CHAPTER V.

THE AUTHOR, BY AN EXTRAORDINARY STRATAGEM, PREVENTS AN INVASION. A

HIGH TITLE OF HONOR IS CONFERRED UPON HIM. AMBASSADORS ARRIVE FROM

THE EMPEROR OF BLEFUSCU, AND SUE FOR PEACE. THE EMPRESS'S APARTMENT

ON FIRE, BY ACCIDENT; THE AUTHOR INSTRUMENTAL IN SAVING THE REST OF

THE PALACE.

The empire of Blefuscu is an island, situate to the north northeast of

Lilliput, from whence 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 the pain of death, and an

embargo[25] 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 harbor, 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

_glumgluffs_ deep, which is about six feet of European measure; and the

rest of it fifty _glumgluffs_ at most. I walked towards the northeast

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

northeast 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 were 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, besides 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, farther than a little to discompose them.[26] 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 hooks fixed to the ships, I resolutely cut with

my knife the cables that fastened the anchors, receiving above 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.

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.

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 an 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[27] emperor of

Lilliput! This great prince received me at my landing, with all possible

encomiums, and created me a _nardac_ upon the spot, which is the highest

title of honor among them.

His majesty desired I would take some other opportunity of bringing all

the rest of his enemy's ships into his ports. And so immeasurable 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 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 endeavored 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.

[Illustration: "AND CREATED ME A _NARDAC_ UPON THE SPOT." P. 58.]

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[28] 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.

About three weeks after this exploit, there arrived a solemn embassy

from Blefuscu, with humble offers of 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 valor

and generosity, invited me to that kingdom, in the emperor their

master's name, and desired me to show 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.

[Illustration]

When I had for some time entertained their Excellencies, to their

infinite satisfaction and surprise, I desired they would do me the honor

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 honor

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

plainly 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.

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 its own tongue, with an avowed contempt

for that of its neighbor; 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.

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 _nardac_ 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 _burglum_ 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 honor,

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 a

large thimble, 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 by which 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.

[Illustration]

It was now daylight, 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 man, of what quality soever, to

even touch the empress or the royal princesses without invitation. 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 me, and, in the presence

of her chief confidants, could not forbear vowing revenge.