thousand inhabitants.
it is in length three glomglungs (whichmake about fifty-four english miles,) and two and a half in breadth; as i measured itmyself in the royal map made by the king's order, which was laid on the ground on purpose for me, and extended a hundredfeet: i paced the diameter and circumference several times barefoot, and,computing by the scale, measured it pretty exactly. the king's palace is no regular edifice,but a heap of buildings, about seven miles round: the chief rooms are generally twohundred and forty feet high, and broad and long in proportion.
a coach was allowed to glumdalclitch andme, wherein her governess frequently took her out to see the town, or go among theshops; and i was always of the party, carried in my box; although the girl, at my own desire, would often take me out, andhold me in her hand, that i might more conveniently view the houses and thepeople, as we passed along the streets. i reckoned our coach to be about a squareof westminster-hall, but not altogether so high: however, i cannot be very exact. one day the governess ordered our coachmanto stop at several shops, where the beggars, watching their opportunity,crowded to the sides of the coach, and gave
me the most horrible spectacle that ever aeuropean eye beheld. there was a woman with a cancer in herbreast, swelled to a monstrous size, full of holes, in two or three of which i couldhave easily crept, and covered my whole body. there was a fellow with a wen in his neck,larger than five wool-packs; and another, with a couple of wooden legs, each abouttwenty feet high. but the most hateful sight of all, was thelice crawling on their clothes. i could see distinctly the limbs of thesevermin with my naked eye, much better than those of a european louse through amicroscope, and their snouts with which
they rooted like swine. they were the first i had ever beheld, andi should have been curious enough to dissect one of them, if i had had properinstruments, which i unluckily left behind me in the ship, although, indeed, the sight was so nauseous, that it perfectly turnedmy stomach. besides the large box in which i wasusually carried, the queen ordered a smaller one to be made for me, of abouttwelve feet square, and ten high, for the convenience of travelling; because the other was somewhat too large forglumdalclitch's lap, and cumbersome in the
coach; it was made by the same artist, whomi directed in the whole contrivance. this travelling-closet was an exact square,with a window in the middle of three of the squares, and each window was latticed withiron wire on the outside, to prevent accidents in long journeys. on the fourth side, which had no window,two strong staples were fixed, through which the person that carried me, when ihad a mind to be on horseback, put a leathern belt, and buckled it about hiswaist. this was always the office of some gravetrusty servant, in whom i could confide, whether i attended the king and queen intheir progresses, or were disposed to see
the gardens, or pay a visit to some great lady or minister of state in the court,when glumdalclitch happened to be out of order; for i soon began to be known andesteemed among the greatest officers, i suppose more upon account of their majesties' favour, than any merit of myown. in journeys, when i was weary of the coach,a servant on horseback would buckle on my box, and place it upon a cushion beforehim; and there i had a full prospect of the country on three sides, from my threewindows. i had, in this closet, a field-bed and ahammock, hung from the ceiling, two chairs
and a table, neatly screwed to the floor,to prevent being tossed about by the agitation of the horse or the coach. and having been long used to sea-voyages,those motions, although sometimes very violent, did not much discompose me. whenever i had a mind to see the town, itwas always in my travelling-closet; which glumdalclitch held in her lap in a kind ofopen sedan, after the fashion of the country, borne by four men, and attended bytwo others in the queen's livery. the people, who had often heard of me, werevery curious to crowd about the sedan, and the girl was complaisant enough to make thebearers stop, and to take me in her hand,
that i might be more conveniently seen. i was very desirous to see the chieftemple, and particularly the tower belonging to it, which is reckoned thehighest in the kingdom. accordingly one day my nurse carried methither, but i may truly say i came back disappointed; for the height is not abovethree thousand feet, reckoning from the ground to the highest pinnacle top; which, allowing for the difference between thesize of those people and us in europe, is no great matter for admiration, nor at allequal in proportion (if i rightly remember) to salisbury steeple.
but, not to detract from a nation, towhich, during my life, i shall acknowledge myself extremely obliged, it must beallowed, that whatever this famous tower wants in height, is amply made up in beauty and strength: for the walls are near ahundred feet thick, built of hewn stone, whereof each is about forty feet square,and adorned on all sides with statues of gods and emperors, cut in marble, larger than the life, placed in their severalniches. i measured a little finger which had fallendown from one of these statues, and lay unperceived among some rubbish, and foundit exactly four feet and an inch in length.
glumdalclitch wrapped it up in herhandkerchief, and carried it home in her pocket, to keep among other trinkets, ofwhich the girl was very fond, as children at her age usually are. the king's kitchen is indeed a noblebuilding, vaulted at top, and about six hundred feet high.the great oven is not so wide, by ten paces, as the cupola at st. paul's: for i measured the latter onpurpose, after my return. but if i should describe the kitchen grate,the prodigious pots and kettles, the joints of meat turning on the spits, with manyother particulars, perhaps i should be
hardly believed; at least a severe critic would be apt to think i enlarged a little,as travellers are often suspected to do. to avoid which censure i fear i have runtoo much into the other extreme; and that if this treatise should happen to betranslated into the language of brobdingnag (which is the general name of that kingdom,) and transmitted thither, the kingand his people would have reason to complain that i had done them an injury, bya false and diminutive representation. his majesty seldom keeps above six hundredhorses in his stables: they are generally from fifty-four to sixty feet high.
but, when he goes abroad on solemn days, heis attended, for state, by a military guard of five hundred horse, which, indeed, ithought was the most splendid sight that could be ever beheld, till i saw part of his army in battalia, whereof i shall findanother occasion to speak.